Playing their closest rival, the Bolton Bulldogs, the Lancashire Wolverine Colts looked to complete a historic regular season schedule, undefeated while conceding zero points, something never before achieved by a member team of the Lancashire Academy. Led by team captain Sam Bloomfield, the Colts won the opening coin toss and chose to receive the ball, giving their offence an opportunity to open their account for the day. This was not to be, however, with QB Jonny Glover lofting the ball to a Bolton cornerback who was tackled immediately by Colts receiver Joel Wilson. The Colts defence, as they have done all season, sprung into action and forced the Bolton offence into a punting situation, returning the ball to the offence.

 This would be the case for the first quarter, with each team proving strong defensively and giving their opposing offences very little to work with. It wasn’t until late in the second quarter that the Colts broke the deadlock, with running back Eden Quigley scoring his 6^th touchdown of the season from 26 yards out, showing his ability to slip effortlessly out of tackles. The PAT was unsuccessful, taking the score to 6-0. The Colt’s defence stood up again, not an uncommon theme, with FS Phil Hooper picking off the Bolton QB at the Lancashire 20 yard line. On the ensuing drive, Glover atoned for his previous mistake, tossing the ball to Wilson, who adjusted brilliantly and hauled in the pass for a 12-yard touchdown. A failed PAT attempt left the score at 12-0 heading in to the half-time break. Head Coach Geoff Leigh, unhappy at how the first half went, spoke of staying disciplined and challenged the Colts to up their game in the second half.

 The team took this to heart, with the opening kick-off going for a touchback from the boot of Chris Astley. The defence, led by the strong tackling of Kyle Martindale, Jon Varney and Stephen Donaldson-Ellison, forced the Bolton offence into a 3^rd and long situation. Sam Bloomfield appeared to have made the interception, but the ball squirted out and fell harmlessly incomplete, much to Bloomfield’s despair. Despite this, the Bolton punt rolled out of bounds at the 45-yard line, giving the offence a short field to attack. A promising drive took the ball inside the Bolton 10 but the drive stalled and the Colts offence turned the ball over inside of Bolton’s 5-yard line. The defence, seeing an opportunity to score, forced a safety when linebacker Stephen Donaldson-Ellison and defensive end Chris Astley pounced on the Bolton QB in the end zone and the Bolton QB threw the ball backwards in an attempt to salvage the play.

 A good return on the following punt by Eden Quigley gave the Lancashire offence a suitable field position to convert from. Several hard runs by Quigley and fullback James Littler drove the ball to within the Bolton red zone, where Quigley powered over from the 2 yard line for his second touchdown of the day. The PAT on this play was successful when receiver Joel Wilson made a spectacular one handed catch despite being interfered with by the Bolton cornerback. The following kick-off was stopped for a minimal gain and the Colts defence forced another punt, with Sam Bloomfield and Sam Johnson wreaking havoc in the Bolton backfield. The Colts offence then began their next possession with the ball at the 50-yard line, where a key catch in traffic by Rihan Malik and a personal foul on Bolton moved the ball to the 20-yard line. A QB scramble by Jonny Glover presented Quigley with a chance to add to his tally on the day and he did so in classic fashion, leaving Bolton players grasping at his heels as he used his speed and agility to scamper in from 9 yards. With a PAT catch by Rihan Malik, the score hit 30-0.  The following kick by Astley was returned for 10 yards when FS Phil Hooper flew in and forced a fumble on the returner, which was recovered by defensive captain Kyle Martindale, heralding the end of the 3^rdquarter.

The 4^th quarter opened with a pass interference call on Bolton when Glover tried to hit Bloomfield, now playing TE, who was knocked to the ground when attempting to gather the ball. On the next play, fullback James Littler carried the ball in from 19 yards, stiff-arming multiple Bulldogs on his way to pay dirt. An incomplete pass by Glover on the PAT resulted in a 36-0 score. Astley again kicked off, but slipped, forcing the ball to fall to the Bolton wedge. This was not a big issue as the coverage team got down quickly enough to stop the returner from gaining a significant amount of yardage. After some excellent tackling from Kyle Martindale and Sam Bloomfield, the Colts defence managed to stop an attempted 4^th down try by Bolton, giving the ball to the offence at the Bolton 40. Several runs by Quigley set up James Littler for his second touchdown of the game, an amazing 22 yard rush, exquisitely sidestepping a Bolton cornerback on the way to the end zone. An unsuccessful PAT attempt took the score to 42-0, the final score in the game.

 The MVPs on the day were James Littler for his two touchdowns and consistent blocking throughout the day and Kyle Martindale on the defence for his hard-hitting performance. Phil Hooper received a special teams MVP for his forced fumble and Jon Varney was awarded team MVP for his multiple tackles on defence and several key blocks on offence. Martindale, Varney and Stephen Donaldson-Ellison were awarded brick awards for their big hits throughout the day.

