Voodoo Halloween Bowl – Results

Well done guys, for a fantastic effort on Sunday. The results may not have gone our way, but I saw a great determination and commitment from both teams. And it was a lot of fun!

There were a lot of positives to take from the day:

1) we entered two teams. This is impressive in its own right. Very few teams in the league are able to field the number of players we have on our squad. I’m very pleased to see how our team has grown this year. It was only 10 months ago that our squad numbers fell to 5-7 players. We were faced with the prospect of the team folding, but strong recruitment efforts – through word of mouth, in the papers and on the web – has built our squad up to 20+.

The reward was evident on Sunday as we field two full strength teams. I’ve never known us to have to take 7 cars to a tournament before.

2) the Thespians broke their duck! In an excellent first game, the Thespians started strong with a interception by Thierry who returned it for a touchdown! Unfortunately, Voodoo were able to respond with a touchdown of their own for a 6-6 tie. This game demonstrated just how far the team has come – you all played hard and deserved the result.

To cap it off, the Barbarians had to forfeit their match, so strike that up as the first victory for the Thespians of 2006!!

3) Michael excellent tackling – you’re consistently making the stops

4) Thierry, well done on stepping in to play QB and well done too to Lambo for taking over the reins once Thierry went down with an ankle injury. You both played well.

5) All Thespians, be proud of your performance on Sunday. I saw tackles being made, interceptions, and quick blitzes on D and good catches and throws made on O.

6) Well done Sharks receivers getting open when we could against some very tight defenses. Good catches from Pete, Ben, Matt, Andy and JP (welcome back!)

7) likewise for Neil – you seemed to be running all day – some nice throws

8) Sharks D, it was a tough day for you. The Mayhem game was a nightmare for everyone, but you still kept going. You were outstanding in the London Liberty game – to hold them for a 0-0 draw is very impressive.

For reference, here are the results of the tournament:

Group A

Team Voodon’t 6 Thespians 6
Dogs 0 Team Voodoo 19
Barbarians 0 Team Voodon’t 6
Dogs 12 Thespians 0
Team Voodoo 6 Barbarians 0
Team Voodon’t 6 Dogs 0
Thespians 6 Team Voodoo 20
Barbarians 0 Dogs 14 (forfeit)
Team Voodoo 26 Team Voodon’t 13
Thespians 14 Barbarians 0 (forfeit)

Group B

Chichester 21 Chatham 0
Liberty 14 Eagles 7
Mayhem 50 Chichester 12
Chatham 2 Liberty 28
Eagles 8 Mayhem 24
Liberty 0 Chichester 0
Chatham 0 Eagles 14
Mayhem 16 Liberty 0
Chichester 0 Eagles 14
Chatham 0 Mayhem 36

Quarter Finals

Team Voodon’t 6 Eagles 0
Liberty 6 Dogs 0

Semi Finals

Team Voodoo 18 Team Voodon’t 7
Mayhem 21 Liberty 6

Final

Team Voodoo 6 Mayhem 14

In the next few days I hope to update the league table to reflect the results. Despite the 2 losses, the Sharks are still in contention for the final four. What’s interesting is that the Barbarians finished with 4 losses on the day, which is going to severely hit their win percentage – to the point where the Sharks will have overtaken them and moved into 3rd place.

Things that amused me Sunday:

* Adam breaking up a key pass with his rib cage. Way to take one for the team, Adam

* Andy streaking down the sideline for a big gain – TWICE – as a receiver

Things that made me go OUCH Sunday:

* Thierry hitting the floor with a swollen ankle

* the stud marks from my boot on the Leicester QB’s shin/foot on a sack (actually I think that made him go OUCH more than me)

* the 3 cramps in my calves, plus the one in my left hamstring checking for grass on my shoe coming into the house

* the draw! How did the Sharks manage to get the US Navy, the US Airforce, the English Army and top of the table Leicester in their group?? OUCH!

There is a fair amount of video of both Sharks and Thespians. I’ll try and get some editing done soon and add it to the site.

If anyone else has anything to add about the day, please feel free to do so using the Comment link below.

See you all Sunday for training!