The Lancashire Wolverine Colts secured a playoff place last weekend with a win north of the border. The Colts had beaten the Scottish based Lanarkshire Longhorns on the opening day of the season and completed a season sweep with a comfortable 14-0 win.
After winning the opening coin toss the Colts elected to receive. The offence got off to a fast start when Johnny Glover scrambled for a first down. He quickly followed that up with an excellent deep throw which was caught by wide receiver Sam Reid for 32 yards. The catch represented Reid’s first in a Colts uniform. However, the early momentum was dented when the Longhorn’s defence forced a field goal. A misplaced snap forced holder Johnny Glover to improvise, but despite a neat completion, the Colts were held out of the endzone.
The Longhorns subsequently took over for their first offensive series. It began well with some powerful running by the home team’s back. However, under duress from the Colts pass rush, Ste Czarnecki expertly picked off an ill-advised throw by the Scottish quarterback to give the Colts great field position around midfield. Although the Colts offence couldn’t capitalise on the turnover, their defence again proved air-tight with Ste Czarnecki inches away from his second interception. Christian Facchin blocked the ensuing Lanarkshire punt and assured the Colts offence of excellent field position once more.
This time the Colts were not to be denied and grabbed the lead with a quick-strike score. Johnny Glover’s dump off to Ryan Morton resulted with the running back weaving through the Lanarkshire defence to score a fantastic 48 yard touchdown. The extra point was no good leaving the Colts in charge with a 6-0 lead which remained at the half. The third quarter started with Alex Hodson’s hefty boot forcing a touchback. The Longhorns began in search of an equalizing score. Heavy pressure from the Colts ensured that that was not to be the case and the home team were again forced to punt. As they had in the first half, the Colts offence opened the second half with promise. Rihan Malik pulled off yet another circus catch when he leapt above the Longhorns defensive back to snag a well thrown pass from Johnny Glover. In the red zone the Colts needed all four downs to set up a 1st and goal at the 4 yard line. Lee Horrocks caught a short pass and fought well for an extra yard to keep the Colts drive alive. With the first down Johnny Glover punched the ball into the endzone with a four yard touchdown run. Alex Hodson’s extra point was good and so gave the Colts a 14-0 lead.
That concluded the scoring as neither team could get on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter. The Longhorns did find some success running the ball in fits and starts. Yet, the Colts defence preserved their shutout by hounding the Lanarkshire quarterback resulting in a series of sacks and near interceptions. Jake Hodgkinson and Andrew Newby teamed for a sack and James McGovern added another. Ste Czarnecki continued his impressive coverage as he broke up what looked to be a sure connection for the Longhorns. Rihan Malik twice looked to have picked off the opposing quarterback but had one called back for a penalty and couldn’t quite gather the other. This fourth quarter action made certain that the full time whistle marked the Colts second shutout of the season.
The win in Scotland represented a balanced performance by the Colts, one in which they imposed their authority in all phases of the game. Such a well rounded performance will be needed again in their fixture against the Leeds Varsity Bobcats. The game will be part of a double header at Blackburn Rugby Club on Sunday August 8th and will most probably decide whether the division crown stays in Lancashire or is wrestled away to Yorkshire.
Article by Chris Ollett
Last Updated on Tuesday, 27 July 2010 19:19
Colts ensure Double Header gets winning start
The Lancashire Wolverine Colts kicked off the first game of the Lancashire Academy of American Football’s double header on Sunday when they took on the Gateshead Senators Youth. The game was a rematch of the 2009 Northern Final. With another strong showing the Colts triumphed with a 22-0 win and preserved their unbeaten record in 2010.
The Colts received the opening kickoff but after a decent return their first offensive effort did not yield much in reward. This was quickly mirrored by the Gateshead offence and they too were forced to cede possession early. The Senators next drive was kept alive with a penalty against the Colts’ defence but when Jon Varney burst through the offensive line and engulfed the Gateshead quarterback for a sack, the Senators were again forced to punt.
