Good Week / Bad Week | BUCS 18/19 Week Seven
Only a pair of games in the University leagues, but a bunch of action in the second leg of the Sapphire Series means we still have a lot to look at as we glance back at the good and bad of the final weekend of British American Football action in 2018!
Good Week
Honourable Mentions
- The Wembley Stallions are looking well ahead of the pack in the Sapphire 2 South, with confident victories in each of their four outings so far.
- The Birmingham Lions B team impressed in their first ever fixtures, earning a nice win over the Teesside Steelers, and notching up a second victory in their opening tournament after the Cheshire Bears were forced to forfeit at the half in order to ensure they didn’t miss their coach home.
- Meanwhile, in the top tier, the Edinburgh Wolves continue to impress, moving to 4-0 after their second weekend of fixtures, setting up some epic clashes against the Leeds Chargers in the new year!
- The Cheshire Bears had a tough debut on Saturday, as their Quarterback went down with a serious injury in the teams’ inaugural Sapphire fixtures. Fearing she would need surgery, the team were pleased to share late Saturday evening that QB Laura Hughes is home safe and sound and on the mend.
Brunel Burn Bright at 5-0
The Brunel Burners have become the first team to hit 5-0 during the 2018/19 BUCS season, having done so even before the midseason break!
They shut down the Reading Knights 24-0, putting further distance between themselves and their closest rival in the conference.
With three games left on their slate, the Burners remaining schedule includes teams they’ve bested by a combined score of 84-8 so far this season…
Could the London outfit be the first Uniball team to secure a conference crown?
Demons Defy The Pundits Once Again
Our BUCS office picked unanimously against the Demons back in Week Two, and were punished for doing so when Exeter utterly shut down the former Premiership South side, taking a 0-9 victory.
As such, you’d’ve thought our team might hedge their bets coming into the two teams’ second meeting in Week Seven? Yeah… no. Seven of our eight BUCS writers opted for the Bees to take the win, with only the Demons’ own Coach Ward-Best picking his own team to take the victory, though his vote wouldn’t be counted due.
While it was a much more contested fixture, the Demons offence seemed to finally have found its groove and led for most of the fixture, opening up a big enough lead in the second half that the Bath offence couldn’t close the gap… And all of a sudden the Demons are looking contenders in the South West once again!
Warriors Wow as London Outfit Outmuscles the Lions
The London Warriors Women’s team have produced what may be one of the biggest performances of the year, in the final weekend of 2018 football!
With their 31-35 victory, the London Warriors have ended a Birmingham Lions undefeated streak going back to 2014, and reignited what should shape up as an incredible rivalry in the Sapphire Division One South this winter!
The Warriors came out of the gate fast, as a Lions fumble on their very first play set the Warriors up with great position to open the scoring - the 7-0 lead setting a tone for what was to come.
London capitalised on their early lead, their defence in particular creating incredible pressure, taking down Lions star QB Jo Kilby for sack after sack thanks to a seemingly inexhaustible pass rush.
As the two teams traded scores throughout, the most crucial factor ended up being the Warriors’ ability to secure their PATs, while shutting down the Lions’ own attempts - they went into the break 18-21 up having stopped all three Lions PATs, and wound out 31-35 victors thanks to their uncanny ability to close down the Lions offence in short yardage situations!
With the Lions coming into the 2018/19 series having been largely unchallenged for a good few iterations of the Sapphire Series, this scoreline shows this new Series will be one to watch!
But which teams had the worst of it in Week Seven?
