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1998 Season | |
Fixtures & Results 1998
Match Reports
Full Team Stats for 1998 Season
League Stats and Standings 1998
| Pre Season | W/L | For | Agst | |||
| 22 Feb | Clydesdale Colts | H | Won | 20 | 0 | |
| 29 Mar | Strathclyde Sheriffs | A | Won | 40 | 0 | |
| Easter | Amsterdam Euro-Tournament | A | Won all games and the Championship for the 2nd successive year. | |||
| Regular Season (all home games K.O 2.00pm) | ||||||
| 19 Apr | Free | |||||
| 26 Apr | Staffordshire Surge | A | Postponed to Aug 2 | |||
| 03 May | Merseyside Nighthawks | H | Won | 24 | 8 | |
| 10 May | Free | |||||
| 17 May | Birmingham Bulls | H | Lost | 13 | 46 | |
| 24 May | Sheffield Saxons | A | Lost | 14 | 33 | |
| 31 May | Nottingham Caesars | H | Lost | 21 | 33 | |
| 7 Jun | Free | |||||
| 14 Jun | Merseyside Nighthawks | A | Won | 27 | 8 | |
| 21 Jun | Sheffield Saxons | H | Lost | 6 | 36 | |
| 28 Jun | Free | |||||
| 05 Jul | Staffordshire Surge | H | Postponed - awarded | |||
| 12 Jul | Birmingham Bulls | A | Lost | 0 | 51 | |
| 19 Jul | Nottinghamshire Caesars | A | Won | 28 | 13 | |
| 26 Jul | Visiting US team (non league) | H | Lost | 6 | 27 | |
| 2 Aug | Staffordshire Surge | A | Cancelled | |||
| Post season/playoffs | ||||||
| 25 Oct | Hilversum Hurricanes | H | W | 22 | 8 | |
| | ||||||
| Regular Season Standings | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Lost | % |
| 8+2 | 3+2 | 5 | 50% |
Regular Season
Gateshead Senators 1 at 0 Staffordshire Surge - Conceded game
Gateshead Senators 24 - 8 Merseyside Nighthawks
Gateshead Senators 13 - 46 Birmingham Bulls
Sheffield Saxons 33 - 14 Gateshead Senators
Gateshead Senators 21 - 33 Nottinghamshire Caesars
Merseyside Nighthawks 8 - 27 Gateshead Senators
Gateshead Senators 6 - 36 Sheffield Saxons
Refs douse Senators' Fixture
Birmingham Bulls 51 - 0 Gateshead Senators
Nottinghamshire Caesars 13 - 28 Gateshead Senators
Post Season
Gateshead Senators 6 - 27 American Touring Team
Senators Still Buzzing
Gateshead Senators 22 - 8 Hilversum Hurricanes
Gateshead Senators started the long road back to exceeding their semi-final appearance of last season with a pre-season shut out win on Sunday against Clydesdale Colts at the International Stadium.
Both teams were using the occasion to try out new plays and players and this showed at times in the play, particularly in the first quarter where both teams started by going 3 and out. Gradually, the Senators began to establish control of the running game with hard defense stopping the Colts up the middle, while the new Senators O line did a good job of breaking rushers Tim Watton and Mickey Thompson free for a succession of good gains, as top rusher Duncan French, injured in college football, encouraged from the sidelines. The rawness of the Senators O line showed with a couple of sacks of top passer Lee Fraser early in the second period, but the Colts were not allowed to repeat this. Despite gains made, holding penalties halted several Gateshead drives. But the Senators' pressure was rewarded when Mickey Thompson scored from four yards, with David Nimmins making the 2 point catch from Fraser.
The second half opened in style with John Hartley's 64 yard TD catch from Fraser to extend the lead to 14-0. Newcomers made their mark with Noel Park now at QB showing his talent with a pin point 42 yard strike to Peter Carr in traffic. In the fourth quarter, Park struck again, this time to John Hartley in the endzone for the final 20-0 score.
Credit too must be given to the Senators' defense, who contained the running game of the Colts and limited their passing game with Coach Buttery's new defensive scheme. Ian Storey had two interceptions which helped allow the Colts a mere 70 yards of offense.
Special teams did well too, and would have scored with a spectacular kick return by Alec Unsworth which was, however, called back.
Touchback!
