Bury run past the Sharks to keep great season going

Report by Chris Wallis

Photos courtesy of William G Watson

 

Bury Saints 27 – 9 Cornish Sharks

 

Two touchdowns each from RB’s Derek White and Jake Swisher were enough to see the Bury Saints beat the Cornish Sharks in a tough Quarter Final encounter. The victory sets up a Semi Final contest against the Sussex Thunder on the 6th September.

Sponsors Pitstop Autofactors with some of the team

The Sharks won the toss and their power running game soon moved the ball inside the Saints 20yd line. On 1st Down DL Shaz Begg and Fabian Mitchell combined to stop the Sharks for a short gain before LB Jack Hewett forced a loss on 2nd down. CB Willie Sloan broke up a pass on the next play to set up a 43yd Field Goal which was missed wide right.

RB Chris May running the ball

A ‘Roughing the Passer’ penalty moved the ball to the Saints 35yd line from where QB Fred Boyle hit WR Evin Reece for a 20yd pass play. RB White broke a run for 21yds to the Cornish 14yd line. But it was the Saints turn to end a promising drive without a score as an excellent interception by the Sharks Free Safety kept the game scoreless.

 

Penalties and tackles by LB Jesse Carlos and DL Rob Love soon forced the Sharks to punt. Short runs by RB White and Chris Ramsey were followed by a 17yd sprint by RB Jake Swisher. A further penalty against the Sharks moved the ball to their 12 yd. line. Three plays later RB White dashed into the end zone from 2yds out to open the scoring. Alex Clark kicked the extra point for 7-0 lead at the end of the 1st Quarter.

WR Brandon Faison catch and run in front of a record crowd

Bury struggled to move the ball on their next drive and handed the ball back Cornish when they failed to convert a 4th&5 situation. The Sharks went deep on the 1st down and connected on 40yd pass completion. An incomplete pass and an 8yd run followed before Team Captain Carlos broke up a 3rd down pass attempt. On 4th Down the Sharks kicked a 27yd Field Goal to reduce the score to 7-3.

Bury responded immediately as RB May raced 85yds untouched into the end zone on the ensuing kickoff. But a penalty against the Saints cancelled out the score and the home side started the drive at their own 14yd line.

WR Brandon Faison getting tackled

Not to be daunted, the Saints Offence went straight back to work. A 9yd pass completion to RB Swisher was followed by a 12yd run by RB May. QB Boyle went deep to WR Reece for 33yds to give the Green & Gold a 1st down at the Sharks 20yd line. But the Cornish Defence stood firm and once again Bury came away from the Red Zone without scoring as they failed to convert on 4th down.

Fortunately, two plays later Bury had the ball again. LB Jack Hewett chased down the Sharks QB for a sack and forced a fumble that was recovered by DL Fab Mitchell at the Cornish 16yd line. A penalty forced the Saints back to the 21yd line. A 12yd hook up between QB Boyle and WR Brandon Faison and penalty against the Sharks set up RB Swisher to power his way into the end zone from 4yds out. The extra point attempt by Clark was blocked making the score 13-3 in favour of Bury.

RB Derek White on a run with some blocking help from OL Michael Bragge

Both sides had time for one more drive each. But despite pass completions of 13yds to WR Axl Rodwell and 20yds to WR Faison neither team was able to add to their score before half time.

Another solid kick return by RB May opened second half and the Saints offence finally started to show the kind of form seen through the regular season. An 11yd May sprint was followed by a 15yd catch and run by WR Faison. Runs of 5yds by RB May and 8yds by RB White allowed QB Boyle to find WR Faison again for 18yds. A short rumble by RB Ramsey Orr and a penalty had the ball at the Cornish 6yd line from where RB Swisher blasted home for his second touchdown of the game. The extra point was missed but Bury had a 19-3 lead.

Bury Saints D line after the Sharks QB

 

The Sharks looked set to respond straight away as, mixing their power running game with some good short passes, they advanced to the Bury 24yd line in nine plays.  Another pass completion looked certain to result in a touchdown, but a big hit by Free Safety Dmont Herring forced the ball out of the Receivers hands and LB Chris Smith recovered at the Saints 5yd line.

Three runs by RB Swisher, including a 17yd gain, moved the ball out to the Bury 31yd line as the 3rd Quarter ended. QB Boyle scrambled for 9yds before RB Scott Curry moved the ball to the Cornish 42yd line with an 11yd run. On the next play RB White surged off right tackle before cutting back to the left behind some great down field blocking and out sprinting Sharks defenders for the Saints fourth touchdown of the game. QB Boyle added the extra points for a 27-3 score line.

The swarming Bury Defence, Led by Carlos, Begg and LB Justin Gulley, shut down the Cornish Offence on their next drive and forced them to punt after only three plays. Strong running by RB’s Orr, Curry and Joe Hill, plus a 25yd run by RB May, helped Bury embark on a time consuming 12 play drive. But, as the torrential rain set in, a fumbled snap was recovered by the Sharks at their own 6yd line.

Saints LB and captain Jesse Carlos after the ball carrier

 

Despite the game clock running down, the ‘Never say Die’ Sharks came out fighting right to the end. A 63yd pass completion moved the ball to the Saints 14yd line. Three plays later the Cornish QB avoided a heavy Saints pass rush and scrambled home for a consolation score. Time expired during the play and the game ended 27-9 to the Bury Saints.

Saints Head Coach, Chris Wallis, reflected “It wasn’t our best performance and I don’t think we covered ourselves in glory. It was the team’s first ever playoff game and that seemed to affect us a bit. But we stuck with it and settled down in the second half and finished the game comfortably.

It’s disappointing that we allowed Cornish to score on the last play of the game. But, to be honest, it was nothing less than they deserved. The Sharks were everything we expected; a tough hard-nosed football team, who gave everything and battled right up to the final whistle.

This was just the type of game we needed after the run in we had at the end of the season. Play Off football is always going to harder than the regular season. Passions ran high at times and things didn’t always go our way. I’m really pleased with the way we regrouped when confronted with difficult circumstances.”

The Saints will now host the Sussex Thunder in the Semi Finals at Thetford Rugby Club on the 6th September.

Wallis added “We know that Sussex are an excellent side. They are well coached with some excellent players so the hard work starts all over again. It’s going to be another cracking game!”