Needing a win to qualify for the playoffs, the Chichester Sharks did it in emphatic style beating the Coventry Jets 50-7 in their final regular season game.

With Woodham Warriors (White) already qualified, four teams – Basingstoke, South Wales, London and Chichester – were fighting for the final two playoff places. After the Sharks’ last two shockingly poor home games, it was essential that they came out and made a statement. And that they did.

From the outset the Sharks controlled the game, playing aggressively on both sides of the ball. From the first through to the last score (8 TDs), the Sharks were dominant.

If we had such an award, the player of the game would have to go to Justin Handley, who managed to score 4 TDs in 4 different ways – 1 catch, 1 pass, 1 run and 1 interception return. The pick and run were both length of the field plays too (not bad for an old fella).

Justin didn’t have all the fun to himself as Simon Merton (3 TDs) and Mike Thompson (2 TDs) also joined the scoring party.

The Sharks defense played outstanding; snuffing out drive after drive and collecting 3 picks in the process. It could have been a shutout, but a miscommunication on the Sharks Offense led to a turnover and a 7 yard field for the Jets to drive for their only score.

The result put the Sharks into the playoffs and eliminated the Basingstoke Zombie Horde. The final spot is now between South Wales Warriors and the London Rebels. The Warriors currently occupy the final spot, but it will go to the London Rebels if they win 1 of their final 2 games (vs Leicester Eagles, Coventry Jets).

The finals are next Sunday in Worcester.

Needing to win both games to stay in the playoff hunt, the Sharks answered the bell last Sunday with victories over the Hampshire Thrashers and Coventry Jets.

Due to the loss to the London Rebels the previous weekend, it was essential Chichester win out all their remaining games to have a chance to compete in Doncaster in early September.

Aware of the need to start fast, the Sharks came out blazing against the Thrashers on both sides of the ball. While QB Neil Henderson was busy throwing EIGHT TDs, the defense was relentless in their pursuit of the Thrashers’ QB, forcing 6 interceptions. The main recipient of an aggressive blitz was defensive back Mike Thompson, who snared 4 errant passes, running back 1 for a touchdown. Not content with scoring 6 points, the Defense racked up another two as seventh string linebacker, Gary Robinson, sacked the Thrashers QB in the endzone for a safety.

On Offense, receivers Scott Wilson and Gary Robinson grabbed 2 TDs apiece in their race for the top slot of the scoring table, but were out done on the day by Josh Amis, who racked up 4 TDs with a stunning display of receiving and running after the catch.

Notable in this game, was Bruno Bergamaschi achieving a stat in each of the three categories – passing, receiving and defending – with an extra point catch, an interception and a 1 pt conversion pass as a quarterback – a first for this season.

The second game was always going to be a tougher matchup. The Jets are a good team and were returning a number of players who were not available in the Sharks victory the previous weekend.

With both teams playing good defense, the scoring was destined to be low. True to form, both offences struggled in the first half, until a gimpy Simon Merton was able to break the deadlock with a long TD from Henderson. There was to be no blow out with this one though as the Sharks were unable to stretch out any comfortable lead. A nice TD grab in the back of the endzone by Dayle Kirby took the score to 12-6 to Chichester, followed shortly after by a score from Gary Robinson to give the Sharks a precious advantage late in the 2nd half. Despite a consolation score by the Jets, the Sharks were able to run out the clock, 18-12 winners.

Next up, on Sunday 23rd August we have our final home games of the season against the St. Alban Kings and (hopefully) the Kent Exiles. The games are due to start at 11 a.m. and will be played at Oaklands Park in Chichester.

The Sharks need to win these remaining games and hope that the London Rebels slip up in one of their remaining games, including one against the unbeaten Leicester Eagles. If that were to happen the Sharks would make the playoffs.

BAFL Flag '09 - English Conference

Well done to everyone that played in our first Saturday games of the season this past weekend. It was the third weekend in a row on the road, so it was good we were able to field the 10 players that we did.

The results were a bit mixed on the day, with a pleasing win over an under-strength Coventry Jets team, before a disappointing – and somewhat controversial – loss to the London Rebels.

Off to our customary slow start, it wasn’t until the 2nd half that we managed to pull away from a Jets team that struggled to move the ball against our dominating Defense. Neil Henderson was on good form, throwing no picks and 4 TDs in the game – 2 of which went to gammy legged Simon Merton in his return to action after missing the last 3 matches. Despite the pain and the medication, Simon was able to break the deadlock with a long TD reception from Neil.

Eager to stay ahead of Simon in the race for the top spot in the scoring table, Scott Wilson was not to be outdone, snagging two TDs of his own. With Dave Lee and Mike Thompson both collecting their seconds picks of the season, the D was in fine form, limiting the Jets to just one score, as the Sharks ran out comfortable winners in a 26-7 victory.

The 2nd game did not quite go to plan. The Rebels are fast, big and experienced, led by the strong arm of QB Brad Madison. They scored early and we were chasing the game by halftime. Our only score in the first period came on a reception by receiver Josh Amis – his first as a Shark. The score line would have been closer had a long TD run by Center Gary Robinson not been nullified due to a lineman’s error. Gary made up for the lost score in the 2nd half by turning another short pass into a long score.

The Sharks D had a strong game despite the scoreline (Rebels had a short field on 2 scores), limiting the Rebels to 1 score in the 2nd half. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to prevent the loss, as the Sharks dropped an important game, 26-13.

Coventry also lost to the Rebels on the day, putting a significant dent in their playoff aspirations. Leicester continue to lead the table, with London in 2nd and Chichester 3rd.

London still have one game remaining against the unbeaten Eagles. The Sharks must hope Leicester win that and we continue to win the rest of our games, as we hold the head to head point difference tiebreaker over the Rebels. In the event of Chichester and London having an identical record and tied in 2nd place in the league table at the end of the season, then Chichester would progress to the playoffs.

Next week: Home tournament at Southbourne Leisure Centre versus Coventry and Hampshire

News just in….

The Kirkcaldy Bulls have won the inaugural BAFL Flag championship title,  beating the Carluke Cobras 48-13 in the finals. This is also the 6th year in a row they have won their Scottish league/Conference. Quite a remarkable feat.

Carluke and Kirkcaldy made the final by merit of beating the English teams, Coventry and Leicester in the semi-finals. The final results are:

Semi-Finals

Coventry Jets 30-38 Kirkcaldy Bulls

Carluke Cobras 19-13 Leicester Eagles

3rd/4th Place Playoff
Leicester Eagles v Coventry Jets

National Championship Game

Kirkcaldy Bulls 48 v 13 Carluke Cobras

It’s a shame we didn’t make it to the finals this year, as I would have loved to see how we would match up with the top Scottish teams, but alas, it was not to be.

There is always next year…

This Saturday sees the Sharks (10-1) travel to Coventry for a crunch match against the Jets (9-2). This is a key match for both teams as they fight for the 2 playoff spots, along with the Mildenhall Mayhem and the Leicester Eagles.

Kickoff is at noon. However, as its a Saturday and traffic could be poor, the Chichester lot will need to leave Chichester at 7.30am, arriving at Hedge End by 8am to meet Neil and Gareth. Dayle will arrange a departure time with the Horsham based players. We’ll all meet up at the Warwick services at 10am.

Neil and Gary will be driving – passengers don’t forget the petrol money!

See you Saturday