 A special mention has to go to the coaches of the team. Paul Day, the offensive co-ordinator, for directing the Lancashire offence to 196 points on the season, Simon Purcell, the defensive co-ordinator, for leading his defence to a historic 0 points conceded season and Head Coach Geoff Leigh for running the entire team, instilling a strong work-ethic and a sense of discipline.

A short trip across the M62 saw the Colts aiming to continue their unbeaten run, facing a Leeds Varsity Rams team who were coming off 3 consecutive wins against conference rivals Sheffield and Bolton. The Leeds offence, based around quick passes and yards after the catch, had been firing on all cylinders, posting high scores in their 3 previous games.  The Colts were understandably not ready to roll over and be intimidated, hoping to advance to 6 wins and 0 losses on the season.

Kicking off, as has been the case for all the games this season, the Colts defence, who had so far managed to concede no points on the season through dominating play, opened with an impressive series with a few minor hiccups, while Leeds showed the potency of their offence by completing a 30 yard pass. Despite this adversity, the Colts defence forced a turnover on downs, shutting down the Leeds running game. With the defence holding the Leeds offence, the Colts offence, led by veteran tailback Eden Quigley and the safe hands of quarterback Jonny Glover moved the ball effectively, the highlight of the drive a 20 yard pass to receiver Joel Wilson. The drive was capped off with a 10 yard plunge by wingback Christian Facchin, his first score of the year. The PAT was wide by Chris Astley, taking the score to 6-0.

After another kick off by Astley, the Colts impressive defence took over once again, the hands of consistent linebacker Sam Johnson forcing a fumble on the Leeds running back. A recovery by fellow linebacker Jon Varney gave the offence the ball with good field position, but they turned the ball over on downs, presenting the defence with more adversity to overcome, a situation on which all members of the group seem to thrive. The Leeds drive was stopped in dramatic fashion by cornerback Jamie Horsley, who ripped the ball from the grasp of the Leeds WR for an interception. In this next drive, gifted offensive captain Eden Quigley produced one of the best rushes of the season, running through two tackles and out-running the rest of the Leeds defence for a 40 yard touchdown. The PAT was knocked through by kicker Chris Astley, creating a 14 point lead for the Lancashire outfit.

Leeds’ next offensive drive was one in which they were forced to punt, thanks to solid tackling from linebackers Kyle Martindale, Stephen Donaldson-Ellison and Jon Varney, with punt returner Sam Bloomfield returning the ball 15 yards to set up the Colts offence with very good field position. However, the Colts couldn’t capitalise on this chance and went into the half-time intermission leading 14 points to nil. With Head Coach Geoff Leigh rallying his troops once more, challenging them to improve on the efforts of the first half, the Colts came out for the second half itching to get back to the field.

Receiving the ball to start the second half, the Colts offence started out in promising fashion, with Quigley and rookie Alex Hodson showing tough running, taking the ball to just outside the Leeds redzone. This drive was finished off by an expertly thrown ball from quarterback Jonny Glover, hitting his target TE Sam Bloomfield who hauled the pass in and sprinted in the last 10 yards, crossing the goal-line for a touchdown. The PAT was successfully kicked by Astley, taking the score to 22 to zero in favour of Lancashire. Looking to give their offence a short field to work with again, the defence went about their business, with FS Phil Hooper forcefully separating a Leeds WR from the ball on 3rd down to force a punt, but the Lancashire offence couldn’t muster a consistent attack after the punt and turned the ball over on downs inside the Leeds half of the field.

 On the next defensive drive, Phil Hooper again shone through, picking off the Leeds QB and giving the offence favourable field position for them to begin the 4th quarter with. Heading into the 4th and final quarter, the offence found their rhythm, driving down to the 15 yard line where TE Seb Kerridge came up with a touchdown catch, his second on the season and Glover’s third touchdown pass of the day. A miss by Astley on the PAT left the Colts with a 28 point lead. Another turnover forced by the Colts defence saw linebacker and defensive captain Kyle Martindale catching a deflected ball and returning it for a touchdown, only for the play to be called back for a block in the back. The Colts did get a touchdown regardless, with receiver Joel Wilson hauling in a pass from Glover and out-running the Leeds defence for a 60 yard catch and run touchdown, giving Glover his 4th and final touchdown on the day. The PAT was run in by tailback Eden Quigley, taking the score to 36-0.

The Colts defence again forced a turnover with Hooper collecting his second interception of the day, jumping a hook route and returning the ball 20 yards, handing the reins to Glover again. In a race against the clock, the Colts drove to the 30 yard line when Glover placed the ball in a spot where only TE Sam Bloomfield could reach it. He reeled the ball in, his speciality, one-handed catch signifying the last play of the game as time expired during the rush to line up for the next play. The game finished 36 points in the favour of the Colts, who progressed to be unbeaten on the season with a record of 6 wins and 0 losses.

