Chichester Sharks Take 2007 ESFL Championship

21st October 2007

Unfortunately the Mayhem didn't turn up again so they got 21-0 forfeit scores against them.

The other round robin scores were:

Sharks 13 vs 26 Voodoo
Sharks 19 vs 0 Eagles
Voodoo 21 vs 6 Eagles

Voodoo got the by to the final as they had the best overall record for the year and the Sharks played the Eagles in the other semi with the Sharks coming from 2 scores down to win 33-25. Sharks lost Ben Pulleyblank to his dodgy broken fingers in the semi and he couldn't carry on.

In the final the Sharks and Voodoo traded scores with the Sharks edging it half way through the second half until Dayle Kirby intercepted a Nick Watson pass but badly twisted his knee as he landed. An ambulance was called and Dayle was carted away to A&E (I am happy to report the verdict from the Doc is just a sprained knee for Dayle as you'll see from his post above and he is now safely home to face the wrath of the Mrs!) and the Sharks carried on with only 5 players.

The Sharks led 24-22 before the Voodoo took the lead 29-24. Inside the 2 min warning the Sharks moved the ball up field and punched the ball home with a quick pass from QB Neil Henderson to WR Pete Steel with the XP successful as well with Dave Lee's catch in the endzone to make the score 31-29.

With 1:18 left in the match the Voodoo quickly moved down field into Sharks territory as time ticked down but several attempts to get the ball into the endzone were unsuccessful. The game came down to a 4th and goal from about the 15yd line with about 15 seconds left after a Sharks timeout. Voodoo QB Nick Watson passed backwards to WR Adam Russell for a play which had worked several times earlier in the day but good downfield coverage forced Russell to run for the score rather than pass but he came up short with the tackle from Sharks centre and backup defender Gary Robinson. The Sharks were then able to run the clock out for a memorable victory against a Voodoo side which has been consistently strong all year and will again be a force to be reckoned with next year.