The scoring started with league top passer Lee Fraser's 25 yd dart to Kev Ramsay, but the conversion failed. John Hartley's scoring interception return was called back. In the second period, Gateshead's new goal-line offense scheme paid off with a James Waite 1 yard run, followed by Waite catching the conversion to bring the half time score to 14-0.
The dominating Defense added to the score when pressure led to a Strathclyde punt snap going high over the punter into the endzone in the third quarter, but it was the final period which was the most productive in terms of Senators' scores. John Harrison took it in from 3 yards out, John Hartley made a 45 yard scoring interception return which this time was not flagged away, rookie Pete Eichornn caught a 4 yard score from Gary Marshall, now at QB for Fraser who had a hurt knee, and Alec Unsworth went 65 yards for the score on an end around.
The Senators' defense harassed the Scots all day, limiting them to about 20 yards passing and 40 on the ground, with James Waite, Steven Green, John Lockhart, Mikey Rumney all sacking the Sheriff QB, while the Senators' "O" line did not permit a sack of Fraser or Marshall, and Marshall was never called upon to punt all day.
29 March, 1998
Touchback!
After a 28-8 victory over the Steelers from Holland, the Gateshead Senators are through to the Easter Sunday final in Amsterdam against Hilversum in defence of their European title. The Gateshead scores came all on the second half, after a 0-0 scoreline at the half.
Alex Unsworth opened the account with kick off return to paydirt, followed by a James Waite 2 point conversion run. Top rusher Duncan French also scored, and then Unsworth again, this time on an end around play. Kev Ramsay added a touchdown catch from Gary Marshall, with Waite adding the conversion.
The defence held firm once again and looked to score yet another shut out, but the Steelers managed to get just one past them, with a 2pt conversion.
Sunday's final is a rematch of last year's final against Hilversum Hurricanes when the Senators took the crown with a 16-14 win. Coach Gary Marshall said, "We are looking forward to the game tomorrow and know it will be a hard game, but we are confident."
Gateshead Senators, the north east's American football team, have retained their European title in a thrilling Easter Sunday rematch of last year's final against Hilversum Hurricanes, winning by the narrowest of margins in the dying seconds of the game.
Gateshead opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 27 yard Duncan French run from a counter play, but the conversion failed. Hilversum's reply was to intercept Gateshead QB Gary Marshall and return it for the score, adding a two point conversion to give the Hurricanes the 8-6 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, each team fought for the edge to give them another score, but it was late in the fourth quarter when the Senators' defense saved the game with a tremendous 4 down goal line stand on the 2 yard line which ended when Dave Wilson sacked the Dutch QB.
Inside the final two minutes, Gateshead were left with 92 yards to go, which with Marshall at the helm, and a deep option pass by Duncan French, the Senators executed a classic two minute drill drive for John Harrison on an end around to get the Senators to the Hurricanes' 23 yard line with just five seconds left on the clock. With Duncan French standing in as long snapper and Gary "Bear" McNaughton standing in as holder, Gary Marshall's left foot was good for the 40 yard field goal to win the championship 9-8 as time ran out.
The trophy, renamed after the mother of Dutch born Senator DB Wimmy van Tergouw, was presented to Gary Marshall as Head Coach in an emotional ceremony.
The Senators return home once again as champions ready to start their domestic campaign on April 26 away to Staffordshire. The first home game at the International Stadium is on May 3rd against Merseyside.
Touchback!
The Gateshead Senators game away on Sunday 26 April was cancelled. Club Chairman and Head Coach Gary Marshall received a phone call at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday informing him that the game could not go ahead.
Contacts at Staffordshire said that the ambulance organisation phoned and cancelled on Saturday night at about 21:30, leaving no chance of a replacement.
While this gives Gateshead a league "win" on the basis of a conceded game, it also leaves the club with a major headache in that there is a large bill for the team bus still to pay.
Club Secretary and Executive Director Bill Gibson said, "It's early days, but we will be looking into it as a matter of urgency. In the meantime we must get on and prepare for next week's first home game of the season against Merseyside at Gateshead Stadium."
26 April 1998
Touchback!
Merseyside got off to a flying start by recovering their own kick off at Gateshead's 3 yard line, and Franco Colangeli carried the ball in on the next play to give the visitors an instant 6 point lead. The remainder of the first quarter remained scoreless while the game developed into a battle between defenses, with the teams trading punts.
