2004 Adult Flag news

23rd December 2004 - ESFL Review of the year

It's congratulations to two of the English Senior Flag League's oldest clubs at the end of 2004. Leicester Eagles won their third successive 9man title following a perfect season, and the Bournemouth Raiders won their second 5man title in three years. Here is the ESFL review of their season.


Bournemouth Raiders 5man champs


Leicester Eagles 9man champs

Following the British Senior Flag League AGM in February, the member clubs voted overwhelmingly to amend the name of the league to the English Senior Flag League. The reason was that Scotland has the SFFA for their clubs, and the name BSFL was deemed outdated.

Team England lost all 3 World Cup matches against the three strongest opponents they could have drawn in the 2004 World Cup of Flag Football in the Dominican Republic in February - USA, Canada and Israel. They put in a great performance against Canada going down 18-6 (Chichester Sharks duo of Nick Watson and Pete Steele connecting on the TD) in arguably the greatest performance by an England side. They also defeated the Dominican Rep 36-6
in a friendly. Canada won the title with a 12-8 win over USA.

The English Senior Flag League opened their 2004 season in March with their first Allstar games. The Southern Pirates took on the Northern Knights in a 9man friendly match, which the North won 28-6 thanks to a 100 yard running game and 2 TD's from MVP Michael Soboagl. The Pirates gained revenge in the 5man challenge match with a 18-6 win.

In April, the 5man season started in fine fashion with Leicester Eagles winning the opening ESFL tournament of 2004 at Birmingham in Easter Bowl II with three wins out of three. North Devon and Staffordshire also finished the tournament unbeaten.

In May, England travelled to Dublin to compete in the second Senior Flag 7man international between the two countries. The England side was made up of 18 experienced players that had been drawn from 6 ESFL sides, and emerged victorious 13-6 in a tight game. Following Andre Clarke's interception, QB Roy Tanton (North Devon) picked out Nick Moffat (Fen Harriers) from two yards out to put England ahead on half-time. Nick Watson (Chichester Sharks) found Gurkinder Mann (Staffordshire) for the 1PAT. Ireland pulled the score back to 7-6, but Abdul Lawal's (Bournemouth Raiders) 21yard interception return for a TD sealed the win for England.

The ESFL entered a Northern and Southern England side in the Flag Oceane competition, and a Scottish side also entered the competition. It was the Scots who did the best finishing 11th, with ESFL North coming 13th and ESFL South 15th in the 20 team competition in Le Havre, France.

In June, Team USA jetted over to England to compete in an IFFF World Cup qualifier over two days in Fareham. They were joined by the French League champions, the Troyes Pygargues, and both sides reached the 5man final on the Saturday. USA trailed 6-0 to the French team at half-time of the final, but they rebounded with 4 scores without reply to win 25-6 in the final. 9
sides took part in the day's event with a round robin stage followed by a knockout competition. The top English sides were from Bournemouth and Derby who reached the semi-finals. Troyes defeated Bournemouth 27-6 in the semi-finals, with USA edging out Derby 28-13.

Team USA won the 9man senior flag competition on the Sunday to complete a double victory in the IFFF World Cup qualifier. For the second successive day they faced French opposition in the final. The tournament was made up of 4 other sides from England, with Leicester Eagles and Andover Thrashers reaching the semi-finals. USA turned over Leicester 14-0, and Troyes
defeated Andover by the same score. In the Championship game, Team USA's Adam Desanctis started off the scoring on a 60 yard scamper, Jim Zimolka then caught a 15 yard pass from Pat Connelly to give the USA a comfortable 13-0 lead. Troyes scored on a 10 yard pass from QB Flavien Charles to WR Eric Pierre to pull the French side within a point. The games final score came on Desanctis's 60 yard TD jaunt, as USA ran out 20-6 winners. Adam
Desanctis scored six touchdowns on the day as he was awarded MVP Honors.

Leicester Eagles continued their domination of the 2004 9-man league with wins over Fen Harriers (26-6) and Andover Thrashers (26-16) in the Harriers Challenge Cup. The Harriers beat Andover 32 - 12 to post a 1-1 record for their first tournament of the year, and Andover Thrashers record dropped to 1-3.

