Bucs at Britbowl!

On Saturday 24th September the Chorley Buccaneers made Club history when for the first time in their eleven years existence all three teams attended the National Finals in Crystal Palace.

The Cadet flag team were to face the Coventry Jets in their semi final and started off on Offense but couldn’t advance it and so the Jets took were to take possession and try and find the endzone, but Bucs Rookie Kyle Webzell had other ideas and make a great interception to run it all the way back for a the score making it 6 – 0 to the Bucs. Webzell was in the picture again when QB Zach Christie glided the pass to him for the one point conversion making it 7 – 0.

The Jets took the field back on Offense and meant business as after two plays, they did a trick play which fooled the Bucs defense and allowed them to pass downfield to an open receiver for the score, the Jets then went on to get the one point conversion making the game tied at 7 – 7.

As both teams moved the ball well on ground and through the air, neither of them could find the endzone until Dylan Chesters made his first of two interceptions of the game and ran it back for twenty yards before being tackled. Chesters not content with not reaching the endzone, took the ball on a hand-off and dodged through several tackles to waltz into the endzone giving the Bucs the lead 13 – 7. It was the Christie / Webzell link up that got the Bucs the extra point to take the score to 14 – 7 to the Bucs.

As halftime got closer the Jets the broke through the Bucs defense and looked set to score but for the other half of the Chesters duo Joel, coming from the other side of the field to make the tackle one yard shy of the endzone to save the touchdown and to bring the game to halftime at 14 – 7 to the Bucs.

The Jets started the second half on Offense and started strong with a full length touchdown pass to their star receiver to bring the score to 14 – 13 to the Bucs. The Jets looked set to make score tied as they completed the pass on their one point conversion attempt but a great tackle by Joseph Hill stopped them just short of the score! The game now saw both teams trading possessions without scoring but showcasing some incredible talent on both sides of the ball, and it was Dylan Chesters that highlighted this talent with an amazing interception which he ran back for ten yards to give the Bucs possession.

The Bucs took the field and ran the ball effectively to run down the clock but then when they had to pass the Jets were ready and intercepted the ball for no gain. With only a couple of minutes remaining the Bucs had to dig deep on Defense to ensure their place in the final and this is exactly what they did forcing the Jets to go four and out and allow the Bucs Offense to run the clock out and put them in the Final against the Marlow Wolves.

The Final saw the Bucs face a strong Marlow team and the Bucs looked like they meant business when on the first drive Bucs QB Christie passed to Dylan Chesters for the score and then again for the one point conversion giving the Bucs a 7 – 0 lead. Marlow though composed themselves and slowly but surely got their game together on both sides of the ball to win the game 35 – 7 and be crowned National Champions 2011.

Junior Flag

The Bucs older flag team were to play against the Coventry Cougars in their semi-final game and delivered a thrilling game.

Buccaneers were the first to score with a short catch thanks to James Schofield but they missed the conversion. Cougars fought back with a fantastic long run by Kieran Mulcahy then Jordan Leith turn it into a touchdown after fooling Buccaneers with a fake hand off. The Bucs offense took the field once again led by QB Chris Varney who along with some strong running from  Running Back Jason Hoyle, got the Bucs back in the lead when Varney linked up with Schofield again to take the score 12 – 6.

As the game saw both teams take the lead several times, the Bucs offense turned into the Varney – Schofield show as they completed over a dozen receptions and put all of the Bucs twenty five points on the scoreboard.

However the twenty five points weren’t enough to win the game and the Bucs lost in a heartbreaking finish which saw the Cougars clinch the win by one point to win 26 – 25 and end the Bucs dreams of being crowned the National Champions.

Kitted

The Kitted team who were attending the National Finals for their fourth consecutive time, were to face off against the unbeaten Woodham Warriors. The Bucs started with the ball and drove the ball well on the ground with Running Backs Matt Holt and James Mallon gaining some good yards to put the Bucs six yards away from the endzone. A good fake saw the Warriors bite on the run and enable QB Ben McNally hit Wide Receiver Tom Salerno in the endzone to give the Bucs a 6 – 0 lead. McNally then made a great pass to Holt for the one point conversion to take the score to 7 – 0.