Early in the second period, John Harrison's tenacious running paid off with a 6 yard run to equalise. The Nighthawks retook the lead when a bad snap for a Senators' punt went straight past Gary Marshall and through the endzone for a safety, making the score 8-6 to Merseyside. With 38 seconds left in the half, the game was suspended for over half an hour because of an injury to Nighthawk's DB Richard Dillon.
At the start of the third quarter, Senator DB Dave Wilson got his second pick off of the day from Merseyside QB Dave Robinson which led directly to Duncan French's 31 yard touchdown run to give the home team a 12-8 lead. Against mounting pressure from the Gateshead defense, the Nighthawks were unable to capitalise on the possessions, despite Simon Baker managing to sack Senator QB Lee Fraser twice. Steve Wooton followed up with a 4 yard scoring catch from Fraser to lift the lead to 18-8. Dave Wilson stopped two more Merseyside drives with another interception and a fumble recovery.
In the fourth quarter, Duncan French, who had 145 yards for the game, scored again on a four yard run. Nighthawk hopes of a further score were snuffed by Ian Storey's interception, thus the final score was 24-8.
Post game hospitality was at the Fog and Firkin in Newcastle where it was announced that the Game MVP was Dave Wilson, Offense MVP was John Harrison and Defense MVP was the defensive line.
3 May 1998
Touchback!
|
| Duncan French |
Early in the second quarter, the Senators were again unable to stop the run when Alex Zitizen ran in from 19 yards out, with Mark Cohen pulling down the 2 pointer. Cohen put the Bulls 20 points up before the half with a 50 yard scoring catch.
|
| Marshall kicks the extra point from Lee Fraser's hold |
|
| Amed Hashim helps boost the Bulls' lead |
Defensive Coach Chip Buttery said, "We failed totally today to stop the run, but we have analysed where we were caught out, and will put matters right."
Head Coach Gary Marshall said, "Today we lacked co-ordination. We have the skills and the talent, but we need to regain the discipline of working as a team. The Bulls found our weak spots and used them to the full. This hurts, as I know we are a better team than the way we played today."
Gateshead travel away next Sunday to meet the Sheffield Saxons, by which time it is promised, lessons will have been learnt.
17 May 1998
Touchback!
|
| Gio Visconi chased by Peter Eichorn |
|
| Malcolm Parker kicks the PAT |
|
| Duncan French breaks the shutout with a 6 yard run |
|
| Ian "Bonce" Storey on a 39 yard kick off return. |
24 May 1998
Touchback!
|
| Duncan French weaves through the defense. |
|
| Caesar's QB Gary Sharp rolls out |
The second half opened with a Lee Fraser 36 yard scoring pass to Duncan French, with Marshall adding the PAT, narrowing the gap to 5 points. But Nottinghamshire responded in kind with Gary Sharp's 42 yard scoring pass to Gary Stainton which, with Oliver's PAT, stretched the lead again to 14-26.
Early in the fourth period, Tim Watton's 2 yard run with Marshall's kick reduced the deficit to 5 points once more.
|
| Wimmy van Tergouw makes the tackle |
Senators Head Coach Gary Marshall said, "We simply didn't click today. We have a free week next week before playing at Merseyside on 14th June, and we will be working to put things right."
31 May 1998
Touchback!
|
|
| Duncan French, 138 yards in 1st half. |
In the second quarter the Senators D sacked the Mersey QB three times and when the 'O' took over, a play action end-around allowed QB Fraser to find WR Guy Wilby( 3 for 73,1 TD) with a 31yd TD pass to record the wideout's first TD in his BSL career, Marshall added the PAT to extend the lead to 21 - 0 at the half.
In the 3rd Q Senators' RB French was rested as he had picked up a slight knock and Micky Thompson took over at tailback and with good blocking from FB Tim Watton, normal service was resumed, many other Senators players had to play both ways as the depleted Squad were without many usual starters and everyone pitched in to help.
While the 'D' kept up the pressure on the Nighthawks and were restricting them to small gains, the 'O' led by Fraser (16 passes for 241yds, 2TDs and 2 ints) increased the lead when he hit Rich Holmes in the EZ from 34 yds out, his first Senators' score. The 2pt option pass to Waite was tipped away by a Nighthawks DB.