The Leicester Eagles then travelled over to the Irish Republic to play the Drimnagh Cycos in the 8th Anglo-Irish Flag American Football Challenge in Dublin in July, and it was the Eagles who came out on top for the second successive year, 28-6. James Hossack scoring two TD's and catching two interceptions.

Team England got their training for the 2005 World Cup in Miami off to a slow start as they fell to a 16-12 defeat against Andover in September, and continued their preparations for the tournament with further training sessions in the Autumn.

Leicester Eagles sealed the 9man title with two wins in September against the Fen Harriers and the Chatham Sharks to complete a perfect 6-0-0 season. The Eagles retained the title they won in 2003 and 2002.

After a gap of four months from the Fareham 5man tournament, the Barbarians took the next ESFL 5man tournament on points scored from the Bournemouth Raiders in Autumn Bowl II at Chichester. Barbarians finished with two wins out of three, as did Bournemouth, with Chichester and the Bournemouth Deckchairs finishing 1-2-0.

Horsham College hosted four teams in a friendly 5man tournament, which was one by Chichester Sharks in November.

Team England announced the squad and management for the 2005 World Cup in December with Nick Watson, Jason Prowse and Hitesh Patel joining the team management, and being joined by a squad of 27 made up from 6 different ESFL clubs. There are high hopes for this group of players in February 2005.

In the final event of 2004, the 2004 BYAFA Youth Flag champions, the South Wales Rebellion, surprised their senior flag counterparts with a stunning performance at Beach Bowl IV in Andover. In the highlight of the ESFL 5man calendar eight sides took part, and it was the Rebellion who swept past Chatham, Bournemouth and Andover Thrashers B enroute to the final where they defeated Andover Thrashers A 21-12 to clinch the tournament title.

The ESFL 5man title qualification was amended in the 2004 AGM to specify that to qualify for the title teams had to compete in three or more tournaments. Bournemouth Raiders ended the season on top after seven wins out of nine matches winning their second 5man title in three years, with last seasons champions, Chichester Sharks in second place.

12th December 2004 - South Wales Rebellion win Beach Bowl IV

The 2004 BYAFA Youth Flag champions, the South Wales Rebellion, surprised their senior flag counterparts with a stunning performance at Beach Bowl IV in Andover. The highlight of the English Senior Flag League 5man season saw the Rebellion sweep through their qualifying group enroute to the final where they defeated the hosts, Andover Thrashers A, 21-12 to clinch the tournament title.

Andover Thrashers superbly hosted the tournament played in great spirit throughout, and the eight competing sides were split into two qualifying pools of four teams. In Pool A, Andover Thrashers A crushed Team Pumpkin 28-0, and then ensued two of the best games of the season. Chichester Sharks tied 19-19 with The Barbarians, with the Barbarians tieing the game in the final seconds. In the next game, the Sharks again were foiled with a 13-13 draw with Andover A when the lead swapped hands twice in the final few minutes. The Barbarians kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the final with a 19-0 win over Team Pumpkin, but they were denied when Andover defeated them 13-8. Chichester salvaged second place in the group by thumping Team Pumpkin 26-6 in the final pool game.

In Pool B, the youngsters from South Wales opened up against Andover Thrashers B. After a quiet opening the Rebellion opened up and blew away the Thrashers 30-0. Another new team, the Chatham Sharks, then took on the current ESFL league leaders Bournemouth Raiders, but after a scoreless first half, the Raiders pulled away to a 19-0 win on the back of Matt
Heasman's two TD passes and Abdul Lawal's interception return for a TD. Chatham then took on Andover, and it was the Sharks who won their first ever game 28-7. South Wales continued their fine run with a convincing 20-0 win over Bournemouth, and then followed that off by clinching the group and a place in the final with a thumping 26-7 over Chatham. Bournemouth
clinched 2nd spot in the pool with a 32-0 win over Andover Thrashers B thanks to 4 interception returns for TDs in the second half.

