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Lancashire | Chester | Chester | Staffordshire | East Kilbride | Gateshead
Nottingham’s first game of the season saw them come up against division 1 opponents in the form of the Lancashire Wolverines.
Before kick-off a minute’s silence was held in remembrance of Gateshead Senators Mickey Thompson who sadly died Easter Monday in a Motorcycle accident.
Lancashire won the toss and elected to receive. Good kick off coverage kept the Wolverines deep in their own half and the Caesars defence came onto the field for their first drive of the season. Good hustle by the defence kept the Wolverines pinned back and a short punt gave the Caesars offence good field position.
The offence took the chance given to them and marched down the field with a key fourth down conversion by fullback Chris Nicolas being followed by QB Gary Stainton taking the ball in for the touchdown himself; Kicker Lee Stone Promptly kicked the PAT. Another good kick off kept the Wolverines in their own half and the defence again forced the punt.
Offence again took to the field in good position and behind some strong running and key completions marched in for the touchdown which came on a devastating run by Tailback Scott Messom for the first of a 3TD haul; Again Stone kicked the PAT. The scores remained the same the remainder of the first quarter.
The second quarter saw the Wolverines make some adjustments coming out in a four Receiver Set stretching the field but the Caesars D was up to the task and again forced the punt. Once again the offence came onto the field and again Messom went in for the score to give the Caesars a 20-0 Lead.
On their next drive the Wolverines managed to get their short passing game in gear making some good quick completions to their Receivers and gaining some momentum. The Nottingham D however stepped up their and again forced the punt. A muffed return however saw Lancashire recover the football with excellent field position and the Wolverines weren’t to going to be denied making their way down the field for the score which came on a jinking 4 yard run by their Runningback. The score remained the same going in to half time.
The third quarter saw both defences stepping up their game keeping the either offence from getting going in the third quarter.
In the fourth again both offences found the going touch against some strong defence and constant drizzle, however the Caesars again managed to find the endzone through a combination of strong running and key completions, with Scott Messom breaking in for the touchdown untouched again and Stone kicked the PAT. With Lancashire desperately trying to claw their way back into the game the Nottingham D stepped up the pressure coming up with a sack on the QB by Linebackers Mark Collett and Adi Giles keeping the Wolverines at bay.
With Nottingham comfortably ahead the offence was content to keep the clock moving running the ball but were unable to close out the game. The Wolverines came onto the field looking to salvage something but again strong pressure from the Caesars front seven saw an interception by CB Ewan Lamont. Nottingham again took the field and closed out the game giving them their first division 1 scalp and maintaining their run of remaining unbeaten at home. The next game sees them take on Division 1A rivals Chester Romans at Harvey Hadden Stadium in what promises to be a tough encounter.
The Nottingham Caesars moved to 2-0 following the defeat of fellow division rivals Chester Romans.
With the sun beating down on both teams it was the Caesars who kept their cool to put in a complete performance and put themselves in a strong position early into the season. Nottingham won the toss and elected to receive the ball, with Nottingham taking the field the Romans defence held firm and forced the punt, a good punt by Lee Stone pinned the Romans back deep and it was the turn of the Caesars D.
With the Romans offence taking the field for their first series of the season they looked unsteady and the tough Nottingham defence took full advantage forcing them 3 and out. A punt by the Romans gave the Caesars good field position, Nottingham managed to move the ball but an interception on a wayward Gary Stainton pass ended the drive prematurely.
Again the Caesars defence took the field and again Chester was forced to punt. This time the Nottingham Offence was not to be denied moving the ball down the field to culminate in a Scott Messom TD run. Kicker Lee Stone failed to add the PAT. This proved to be the only score of the quarter as the teams switched ends.
Good kick off coverage kept the Romans pinned deep and the rampant Nottingham defence stepped up a gear causing the Romans next five drives to result in turnovers including 3 fumble recoveries and an interception a piece for Martin Hilton and Shaun Chambers. While the defence kept the pressure on the Romans the offence was taking full advantage producing three scoring drives off the good field position provided. First of all Quarter Back Gary Stainton found Wide Receiver Phil Giles in the back of the end zone, the two point PAT attempt failed, then Scott Messom took his seasons touchdown tally to five following another short yardage burst, with Bernie Hackshaw adding the two points following a reception from Stainton, and to conclude the scoring, running back Vanden Warner produced a mesmerising run to score from 54 yards out leaving the Chester defenders grasping at air.
Following the half time break Nottingham relaxed a little and a fired up Chester took full advantage returning the kick off deep into Nottingham territory and only a touchdown saving tackle by Chambers prevented it being taken all the way for the score. With good field position Chester managed find some impetus and marched the ball to the Nottingham three yard line, but with a fourth down attempt being dropped in the end zone, Chester still couldn’t find a way to break the deadlock.