Finally in the 4th Q the home side scored after recovering a Senators fumble inside the 10 , this following a great goal line stand when the Gateshead 'D' had kept the Nighthawks out from 1st and goal on the 5! Home side RB Franco Collangeli burst over from the 2 and Phil McGrath took in the 2 pointer, making the final score 27 - 8 to the Senators.
In a game where everyone contributed, especially the makeshift 'O' line marshalled by regulars Gary 'Bear' McNaughton and Graham Norris, the MVP awards went to;-
Match Report by Gary Marshall
14 June 1998
Touchback!
In the second quarter, the Gateshead 'D' withstood a four down goal line stand, and a later Mickey Thompson fumble recovery gave Gateshead possession yet again, but they had to punt, at which a bad snap gave Sheffield the ball inside the Gateshead 10,and two plays later, Paul Tiggardine increased the tally with an 11 yard TD run bringing the half time score to 22 - 0.
Tiggardine made the only score in the third quarter with a 44 yard run, with Parker's kick adding the PAT.
In the fourth, after John Flynn intercepted Lee Fraser leading to Rick Kennedy's run in from the 3 yard line, followed again by a Parker PAT to bring the score to 36 - 0. Sheffield were denied the shutout in the final two minutes when Gateshead at last showed some of their offensive form with a long pass to Kev Ramsay, followed by a 49 yard Lee Fraser pass to Rich Holme for a consolation touchdown.
Head Coach Gary Marshall said, "This is the worst I have seen us play. We were a collection of individuals for much of the time, not a team. This season we have missed key linemen, key receivers and Mal Armstrong at linebacker."
21 June 1998
Touchback!
|
| Senators blown off by BAFRA |
Earlier in the season, the Senators' game at Staffordshire was called off by Surge the night before, leaving Gateshead with a booked bus company to placate.
Gary Marshall said, "At the moment I do not know when/if we will play Staffs at home. Apparently they do not even have a home ground at present and we may play them in Chester." He indicated that he would be contacting the League seeking clarification.
Rescheduling games creates problems for the Senators as Gateshead Stadium is a well used venue and may not be available for alternate dates as the athletics season gets into full swing, meaning that home games may have to be played elsewhere.
Gateshead are due to travel to meet the Birmingham Bulls on 12 July.
30 June 1998
Touchback!
One bright moment of the game was that Duncan French put in enough yardage to exceed 1000 yards for the season so far, having played in 6 of the 7 games played so far, and having not played for all of those six - a remarkable achievement by this talented rusher.
Gateshead travel away gain next week (July 19) to meet Nottinghamshire Caesars.
15 July 1998
Touchback!
Gateshead Senators returned to winning form on Sunday (July 19) just a week after suffering a shutout at the hands of Birmingham with a 28-13 win at Nottingham.
Nottingham opened the scoring with a 7 yard keeper by quarterback Gary Stainton to give a 6 pointb lead, but at the end of the first quarter, top rusher Duncan French went in from the 2 yard line, which with James Waite's 2 point catch from Lee Fraser, gave Gateshead a one point advantage.
|
| John Harrison darts through the defense. |
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| Gary Marshall kicks under pressure. |
But Gateshead's hold on the game was retained with Duncan French adding and 11 yard scoring run to his tally, Marshall's kick bringing the final score to 28 - 13.
Next Sunday, Gateshead take time off from the league to stage an exhibition game at Gateshead Stadium against an American touring team.
19 July 1998
Touchback!
Duncan French again was a principal yard gainer, but it was last week's hero Tim Watton who broke the Americans' shut out record with a 12 yard run. The Senators came close to adding to the score a couple of times, but just couldn't punch it in.
This appears to be the Senators' last game for a while, as Staffordshire Surge have informed Senators' Chairman Gary Marshall that they cannot fulfil the postponed fixtures. Gateshead will be putting in a claim to the league for the award of both Surge games.
28 July 1998
Touchback!
That was the score at the end of the 1st quarter. In the 2nd quarterGateshead had chances to go further ahead but could not quite punch it in and Hilversum intercepted Marshall following a big hit from the blindside just as the ball was being released. Hilversum could not make anything of their possession as Senators D was playing well marshalled as usual by Steve Wooton. A turn over on downs gave the Senators the ball back with under 2mins and no time outs. Fraser now in at QB led a drive culminating in a run from French from the 30 and leaving defenders grabbing at thin air he weaved his way in for the score. The 2pt attempt was no good and at the half it was 14-0.