Both the ensuing return and the beginning of the Colts offensive drive featured sloppy fumbles. However, the mistakes seemed to give the team the wake-up call they perhaps needed. After Andrew Newby had recovered one of the fumbles, wide receiver Rihan Malik made an outstanding catch that netted the offence a 40 yards gain. This was followed up with rushing gains by Jonny Glover and Alex Hodson that pushed the Colts inside the Gateshead ten yard line. Finally in rhythm, GB running back Ryan Morton capped off the drive when his powerful run up the middle resulted in a touchdown. The Colts added two points when Ste Czarnecki caught a short pass and tipped-toed inside the pylon, giving the Colts an 8-0 lead.
Despite receiving two quick possessions, one from the kick-off and the other stemming from a fumble they had recovered in Colts territory, Gateshead failed to counter. The visitors were made to pay for this when the Colts offence put together a second scoring drive. Tight end Sebastian Kerridge made a tremendous leaping catch before Lawrence Quinn ran up the middle for a first down. Assisted by the good blocking of his offensive line, Quinn again kept the ball on the next play this time rushing for a touchdown. The extra points attempt was wide and with no further scoring Colts lead at the break was 14-0.
Gateshead had the first offensive series of the second half but could not carry over the little success they had found running the ball at the end of the first half. The second half mirrored the early proceedings in the first with possession flipping back and forth. However, a punt by the Colts was fortuitously ruled to have been downed by Rihan Malik at the Gateshead one yard line. Starting with hazardous field position, Gateshead were soon forced to punt and with a poor boot the Senator’s bad field position quickly transferred to great position for the Colts. Delivering the knockout blow the Colts took advantage of this situation. Mike Frayne put together a series of tough runs and the drive was completed with a run by Jonny Glover. Alex Hodson’s extra points attempt was good, leaving the score at 22-0.
Gateshead’s attempts for a consolation were thwarted as the Colts looked to preserve a shutout. Jonathan Frayne intercepted the Gateshead quarterback and Seb Kerridge made a last ditch, touchdown saving tackle when it looked as though a fake punt-cum-run had caught the Colts napping. Before the final whistle Kerridge also had a 40 yard weaving run for a touchdown chalked off for a penalty. This meant that the neither team managed to tack anything on to the earlier 22-0 score-line which remained as the full time result.
The excellent win means that next Sunday’s away fixture against the Leeds Varsity Bobcats will be a battle between two unbeaten division rivals. Furthermore, the game could have a potentially huge bearing on who clinches the division crown and a home playoff game.
Article by Chris Ollett
Last Updated on Wednesday, 07 July 2010 10:56
Clash of the Titans
The Lancashire Wolverine Colts travelled to Broughton Park this past Sunday to face the Manchester Titans’ Youth where they continued their positive start to the season with an impressive 26-3 victory.
Always a fierce rivalry at Senior’s level, the first meeting between the two Youth teams looked to take on that same intensity. This was proved true right from the opening kickoff when Sebastian Kerridge halted the Titans’ return with a bone-crunching hit. The Titans opening drive proved short and a poor punt left the Colts with good opening field position. However, with penalties negating a couple of would-be first downs the Colts were also forced to end their opening possession with a punt. The Titans’ second attempt proved no more successful as the Colts defence suffocated the opposition with sacks by Andrew Newby and team captain Jon Varney.
The first quarter ended with a Colts’ fumble on an exchange between quarterback and running back which was pounced upon by the Titans’ defence. Looking to capitalise their offence drove inside the red zone. Despite this promise a timely sack by Jake Hodgkinson on 3rddown made sure that the stingy Colts defence prevented entrance into their endzone. Forced to settle for a field goal the hosts took a 3-0 lead.
