Gators Take Southern Conference. Canterbury Snatch 2nd from Bournemouth

6th August 2001

The London Gators took the Southern Conference of the BSFL with a decisive 26-0 home victory over the Bournemouth Raiders on Sunday at Twickenham Rugby Club. They were then almost shocked against the Canterbury Coyotes in game 2, as they came from 14-6 behind with two minutes to go to force a 12-12 tie with Brett Barash's TD pass to Rik Morgan. In the winner-take-all game, it was Canterbury who defeated Bournemouth 22-6 to take second spot in the south and a semi-final place.

LONDON GATORS 26-0 BOURNEMOUTH RAIDERS

The Raiders went into this game with a severely depleted squad, but they came up against a London Gators team, who themselves had a number of players missing. The Raiders were confident of upsetting the form book, following their victories against Canterbury and Brockenhurst (friendly) over the previous weeks, but it was the Gators who took the lead on an option run by QB Brett Barash, on the Gators first possession. The PAT was kicked by Rik Morgan to put the Gators 8-0 up early on. The Raiders moved the ball consistently with several probing runs by RB Mark Elliott (including one for almost 40 yards), against the Gators in the first half, but they couldn't find the play to punch the ball in, as the Gators D managed to turn the ball over on downs. With a couple of minutes to go in the first half, Barash found WR Rik Morgan with a score down the left-hand touchline. The PAT was blocked, and the Gators went into the half with a 14-0 lead.

The Raiders came out firing in the second half, and QB Brad Smith marched his offense downfield with a number of runs (he ran for close to 100 yards in all), and a couple of passes to Stu Winship and Tim Smith. Smith. Unfortunately, for the Raiders he was intercepted near the Gators goal-line, and Barash stepped up to extend the London lead to 20-0 on another pass to Morgan. With the Raiders struggling to move the ball, London completed the scoring near the end on a pass from Barash to Allan Moffat.

LONDON GATORS 14-14 CANTERBURY COYOTES

The tone for an exiting afternoon for the Coyotes was set when SS Abdul Lawal intercepted the Gators on the games opening drive, but the Coyotes failed to capitalise as both defences controlled the game early. After punts by both teams the Coyotes put the first points on the board, proving they were for real with a long drive finishing in a ten yard Touchdown pass from QB Dan Dart to WR Colin Hubbuck. For the 2 point conversion, Dart handed off to HB Glen Lindley who swept right and executed the HB option to perfection as he threw to Hubbuck who again caught the ball in the end zone for the 2. On the next drive however the Gators big play offense led by QB Brett Barash came to life as the Kansas native hit WR Drew Simpson on a perfect fly pattern for a 50+ yard TD. However a bad snap nullified their PAT attempt and the Coyotes led 8-6 at the half. In the second half Coyotes S Luke Foster picked off a Barash pass, and the Coyotes marched downfield with a huge catch and run by HB Bob Kalman who took the team to the one-yard line. From there QB Dan Dart plunged in but a failed 2-point attempt meant the Coyotes lead was still only 1 score as they led 14-6. This proved crucial as the Gators offense proved it could do it when it counted, as following the two minute warning a Barash pass was caught in the endzone by a leaping WR Rik Morgan despite heavy coverage. The PAT from Morgan, which followed was good and the score was tied at 14 all. The Coyotes drove downfield in the last minute but were stopped short of the red zone as time expired. Both teams seemed happy to end a very hard fought game with a tie, and spirits in both camps were good following the game.

CANTERBURY COYOTES 22-6 BOURNEMOUTH RAIDERS

The stakes were high for this game with a playoff place awaiting the victors, and the Coyotes, delighted to have tied with the Gators took to the field with confidence. However, they were soon confronted with the dangerous scrambling of Raiders QB Brad Smith and were lucky to have a turnover on downs following a high shotgun snap. However , the Bournemouth defence stood just as strong, with Stu Winship and Lee Eatly picking up sacks, and the Coyotes soon punted. On the Raiders next drive however, FS Jason Pearson intercepted and the turnover soon got the game going. The Coyotes ensuing drive was characterised by the running game as HB Bob Kalman weaved through the Raiders' D on several plays till the Coyotes reached the Goaline. It was fellow HB Glen Lindley who took it in from the 1, and another solid throw from QB Dan Dart to WR Colin Hubbuck making the score 8-0. On the Raiders next drive CB Tom Arnold intercepted Brad Smith and returned it to midfield. Again the Coyotes cashed in on the turnover as Dart beautifully hit WR "Honest" Mike Whitby on a fly for the 30 yard score. This time the 2 point attempt failed making for a 14-0 half time lead for the Coyotes.

The Raiders though never gave up and Smith continued to push his team deep into Coyotes territory with a combination of his trademark scrambling and some great catches by WR Tim Smith. Again sadly, points eluded the Raiders as Jason Pearson's 2nd interception killed this promising drive, this one a leaper in the Coyotes' end zone . Once the Coyotes offense took the field HB Stuart "Tin Tin" Skinner burst around right tackle and ripped the sideline for a 70 yard score. The Dart to Whitby combination worked again on a slant for the 2 pointer and the Coyotes had a comfortable lead of 22-0. The Raiders, to their credit, then controlled the ball for the rest of the game on a mammoth 15 minute drive, which ended with back-up QB Matt Heasman stepping in and hitting Tim Smith for a score on a quickout on 4th down. The conversion failed giving the final score of 22-6 and the game was decided. The Coyotes can now look forward to the playoffs and a semi-final meeting with UCLA Renegades; their draw with the Gators proving they can play with the best as the Gators had only won up to this point. All three teams enjoyed the afternoon and good sportsmanship thankfully prevailed as a great afternoon of football was enjoyed by all.