In the final, both South Wales and Andover Thrashers A put on a superb display of 5man football, but it was the Rebellion who triumphed 21-12.

Bournemouth clinched third place with a 7-6 win over Chichester. Nick Watson hit Pete Steele on a bomb right at the end of the first half, but crucially Nick Michael sacked Watson to prevent the 1PAT. Bournemouth tied the scores on a trick play when Michael as running back hooked up with Abdul Lawal from distance, and Heasman picked out Nick Michael for the
clinching 1PAT

In fading light, the Barbarians defeated Chatham Sharks for 5th place with a 20-6 victory with Adam Duffy throwing for 3 scores.

Pool A

Andover Thrashers A           v      Team Pumpkin             28-0
Chichester Sharks       v     Barbarians         19-19
Andover Thrashers A           v      Chichester Sharks 13-13
Team Pumpkin                   v      Barbarians        0-19
Andover Thrashers A           v      Barbarians        13-8
Team Pumpkin                   v      Chichester Sharks 6-26

                  W      L     T     PF-PA %
Andover Thrashers A     2     0      1     54-21 0.83
Chichester Sharks 1     0     2      58-38 0.67
Barbarians        1     1      1     46-32 0.50
Team Pumpkin            0      3     0     6-73   0.00

Pool B

Chatham Sharks    v     Bournemouth Raiders      0-19
Andover Thrashers B     v     South Wales Rebellion   0-30
Chatham Sharks    v     Andover Thrashers B      28-7
Bournemouth Raiders     v     South Wales Rebellion   0-20
Chatham Sharks    v     South Wales Rebellion    7-26
Bournemouth Raiders     v     Andover Thrashers B      32-0

                  W      L     T     PF-PA %
South Wales Rebellion   3     0     0      76-7  1.00
Bournemouth Raiders     2     1      0     51-20 0.67
Chatham Sharks    1     2     0      35-52 0.33
Andover Thrashers B     0     3      0     7-90  0.00

Championship Final

Andover Thrashers A     v     South Wales Rebellion   12-21

3rd Place Play-off

Chichester Sharks       v      Bournemouth Raiders     6-7

5th Place Play-off

Barbarians  v     Chatham Sharks    20-6

7th Place Play-off

Andover Thrashers B w/o Team Pumpkin

4th November - 9man Senior Flag Challenge

Andover Thrashers 16 - 12 Team England

Andover Thrashers, in their first season, staged a remarkable comeback to beat Team England. Enjoying home field advantage for the first time in any of their previous games, Andover were spurred on as they took on Team England, who were making their preparations for the IFFF Senior Flag World Cup in Florida in February 2005.

Team England opted to start with possession after the Thrashers won the toss, but elected to use the prevailing winds and slope of the pitch in the first quarter. But, if Team England had expected an easy ride they were in for a big shock.

The Thrashers defence stood firm and held on to thwart the national side's first drive before driving the full length of the pitch to score on a 15yd pass from QB Andy Mountain to WR Adam Russell. The kick was successfully converted by Ty Metcalfe to give them an 8-0 lead.

The second quarter saw an impressive performance from both teams with aggressive defence trying to contain and cancel out offensive flair. Team England snuffed out one Andover drive by first tipping a Mountain pass before intercepting it. Before half-time, however, Team England came back to pinch a touchdown despite the Thrashers' best efforts to keep them out.
After the score the national side opted to go for a passing play to convert, but this was disrupted by Manny Ferreira and Ty Metcalfe, and Andover went in at the half 8-6 up.

After making slight adjustments in the game plan it was decided that the only way to give new players experience was to play them and the third quarter, and this saw the Thrashers on the rack as Team England piled on the pressure with pin-point passes from QB NIck Watson, that eventually opened up Andover to take a 12-8 lead.

The fourth quarter saw a determined Thrashers pull together as the defensive line of Lee Mudd, Dean Rotman and Paul Whitefield (who recorded 2 sacks in the game) battled to pressure the England QB into making mistakes.