Hilversum came out fighting in the second half and reduced the deficit following some strong running from their Fullback who ran over two Defenders on his way to the endzone, the two point pass was good to make the score 14 - 8. That was the last time the Hurricanes troubled the Senators as the D was dominant with Wooton, Walker and Wilson to the fore.
In the shortened 4th quarter. (as the Hurricanes had to leave for Dover!) Fraser completed the scoring with a 50yd long bomb to rookie wideout Dave Pollard for his first TD as a Senator. The two point pass to James Waite was good and the clock ran out on Hilversum on their next drive.
The Senators presented the Hurricanes with an engraved salver to mark the occasion in the Fog and Firkin on the previous night. Battle will be resumed in Hilversum next Easter at the annual Tournament.
25 October 1998.
Touchback!
Gateshead International Senators
Full Stats for 1998 Season
Regular Season (8/10 games)
NB The Senators were able to play only 8 games, as Staffordshire Surge were unable to play home or away.
OFFENSE GAMES .. 8
ATMPTS COMPS YARDS INT AVE SACKS TDS
PASSING
FRASER 172 63 950 10 15.1 25 7
RUSHING
FRENCH 176 1218 6.9 10
HARRISON 30 175 5.8 1
WATTON 34 211 6.2 2
UNSWORTH 7 24 3.4
THOMPSON 10 23 2.3
RUMNEY 6 18 3.0
RECEPTIONS
FRENCH 9 189 21.0 1
HARRISON 1 2 2.0
RAMSAY 11 131 11.9
WOOTON 1 5 5.0 1
EICHHORN 1 7 7.0
WAITE 10 79 7.9
HARTLEY 3 46 15.3
THOMPSON 4 49 12.2 1
WILBY 4 82 20.5 1
WILSON 6 85 14.1
HOLMES 11 245 22.2 2
UNSWORTH 1 20 20.0
WATTON 1 12 12.0 1
KICK OFFS
MARSHALL 35 1728 49.3
K/OFF RTN
STOREY I 7 171 24.4
UNSWORTH 5 100 20.0
RAMSAY 1 11 11.0
HOLMES 5 40 8.0
WATTON 1 20 20.0
THOMPSON 2 27 13.5
FRENCH 3 54 18.0
EICHHORN 1 8 8.0
POLLARD 1 6 6.0
PUNTS
MARSHALL 19 757 39.8
PUNT RTN
UNSWORTH 3 69 23.0
EICHHORN 1 7 7.0
THOMPSON 1 17 17.0
PATS ATMPTS GOOD PTS
1 PT.
MARSHALL 12 9 9
2 PT.
FRENCH 1 0
RAMSAY 1 0
WOOTON 2 0
WAITE 3 2 4
FIELD GOAL
MARSHALL 1 0 0
PENALTIES
TOTAL 28 YARDS 240 133
GATESHEAD SENATORS (STATS) 1998.
DEFENSE GAMES..8
NAME UN ASS SACKS FUM/REC INT PASS/DEF BLOCKS SAFETY
GREEN 26 25 0.5
DAVIS 35 16 3.0 3 3 2
WOOTON G 1 3
HORSBURGH 6 9 1.0 2 1
COOPER 3 9 2
RUMNEY 23 23 2.0 3 1
HUME 12 9 2.0
THOMPSON 8 11 1
WOOTON S 24 5 2.5
UNSWORTH 8 4 1
WILSON 20 8 1.0 4 3
LOCKHART 7 7
STOREY I 6 6 1 1
STOREY K 1 3
GANNON 0 1
VAN TERGOUW 13 8 3
EICHHORN 4 3 1
WAITE 8 4 1.0
RILEY 4 2
FRENCH 1
WATTON 8 5 1 1 1
MARSHALL 4
RALPH 1 1
SMITH 1
POLLARD 1 1
NORRIS 2
RAMSAY 1
McNAUGHTON 1
HOLMES 1
PENALTIES No. 12 YARDS 100
KEYS.