The MVPs for the day were WB Christian Facchin for the offence, CB Ste Czarnecki for the defence, LB Jon Varney for special teams and TE/LB Sam Bloomfield was selected as the team’s most valuable player. Four Brick awards were presented on the day, with linebackers Kyle Martindale and Jon Varney, centre Kurt Delafield and running back Eden Quigley receiving awards for their various hits throughout the day. The Colts next game is at home in the return of this fixture, with Leeds travelling to Blackburn on the 2nd of August.

Report by Ste Czarnecki

Travelling two hours in a coach to Dinnington Rugby Club on the outskirts of Sheffield, the Colts continued their quest for an unbeaten season, facing a much improved Sheffield Tomahawks side, small in number but not lacking heart. The game opened with the Colts winning the toss and opting to kick off to the Tomahawks, causing the Colts defence, dominant so far this season, to open the game. The Colts defence opened up by forcing a turnover on the Tomahawks 3rd down, handing the ball to the offence in good field position just inside the Tomahawks half of the field. The offence, led by returning injured QB Jonny Glover, stalled on this drive, with Eden Quigley, arguably the most talented player on the field, struggling to hit the gaps opened for him by the offensive line and key drops by the Colts WRs and TEs resulting in a turnover on downs, giving the Tomahawks the ball about the 30 yard line.

On the following drive, the Colts defence stood up once more, forcing the Tomahawks to punt. However, this punt was dropped by the Tomahawks punter and on a scramble, nearly ran for a first down before being wrapped up by impressive linebacker Stephen Donaldson-Ellison just short of the first down marker, giving the offence the ball just inside their own half. On this drive, the Colts passing offence, led by Glover, clicked, with a key conversion on a long 3rd down by receiver Joel Wilson, who would eventually finish the drive with a 20 yard touchdown catch, his second of the season.  The conversion kick, attempted by Chris Astley, was uncharacteristically wide, leaving the score at 6-0 to the Colts. The defence again held, forcing a punt again, which was fielded by returner Phil Hooper and returned 50 yards to give the offence brilliant field position once again.

With this field position, the Colts once again converted. The drive was, however, not without hiccups, with Quigley coughing up the ball. This fumble was jumped on by alert lineman Kurt Delafield, saving the drive which would end with wide receiver Rihan Malik coming up with his first TD catch of the year in miraculous fashion, tracking the ball, out-jumping the Tomahawks defenders, bobbling the ball then corralling it, taking the score to 12-0 to the Colts. The Colts this time opted to try a different approach for the 2 points, trying to run the ball in through makeshift tailback John Varney, who was bottled up by the Tomahawks defence.

After another stop by the defence, forcing the Tomahawks to punt again, the punter again had trouble handling the snap. This time, the Colts reached him before he could run for extra yardage, downing him at the 15 yard line, handing the offence time to finish off the half with another score. On this drive, team captain Sam Bloomfield caught a one handed, highlight-reel touchdown pass from the impressive Glover, taking the score to 18-0. With the PAT failing once again, the Colts headed into half-time with the score at 18-0. An inspired team-talk from head coach Geoff Leigh and a selection of fruits riled up the Colts players, eager to continue the work started in the 2nd quarter.

The 3rd quarter started with the offence making good progress, but a neck injury to fullback James Littler caused the game to be suspended for just under an hour while Littler received medical treatment. With both teams retuning to the field of play, the Colts pressed on, capitalising on their field position, scoring with a Glover pass to tight end Seb Kerridge, his first of the season and Glover’s fourth on the day. Astley this time slotted through the extra point, taking the score to 26-0 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Heading into the 4th quarter, the Colts defence stood up, with rookie CB Ste Czarnecki picking off an errant pass by the Tomahawks QB and running it in from 15 yards out for the Colts second defensive TD of the season.  The extra point was again knocked over by Chris Astley, taking the score to 34-0. The Colts rookie contingent again contributed, this time through tailback Alex Hodson, his third of the season, capping off his day of tough running by carrying a Tomahawks defender with him into the end zone, the final score of the day, ending the game with a score of 40-0.

The MVPs on the day were Glover for the offence, his four touchdowns on the day causing him to have arguably his best game to date. The defensive MVP was Czarnecki for his interception return for a touchdown, the special teams MVP was Brad Callaghan for his infallible effort throughout the game and the team MVP was Chris Astley, who played and excelled at all three phases of the game. The recipient of the Brick award for the biggest hit was linebacker Stephen Donaldson-Ellison.

The Colts next game is away to the Leeds Rams at South Leeds Stadium, with the Rams having just beaten the Bolton Bulldogs 32-0. It promises to be a good game and a good advertisement for youth football, with plenty of action for spectators to enjoy.

Report by Ste Czarnecki