Andover staged a remarkable comeback and the game began to swing in their favour as they executed plays with precision. The small, but vocal crowd got behind the team, and erupted as RB Manny Ferreira sprinted to the outside, after catching a pass from Mountain, and dived over in the corner to score. Ty Metcalfe once again added the extra points to give Andover a
16-12 lead heading into to the final 2 minutes, before Andy Mountain, in his defensive role, picked off a Watson pass that allowed the Thrashers to run the remaining time on the clock down.

To see Stats & Photos of the game, visit the Thrashers website @: www.andoverthrashers.moonfruit.com and for further information on the English Senior Flag League visit www.seniorflag.co.uk


11th October 
- Barbarians take ESFL 5man tournament in Chichester. Report

9th October - SFFA Finals Day

The Scottish Flag Football Association held its League Finals Day on Saturday 9th October 2004 at Forthbank Stadium, Stirling, the climax to this season's league for Cadet (under 12), Junior (under 15) and Youth (under 17). All league play was held between April and September 2004 where the North/ East and the West Central conferences for each age group battled it out for a place in today's play-offs. The top of the North/ East would face second place in the West/ Central while the top of the West/ Central would face the second place from the North/ East. The winners of these games would meet in the final while the losers would play out for 3rd & 4th place.

The Grangemouth Broncos played the Glasgow Bengal Tigers while the Glasgow Siberian Tigers played the Inverness Rockets in the Cadet playoffs, and with the scores Broncos 59 Bengals 0 and Siberians 38 Rockets 6 we had an exciting final lined up. For the third consecutive time this season the Broncos would face the Siberians, meeting previously at the Claymores' Kick-off Classic and the Flame Bowl in Grangemouth where the Siberians came out on top on both occasions and during a regulation inter-conference league match where the Broncos had beaten the Siberian giving a 2-1 record in the Siberians favour.

The match was an exciting affair with the Siberians creating a 9 point lead, but the Broncos were determined to snatch victory from them and reduced the lead to 3 as the game went into the final 2 minutes. The Broncos defence looked good while the Siberians struggled to move the ball, but just when it looked as if the Broncos would get the ball back for a final chance to take the game the Siberians gambled with a run that ended with them gaining the vital 1st down and allowed them to run out the clock to win 39-36. The Glasgow Siberian Tigers were crowned Cadet Scottish Flag Football Champions. The Glasgow Bengal Tigers beat the Inverness Rockets 37-36 in the 3rd & 4th place play-off.

 

At Junior level the Moray Maniacs played the Glasgow Hornets while the Clyde Valley Predators played the Inverness Rockets, and with the scores Maniacs 33Hornets 32 and Predators 59 Rockets 12 it would be the Maniacs against the Predators in the final while the Hornets would play the Rockets for 3rd & 4th. The Maniacs and the Predators met at last years play-offs and on that occasion the Predators beat the Maniacs to make the final. So with a 1-0 record the Maniacs were looking for revenge. However after 40 minutes of exciting play it was the Predators who were the better team, winning the game 56-19. The Clyde Valley Predators were crowned Junior Scottish Flag Football Champions. In the 3rd & 4th place playoff the game ended in a 14-14 draw.

 

At Youth level the Glasgow Hornets played the opening game against the Aberdeen Oilcats while the Kirkcaldy Bulls played the Graeme High School Titans in the other fixture and with the scores Hornets 40 Oilcats 33 and Bulls 45 Titans 26, could we see the Bulls repeat last year's success as they faced the Hornets in what was shaping up to be a very exciting final. The Bulls dominated the game throughout the 1st half with the Hornets struggling to make an impact. However in the 2nd half theHornets began their come back scoring twice while holding the Bulls out of the end zone. They came within one score of the game, but the Bulls stepped a gear to stretch the lead once again. The game ended 28-18 and the Kirkcaldy Bulls were crowned Youth Scottish Flag Football Champions for the second season running.  A feat mirrored by their Senior squad who had dominated the Senior league for their second season. In the 3rd & 4th place game the Oilcats beat the Titans 41-28.