OFFENSE DEFENSE
COMPS:- NUMBER OF COMPLETIONS UN UNASSISTED TACKLES
INT NUMBER OF INTERCEPTIONS ASS ASSISTED TACKLES
AVE:- AVERAGE NUMBER OF YARDS INT INTERCEPTIONS
TDs NUMBER OF TOUCHDOWNS BLOCKS:- KICKS/PUNTS BLOCKED
PASS/DEF:- PASSES TIPPED DOWN
FUM/REC:- FUMBLES FORCED
& FUMBLES RECOVERED
|
| Duncan French, fourth UK rusher |
On the defense, no player from Gateshead is listed in the top league stats, but nevertheless, the defense proved an efficient unit overall. Missing was long serving and experienced LB Mal Armstrong, and stalwart Steve Wooton's playing time was also curtailed. Dave Wilson continued to be a danger in the secondary and the hard hitting of Wimmy van Tergouw gave opposing teams something to remember.
Full team stats should be available soon and will be posted here on the website. September time usually sees the Annual Presentation Night, and details of this will also be here, along with pictures and full information.
REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS DIVISION ONE: NORTH W L T PF PA PCT. Birmingham Bulls 9 1 0 259 47 0.900 Sheffield Saxons 6 3 1 172 94 0.650 Nottingham Caesers 5 5 0 144 170 0.500 Gateshead Senators 4 5 1 133 227 0.450 Merseyside Nighthawks 3 6 1 71 178 0.350 Staffordshire Surge 1 8 1 94 157 0.150 DIVISION ONE: SOUTH EAST W L T PF PA PCT. London O's 10 0 0 501 30 1.000 Norwich Devils 7 3 0 133 178 0.700 Essex Chiefs 6 4 0 202 158 0.600 Canada Life Cardinals 4 6 0 145 248 0.400 Cambridge Cats 2 8 0 63 242 0.200 Redbridge Fire 1 9 0 58 246 0.100 DIVISION ONE: SOUTH WEST W L T PF PA PCT. Sussex Thunder 10 0 0 376 54 1.000 Bristol Aztecs 7 3 0 144 169 0.700 Unipart Oxford Saints 5 5 0 250 204 0.500 PA Knights 4 6 0 163 193 0.400 London Blitz 4 6 0 127 218 0.400 Plymouth Admirals 0 10 0 88 310 0.000 DIVISION TWO: NORTH EAST W L T PF PA PCT. Lancashire Wolverines 9 1 0 164 76 0.900 Yorkshire Rams 8 2 0 204 95 0.800 Leicester Huntsmen 2 7 1 20 119 0.250 Hull Rockets 1 9 0 27 81 0.100 DIVISION TWO: NORTH WEST W L T PF PA PCT. Redditch Arrows 8 2 0 232 88 0.800 Wolverhampton Vipers 6 4 0 158 72 0.600 Chester Romans 4 6 0 126 166 0.400 St Helens Cardinals 1 8 1 78 312 0.150 DIVISION TWO: SOUTH EAST W L T PF PA PCT. London Mets 7 1 1 241 61 0.833 Sabres 5 3 1 131 63 0.611 Kent Exiles 6 4 0 159 191 0.600 Hertfordshire Stags 5 5 0 241 116 0.500 Maidstone Pumas 0 10 0 18 367 0.000 DIVISION TWO: SOUTH WEST W L T PF PA PCT. Southern Sun Devils 7 1 0 242 53 0.875 Tiger Bay Warriors 7 1 0 193 73 0.875 Torbay Trojans 1 7 0 66 121 0.125 Chiltern Cheetahs 1 7 0 54 300 0.125 SEASON STATS Division One RUSHING NO YDS AVG LG TD A Stitt, Sussex 191 1687 8.8 55 22 J Oke, London O's 124 1304 10.5 70t 19 S Hunt, Essex 160 1247 7.8 80 12 D French, Gateshead 176 1218 6.9 48 10 A Zsidisin, Birmingham 122 904 7.4 76t 12 P Tiggardine, Sheffield101 821 8.1 67t 8 Z Mhango, Bristol 191 805 4.2 62 5 M Wilson, Norwich 189 741 3.9 8 2 B Myers, Oxford 145 666 4.6 24 6 S Hutchinson, London Os 65 632 9.7 56t 9 PASSING ATT CMP YDS TD INT L Sanders, London Blitz223 85 918 7 14 D Freeman, Sussex 133 65 893 9 1 L Fraser, Gateshead 152 56 861 7 9 J Price, London O's 104 59 858 15 1 R Turner, Canada Life 174 59 852 8 16 W Mayers, Oxford 156 55 847 6 13 S Jones, Essex 157 64 843 10 5 G Sharp, Nottingham 93 38 800 8 2 D Bailey, Norwich 153 67 755 7 4 R Large, Staffordshire 121 59 727 6 6 RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD M Cohen, Birmingham 