The Buccaneers Cadets travelled down to Redditch at the end of April to compete in their first tournament of the 2012 season. It was a new-look squad compared to last year’s National Finalists group, with more than half that squad having graduated to the Junior Flag side. There were no less than 7 rookies in the squad for Redditch, but the team headed down with high hopes after 3 months of hard work on the training ground.

Urged on by a large group of travelling parents and supporters, the Cadets took on the Coventry Jets in their first game and took an early 6-0 lead when Joe Hill found Andrew Carr in the endzone for a TD. The Jets came back strongly with two scores of their own to lead 12-6 in a tight game played with great sportsmanship on both sides. With less than a minute remaining and the Bucs were in last chance saloon, when rookie centre Nathan Smalley made a brilliant catch in the endzone from a Hill bullet to tie the scores, and a successful one point conversion from Hill to Carr gave the Bucs a slender lead. The Bucs D then stepped up to the plate and shut down the Jets on their final drive to seal the game 13-12 for the Chorley boys.

The Bucs took on the Coventry Cougars in their second game and a superb all round team performance, highlighted by linebacker duo Sol Robinson and Daniel Schofield and two-way players Cullen Donahoo and Eric Buckley-Lopez, saw them race into a four score lead. There were debut TDs for Kian Meadon-Chadwick, Kieron King and Jason Buckley-Lopez, as well as another from veteran utility player Andrew Carr. The Cougars battled hard to the end and a late rushing TD from them denied the Bucs D a shut-out and left the final score 24-6.

Game three was a rematch of last year’s National Final against a big, strong and skilful Marlow Wolves side. The young Bucs Cadets performed valiantly on both sides of the ball, twice taking the lead in the first half with TDs from Joel Chesters, who was almost unstoppable on the ground, and Andrew Carr. Marlow answered back straight away both times though, and despite a fantastic offensive and defensive effort from the Bucs the Wolves got the only score of a thrilling second half to sneak the game 20-13. A match-up against the Studley Bearcats had to be forfeited by the Bearcats, leaving the Bucs record at 3-1 on the day and second place in a group of five teams.

The choices for MVPs of the tournament were very difficult, with outstanding performances from Cullen Donahoo, Nathan Smalley, Jason Buckley-Lopez, Kieron King, Kian Meadon-Chadwick, Daniel Schofield, 3 TD Andrew Carr and 1 TD, 2 INT Joel Chesters, but eventually Coach Oxborrow chose rookie Sol Robinson as Defensive MVP, Coach Schofield chose Joe Hill as Offensive MVP for outstanding leadership in his first tournament as starting QB, and Eric Buckley-Lopez was given the award for best rookie performance overall.

Head Coach Schofield said “I’m really proud of all the guys for the way they played and worked together as a team. We’ve got lots of hard work still to do, but this was a great start to the season. It was fantastic to have so much support on the sidelines as well, thanks to all the people who travelled to cheer the team on.”

The Buccaneers 2012 kitted team faced their first taste of action on Saturday 7th April as they hosted the Standish Raiders in two friendly games. This was going to be a big test for the Bucs who had only five players remaining from the 2011 team as the rest graduated up to the Lancashire Wolverine Colts and the added blow that captain and veteran running back Avais Shah was out injured.

It would be the Raiders to start off with the ball in first game and a fumbled snap left the Raiders taking second down their own one yard line, with the next snap strayed over the Quarterbacks head and bounced out of the back of the endzone to give the Bucs a 2 - 0 lead. As the Bucs offense took the field they managed to drive down field but fell short of scoring and so the Raiders regained possession. The Raiders still to shake of their nerves on offense retook to the field but were faced with the same problems as strong play from Buccaneer Lee Blundell forced the Quarterback to fumbled and then pounced the loose ball in the endzone to give the Bucs an 8 - 0 lead. The Raiders once again on offense continued in their nervy form and third fumbled exchange in the backfield saw Buccaneers captain Alan Barrow scoop on the ball to give increase the lead to 14 - 0 with Bucs once again unable to get the extra point conversion.

As the Raiders came out again they knew they had to get their act together and they did just that with Quarterback Aiden Hill connecting with Receiver Andy Van Biljon for a full length touchdown to show that they Raiders weren't going to give the Bucs an easy ride. The Raiders went for a two point conversion but were unsuccessful making the scoreline 14 - 6. As the Bucs took to the field on offense it looked like it was their turn to make mistakes as on third down a fumbled snap saw the Raiders defense recover the ball and possession in the Buccaneers half of the field, but the Raiders were faced with a strong defense  and couldn't produce anything from their possession.