With the entire Chester team fired up Nottingham failed to produce anything with their drive and were forced to punt. On their next drive the Romans took full advantage of a sleeping Nottingham defence completing a long pass for the touchdown to claw back six points from the Caesars Lead. Again with the offence struggling the Romans regained the ball but the Nottingham defence began to get themselves back into the game and the score remained the same for the half.
In the fourth quarter the Romans did manage to break through the defence with the Romans Quarterback taking it in himself from six yards out. The 2 point PAT failed. Nottingham however was starting stir and some long drives managed to take time off the clock though they failed to produce any points.
Chester came out looking to pass the ball however any thought of comeback was stopped when Chambers produced his second interception of the day which he returned for the touchdown and Stone kicked the PAT. With the wind taken out of Chester’s sails the defence quickly regained the ball and the Nottingham offence was able to produce a long drive to run out the clock. Next week sees Nottingham making the long road trip to Chester for the reverse fixture in what promises to be a hard fought game with the Romans looking to avenge their defeat.
Nottingham’s third game of the season saw them taking on the same opposition for the second time in as many weeks in the form of Chester Romans.
Having defeated Chester the week before 33-12, the Romans were out for revenge on their home pitch. With the sun beating down, Chester won the toss and elected to receive.
A good return gave them good field position and their offence took the field. Chester came out with guns blazing and were able to drive the ball to within the Nottingham red zone before the Nottingham defence finally worked the bus journey out of their system. A sack by Mark Collett saw Chester lose yardage, then on the following play a wayward pass into traffic in the end zone saw LB Ian Askew come away with the interception which he returned 40 yards to give the offence good field position.
The Nottingham Offence took to the field but failed to get anything going and were quickly forced to punt. The first two drives set the tone for the entire first half with both teams’ defences running rampant and both offences struggling to find any sort of consistency.
With the failure of either team to move the ball the score remained scoreless. The second half continued where the first half left off and there was a general air of realisation that victory would come from a big play. The big play fell Nottinghams way with Quarterback Gary Stainton finding Wide Receiver Albert Thompson steaming past the Romans secondary for a 40yard touchdown strike. Kicker Chris Nicholas added the PAT on the second attempt after a mix up by the Romans defence meant they initially had 12 men on the field.
With Chester now chasing the game they came out with purpose moving the ball well but Nottingham again managed to stop them when it counted causing them to fail with a fourth down attempt deep in the Nottingham half.
With the momentum with Nottingham the offence managed to find some rhythm and while they were unable to put the ball into the end zone good drives were eating up the clock with some strong running by Running backs Guy Kersey, Scott Messom and Chris Nicholas. Again with the Romans becoming increasingly desperate they tried to find a break through but the Nottingham defence could sense victory and stood firm for the win. It was certainly a day for defences with every Nottingham player stepping up their game to bring about their first shutout for the season.
Nottingham now have a week off before they travel to midlands and divisional rivals Staffordshire Surge on May 16th.
It was another day for defences as a tough battle in the sun between local rivals Nottingham Caesars and Stafford Surge ended in a tie. Neither score came from an offensive play as both defences ran wild and ensured that it was an unhappy day for both teams’ offensives.
The toss was won by the Caesars who elected to receive, after a short kick return the Surge defence took to the field quickly forcing the punt and it was the turn of the Caesars Defence. This set the tone for the entire first quarter which remained scoreless as both teams failed to move the ball.
The second quarter began in the much the same fashion, eventually the Caesars managing to gain good field position through the booming punts of Lee Stone and with it some momentum, the wind was sucked from the Caesars sails as the Surge recovered a fumble which they returned for the touchdown. The extra-point failed after a bad snap to give the Surge a 6-0 Lead. The remainder of the half remained scoreless giving Staffordshire the lead at the break.
Nottingham kicked the second half off pinning the Surge offence deep in their half and after an exchange of punts Staffordshire took the field with the ball on their own five yard line. Trying to run themselves out of trouble they were unable to go forward and were pushed back to their 1 yard line. Punting the ball, veteran Albert Thompson fielded the return and after breaking several tackles took the ball to the end zone for the score. The two-point attempt failed leaving the scores tied.
The second half proved much the same as the first with neither side able to move the ball, good punting by Stone ensured that the Surge were pinned deep in their half. The only drama in the second half came from a Nottingham punt with the snap sailing over the head of Stone which gave Staffordshire the ball with good position. Despite being put in a dire situation, the Caesars defence came up big to ensure that Staffordshire wouldn’t be walking away with the win as Marcus Atkins returning for his first game of the season blocked the attempted field goal.