37 644 17.4 53 9 C Palumbu, London O's 36 436 12.1 61t 9 M Lai, London Blitz 35 425 12.1 26 5 J Williams, PA Knights 33 478 14.5 47 5 S Norris, Norwich 32 562 17.6 44t 5 S Sobers, Essex 27 375 13.9 57 8 J Wyse, Staffordshire 26 388 14.9 60t 2 S Belcher, Oxford 23 412 17.9 65 6 C Stenson, Plymouth 23 311 13.5 40 2 M Ashby, Sussex 22 303 13.8 40 4 INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD J Conroy, Sussex 7 138 19.7 43t 2 M Shepherd, Norwich 7 37 5.3 18 0 A Hashim, Birmingham 6 116 19.3 55t 2 G Buckley, Cambridge 6 91 15.2 29 0 D Collier, Merseyside 6 72 12.0 24 0 P Kelly, London Blitz 5 86 17.2 28 0 A Dabbs, Plymouth 5 41 8.2 16 0 SACKS NO YDS S Baker, Merseyside 7.0 61 C Mcdonnell, Merseyside 6.5 73 T Groden, Canada Life 6.0 39 S Rapley, Essex 5.5 57 D Francis, Nottingham 5.5 38 G Anderson, London O's 5.5 29 G Stainton, Notts 4.5 23 J Flynn, Sheffield 4.0 40 C Tann, Norwich 4.0 24 J Radford, Birmingham 4.0 18 TACKLES UN AS TOT P Newey, Birmingham 68 34 102 C Wolfe, Cambridge 61 24 85 P Evans, Sussex 60 23 83 S Bennett, Plymouth 58 25 83 D McNicholas, Plymouth 53 18 71 S Suleman, Bristol 53 18 71 G Stainton, Notts 51 5 56 S Rapley, Essex 48 30 78 S Srour, PA Knights 47 19 66 B Calvert-Painter, Essex 46 31 77 DIVISION TWO RUSHING NO YDS AVG LG TD = P Duncan, Wolverhampton 122 971 8.0 83t 8 I Taylor, London Mets 161 745 4.6 29 9 G Crease, Sabres 132 681 5.2 39 3 L Hayward, London Mets 93 669 7.2 80t 9 G Bailey, Yorkshire 133 650 4.9 46t 9 R Coutts, Southern 110 615 5.6 35t 8 M Coppinger, Sabres 98 537 5.5 58 4 S Archer, St Helens 70 391 5.6 30 3 O Salawu, Hertfordshire 58 388 6.7 42 5 P Honey, Chiltern 79 374 4.7 24t 1 PASSING ATT CMP YDS TD INT D Dart, Kent 170 71 931 10 11 M Jones, Yorkshire 176 75 922 16 11 M Robl, Hertfordshire 168 69 918 8 10 D Marshall, St Helens 114 31 485 4 9 N Tilbury, London Mets 85 25 390 3 11 C Boddington, Southern 56 24 371 1 1 D Mapleston, Chiltern 57 22 370 5 5 R Thompson, Wolverhampto 74 31 363 8 4 B Gemmell, Southern 53 25 349 4 1 J Dawson, Sabres 85 35 307 5 3 RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD M Legge, Hertfordshire 33 549 16.6 55 3 J McEvoy, Yorkshire 32 360 11.3 36t 6 S May, Chiltern 26 367 14.1 53t 5 R Hall, St Helens 25 465 18.6 76 4 M Jefkins, Kent 25 440 17.6 62t 6 P Brady, Southern 22 251 11.4 42 2 G Bailey, Yorkshire 21 260 12.4 48t 3 N Reynolds, Kent 17 154 9.1 28 2 M Hopkins, Hertfordshire 13 128 9.8 24 2 B Gemmell, Southern 12 252 21.0 35 2 A Williams-Browne, Yorks 12 180 15.0 37t 5 INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD C Million, Yorkshire 10 179 17.9 52 0 J Varga, Hertfordshire 9 163 18.1 60t 2 A Crowther, London Mets 8 268 33.5 73 1 M Tompsett, Kent 7 68 9.7 23 0 L Walsh, Maidstone 4 89 22.3 80t 1 R Palmer, London Mets 4 64 16.0 25 1 SACKS NO YDS = W McSwiney, Yorkshire 13.0 129 S Henman, Hertfordshire 9.0 58 M Jenkins, Hertfordshire 8.0 48 M Martin, Southern 5.0 40 A Holmes, Kent 5.0 40 S Richardson, Wolverhamp 5.0 37 S Lawrence, Sabres 5.0 19 C Cranston, Maidstone 4.0 31 D Nunnerley, St Helens 4.0 20 TACKLES UN AS TOT M Penfound, Southern 63 32 95 R Hall, St Helens 53 4 57 S Aitchison, Kent 50 19 69 W McSwiney, Yorkshire 50 13 63 G Abbott, Sabres 48 25 73 M Barker, Hertfordshire 48 20 68 S Taylor, London Mets 47 19 66 S Wright, Chiltern 44 12 56 N Hannan, Wolverhampton 44 9 53 P Jenkins, Southern 42 48 90Courtesy of Glen Schild
London 20 - 0 Sussex (Division One.)