The Bucs wasted no time with their next possession with Quarterback Arron Taylor passing to running back Rocky Widdowson over the entire Raiders defense with Widdowson then out pacing them to the endzone to give their Bucs offense their first touchdown of the day. Taylor then added the one point conversion with a pass to rookie Receiver Jason Hoyle giving the Bucs a 21 - 6 lead. As the Raiders took the field they looked to go back to their passing game but an interception from Hoyle soon stopped that and returned it all the way for a touchdown but a Buccaneers block in the back brought the touchdown back. The Bucs drove down to the two yard line and then it was time for Bucs Captain Sam Thompson to get involved as he scored on a reception but this time it was Rookie QB Kit Varney who produced the pass. Varney then connected with Captain Brendan Berry for the one point conversion taking the score to the 28 - 6. As the two teams traded possessions, it was the Bucs who were to strike again with a full length pass from Varney to Hoyle leaving the score at 34 - 6 at half time.

As the second half began it was the Bucs to start off with the ball and running back Berry wasted no time as he broke several tackles and ran the full length of the field to give the Bucs a 40 - 6 lead as the extra point conversion was unsuccessful. The Raiders took the field on offense but it seemed to be the Brendan Berry show as some great coverage lead to a one handed interception which he then returned to the endzone to give increase the lead to 46 - 6 for the Bucs. As the two teams traded drives it was the Raiders turn to pull out a highlight play, with Receiver Andy Van Biljon making a superb one handed catch and then ran the rest of the way to take the score to 46 - 12.

The game saw no more touchdowns but did see some fantastic football with the only other points coming for the Raiders when Buccaneer Jason Hoyle, made an interception and upon trying to make a productive run went  backwards and got tackled in the endzone to make it a safety leaving the full time score at 46 - 14.

GAME 2

The second game got underway and once again it was the Raiders that started with possession but a strong Bucs defense saw them barely move the ball and so the Bucs took possession from their own five yard line and drove downfield well with Berry getting the first points of the game with a fifteen yard run to give the Bucs a 6 - 0. As the Raiders took the ball they once again struggled to move the ball and handed the ball back to the Bucs offense, and it took only one play for them to take advantage as full length pass from Varney to Hoyle for a touchdown and then Varney connecting with Berry for the extra one point made it 13 - 0.

The Raiders were next to put points on the board with a pass from Hill to Matthew Swift taking the score to 13 - 6. The game then saw both teams defense stand strong and no team could get anything going until a strong tackle from Buccaneer produced a fumble which led to Berry scooping it up and running it in for the score taking the score to 19 - 6. As halftime drew closer the Bucs struck one time with QB Varney once again connecting with Hoyle to take the score to 25 - 6 at the half.

The second half started with the Bucs in possession and they drove downfield superbly with strong running from Rookies Derry Holt and Alex Garcia, however it was Alan Barrow that produced the next points with a six yard run for a touchdown making it 31 - 6 with conversion being no good. The Raiders then took the field on offense and on trying a reverse, a thunderous hit from Berry saw the ball come loose and as every player tried to pounce on it in the endzone it was that man Berry that grabbed it to get another score for the Bucs taking it 37 - 6.

The Raiders still unable to move the ball productively as the Bucs defense stepped it up another level and swarmed to every play and once again gave the Bucs possession. A pass from Taylor to Blundell for the Bucs saw the Raiders strip it and give their offense the ball with just four yards to go and a short pass from Hill to Van Biljon gave the Raiders a second score for the game and then the same two added the two points to take the score to 37 - 14. The Bucs regained possession and drove down field well both through the air and on the ground, it was then time for Rookie work-horse Derry Holt to get his first points for the Kitted team as he ran in from seven yards carrying two defenders with him to take the score to 43 - 14.

As the game started to draw to a close the Raiders couldn't get anything going against a tough Bucs defense and it was the Bucs who took the last possession with just eight seconds left. QB Taylor passed to Hoyle with a fantastic thirty yard pass but the Raiders managed to tackle Hoyle at the two yard line to stop the score and also end the game giving the Bucs a 43 - 14 victory.

After the games Bucs Head Coach Ian Nicolson said "It was a fantastic team display in both games and we produced some fantastic football with everyone player doing their part. It's clear from today that we still have things to work on though before our first league tournament and I'm looking forward to training next week." He then added "We'd like to thank the Raiders for coming to us today and showing great sportsmanship throughout both games and I hope that they took as much out of the games as we have."