Both teams had more possessions to try and break the deadlock but neither side had the cutting edge to get the breakthrough they needed as the game ended. The draw means the Caesars remain atop the division having a 3-0-1 record, they now have two weeks off before they entertain last seasons beaten division 1 finalists East Kilbride Pirates at Harvey Hadden Stadium on June 6th in what promises to be a tough affair against a team considered to be the best in the Northern Conference.The Nottingham Caesars suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of last years division 1 beaten finalists, as the East Kilbride Pirates ran out comfortable winners with a score line that didn’t reflect the closeness of the match for much of the game. Nottingham won the toss and elected to receive, and after the return took the field looking to catch the Pirates napping after their long bus journey. The pirates however were having none of it as they forced the offence to punt. A good punt by Lee Stone who has kicked consistently well all season forced the pirates to take the field deep in their own half.
The Pirates offence came out fast and after some good runs crept into the Caesars half but their drive ended scoreless as safety Jay Smith picked off an errant pass. The Nottingham offence took to the field but again was forced to punt. This set the tone for the entire first quarter as good defensive play kept on both sides of the ball kept it scoreless.
In the second quarter the Pirates started to find some opportunities and managed to find the end zone on a long catch and run, the extra point attempt failed to put the pirates 6-0 up. The offence took to the field but a turnover gave the Pirates good field position, the defence managed to force the Pirates into a field goal attempt, the field goal sailed wide but a roughing the kicker penalty gave the pirates the first down and there was no stopping them the second time again going to the air for the score and this time hitting a short pass for the 2 extra points to make it 14 - 0, the score remained the same going into the half.
The second half opened with the Pirates making a good kick return to give themselves good field position, but despite this were unable to move the ball with the Nottingham defence forcing a punt. The snap went astray and with the East Kilbride Punter trying to scramble he was brought down well short of the first down to set up the Caesars offence with good field position. Despite making a key fourth down conversion, the Caesars offence failed to punch the ball away turning the ball over on downs. Despite being placed in a bad field position the Pirates managed to come away with a touchdown following another long catch and run, the extra point failed leaving the score at 20 - 0. With the game moving into the fourth quarter the Pirates were able to extend their lead further showing their big play ability as the Caesars defence tired on the hot day scoring three long rushing touchdowns and nailing one extra point to stretch their lead, with the Pirates defence running wild the Nottingham couldn’t produce any momentum and the Pirates ran out the clock for the win.
Despite the loss Nottingham keep the lead at the top division 1A North and this Sunday (13th) make the long road trip to Newcastle as they take on 1A rivals Gateshead Senators in a repeat of last season division 2 semi-final in which Nottingham ran out eventual winners though the lead changed hands several times thoughout.Nottingham crashed to their second straight defeat as their offensive struggles continued with the team failing to produce an offensive touchdown for the third straight game.
On a hot sunny day in Gateshead, the Caesars won the toss and elected to receive, the kick-off sailed out of the end zone and the Caesars took to the field at their own twenty. Unable to get the ball moving they were forced to punt. A deep punt by Lee Stone was fielded by the Gateshead returner who took it in for the score, only to have it called back for a penalty demonstrating Gateshead’s big play potential.
The defence took to the field and after some good defence forced Gateshead to punt. Again the Caesars offence lacked rhythm and were forced to punt, this time Stone angling the kick away from the returner to go out of bounds.
Gateshead took to the field and was able to move the ball culminating with their running back breaking the big play for the score. A successful pass added the 2 extra points leaving Gateshead 8-0 up at the quarter.
The second quarter began with the offence still struggling to make an impact and a fumbled punt snap gave the senators excellent field position in the Caesars half. The Senators took full advantage of the field position putting completing the pass for the touchdown; the extra-point was blocked leaving the score at 14-0. The scores remained the same at half time as the Caesars defence prevented the senators from extending the lead.
In the second half the Caesars came out strong, with Adi Giles grabbing two interceptions on consecutive drives to set up the offence in good field position. The offence failed to capitalise though first fumbling the ball away and then turning the ball over on downs as they desperately tried to find a way to get back into the game.
At the turn of the quarter the Senators finally sealed the game beyond doubt getting a long score through the passing game, the extra point was good giving the Senators a 21-0 lead. The game finished as both teams pulled the starters and ran out the clock. The loss to the Senators means that Caesars slip to second with the Senators taking the lead in the division.
Nottingham’s next fixture sees them entertaining the Senators on 4th July at Harvey Hadden Stadium.