 

The SFFA also awarded its Coach of the Year Awards during the presentation ceremony. Robbie McKenzie of the Grangemouth Broncos picked up Cadet Coach of the Year. Mark Fletcher of the Glasgow Tigers picked up Junior Coach of the Year, Gordon Third of the Aberdeen Oilcats picked up Youth Coach of the Year andStuart McKay picked up Senior Coach of the Year. There was also a special Merit Award for recognition of a member's contribution to flag football over the years. This went to Stu McKay whose sterling work as Chairman of the Association was deemed worthy of the gong.

26th September - 
Leicester Eagles continued their ESFL 9man domination with two more victories. Report

8th August - The Leicester Eagles traveled over to the Irish Republic last weekend to play the Drimnagh Cycos in the 8th Anglo-Irish Flag American Football Challenge in Marley Park, Dublin.

Both defenses were the dominate factors for most of the first half – with the Cycos’ Liam Farrell and Aidan Kelly picking off Eagles QB Chris Wild to end Leicester’s opening two drives. Wild got the Eagles to the Drimnagh 1-yardline but was unable to find his receivers on 4th down. The Cycos offense started to move down field but Eagles’ safety James Hossack intercepted an Aidan Kelly pass and the Eagles took full advantage of the turn-over with running back Ryan Melbourne sweeping down the right hand side of the pitch to put Leicester 6 – 0 up. Wild found WR Tom Gill for the extra point and a 7 – 0 lead. The Eagles stopped the Cycos next drive and Craig Broughton found Hossack with an option pass to extend the Eagles lead with Wild and Gill hooking up again for the extra point. The Eagles went in 14 – 0 ahead at half-time.

The Eagles came out firing at the start of the second half with TE Alistair Coulthurst taking a short Broughton pass the length of the field. But then both teams’ defenses began to dominate again. Hossack got his second interception of the game and a long Eagles drive saw him score his second TD when he hung on to another Broughton pass to put the Eagles 26 – 0 in front. The Cycos refused to give in and Aidan Kelly hit Steve Dunn on a short pass across the middle and the wily Irishman weaved his way through the Eagles defense for a consolation Cycos TD. Final score – Leicester Eagles 26 – Drimnagh Cycos 6.

Anglo-Irish Flag American Football Challenge Series

I 19th July 1997 Eagles 6 – 12 Cycos (Dublin)
II 9th May 1998 Eagles 24 – 12 Cycos (Leicester)
III 12th June 1999 Eagles 12 – 20 Cycos (Dublin)
IV 12th May 2001 Eagles 8 – 12 Cycos (Leicester)
V 7th July 2001 Eagles 6 – 49 Cycos (Dublin)
VI 6th July 2002 Eagles 12 – 12 Cycos (Dublin)
VII 12th July 2003 Eagles 12 – 6 Cycos (Dublin)
VIII 31st July 2004 Eagles 26 – 6 Cycos (Dublin)

6th June 2004 - USA win 9man competition in Fareham

Team USA won the 9man senior flag competition at Fareham to complete a double victory in the IFFF World Cup qualifier. For the second successive day they faced French opposition in the final. The tournament was made up of 4 other sides from England. More to follow.

5th June 2004 - USA win 5man competition in Fareham

Team USA won the 5man senior flag competition at Fareham today. Trailing 6-0 to the French team from Troyes, USA rebounded with 4 scores without reply to win 25-6 in the final. 9 sides took part in the day's event with a round robin stage followed by a knock-out competition. The top English sides were from Bournemouth and Derby who reached the semi-finals.


The English & French champions - Leicester and Troyes

Known scores:

Round-Robin

Chichester Sharks 20-20 Hawks A
Chichester Sharks bt. Derby Dream Team
Derby Dream Team 35-28 Hawks A
Bournemouth 13-6 Hawks B
Bournemouth 12-0 Troyes B
Hawks B 6-8 Troyes B
USA bt. North Devon Dogs
USA bt. Troyes A
Troyes A bt. North Devon Dogs

Wild-Card

North Devon Dogs bt. Hawks B

Quarter-Finals

Bournemouth 13-6 North Devon Dogs
USA 38-18 Hawks A
Troyes A 27-0 Troyes B
Derby Dream Team 14-12 Chichester Sharks

Semi-Finals


Troyes A 27-6 Bournemouth
USA 28-13 Derby Dream Team

Final

USA 25-6 Troyes A

31st May 2004 - ESFL hosts World Cup qualifier

The English Senior Flag League are hosting an official IFFF World Cup Qualifying tournament next weekend over 2 days at Fareham in Hampshire. As well as all the ESFL member clubs, teams from USA and France are travelling over to compete in what should be an exciting festival of senior flag football.

