Leicester 5-on-5 Tournament - Game Report

Leicester Eagles 19 - 0 Birmingham Raiders

Eagles went into an early lead with a Chris Wild TD pass to Alan O’Sullivan and a 1PAT pass to Craig Broughton to open a 7-0 lead. No further scoring in the first half with both defences pressurising and sacking the QB’s.

A Martin Gwilliam interception halted Birmingham’s second half opening drive. Eagles stretched their lead with WR Andrew Gambrill racing in on an end around TD run to make the score 13-0. Leicester iced the game with their second interception being returned for a touchdown by Craig Broughton to make the final score 19-0.

West Coast Offense 20 - 14 North Devon Dogs

The Scots dominated the first half taking a 14-0 lead at half time with Neil Henderson outstanding.

A great fightback by North Devon featuring a massive aerial attack by QB Darren Miller and acrobatic catches by Steve Hazell and Jonny Stevenson brought them right back into the game. The game looked destined for a tie when West Coast QB Russell found WR Gilmour in the corner of the endzone to snatch the game in the dying seconds – a classic.

North Devon Dogs 15 - 14 Leicester Eagles

Eagles took an early lead with a Chris Wild TD pass to Alan O’Sullivan and a 1PAT pass to Martin Gwilliam to open a 7-0 lead which they held until the break. The Dogs struck back with QB Miller hitting Steve Hazell with a TD pass and Jonny Stevenson with the 2-pont conversion to put the Dogs into an 8-7 lead.

Leicester regained the lead with veteran Tight End Martin Gwilliam scoring from a Chris Wild pass and Wild hitting Craig Broughton for a 1-point conversion to make it 14-8 to Leicester. With time running out a last desperate North Devon drive nearly came to grief when QB Miller was nearly intercepted by the Eagles secondary but Miller took advantage of the reprieve finding star receiver Hazell in the endzone to tie the scores. Miller kept his cool and again hit Hazell on the crucial 1-point conversion to win the game for the Dogs 15-14 as time ran out.

West Coast Offense 12 - 0 Birmingham Raiders

The West Coast Offense hit their stride early in the game with QB Russell connecting with Mark Fletcher for a 6-0 lead.

The first half ended in a topsy turvy style. With the Raiders pressing to equalise, QB Naeem Fazal was intercepted by West Coast’s Charlie Carlin. On the next play Raiders Craig priest intercepted West Coast QB Russell to put the Birmingham side back in with a chance. Unbelievably, QB Fazal immediately repeated his earlier error and was again intercepted by Carlin to end Raider’s chance of levelling before the break.

The second half saw the Glasgow side seal the game as QB Stuart Russell connected on a touchdown throw to Charlie Carlin to make the final score 12-0.

Leicester Eagles 18 - 12 West Coast Offense

For the third successive game, Leicester took an early 6-0 lead with QB Chris Wild throwing a TD pass to TE Martin Gwilliam. West Coast tied the game at 6-6 with QB Stuart Russell connecting for a TD with Neil Henderson. Each team registered a QB sack as defences tightened up before Leicester’s Wild found Craig Broughton on a TD pass to take a 12-6 lead. West Coast hit back just before the break as QB Russell found WR Gilmour to tie the scores again at 12-12.

Leicester dominated the second half sparked by a Simon Murphy interception followed by WR Andrew Gambrill scoring on an end around TD run to make it 18-12 to Leicester. Eagles snuffed out the Glasgow side’s last hope with a Martin Gwilliam interception to make the game safe for the host team.

North Devon Dogs 18 - 14 Birmingham Raiders

The Dogs sprang out to a 6-0 lead with QB Miller hooking up with WR Royston Tanton. Birmingham finally got their first points on the board with WR Keith Phillips holding a TD pass from QB Naeem Fazal and Andy Workman adding the 2-point conversion to give the Raiders a 8-6 half time lead.

