LEICESTER, LEICESTERSHIRE – Last Sunday saw the Warwick Wolves record their first win of the season against the De Montfort University Falcons and climb to eighth in the Midlands Athletic Conference. The Wolves dominated the game from the beginning, with the offence putting up five touchdowns on the opposition and the defence keeping the opposition out of the end zone for three quarters.

Having lost their first two games against league heavyweights the Loughborough Aces and NTU Renegades, the whole team was eager to bounce back with a win and go into the holidays on a high. The Wolves had made a good account of themselves against the Renegades especially, and so came into the game looking like the stronger side. That being said, the Falcons had already proven that they were not to be underestimated with a win over the Worcester Royals in their season opener. With both teams hungry for the big W, the game was definitely shaping up to be an important one.

Warwick set the tone for things to come by winning the coin toss. Although DMU’s D forced a three-and-out on the first drive, they did not expect a fake punt so early in the game, which was carried by Wayne Drew for a first down. This gave the O the momentum it needed to make a big play, and, sure enough, in the very next rep, two-year veteran running back Chip Osibamowo followed offensive captain and lineman Luke Selzer’s expert block on the middle linebacker and broke into the secondary, easily outrunning the Falcons’ defensive backs to go for a sixty-yard touchdown.

The second touchdown came in the second quarter from Wolves President and quarterback Ben Nagle-Taylor who ran the points home. The touchdown capped off a solid game for the three-year veteran, who scrambled for a number of first downs and passed consistently well. The half was put to bed by rookie running back Prince Ajose, who scored a six-yard touchdown along the left flank behind a partial block on the defensive back by wide receiver Charlie Douglas. Unfortunately, the defensive back came free at the last minute, but Prince simply lowered his shoulder and trucked his opponent without breaking stride to score, putting Warwick up 21-0 at the half. The tenacious fresher definitely deserved his touchdown, running hard every time he carried the ball and refusing to go down to anything more than a gang tackle – on one particular rampage, Prince floored no less than three defenders one after another.

The second half showed more of the same from the Wolves offence. Three-year veteran running back Tino Charamba scored a long touchdown along the right-hand side, weaving past defenders to stroll into the end zone untouched. Tino was the Wolves’ most potent threat on the ground last year, and this touchdown was the ninth of his career. Mac Geofrey finished the scoring with a powerful effort through the middle, refusing to go down before the goal line, to smash the game home for Warwick. The game saw all four running backs get on the scoreboard, an impressive achievement. Running backs coach Dan Evans was full of praise for the boys. “I’m proud of them,” he said when asked about the performance. “They’ve been working hard, and now they’re reaping the rewards.”

There were also a number of other drives that deserve mention that, were it not for the determination of DMU’s defence, would have racked up even more points for Warwick. Ben had a second touchdown disallowed by a holding penalty; team captain Pete Coppenhall had a touchdown questionably called as an incomplete pass; and wide receiver Sam Wragg was unfortunate not to get on the scoreboard with his ability to burn defenders in the end zone. However, the wide receivers did set up most of the touchdowns by working hard for the first down each time. Rookie tight end Alex Halms especially made one catch on the right flank that saw him stiff-arm no less than three defenders before he was brought down for a ten-yard gain.

Whilst the offence ran riot for four quarters, the defence prevented DMU from doing the same. Defensive captain and outside linebacker Tom Chester has been the linchpin of the Wolves defence this season, and was no less important here, playing to the whistle, leading by example, and hitting hard. Praise also has to be given to the veteran middle linebackers Henry Armstrong, Josh Cowell, and Tom Hooper, who, between them, seemed to be involved in almost every tackle of the game. The Wolves were also strong in the secondary, the highlight of which being defensive back Rackesh Patel taking his second interception of the season.

Defensive players were rampant on special teams too, bailing out the offence on the few drives they didn’t score. Jack Trowsdale made one monster hit on the unsuspecting punt returner to force a fumble that was smothered by centre Mark Ward, his fifth fumble recovery of the season. However, DMU were determined not to go home with nothing, and, in the fourth quarter, capitalised on a lack of concentration to grind out two short-yardage rushing touchdowns (with two two-point conversions) to finish the game 34-16.

Nonetheless, Head Coach Pete Buckley was pleased with the result. “This great performance capped a week of sustained effort from the team,” he said. “We were consistent in all three phases [offence, defence, and special teams] and deserved our win going into the Christmas break.” He went on to say that the team will look to carry the momentum from this game into the new year.

The Wolves’ season will continue on the 28th of January away to the Leicester Longhorns. Warwick came out on top last season against the Longhorns 35-14, and this year will be looking to do even better.

MVPs:

Offensive MVP: Chip Osibamowo, for powerful rushing that kept the defensive lineman and linebackers on the back foot from the opening drive, plus a long touchdown;

Defensive MVP: Rackesh Patel, for closing down DMU’s passing game, forcing them to run, as well as nabbing an interception;

Special Teams MVP: Mark Ward, for his consistently good long snapping, and work to get downfield and cover the punt against the return, resulting in a fumble recovery;

and Rookie MVP: Prince Ajose, for aggressive rushing and tenacity going to contact that led to a touchdown that consolidated Warwick’s lead.