Saturday is the non-contact 5man tournament. Current ESFL league leaders, North Devon Dogs will be hoping to build on their promising start to the season, but there will be tough opposition with last season’s champions, Chichester Sharks competing as well as perennial tough competitors Derby, Birmingham and Bournemouth. Then of course lies the unknown challenge of the 2 sides from Troyes in France, and the 2 USA teams who are the heavy favourites. The Hawks from Andover are expected to enter two sides and are an unknown quantity.

Sunday is the semi-contact 9man tournament which sees the two ESFL powerhouse sides, Leicester Eagles and Fen Harriers, take on the might of France and USA. The Hawks, who are preparing to play kitted football are competing in this tournament which will be excellent practice for them. The other competing sides are a combination of the Derby & Chichester teams, and also an amalgamation of Bournemouth/North Devon and Birmingham squads.

The tournament will be played at Brookers Field,  Newgate Lane, Fareham and competition on each day starts at 11.30am.

Directions: Leave the M27 at junction 10 or 11 and follow the road to Lee on Solent. Click here for a map

31st May 2004 - Flag Oceane

The ESFL entered a Northern and Southern England side in the Flag Oceane competition, and a Scottish side also entered the competition. It was the Scots who did the best finishing 11th, with ESFL North coming 13th and ESFL South 15th in the 20 team competition in Le Havre, France.

From 
www.flag-oceane.com

For 15th/16th - ESFL South defeated Jamaican w/o
For 13th/14th - ESFL North defeated Impalas 20-12
For 11th/12th - Caledonians Clansmen (Scotland) defeated Vikings (Lille) 26-13

Classement Final

1 SILVER FOX (Divers France)
2 SALAMANDRES1 (Le Havre)
3 GAULOIS 1 (Sannois)
4 SABRES (Chateauroux)
5 KELKHEIM LIZZARDS (ALL)
6 ARCHANGES (Montpellier)
7 SPARTIATES (Amiens)
8 MOLOSSES (Asnières)
9 DANISH WARRIORS (DK)
10 ATLANTES (Biarritz)
11 CALEDONIANS CLANSMEN (SCO)
12 VIKINGS (Lille)
13 ESFL NORTH (UK)
14 IMPALAS
15 ESFL SOUTH (UK)
16 JAMAICANS (Evry)
17 GAULOIS 2 (Sannois)
18 FLASH (La Courneuve)
19 MARGOUILLATS (Rezé)
20 SALAMANDRES 2 (Le Havre)


26th May 2004 - Flag Oceane 2004 – 29th-30th March, Le Havre, France.

This year will be the 4th consecutive year that a team from England has competed in the Flag Oceane tournament. In 2001 a newly formed flag team from the University of Derby entered the senior leisure section of the tournament. Finishing with a record of 10-1 the Derby team finished in 1st place and took the title in front of a 500 + crowd. 2002 saw the return of the Derby team, however after the previous years victory the team entered the senior competitive section. With higher calibre teams from countries such as Canada, Israel, Austria and a team from a Untied States airbase based in Germany, the Derby Dream team managed a respectable 6th place. In 2003 Derby Dream team joined the BSFL and teamed up with players from 4 other clubs to create the first ESFL all star team at the tournament. Once again the team faced stiff opposition in the biggest flag football tournament in Europe. With a 4-1 record after the first days play, losing only to the eventual champions of 2003 (21-14) the All-star team finished a well earned 9th place.

This May 29th/30th is the 7th year of the tournament and the ESFL will be sending 2 All-star teams; The Northern All-stars and the Southern All-stars with 7 club sides in the fold. We wish both teams the best of luck and are confident that the ESFL will be well represented.
 
