TROJANS BRITBOWL BOUND

British National American Football League
Division Two Semi Final

West Coast Trojans 51 Shropshire Revolution 21

It was the final match of the season for the West Coast Trojans at Scotstoun Stadium and was the most important one of the season so far.  At stake was a place at Britbowl XXV at Crystal Palace at the end of September.

The Trojans had dominated the northern conference during the regular season with 539 points scored, conceding only 59.   And with home advantage, the Scots came into this semi-final game as favourites.

But with the Revolution, having come through a tough battle against the Renegades in the previous round, the visitors were determined to be no pushovers and fight for their place.

And  with the English side having come from 20-7 down to go one point in front late in the second quarter, this looked like it was going to be a game that was going to be too close to call.  

But when receiver Tommy McGeorge pulled in a vital touchdown catch inside the final two minutes of the half along with a conversion kick from Ruaraidh MacDonald, there was no looking back for the Northern Champions, clocking up 24 more points with no reply.

With the backing of a lively crowd, the Trojans got off to the perfect start when after shutting down the Revolution on their first drive; the home side opened the scoring when quarterback Gary McNey fired a deep pass to MacDonald for the first touchdown catch of the day.

But the English side silenced the home crowd minutes later when Andrew Calvert broke through a gap in the Trojans defensive wall, eating up some big yardage for the tying score.   This was followed by a successful Neil Jones extra point conversion giving the visitors a narrow lead.

The home side quickly responded when McGeorge got on to the end of another long pass to make it 13-7 in the favour of the Trojans

The game looked as if it was starting to run away from Shropshire when Jordan Falconer sprinted down the far side for another six points with Macdonald splitting the uprights for a successful one point conversion.

The Trojans were putting themselves under pressure during the early stages of the second quarter conceding some needless penalties.  The Revolution stepped up the work rate and soon found themselves back in contention when

Lee Kazeem showed great determination, crossing the Trojans goal line for another touchdown, which was converted, reducing the deficit to just 6 points.

The English side’s confidence continued to rise when Andrew Morgan pulled in an excellent diving catch to tie things up, which was converted to put them back infront.  Setting the scene for a memorable semi-final that could go either way.

But with less than two minutes of the game remaining, the Trojans regained control of the match when McGeorge pulled in another great touchdown catch, which was converted by MacDonald to give the Trojans a valuable 6 point half time lead.  And it was lead that they were never going to surrender.

In what was a tough defensive battle during the third quarter, the Trojans did manage to extend their gap courtesy of another McGeorge touchdown catch.  And when the Revolution gave up a 15 yard penalty the Scots found themselves in great field position going into the final period.

Their places on the bus to Crystal Palace were secured as the Trojans ran away with the fourth quarter, starting with MacDonald chalked up his second touchdown of the afternoon.

Then it was full steam ahead for the “Falconer Express” as the Trojans running back leaving the English defense for dead, sprinting almost the full length of the field for a first class touchdown.

And after MacDonald nailed another successful conversion attempt, the Trojans Receiver found the target again with a long field goal, giving the Trojans a 30 point lead.

The home side could have extend their lead when Mickael Oliva crossed the goal line twice, but both touchdown runs were chalked off.

However it was not long before the celebrations kicked off for the Scots side, who despite a closely contested first half ran out as deserved winners and now face South Wales Warrior in the Division Two Final.