NOTTINGHAM, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE – Despite a hard fought three quarters from both teams, NTU managed to turn the game in their favour with three touchdowns late in the fourth quarter.

The game started with Warwick’s offence pinned deep in their half. What would have been a three-and-out forced by NTU’s notoriously strong D was turned into the start of a strong drive that set the tone for the rest of the game by a powerful fake punt run from Wayne Drew, who broke a number of challenges before being gang tackled only after he made a first down. Warwick established their running game early on, with all four running backs chewing up the yards, especially Chip Osibamowo, who made a long run down the sidelines on a counter play for a big gain.

Seemingly invigorated by the Warwick O’s sustained drive, the Wolves defence managed a big first stop, something that continued throughout the game. The D were led by defensive captain and outside linebacker Tom Chester, who thus far has put in two stellar performances in as many games, who made tackle after tackle, batdown after batdown, both in coverage and against the strong NTU running backs.

Unfortunately, it was NTU who managed to score first, on one of their early drives, and slotted the extra point home to make the score 7-0 to them. Although the Wolves on both sides of the ball would continue to play well, this early score meant that the away side were constantly having to chase the lead rather than defending it. However, the D did not let the early touchdown phase them; on NTU’s next two drives, both starting either in or close to the Wolves’ red zone due to good punt returns, the D forced a three-and-out on the first (the ensuing field goal was blocked by Wolves right guard Luke Selzer) and claimed an interception on the second (courtesy of Rackesh Patel). The determination and perseverance of the Wolves D left NTU’s O in disarray, a definite improvement on last year’s performance where NTU’s O were very much in control.

Warwick’s O managed to capitalise on the D’s performance at the start of the second half. A huge play by wolf-back Alex Eddie saw him catch a short pass from QB and Wolves President Ben Nagle-Taylor and turn upfield along the sidelines and into the NTU secondary, where he was brought down in the red zone. To cap off the drive, an excellent play-action fake by Mac Geofrey suckered in NTU’s secondary, allowing wide receiver Charlie Douglas to get open in the end zone and catch Ben’s pass with ease.

The touchdown topped off a great game for Charlie Douglas, who caught five passes for close to sixty yards, as well as a solid performance for the Wolves receiver corps in general, with team captain Pete Coppenhall and Wolves Player of the Week Kieran Gosling each catching a good number of passes.

Unfortunately, the Wolves touchdown was not enough to turn the tide in Warwick’s favour. NTU managed to kill off any momentum the touchdown would have afforded the Wolves by returning the blocked point-after attempt for two points. In the fourth quarter, two pick-sixes and another rushing touchdown sealed the game for the home side 28-6.

Despite the score, there were a lot of positives to take from the game. Warwick’s play-calling forced NTU to respect the run and the pass; the D looked strong and kept Warwick in the game until the end; and the O put up a score on what is considered one of the league’s toughest defences.

Next week, the Wolves will be looking to take the past two performances forward and notch that (so far) elusive first win against new team the DMU Leicester Falcons.

COVENTRY, WEST MIDLANDS – This Sunday saw the visiting Loughborough Aces capitalise on a sluggish first half performance by the Warwick Wolves to go 35-0 up by half-time.

Strong running allowed Loughborough to churn up the yards both along the sidelines and up the middle of the field. The Aces Offence established their game on the ground through solid run blocking from their Offensive Line and powerful rushing from last year’s League MVP Adam Hope, who scored managed two touchdowns of Loughborough’s four rushing touchdowns.

The Wolves were also plagued by bad luck throughout the game. In the most egregious instance of Wolves misfortune, a successfully blocked Aces field goal by Wolves Wide Receiver Charlie Douglas was deflected towards the goal-line, and the ensuing pile-up resulted in a Loughborough touchdown.

However, despite the scoreline, there were positives to be taken from the game, especially in the second half. Warwick’s D only gave up one more touchdown after the break. Defensive captain and outside linebacker Tom Chester led by example and gave a valiant effort to deny Loughborough in the flats, making a number of ‘bat-downs’, crunching tackles, and one crucial interception to deny a 2-point after attempt. The defensive line stepped up especially in the second half, making a number of tackles for loss, with veterans Dave Boyles, Wayne Drew and Conor Durham notching five sacks between them. Wayne Drew was also a devastatingly good asset on special teams, hitting especially hard as has come to be expected of him on punts and kick-offs. Josh Cowell made a big impact with his league debut at middle linebacker, with his highlight being a recovered fumble in the Aces red-zone in the dying seconds of the game.

Meanwhile, on the offence, Wolves President and Quarterback Ben Nagle-Taylor showed off his rushing prowess (the same skill that put three touchdowns to his name both on the offence and on special teams) by dodging tackles left, right and centre whenever he scrambled, making a number of first downs, especially on a big 60-yard Warwick drive during the fourth quarter. In the secondary, WRs Keiran Gosling and team captain Pete Coppenhall made a number of good catches, and wolf-back Alex Halms made a great play on the sidelines, broke and juked away from a number of tackles and gained significant yardage.

Having put what will likely be the toughest game of their season behind them, the Wolves will be looking to make a comeback against the winless Nottingham Trent University Renegades this Sunday.

[Photos courtesy of Andy Ward. Visit his Flickr for more pictures.]