Warriors came out on Offense and faced a very strong and pumped up Bucs defense who led by Cornerback Paul Toulson immediately shut them down to the give the Bucs the ball back. The Bucs Offense picked up from where they left off and ran the ball hard at the Warriors defense soon finding themselves down near the Warriors endzone. McNally again sold a great fake and found team captain Matt Clayton in the endzone to take the score to 13 – 0 to the Bucs and leaving the Warriors stunned.

The Warriors though dusted themselves off and drove the ball downfield to score just before half time and then get a two point conversion to make it 13 – 8. The second half saw the Warriors come out strong and ready to prove why they had been unbeaten all season, a quick start on Offense saw them soon find the endzone and take the lead 14 – 13.

The Bucs seemed to drop their heads and couldn’t move the ball on Offense as they had done in the first half and so the Warriors to possession once again. The Bucs  defense stepped back up though and the two teams traded possession back and forth and it wasn’t until towards the end of the game when the Warriors manage to deliver a deadly blow and score through the air to seal the win 20 – 13.

The Bucs then had to play the London Warriors for the playoff place game and started on Defense. The Warriors moved the ball effectively with their Running Back and soon found the endzone and went 6 – 0 up. The Bucs though came out on offense with all guns blazing pounded the Blitz defense with their running game and it was Fullback James Mallon that broke two tackles and ran twenty yards for to tie the game 6 – 6.

The Blitz offense retook the field but failed to generate anything productive against a strong Bucs defense and were forced to turn possession back to the Bucs. It took the Bucs just two plays to find the endzone with Mallon  once again breaking tackles ran a homeward bound but this time for thirty five yards putting the Bucs 12 – 6 up. Quarterback McNally added the one point conversion to increase the Bucs lead 13 – 6.

The Blitz though using their strong running back managed to grind the Bucs defense and once again found the endzone and then get a two point conversion taking the score 13 – 14 to the Bucs.

With halftime closing in the score looked to be set not to move until some amazing blocking from Wide Receiver Chris Slessor allowed fullback Mallon to not only reach over 100 yards rushing in the game but also get his third touchdown of the day and increase the Bucs lead to 19 – 14 at halftime.

The Second half saw a fired up Blitz offense come out onto the field and once again using their star play gain ground towards the endzone and add another touchdown to his tally and give the Blitz the lead 20 – 19. The game then saw both teams swap possessions until QB McNally drew all the Blitz defense in and then hit Receiver Tom Salerno with a perfect pass who then breezed into the endzone to give the Bucs lead 25 – 20 with less than five minutes remaining!

As the clock dwindled down the Bucs were punished with a harsh penalty which put the Blitz just two yards outside of the endzone in which saw them take advantage and add six points to the scoreboard as the lead once again changed hands back to the Blitz 26 – 25. The Bucs took the field once again but were unable to make it count and the ball was handed back to the Blitz with less than two minutes remaining!

Some amazing tackling and the Bucs taking their timeouts, the Blitz were unable to run out the clock and so the Bucs were given one last chance to score with just thirty-eight seconds left. QB McNally hit Captain Clayton on a ten yard pass but he couldn’t get out of bounds to stop the clock, so the Bucs ran to the line and snapped the ball, as McNally checked down his receivers he found Mallon open and got the ball to him for a twenty yard gain. Mallon trying to fight his way to the endzone was  tackled just one yard short and with just ten seconds remaining  the Bucs ran back to the line, and as Offensive Assistant Coach Greg Adam shouted in plays which confused the Blitz defense and caused them to call a timeout giving the Bucs one last lifeline.

As the Bucs took the field for these last three second it seemed like everything was in slow motion until the McNally snapped the ball and hit a wide open Team Captain Matt Clayton for the one yard pass and gave the Bucs the win 31 – 26 sending the Bucs sideline into a frenzy.

