Report by Colchester Gladiators
Photo credits - John Singer
The Colchester Gladiators continued their recent good form and improved
their record to 3-2 with their third consecutive win, when they travelled to
St. Albans and comfortably defeated a decent Herts team by 41 points to nil.
With games still to come against the top two teams in the Southern
Football Conference Division One, the Gladiators placed themselves right back
in the middle of the playoff race.
The Gladiators' defence set the tone
for the day, making a statement on the first two Herts plays after the opening
kick off. Josh Milgate continued his fine form, tackling the Cheetah running
back for no gain on first down before Garry Shuttleworth and Ian Digby stopped
him for a loss of two yards on second down. After an incomplete pass, the
Cheetahs were forced to punt and the Gladiators took over on their 31
On their first play from scrimmage,
Colchester's star running back Chris Jackson took the hand off and sliced
through the Cheetah defence before outpacing the cover to record a spectacular
69 yard score. The extra point was wide but the Gladiators had an early 6-0 lead.
The Gladiators soon had the ball back
when Sam Gennings intercepted a pass, returning it to the Herts 38 and it took
just three plays to double the lead to 12-0 through Jackson's 14 yard run.
After an exchange of punts, Milgate
forced and recovered a fumble but the turnover was reciprocated when QB Curtis
Bourke threw an interception which was returned to the Gladiators' 20 as the
first quarter ended.
The visiting defence was in no mood to
allow a score however and on third and goal on the four, Shuttleworth and Digby
again combined to stuff the running back for a loss of three. Alex Robinson
knocked down the fourth down pass attempt to return the ball to the Colchester
offence.
The visitor's running game was
struggling slightly as the Herts defence adjusted and punted, but Chewy Henson
batted down a fourth down pass attempt to regain possession and a Bourke to Joe
Parsons completion for 20 yards took the Gladiators into field goal territory,
but Andrew Cairns' attempt was short from 40 yards.
Colchester didn't have to wait long to
get the ball back though as the Herts QB struggled to find his receivers and
Gennings picked him off for the second time, and two plays later, Bourke found
rookie sensation Sam Huxtable for a 53 yard touchdown. Bourke's two point run
attempt was good to make the score 20-0.
The Cheetahs contributed to their own
misery on their next drive, coming out in an unusual formation to try to catch
the Gladiators out. After completions of five and 28 yards a terrible snap left
them facing a 2nd and 41 situation. Robinson and Gennings knocked
down consecutive passes to leave them facing 4th and a near
impossible 41 yards which would usually result in a punt with over a minute
remaining in the half. The Cheetahs foolishly elected to go for it but Raul
Barclay made the tackle for a loss to turn the ball back to Colchester just 34
yards out.
It took the Gladiators one play to
score, through Casey Campbell, his first touchdown since injuring his knee back
in 2013, advancing their advantage to 26-0. One play later it was 34-0 as
Gennings again intercepted the QB, this time returning it 55 yards for a
touchdown. Gennings' amazing run of interceptions took his tally to six in just
60 minutes of football, dating back to the second half against the Bulls.
Bourke's two point pass to Huxtable was good to leave the half time score at
34-0.
The third quarter was scoreless as the
Gladiators rotated their players to ensure playing time for rookies and back
ups. Mark Gilbranch picked off the Herts QB for his team's fourth of the day
and the Shuttleworth/Digby double act continued to harass the QB, sacking him
for a five yard loss. Robinson made it five picks before the end of the third
period before a good Herts drive was stopped by a Milgate interception.
With Huxtable taking over at QB, the
offence added to the score after the young play-maker sprinted 45 yards to set
up Jackson for his third of the day, this time from 15 yards out. Nathan
Brown's PAT was good to make the score 41-0 and with a running clock, there was
still time for another pick by the ball hawking defence when Raul Barclay was
first to another errant throw.
The Cheetahs picked up one first down
as the match came to a predictable conclusion but the Gladiators' defence had
the last word when Shuttleworth had consecutive sacks on the Cheetah QB,
forcing and recovering a fumble on the second to ice the game.
Head Coach Neil O'Hare was delighted
with the result but warned against complacency with some tough games
approaching. He said: “I'm proud of the guys today, the way they have worked
hard to turn the season around after a couple of tough losses to start the
year. Our defence is playing well, and nine turnovers is testament to their
work ethic and determination. Our offence has looked good in parts and we'll be
looking for a bit more consistency as we enter the second half of the season.
We have some outstanding individuals on both sides of the ball who can change
the course of a game which is great but we also have guys who are more unheralded
but are just as valuable We also still have four home games left and would
love to see a big crowd to spur us on and with Solent and Farnham still to come
to Colchester, anything is possible!”.
The Gladiators' next game is in two
weeks, on Sunday 21st June when the winless Cambridgeshire Cats come
to Colchester.
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