For photos, results and info visit www.flag-oceane.com

9th May 2004 - England win in Ireland

England victorious 13-6 in Ireland in Senior Flag international. More....

6th May 2004 - England vs Ireland part 2

The 2nd Flag Football International Challenge Game between Ireland and England takes place this Saturday May 8th in Marlay Park Rathfarnham Dublin, Kick off 2pm. In May 2000, Ireland defeated England 27-7 in the only previous senior flag encounter between the two sides.

The England side is made up of 18 experienced players that has been drawn from 6 ESFL sides.

John Stevenson, Matt Stevenson, Roy Tanton, Dave Duncan, Simon Allen (all North Devon Dogs) 
Matt Heasman, Nick Michael, Abdul Lawal, Vincent Gurrea, Tim Smith, John Parsons, Barnaby Kerr (all Bournemouth Raiders)
Andre Clarke (Leicester Eagles) 
Nick Watson (Chichester Sharks) 
Nick Moffatt, Martin Brown (all Fen Harriers) 
Hitesh Patel (Team Extreme)

4th April 2004 - Leicester win Easter Bowl

The Leicester Eagles won the opening ESFL tournament of 2004 with three wins out of three. North Devon and Staffordshire also finished the tournament unbeaten. For more click here

7th March 2004 - ESFL Allstar report

The Northern Knights triumphed 28-6 over the Southern Pirates in the 9man English Senior Flag League Allstar match at Witney Rugby Club. For match report click here

  

3rd March 2004 - ESFL gear up for Allstar game

The English Senior Flag League open their 2004 season this weekend with their first Allstar games. The Southern Pirates take on the Northern Knights in 9man and 5man friendly matches. 

The Knights start the game as heavy favourites with their 31 man squad, but the Pirates boast many experienced players and are expected to give them a tough game. The Southern Pirates squad is boosted by 6 players who recently played for England in the World Cup in the Dominican Republic. The 9man game kicks off at 2pm, and will be followed by a 5man exhibition game. The games will be played at Witney Rugby Club. 

Northern Knights squad

Andy Allen, Lawrence Tallon, Martin Brown, Paul Griffiths, Nick Moffatt, John William Scott, Adam Pollock, Matt Ranson, Dave Parr, Chris Blackwood, Greg Enright, Paul Berg (All Fen Harriers)
Garry Griffiths, Darren Kangurs, Keith Phillips, Lawrence Vos, Craig Priest (All Birmingham Raiders)
Ryan Melbourne, Mike Turner, Jeff Brown, Andy Gambrill, Rich Manning, Alastair Coluthurst (All Leicester Eagles)
Dan Mearkle, Michael Soboagl, Tesh Patel, Ben Harper, Simon Juniper, Obina Igboesisi (All Team Extreme)
Gurkinder Mann, Alex Skivington (All Derby Dream Team)

Coaching Positions:

Team Manager - Tesh Patel (Team Extreme)
Head Coach - Lawrence Vos (Birmingham Raiders)
Offensive Coach - Lawrence Vos (Birmingham Raiders)
Defensive Coach - Tesh Patel (Team Extreme)
Special Teams Coach - Andrew Gambrill (Leicester Eagles)

Southern Pirates squad

John Parsons, Mark Elliott, Karl Forrest, Matt Heasman, Richard Cleveland, Tim Smith, Mike Drobny, Brad Smith, Elliot Smith, Nick Michael, Vincent Gurrea, Barney Kerr (all Bournemouth Raiders)
Nick Watson, Pete Steele, Neil Henderson, Dave Giles, Jason Davies, Dan Mitchell, Gary Robinson, Julian Simms, Ben White, Justin Handley, Nick Harris, Andy Ifould, Jon Steele-Mills, Shaun Scutt (all Chichester Sharks)
Matt Stevenson, Dave Duncan (North Devon Dogs)

Coaching Positions

Team Manager - Matt Heasman (Bournemouth Raiders)
Offensive Coach - Nick Watson (Chichester Sharks)
Defensive Coach - Nick Michael (Bournemouth Raiders)

For all the latest on the English Senior Flag League visit 
www.seniorflag.co.uk

3rd March 2004 - Team England return from World Cup

Team England lost all 3 World Cup matches against the three strongest opponents they could have drawn - USA, Canada and Israel. They put in a great performance against Canada going down 18-6 (Chichester Sharks duo of Nick Watson and Pete Steele connecting on the TD) in arguably the greatest performance by an England side. They also defeated the Dominican Rep 36-6 in a friendly. Canada won the title with a 12-8 win over USA.