The Bucs then played the Balby Carr Mustangs in a small last game in which they lost to finish 6th in the standings, but for the Bucs it was more about getting the players game time and rookies Alan Barrow and Sam Thompson certainly stepped up to the plate during the game on both sides of the ball. However the game took a turn for the worst when QB McNally took a thunderous hit causing him a severe concussion to put a damper on the day.

After the games Kitted Head Coach and Club Manager Ian Nicolson said “Firstly I am immensely proud of what my team has done today, the performances they have put in throughout their three games could not of made me prouder and I couldn’t of asked for more. Secondly and more importantly as Club Manager, to have all three teams here today making club history really does make me the proudest club manager in the country and every player and coach should be proud of what they have achieved this season.” 
 
Bucs Flag Tournament 2 Report

On Saturday 28th May the Bucs flag teams travelled down to the Tudor Grange Leisure Centre in Solihull to take another step of trying to make the National Finals. Both the Bucs teams had a little added pressure of being undefeated with the juniors being 5 – 0 and the Cadets being 3 – 0 from the first tournament.

Juniors Flag

The Juniors faced the Coventry Jets first and both teams struggled to move the ball effectively and after eighteen minutes the game remained scoreless, until Bucs rookie James Davies who was making his debut made a great read and intercepted a sweep and ran it back six yards for the first score of the day making it 6 – 0 to the Bucs. However the Jets were ready to strike back and after a lot of missed tackles, the Jets ran in for a full length Touchdown to bring the score to 6 – 6 at halftime.

The Bucs started on offense in the second half and came out looking more like the Bucs that we know, on the second play of the game QB and Captain Chris Varney hit Running Back Jason Hoyle on a swing who then turned on the burners and ran the full length of the field for a score. The extra point was no good again and so the score was 12 – 6 to the Bucs. The Bucs who seemed now to be fired up took the field on defense and made an immediate effect with James Schofield getting an interception and returning it for a touchdown but again the extra point was no good making it 18 – 6 to the Bucs.

The Jets however still weren’t ready to let this game slip out of their grasp and after a few change of possessions the Jets drove downfield and managed to find the endzone and get the extra point to bring the game to 18 – 13 to the Bucs. The game continued to, to-and-fro in who had possession but the with some great running from Davies and Hoyle the Bucs found themselves in the Jets half of the field and Varney linked up with receiver Schofield who ran in for 10 yards for the score to make it 24 – 13 in the which the game stayed at.

The junior’s second game was against the Studley Bearcats and the Bucs showed no mercy and blew them away very early on.  On the offensive side of the ball Varney linked up with Rookie Ben Welch, Schofield twice and Davies all for touchdowns, as well as hitting Derry Holt, Jason Hoyle and Rookie Miles Hull all for conversions. Running backs Davies and Hoyle also ran in for a score each.

On the Defensive side of the ball it seemed that they were trying to outshine the Offense with Hoyle and Davies both getting a ‘Pick 6’ along with Welch and Hoyle getting interceptions for small gains.

The Bearcats however didn’t give up the fight and did get 13 points on the board but near the end of the game a bad snap resulted in a safety leaving making the final score 54 – 13 to the Bucs who were now 7 – 0!

The Bucs met their new rivals the London Blitz in the final and this game wasn’t like the last one encounter which had hearts racing to the final whistle. Missed tackles and interceptions cost the Bucs highly and the Blitz managed to win the game 39 – 6 giving the Bucs their first loss of the year and meaning that they finished second on the day but with a great record of 7 -1.

Cadets

The Cadets travelled down without a couple of key players in Zach Christie and Josh Kinsella but they showed the same Bucs spirit that they had in the previous tournament. The cadets were also sporting their new jerseys which had the new sponsor of the Preston based 'Harley Davidson' on them.

