The Knights Are Coming!!

Report by Steve Rains

 

The Farnham Knights are heading back to the Premier Division and top flight American Football as they sealed promotion with a convincing 38-27 victory over long time rivals the Solent Thrashers in the Southern Conference Division 1 Bowl game.

 

The Thrashers had the first possession of the game and on 3rd down threw the ball to Joe Pascoe who had plagued the Knights with 3 touchdowns and several long gains in the regular season 33-33 tie.

 

This time however Knights Cornerback Ash-Lee James set the tone for the day with a brilliant defensive play - nobody knew at the time but this pattern continued throughout the game with zero pass completions for the Thrashers

 

The Knights Defense would also go on to record 3 turnovers (2 Fumbles and 1 interception) and they sacked the Thrashers QB no fewer than 6 times continually frustrating the Solent Offense.

 

The Knights opened the scoring in the first quarter on their second possession with star Running Back Gareth Davies breaking clear for a 50yd scoring run behind the ever dependable blocking of his full backs and the Offensive line. John Symons added the extra point and the Knights led 7-0.

 

The next Solent drive started badly as the Knights rookie Defensive End Luke Bridcutt beat his blocker to record his 7th sack of the season - just one short of the club record. The Thrashers went to the air but only found Knights Linebacker Dan Hatcher who picked off the pass to give the Knights the ball.

 

Leading scorer Nick Roope, who was doubtful right up to kick off with a severe migraine, took over from Davies and moved the ball deep into Thrasher territory with some elusive running - he also passed the coveted 1,000yds gained for the season joining Davies (who himself had gone over 1,500yds with the scoring run). With the ball at the 3yd line Gareth Davies completed the drive with his second Touchdown. The extra point kick was blocked and the Knights led 13-0 at the end of the 1st Quarter.

 

Both Defenses played hard in the 2nd quarter - Solent never really threatening to score and the Knights having two John Symons Field Goal attempts blocked - the first from 40yds and the second from 36yds. But with just 2 seconds left on the clock before half time the Knights made it third time lucky as Symons kicked a 20yd attempt to stretch the Farnham half time lead to 16-0

 

The Knights knew that Solent would not be beaten easily and a good start to the second half was important - unfortunately that was not what they got as Solent stopped their Offense and John Symons punt was picked up and returned 65yds by Solent danger man Josh Amis. The Thrashers 2 point conversion attempt was stopped by the Knights defense and the score stood at 16-6

 

Aware of the real danger of a momentum swing the Knights knew they had to hit back quickly it was Gareth Davies, later selected as the Most Valuable Player by the League, who broke clear on an amazing 75 yard run to complete his touchdown hatrick and deflate the Thrashers. Nick Roope ran in the 2 point conversion and the Knights led 24-6

Following the kick off  Josh Amis put the Thrashers back in to scoring range but Luke Bridcutt equalled the club record with his 8th sack of the season to leave them with a 4th down dilemma. The Thrashers coaches decided to go for the yardage and went deep with a pass towards the end zone and this time it was Ally Reid who defended the pass which gave the Knights the ball again.

 

Quarterback Oli De Ruyter led the Knights on a smooth drive which involved passes to Aaron Hayes and Stealey-J Wills along with Nick Roopes elusive running. Roope finished the dive with a 12yd burst into the endzone and he then ran in the 2 point conversion for good measure and the Knights led 32-6

 

A lot of teams would have simply accepted their fate at this stage but this game was a promotion deciding final between two local rivals and credit to Solent they were having none of it. This time the Thrashers went after the momentum change with a 57yd run from Quarterback Dayle Greenfield for the touchdown and with the extra point the game was back in the balance at 32-13.

 

The teams exchanged possessions but as the fourth quarter began the Thrashers were driving again - the Knights appeared to have stopped them but a 4th down penalty extended the drive and Lloyd Scott ran the ball in from the Knights 4yd line - the extra point kick was tipped but still went over and the score stood at 32-20.

 

This game had always promised to be a tight one and the Knights knew that another slip could lead to the unthinkable comeback scenario. Three plays and out didn't help their nerves - but then a game changing moment - Solent were driving with Greenfield again making a big gain on the ground - the ball was handed to danger man Josh Amis but up stepped defensive captain Steve Price who forced a fumble which was recovered by Tom Roberts.

 

The Knights then embarked on a long time consuming drive with Gareth Davies and Nick Roope eating up yards and time - with Roope still not 100% and Gareth Davies tiring from a 230yd 3TD day the Knights turned to Kingsley Ejiogu (who had just seen Davies eclipse his single season club rushing record). He ran 5 times for 15yds completing the drive and effectively sealing the win with a 5yd scoring run. The Knights 2 point conversion failed and the score stood at 38-20

 

The Thrashers mounted one last scoring drive to bring the score back to 38-27 and the teams then exchanged possessions as time expired.

 

Knights Head Coach Steve Rains said "We are absolutely delighted - every one at the club has worked so hard for this. We came so well prepared thanks to the hard work put in by my staff and the players and the unsung heroes in our team management.

 

We also had huge support from the travelling crowd and I am so pleased we repaid them and our Sponsors Premier Prospects with the win - we now truly are the Premier Knights!. We look forward to the new challenge next year - we know we now have a lot more work to do.

 

The stellar performance of our Offense during the season has at times overshadowed the achievements of our Defensive unit but today with the first half shut out, the aerial shut out, six sacks and three turnovers they have silenced any doubters"

 

 

Defensive Coordinator Stewart Clackson concluded "The team has improved so much over the year and the exciting thing for us is we know we have the potential on both sides of the ball to be even better. The players have worked hard and have seen the results and we all want to continue progressing from here"

 

 

 

OFFENSE:	DEFENSE:
Passing:	J Truelove 5S 2A K Ejiogu 1S 4A D Hatcher 4S + 1Int + 1 Sack + 1 FF + 1FR L Bridcutt 3S 1A + 2 Sacks R Wills 3S 1A S Price 1S 2A + 1FF T Roberts 1S 2A + 1Sack + 1FR R Balderson 3S Ash Lee James 2S A Reid 2S D Francis 1S 1A B Monk 1S 1A + 1 Sack J Symons 1S 1A J Criddle 1S 1A R George 1S + 1 Sack S Laws 1S C James 1S F Isaac 1A K Helps 1S K Goswell 1S
O De Ruyter 6 of 14 for  61yds
Receiving:
S Godfrey 2 for 8yds M Bradley-Banszki 1 for 25yds S Wills 1 for 18yds A Hayes 1 for 5yds A Reid1 for 5yds
STATS:
G Davies 15 for 230yds 3TD N Roope 19 for 75yds 1TD K Ejiogu 5 for 15yds 1TD P Wakeford 3 for 14yds K Helps 2 for 3yds D Seaborne 2 for 2yds D Appleyard 1 for 1yd
KICK OFF RETURNS
Ash-Lee James 1 for 20yds N Roope 1 for 20yds S Godfrey 1 for 8yds PUNT RETURNS
Ash-Lee James 2 for 33yds
OFFENSE TOTALS:
KNIGHTS:
Rushing 47 for 340yds  5TD Passing 6 of 14 for  61yds  TOTAL 51 for 401yds  5TD