The Dogs hit back with QB Miller finding WR Matt Stevenson to regain the lead 12-8. Birmingham though were not going to lie down and retook the lead 14-12 with Fazal finding Darren Kangurs in the endzone. The Dogs won the game in the closing minutes with WR Alex Jones scoring from a Darren Miller throw to make the final score 18-14 Dogs.

West Coast Offense 32 - 0 North Devon Dogs

An amazing display by the Scottish side blew away the North Devon Dogs.

Leicester Eagles 26 - 12 Birmingham Raiders

Eagles flew into a commanding lead with QB Chris Wild finding Alan O’Sullivan for a TD and 1PAT for a 7-0 lead. A Simon Murphy interception return TD and 1PAT catch gave the Eagles a 14-0 lead. Birmingham got back into the game when new QB Lawrence Vos found a wide open Naeem Fazal to make the score 14-6 at the half.

Leicester stretched their lead after the break to 20-6 with a Craig Broughton TD catch. The Raiders though again hit back with the Vos to Fazal combination successful again to bring the score to 20-12. Leicester sealed the game with QB Wild finding TE Martin Gwilliam to make the final score 26-12 Eagles.

Leicester Eagles 27 - 12 North Devon Dogs

A crucial game for both sides began with Leicester Safety Alan O’Sullivan making a key interception to halt the North Devon passing game. Eagles capitalised when Tight End Martin Gwilliam held a Chris Wild pass and Craig Broughton added a 1-point conversion to give Leicester a 7-0 lead. The Dogs hit straight back with a short pass to RB Alex Jones who eluded the Eagles defence to make the score 7-6. Leicester went further ahead with the Wild to Broughton combination effective again to make it 13-6 Leicester at half time.

Leicester took control in the second half with a Chris Wild to Alan O’Sullivan TD pass to make it 20-6. Wild then found Centre Simon Murphy in the endzone for a 20-6 Eagles lead. The Dogs refused to lie down and QB Miller found favourite receiver Steve Hazell who left the Leicester defence for dead to make it 20-12. Leicester finished in style with an Andrew Gambrill TD catch and Simon Murphy 1PAT for a 27-12 Eagles victory.

West Coast Offense 19 - 14 Birmingham Raiders

A fighting display by Birmingham which pushed the Scottish team all the way. The game turned on crucial second half interception by Hugh Gilmour to set up winning TD.

North Devon Dogs 32 - 18 Birmingham Raiders

North Devon raced into a 12 point lead with their outstanding QB Miller connecting with Jonny Stevenson and Royston Tanton. Birmingham showed their confidence by hitting back to 12-6 before half time with Andy Workman scoring from a Lawrence Vos pass.

The Dogs went 18-6 in front with a Matt Stevensoin TD catch but the extra point attempt was intercepted and returned by Naeem Fazal for 2 points to make the score 18-8. The Raiders then drew level with QB Vos finding standout receiver Workman on a TD pass and Fazal on the 2PAT to level it at 18-18.

North Devon, shaken by the Birmingham comeback, took to the air and WR Steve Hazell hauled in another Miller bomb with Jonny Stevenson snagging the 2-point conversion for a 26-18 Dogs lead. The Dogs iced the game with a Steve Hazell interception return TD.

West Coast Offense 7 - 6 Leicester Eagles

The destiny of the trophy was to be decided in the last game. Both offences stalled early on but for the sixth successive match Leicester took a 6-0 lead with Chris Wild finding Tight End Martin Gwilliam in the corner of the endzone. Defences continued to dominate and the half ended with Leicester 6-0 ahead.

Leicester’s offence continued to stutter as West Coast applied pressure. The Scots took over control of the ball and drew level with Stuart Russell hitting receiver Andrew Chapman to tie the scores 6-6. Russell then squeezed the ball into the endzone to Chapman again for a crucial 1 point conversion. 7-6 to the West Coast Offence.

Leicester threw everything at the Scots in the dying minutes but, crucially, a Chris Wild bomb miraculously caught in traffic by a leaping Craig Broughton for a first down was called back for a delay of game penalty and the West Coast Offense were able to run out the clock to deservedly take the trophy.