The cadets faced the Coventry Jets first who they only just beat 13 – 12 in the first tournament. In the first half Dylan Chesters who was making his debut did some great running and got himself a full length run for a touchdown as did fellow running back Andrew Carr. Joseph Hill who was stepping in at QB while Christie was away did a great job of pinpointing passes to get both conversions for two points giving the Bucs a 16 – 0 lead. Poor tackling however cost the Bucs and the Jets were soon in the game with it ending 16 – 6 at the half.

The second half saw the Jets dominate in the running game with poor tackling again from the Bucs saw the Jets go up 24 – 16. The Bucs got it back though and a great full length drive with Hill connecting with receiver Aaron Oxborrow several times eventually in the endzone saw the Bucs take the score to 24 – 22 to the Jets. However this would be the only score the Bucs would get in the second half as the Jets pulled away with another two touchdowns to give the cadets their first loss of the year with the final score being 36 – 22 to the Jets.

The cadets last game of the day would be against the Marlow Wolves who were a far better team than their last encounter and the Bucs found themselves 13 – 0 down ten minutes into the game. Some strong running though from Dylan Chesters  saw the cadets draw the game closer as he ran in from half way to make it 13 – 6 to the Wolves, however the Wolves soon struck back to get another touchdown to pull away 18 – 6.

As Dylan Chester had set the example it was time for his younger brother Joel to show how to run the football and ran the full length of the field to make his debut with scoring ways. Hill connected with Carr who made a great diving catch to get the extra point and bring the first half to a close with the score at 18 – 13 to the Marlow Wolves.

The second half saw both team trade possession of the ball for the first ten minutes but then Joel Chesters again showed his speed and ran the full length of the field for his second time of the game to make it 18 – 19 to the Bucs giving them the lead for the first time in the game. It wasn’t to last for long though as the Wolves found their favourite receiver again who got is fourth touchdown of the game and took the Wolves back into the lead of 24 – 19.

The last 5 minutes of the game proved to be both exciting and nervous as the Bucs took the lead back with Hill passing to Oxborrow over the middle who plucked the ball out of the air, making the Wolves safety and cornerback collide giving Oxborrow a free run for 20 yards to score making it 25 – 24. The Bucs defense managed to shut down the Wolves offense several times with Oxborrow and Dylan Chesters making great plays against the Wolves aerial attack, however with 56 seconds left in the game, the Wolves managed to complete a pass to their star player who then ran the full length of the field to give the Wolves the lead 30 – 25.

The Bucs had a great final drive getting within thirteen yards of the  endzone but just couldn’t get that final score and so the Wolves won 30 – 25, giving the Bucs Cadets their second loss of the day and  putting their record at 3 – 2 of the season.

The Bucs next tournament is on Saturday 11th June at the Tudor Grange Leisure Centre and all support is greatly appreciated.
Last Updated on Monday, 30 May 2011 16:18
 
Bucs Kitted Tournament 2 Report

On Saturday 14th May the Bucs Kitted travelled down to Coventry to compete in their second tournament of the season. The Bucs whose record stood at 1 – 2 for the season needed to chalk up some wins to keep themselves in the race for the National Finals.

The Bucs were to face Balby Mustangs first and after a couple of traded possessions it was the Mustangs that would score first after what looked to be an incomplete pass was deemed to land on the ankles of one of the players and was picked up by a Mustang who ran in for the score to put them 6 – 0 up. The Bucs seemed to be able to move the ball but couldn’t get it into the endzone throughout the first half and Balby had the next score with a small run putting them 12 – 0 in the lead to finish the half.

The second half saw a different Bucs side come out and great running from Captain Matt Holt saw them move the ball up field but still not managing to find the endzone. The Bucs defense also managed to keep the Mustangs in their own half and it the next score would come when a fumbled Bucs snap was recovered by running back Avais Shah but he was tackling the endzone for a safety increasing the Bucs lead 14 – 0.

As the time was dwindling down the Bucs started drive up the field and found themselves in the no run zone, when QB Ben McNally connected for a two yard touchdown with newest Buccaneer James Mallon who was making his debut. The extra point was no good and the Bucs were now behind 14 – 6. As Balby restarted the game inside the last two minutes of the game a big error saw them fumble the ball and James Mallon now make a play on defense pouncing on the ball to give the Bucs possession once again.

