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Dateline 26
September
Pirates clinch British
championship title
East
Kilbride Pirates 62 – Leicester Falcons 23
Photos by Duncan Gray
Having lost out in the Finals of both 2009 and 2010,
East Kilbride Pirates made it third time lucky when they clinched the
Division 1 Championship of the British National Leagues at Crystal
Palace last weekend. The Pirates had first possession of the ball and
immediately set out their intentions by dominating straight from the
kick off.
They took just seven plays to move from their own
20-yard line to one yard from the Leicester goal line. From there, it
took two attempts to score, with running back Iain Dick eventually being
successful. Steven Kane kicked the conversion to give the East Kilbride
side an early lead.
The Falcons’ first drive was considerably less
productive, and following a 1-yard run sandwiched between two incomplete
pass attempts, they punted the ball back to East Kilbride.
An 11-yard run from Dick was followed by a 36-yard
completion from QB Ryan Hunter to his receiver Jamie McLaughlin to notch
up the second Pirates’ TD of the day. Kane again added the extra point
to make the score 14-0 early in the tie and warning bells were starting
to ring on the Leicester sideline.
The Falcons next possession was better than their
first, but soon stalled following a Steven Wilson sack of QB Stuart
Franklin, forcing another punt. East Kilbride also had to punt on their
next drive but didn’t have to wait long before they got the ball back.
Next a short drive was rounded off with a 34-yard scoring run by Blake
Kyle and Kane’s conversion made it 21-0 in the first quarter.
The second period started with Leicester having
already made it into Pirates’ territory for the first time in the match.
However, the drive lost momentum and three consecutive incompletions,
including one on 4th Down, saw the ball back with the Scots.
 Quick
completed passes by Hunter to Mark Murphy, then Andy Goodsir moved the
ball to the Falcons’ 11-yard line, and Hunter ran it in for the score on
only the third play of a quick drive. Following Kane’s conversion,
Leicester were now down by 28 points and their insipid offence once more
went 3-and-out before punting the ball away.
Yet another Pirates’ drive ended with a TD, when Kyle
again scored, this time from 10 yards out, and Kane once more kicked the
point after. The Falcons continued to stutter and gave possession away
when Ivor Clark intercepted a wayward Franklin pass.
The Pirates’ offence, who had barely put a foot wrong
all day, continued to apply the pressure and emphasized their
superiority with their sixth TD of the first half.
An 11 play drive was capped with a 15 yard Hunter to
McLaughlin pass then extra point from Kane. Time expired in the half on
the Falcons’ final possession, so the Pirates held a 42-0 lead at the
interval.
With such a commanding lead, it was almost inevitable
that intensity levels would drop. That, combined with some adjustments
and personnel changes on the Leicester team that included the
introduction of Bradley Thompson at QB, saw the Midlands side give a
better account of themselves after the break.
Despite that however, it was still EK who were first
to score in the third period. Iain Dick ran in his second TD from the
1-yard line and Kane converted.
The Falcons finally got on the board when they put
together a 13-play drive, rounded off by a 1-yard run from Thompson. A
fake extra point attempt was run in by Ben Longland for a 2-point
conversion to leave the score at 49-8.
East Kilbride punted on their next possession, but
soon had the ball back when Jamie Charles recovered a Leicester fumble.
Three plays later Ryan Hunter was intercepted, but despite that, it was
the Pirates who scored next as the game moved into the final period.
Dominik Wiest, returned the favour by picking off a Thompson pass and
returned it 24 yards for the TD which Kane again converted.
Leicester reduced the leeway when Thompson completed
a 32-yard scoring pass to Dale Hawes. Longland ran in another 2-point
conversion, making the score 56-16 at that point.
The Falcons attempted an onside kick, but Mark Murphy
recovered for the Pirates, and one play later, Iain Dick sped home from
42 yards out. Despite Kane’s conversion attempt being blocked, EK were
now 62-16 ahead and cruising towards the title.
The Falcons kept going to the end however, and Timi
Dada was finally rewarded for his efforts on the day with a 33-yard
scoring run. The conversion concluded the scoring at 62-23, and after
recovering another onside kick, it only remained for the Pirates to run
out the clock before the celebrations commenced.
Iain Dick was named as the game’s MVP and he
collected his award before he and his team mates picked up the Division
1 trophy.
By Bill Campbell
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