 
Team Canada with the World Cup

  
Team England in action against Canada

23rd February 2004 - Team England fly out for World Cup of Flag Football

14 Players from around the country flew out to the Dominican Republic today to represent the English Flag Football League at the 6th annual IFFF World Cup. This is the third time around for Team England at the World Cup of Flag Football and the team is looking to improve on its 4th place in the 2002 finals. They will be competing in the 4man non contact competition and the 8man semi-contact competition. We wish them good luck and will follow their results over the coming week.

10th February 2004 - British Senior Flag League changes it's name

Following the BSFL AGM, the member clubs voted overwhelmingly to amend the name of the league to the English Senior Flag League. The reason was that Scotland has the SFFA for their clubs, and the name BSFL was deemed outdated.

30th January 2004 - Team England announce squad for World Cup

Below is the current roster for the team and with new additions from the BSFL National 5 on 5 champions, Chichester Sharks, the team looks set to make a big impression. 

1) Nick Watson                 QB (Chichester Sharks) 
2) Austin Bradshaw           QB/FS (Derby Dream) 
3) Peter Steel                 WR/DB (Chichester Sharks) 
4) David Giles                   C/DL (Chichester Sharks) 
5) Julian Simms                LB/DL (Chichester Sharks) 
6) JustinHandley              DL (Chichester Sharks) 
7) Jon Steele-Mills            WR/DB (Chichester Sharks) 
8) Steve Wigley               OL/DL (Invicta Coyotes) 
9) Gurkinder Mann            WR/DB (Staffordshire) 
10) Alistair Reid                WR/DB (Staffordshire) 
11) Onyebuchi Ebo            OL/DL (Derby Dream) 
12) Adam Rasul                 LB/DB (Team Extreme) 
13) Ade Akitoye                WR/DB (Derby Dream) 
14) Jason Prowse               RB/LB  (Derby Dream) 

For more info on the team contact teamengland@hotmail.com

13th January 2004 - Players Pull the Flag on Coaches Revenge

The fifth annual "Snow Bowl" ended in tragedy for the Coaches when the players rallied and turned round a 6 point deficit into a 33 to 12 victory. The "Snow Bowl" is the time when players from the local Inverness Blitz Academy of American Football are allowed to demonstrate the skills they have learnt over the past year on their unfortunate coaches. Traditionally played around New Year the first three Bowl games ended in draws, the fourth being won by the Players team, and this year saw a determined Coaches team take to the field for the annual flag football match. The Coaches lost the toss and started on defense but stopped the Players first drive dead in the tracks. The Coaches offense took the field and with a hand-off to Rob Allbrook started a drive which took them all the way to the Endzone culminating with Martin Devlin catching a touchdown pass from quarterback Robbie Paulin to open the scoring. The Players offense led by Wildcats/Dolphins/Rockets quarterback Paul Kirkland responded with three touchdowns passes one 20 yard pass to Liam Mackenzie and two passes one of 35 and the other 30 yards to Graham Scott to go in at halftime 19 to 6 up. The Coaches started the second half again in determined fashion with a 30yard pass from Martin Devlin to David Paulin. However several costly penalties forced the Coaches back. The Coaches continued the pressure and secured their second touchdown when Martin Devlin ran in from 15 yards, hope once more returned to the Coaches team. The players however continued to stretch their lead when Chris Gordon found himself on the end of another 20 yard pass from Paul Kirkland, the pair connected on extra point conversion. The last seconds of the game saw Graham Scott get his hat trick of touchdowns when he ran the ball in from 15yards, final score Coaches 12 : Players 33.

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