Running back Holt who had been solid all game on the ground now showed just how good he was as turned on the speed and ran in  from 8 yards out to bring the Bucs within two points of being level. Coach Nicolson had no choice but to go for two points and an absolute perfect pass from McNally saw Holt make a superb diving catch in the endzone to bring the score to 14 – 14 with just thirty six seconds left in the game. The Defense seemed to be stepping it up getting the Mustangs to third down with just twelve seconds left, when a great play call so the Mustangs run a full length touchdown to win the game 20 – 14 and give the Bucs a heartbreaking loss after such a comeback.

 

The deflated Bucs had to move on though as they were up against the Chester Romans who beat them in the first tournament of the season. The Bucs weren’t looking for the same result though and proof of this came on the first play when Matt Bowker got an Interception and returned it for 15 yards and put the Bucs inside the no-run zone. QB McNally didn’t mess around either and passed to his favourite target of the day Mallon for an easy two yard touchdown giving the Bucs the lead of 6 – 0.

The Romans took the ball and after a strong run a strong tackle by Mallon saw Captain Tom Salerno dive on it to give the Bucs the ball back. Once again they didn’t mess around and superb running from Ben Shedwick saw him drive the ball down field and then finish the drive off by running in for an eight yard touchdown to give the Bucs a lead of 12 – 0.

As the Romans started the drive, poor passing gave the Bucs vice captain Paul Toulson get his first interception of the year and run it back for five yards to allow the Bucs offense to take control again. Small runs from Shah and Holt put the ball closer towards the Romans endzone and then McNally struck again connecting with receiver Salerno for a six yard touchdown to increase the Bucs lead to 18 – 0.

As the first half dwindled down and the Romans took the field once again to try and get a productive drive, linebacker Mallon had other ideas and got a sack for a safety to make it 20 – 0 to the Bucs. The Bucs however would cost themselves a clean-sheet and after two false starts a bad snap meant that running back Holt had to collect it in the endzone to give the Romans a safety and bring the score to 20 – 2 to the Bucs and to end the first half.

The Second half saw a very defense dominated game with no team adding any points throughout it and the only highlights being an interception from Holt who ran it back for a touchdown but for it to be called back for a block in the back, and then when Mallon got his second forced fumble of the game which was recovered by Holt who seemed to be everywhere on the field. The final score was 20 – 2 making the Bucs 1 – 1 on the day.

 

The Bucs final was against the Coventry Jets who were yet to win a game, and the Bucs weren’t ready to let that happen.  The Bucs started with the ball and strong running from Holt and passed from McNally to Mallon found the Bucs within 1 yard of the Jets endzone. McNally connected with Mallon again to get the six points and then connected with Holt for an extra point to make the score 7 – 0. The Bucs defense took the field and had no problems shutting down the Jets offense to let the Bucs go on the attack again, and they didn’t disappoint with more strong running from Holt and then from Mallon who got his second touchdown of the game with a nine yard run, and McNally got the extra point this time connecting with Salerno in the corner to make it 14 – 0 to the Bucs.

The Jets took the field but once again could not produce anything except for a near completion for a first down when cornerback Paul Toulson came in with a crunching hit to force the incompletion and let the Bucs Offense once again take the field. Yet again they were quick to strike with McNally passing to Mallon for five yards who then broke two tackles and out ran the rest of the Jets defense to make it hat-trick of Touchdowns for him. McNally passed to another former Bulldog in the form of Chris Slessor who was also making his debut as a Buc and got himself the one point conversion to take the score to 21 – 0 to the Bucs.

As the half drew to a close the Jets managed to drive the ball forward with some strong running which eventually found them the endzone for their first score of the game bringing the score to 21 – 6 and to end the first half.

