Tuesday, 2 June 2015

Pirates notch up win over Predators


Report by Bill Campbell
 
Sheffield Predators 6 - East Kilbride Pirates 41
 

The Pirates notched up their third consecutive win as they strive to return to the top of the Northern Conference in American football’s Premier Division. This weekend sees them travel south once more, this time to face the so-far undefeated Tamworth Phoenix. Both sides have regularly contested the title in recent years, and Saturday will bring another stern test for the East Kilbride team.

Last weekend’s game saw EK start well, with a 10-play drive taking them deep into Sheffield territory. However a Neil Baptie pass was intercepted by the home defence and the momentum was lost temporarily. The Pirates defense also came out strongly and dominated straight away, Indeed it was they who opened the scoring  towards the end of the first quarter. Following a sack by Steven Wilson and a fumble which Sheffield managed to recover, the Predators found themselves in a 3rd-and-26 position. James Manson’s pass was picked off by Dougie Meechan who returned it 21 yards for the touchdown. Craig Black kicked the conversion to give EKP a 7-0 lead.

That advantage was increased mid way through the second period after a long run by Adam Kyle and a Baptie pass to Jamie McLaughlin moved the ball to Sheffield’s 14 yard line. Another Baptie pass found Black in the end zone, and although he failed to convert his own TD, the Pirates were now 13-0 ahead. The Predators responded with a TD of their, capping a 10-play drive with a 16 yard pass from Manson to Vince Berry. Their attempted 2-point conversion was stopped short and the Pirates took a 13-6 lead into the half time break.
 
 

The third quarter started with Rob Worboys intercepting another wayward Sheffield pass. East Kilbride then ran the ball on nine consecutive plays, Baptie crossing the goal line from 4 yards out on the last of them, and Black duly converted. The next Pirates’ possession brought another TC. The drive had stalled, and the field goal unit set up for a 47-yard attempt. A low snap meant that holder McLaughlin had to scramble to recover the ball. He then managed to get a pass away to kicker Black, and he ran the ball in for a touchdown. His subsequent conversion kick made it 27-6 to the visitors, a score that remained unchanged until the final quarter.

East Kilbride rotated their squad in the later stages, including the introduction of James Dodds at QB. After a couple of short yardage completions, he launched a 67-yard pass to pacy receiver Paul Mitchell, who outran the defense to score, followed by Black’s kick. It only remained for the scoring to be completed the same way as it started, Dougie Meechan hauled in his second interception, this time of a tipped Dean Whittingslow pass, and returned it 25 yards before Black made the final score 41-6.

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