Star Running back Anthony Stitt never got going and was held to his lowest yardage tally of the season, the WRs played really poorly leaving Sussex with no offense, credit going to London's offense who really got to Stitt, although Stitt seemed to lose his footing on a number of occasions. Not the classic I (we) had all hoped for. Stephen Hutchinson opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 47yd TD run. Earle kicked the PAT. Hatega intercepted Freeman and returned it 32yds to extend the O's lead. Again Earle kicked the PAT. The final points were scored when Dunson Caught a Price pass for six points.
Southern 22-16 Lancashire (Div. 2)
Division Two went to the last play of the game to decide who the champions were going to be. Lancashire opened the score early on after Dan Bowles returned the opening Kick-off 84 yards to set up the first TD. Bowles caught the two point attempt. Lancashire increased their lead in the second quarter when southern QB Cliff Boddington was sacked for a safety by Weekes. Bowles made yet another big play taking a Kenyon pass 81yds down the sideline for a TD and a 16-0 lead. That was all the scoring Lancashire were to do despite some outstanding running by Anthony Perkins. With only two seconds on the clock RB Coutts ran in from two yards but the two point attempt failed. Southern drove the opening kick-off down the field on a 9 play 54yd drive culminating in Coutts second TD this time from 1yd, Ex-Monarch Rob Hart added the PAT. The teams exchanged punts until the forth quarter when Boddington completed a 40yd pass to Gemmell for the final TD, Hart's entertaining drop goal attempt, after a bad snap, failed leaving just 3 point between the team. With only 46 seconds on the clock the Sun Devils extended their lead to 6 with a 37 yard field goal (which would have made it from 50) Lancashire's QB Kenyon did well to move the Wolverines down the field and set up a last play win or bust, CB Farrugia made his second interception to end the game.
And for those that missed the action Sky are going to show highlights at half-time of the Jets game.
Reports by Damon Kirby in newsgroup uk.sport.football.american newsgroup.
Touchback!
We have a game against the Dutch team we have twice beaten in the Amsterdam Euro tournament, Hilversum Hurricanes. Gateshead won the final by the narrowest of margins last Easter, so the Dutch team are so keen for revenge that they are travelling to Gateshead for the game on Saturday October 24th, at Gateshead Stadium, kick off 5-30p.m.
The senior team's Presentation Evening is also near, and is currently expected on November 8th, at the Fog and Firkin. Details of this to be confirmed, but the full team stats for 1998 are now available, so you can see you may be in line for a club award.
On the junior front, the Youth football project is now well under way with a pilot scheme being run at Whitley Bay High School. This is for 11-18 year olds each Monday at 4 p.m. You don't have to attend that school to join in, if you can get there, come along - and as we are playing flag football, there is no gender barrier, so it's a chance for the girls to show the lads what they can do!
And for those aged 18 or over, the Senators will be looking for new players for the 1999 season. Player trials are expected to be on February 7th at the Stadium, so put that in your new diary now, and watch this space for further details.
The club has also been active in other ways, helping to steward the junior and senior Great North Runs, as well as the Great North Cycle Ride, demonstrating the club's commitment to the local community.
19 October 1998
Touchback!