As the second half got underway both teams traded drives and the Jets looked like they were about to score when the Jets QB Tom Clancy passed to Center Andy Mepstead who looked like he was about to get into the endzone when cornerback made a great tackle around the legs, holding up Mepstead who was hammered to the floor by star of the day Mallon to stop him short and end the Jets drive.

The Bucs offense took the field and drove downfield with their running game and then McNally lofted a nice eighteen yard pass over the top to Holt to put the Bucs further in front. McNally then connected with running back Shah for the one point conversion to make the score 28 – 6 to the Bucs. The next Jets drive was soon to be ended when Toulson got his second interception of the day but this time returning it twenty six yards and evading tackles on his way to the endzone for a ‘Pick 6’. The extra point this time was unsuccessful with McNally connecting with Alan Barrow who was stopped a yard shy of the goal-line to bring the score to 34 – 6 to the Bucs.

Once again the Jets who were obviously deflated took the field on offense but found themselves again in trouble when linebacker Alex Burrell held up the Jets running back long enough for Matt Bowker to come in rip the ball out and return it for five yards before being brought down. As the Bucs super confident offense took the field, it looked like the Jets had got their hands on QB McNally when he managed to lob it over his shoulder to none other than James Mallon who then ran twenty yards to add another touchdown to his already impressive total and make the score 40 – 6.

With two minutes left the Jets took the field and trying to run down the clock but actually found themselves gaining yards and eventually getting into the endzone as well as adding the extra point to make it 40 – 13.

And so with just thirteen seconds left on the clock the Bucs finished the game with QB McNally showing just his talent and making a beautiful precision thirty five yard pass to find Salerno in the endzone and to finish the game 46 – 13. This brought the Bucs record to 2 – 1 and season total of 3 – 3.

 

Their next tournament is on Saturday 9th July at Chorley RUFC and the Bucs would love everyone to get down and support them as they try to repeat last season’s home tournament performance of going unbeaten.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 June 2011 14:07
 
Bucs proud to announce new sponsor

Harley Davidson Banner

The Chorley Buccaneers are extremely proud to announce that they have acquired a new sponsor from Harley Davidson Preston.

The Bucs who have been trying to gain new sponsors for the last few months were very excited to receive this news from the 'Bowker Group' company, that they would like to support the Bucs using their Harley Davidson dealership in Preston.

Bowker's Group Marketing Manager Amy Uphill said "This is something we’d be delighted to back, and I thought it would be very fitting to feature our Harley-Davidson dealership in Preston."

On receiving the news Club Manager Ian Nicolson said "this is fantastic news for us and could not of come at a better time for us. We are in really need for some new jerseys for all of our teams and getting Bowker's support and with something else in the pipeline, this could be looking very promising for us to do and gives us a great start to our 2011 season."

Although when asked about what the 'something else' was, Coach Nicolson refused to leak any details.

Please click the Harley Davidson banner at the top of this article to view their website or visit our Sponsors page.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 09 February 2011 11:12
 
Council project proves to be a great success for the Bucs

Coach Quinn & Coach Hull with the players

Back in December the Chorley Buccaneers teamed up with Chorley Council to work on an indoor American Football project called TouchDown, which introduced the sport to youngsters aged 8 - 14 but due to the adverse weather though the Bucs had to cancel the last session and so it was rescheduled for the Saturday 29th January. So with last Saturday being the first official Saturday after the project of finished, the Bucs were delighted to see not one, not two, but three brand new members who had all attended the TouchDown project.

Cadet Flag Head Coach Mark Holt said "This is fantastic for not only our cadet team but also our Club, as it really shows just how much fun the likes of Coach Quinn and Coach Hull made the sessions in order for us to gain so many players from it. Although these are new players, you can tell that they have been coached basics skills and this will really help them in settling into the team easier."

The Bucs who are now into their 2011 season training will be teaming up with Chorley Council again every Monday from March 14th for five weeks, in delivering a second TouchDown Project at Clayton Green Sports Centre from 6pm - 8pm.

For more information contact the Chorley Buccaneers on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Touch Down 2 Poster
Last Updated on Thursday, 03 February 2011 00:33
 
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