The Buccaneers now have three weeks till their first league tournament in Birmingham and if you're 14 - 16 and would like to get involved with the Bucs kitted team then you can email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

On Sunday 18^th December the Chorley Buccaneers celebrated their annual End of Season Awards Presentation at Victory Park, home of Chorley F.C.

This presentation was to be the host of many history making events, the first of them being that it was the best attended presentation in the Bucs eleven year history with having over 100 people attend,  a superb example of just how much of a family club the Bucs have become.

The Cadets kicked the presentation off with Head Coach Mark Holt, Offensive Coordinator Keith Schofield and Defensive Coordinator Ian Oxborrow all handing out the medals to the players and praising each of them on their superb efforts throughout the season before the main awards were presented.

The winners of the 2011 Cadet Team were:
Rookie of the year – Aaron Oxborrow
Most Improved Player – Josh Kinsella
Most Promising Player – Kyle Webzell
Offensive MVP – Zach Christie
Defensive MVP – Andrew Carr
Players’ Players of the Year – Dylan Chesters
Coaches Player of the Year – Joseph Hill

As the Cadet awards came to an end, it was time for Coach Holt to announce his departure from the club due to work commitments and pass the Head Coaches title onto Keith Schofield.  However the Bucs couldn’t let Coach Holt step down with thanking him for all the hard work that he has put into to the Cadets over the last two years, and so they presented him with a special award.

Junior Flag Head Coach Lawrence Quinn and Defensive Coordinator Rachel Hull then stepped up to hand out the medals and awards to their players and coaches.

The winners of the 2011 Junior Flag Team were:
Rookie of the year – James Davies
Most Improved Player – Kit Varney
Offensive MVP – Jason Hoyle
Defensive MVP – Derry Holt
Players’ Players of the Year – James Schofield
Coaches Player of the Year – James Schofield

Before it was time for a break the Bucs Club Manager Ian Nicolson was to announce the Clubs second special award and make another bit of history at the Bucs. Ian announced to everyone that the Club had introduced a ‘Hall of Fame’ award and its first inductee was none other than Club Founder Paul Mather.
Although Paul has not been actively involved with the club for several years, the respect from everyone was clearly shown as he received a standing ovation on accepting his award.

After the break and the raffle, it was time for Kitted team awards presented by Head Coach Ian Nicolson, Defensive Coach Mark Balcombe and Wide Receivers Coach Phil Riley.

The winners of the 2011 Kitted Team were:
Rookie of the year – Avais Shah
Most Improved Player – Tom Lever
Offensive MVP – Matt Clayton
Defensive MVP – James Mallon & Paul Toulson
Players’ Players of the Year – Matt Holt
Coaches Player of the Year – Matt Holt

Coach Nicolson then handed out a small award to Rookie Running Back Alan Barrow for his great commitment and determination this season, and also an award to Mark Balcombe who leaves the club to go to University after giving seven years service as a player for every team and as a coach to the Kitted team for the last two years.

Before the presentation came to a close, Coach Nicolson wanted to present some special thanks awards to certain people for various things they have done for the club throughout the year, they were:
Dave Clayton, Keith Schofield and Paul Toulson (senior) -  for their hard work and contributions towards the Bucs sponsorships through the year including one of the sponsors being ‘Harley Davidson Preston’.
Ian Quinn – for all his hard work as the Bucs ‘Transport Manager’
Lee Taylor – for all his help on refereeing for the Bucs tournaments
Nathan Sharrocks & Phil Hindle – for serving the club in the media department throughout the year
The Quinn Family, the Varney Family, the Chesters Family, Ron Salerno and Grandad Oxborrow for going above and beyond in supporting the club in 2011.

And finally Coach Nicolson made the last bit of history on the day for the club by announcing another new award in the form of the ‘Club Chairman’s Award’ and announced the first ever winner of it to be Junior Flag Head Coach Lawrence Quinn for the relentless hard work that he puts in at the club and also for being an inspiration to everyone at the club.

The Bucs would like to thank EP Sports, Football America, NFLUK and the Lancashire Wolverines for their generous donations towards the raffle.

The Bucs back room staff is now working hard towards organising everything for the 2012 season. If you would like to know more about how to get involved with the club either as a player, a coach or behind the scenes them email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it