The next few series saw both teams trade possession on downs and with punts. However, this relatively uninspiring passage of play was given the inspiring jolt it needed when a huge hit from safety John Frayne forced the ball loose from the Titans ball carrier. Ste Czarnecki duly obliged in recovering the fumble for the Colts. Pouncing on the clear momentum shift the Colts’ offence then lowered the boom as they engineered their first touchdown score of the game. A beautifully lofted pass by quarterback Lawrence Quinn found tight end Sebastian Kerridge who completed his tidy route from a split out position by securing the ball as he strode into the endzone. With an unsuccessful extra points attempt the half time score was 6-3.
To open the second half the Colts’ offence engineered a drive of outstanding quality – a perfect balance of flare and clockwork efficiency. Quarterback Johnny Glover delivered a succession of passes to wide receiver Rihan Malik, who in extraordinary form, continually reeled in the passes. This combined with the powerful running of Alex Hodson, who ploughed through the Titans’ defence all day, set the Colts up at the Titans’ one yard line. All that remained was for Johnny Glover to sneak into the endzone and cap off the outstanding drive. This extended the Colts lead to 12-3 and stayed that way following an unsuccessful extra points attempt.
Clearly in the ascendency the Colts defence really began to turn the screws and suppressed everything the Manchester offence could muster. Under unrelenting pressure the Titans quarterback was sacked multiple times, again by Andrew Newby and Jake Hodgkinson as well as Jamie Horsley who took advantage of the rare opportunity of a cornerback blitz. With the Titans’ resistance wilting the Colts’ offence added two more scores. The first came at the end of the third quarter when Sebastian Kerridge took a reverse at around midfield, weaved his way through the Titans defence and then raced away down the right sideline for a long touchdown run. Quarterback Lawrence Quinn then sent a quick pass out to Christian Facchin who caught the ball uncovered in the endzone. This left the Colts sitting with a comfortable 24-3 lead. Another two points were tagged onto the Colts’ score when an awry snap sailed right over the head of the Titans’ punter and out of the back of the endzone for a safety. This completed the scoring and at 26-3 the Colts claimed their second successive victory.
The Wolverine Colts will next face the Gateshead Senators at Blackburn Rugby Club on Sunday 4th July. The game promises to be a thrilling encounter that pitches the two contestants of last year’s Northern Final against each other.
Report by Chris Ollett
Last Updated on Friday, 09 July 2010 19:57
It's news to us!
Following another day of depressing news items, the WISH FM news team put a shout-out for some good news to broadcast on their 4 o'clock slot today. Colts Team Manager Caro Freeman answered the call and was the lucky one chosen from many to take the prime time slot. Sure enough, after several dreary headline items, the newsreader told listeners across the wide WISH FM area about the Colts winning clash with Manchester Titans on Sunday, then went "over to Team Manager Caroline Freeman" for a live quote, expressing her delight at the result. Proof for all to hear that the Academy is making headline news in Lancashire.
Listen to Caro's good news here:
Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 June 2010 20:08
Academy represents Great Britain
Players Ryan Morton, Jamie Horsley and Jonathon Varney joined coaches Simon Purcell and Sam Bloomfield in the crucial qualifier, in which GB Lions beat Holland 18-13 in a thrilling game.
After the game, GB Lions defensive backs coach and Wolverine Colts defensive Co-ordinator, Simon Purcell said: ‘The performance by the GB Lions team was superb – it was a true team performance and one that everyone who travelled to Holland should be proud to have been a part of. All the Lancashire players performed well and contributed to the teams win, especially Wolverines team captain, Varney who was the leading tackler on defense’
The next step for GB is a 4-team tournament in Serbia later in the year and with a total of EIGHT players in the squad the Wolverines are hoping for yet more success.
Due to the lack of funding available the players and staff have to support themselves in order to represent Great Britain. If anybody is interested in sponsoring any of the players or the Wolverines please contact Greg Adam at
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. For more information about the Lancashire Academy of American Football please visit www.wolverineden.com
