John Hartley, 78 yd TD catch. (Library photo)

At the start of the third quarter Cheshire came out trying to close the deficit and after a good punt return the Romans had the ball at the Senators 5yd line. The home 'D' mounted a great goal line stand to deny the Cheshire team on their 4 attempts to score. Senators joy was short lived when on the next play the RB slipped before Fraser could get the ball to him and with nowhere to go the Romans defence tackled him for the safety to narrow the gap to 14 - 5.

The Romans never gave up and kept plugging away but could not get any sort of sustained drive going against a Defence that got stronger as the game wore on, Cheshire's RBs and WRs were made to work hard for the short gains that they made.

The Senators Defence then hit back when DB David Wilson (4 solos 1 assist 2 tip passes and 1 interception on the day) intercepted the Romans QB to return the ball for a 33yd TD. Fraser then passed to Waite for the 2 point after. The fourth quarter opened with the Senators Defence in control, with veteran linebackers Wooton (3 solos & 8 assists) Sloan (5 solos & 3 assists, 1 int. & 1 fumble recovery) and Gannon (3 and 2) making their mark, also coming to the fore was safety Million with 1 solo and 2 assists, and 2 interceptions for 34yds.

Romans fight to the end. (Photo: Eddie van der Bend)

The Senators rookies put in some good performances with Spanish QB Luis Tejeda having 5 completions for 34yds. Steve Carroll catching 2 passes for 21yds and Stephen Matthews 1 catch for 20yds

Game MVP: Defence
Defensive MVP: Mark Sloan
Offensive MVP: John Harrison

The second half continued in this vein with the deadlock finally being broken late in the 3rd quarter when a blocked punt gave the Senators their best field position of the day on the Arrows 8 yard line. This advantage was soon capitalised on when a 4 yard rush by Mickey Thompson gave the Senators a 6 point lead. Gary Marshall's kick was good.

In the fourth quarter the senators extended this lead with Mark Sloan's 8 yard rush, but the 2 point conversion failed . In the dying seconds of the game, Mickey Thompson repeated his earlier effort and with Marshall's successful kick, made the final score 20 -0.

A good first drive resulted in a touchdown, John Savage catching a Lee Fraser pass. Steve Wooton converted the two point conversion. But the lead lasted only minutes as the defense surrendered its first touchdown of the season, Caesars scoring on a long run. Senators should not have worried however. On the following drive, Mann showed his quality when he cut through the Caesars defense with ease to score with a long run.

The second quarter began with Senators leading 14-8 and the period saw more bruising offense and defense by Gateshead. Mark Sloan scored on an eight yard run and, after another three and out from Nottingham, John Hartley turned Caesars cornerback Dave Clamenza inside out to catch a 25-yard Fraser pass in the end zone.

With just two seconds left in the half, Mann performed more heroics by gaining his second touchdown. Senators had dominated to such an extent that, at half-time, Nottingham's coaches decided to concede the game to Gateshead. Head coach Gary Marshall said it had been a pleasing performance. "The offense clicked a little bit better in this game and executed like they know they can. "Caesars took a battering in the first half and it was a good victory. Now we must concentrate on beating Chester Romans on July 1 to go 5-0. Then we can see where we go from there."

The Romans bounced back and deservedly took the lead in the second quarter following a long run by Archer which set up fullback Bingham for a 3yd dive into the endzone. McHugh kicked the extra point and the home side were on a high going into the half leading 7 - 6.

Larry Mann in college days (Photo: Georgia Bulldogs)

The Romans never gave in and tried to force the pace in the 4th quarter with more passes but the Senators DBs were equal to the task with DB Mark Lindsey having an outstanding afternoon,(7 solo tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 5 passes defended) tackling receivers and breaking up passes, Hartley also saw time at DB and delivered a crushing hit, forcing a fumble by the Romans' WR which the Senators pounced on. Two plays later Larry Mann sprinted in from 30yds out for his second TD (6 rushes for 106 yds 2TDs, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery).

The Senators forced the Romans to punt on their next possession and Fraser (14 of 26 for 261yds & 3TDs) iced the game with a 17yd TD pass to WR David Nimmins #17 in the back corner of the endzone. Chester were unable to make progress on their final drive and the game ended with the Senators extending their unbeaten run to five games.

Gateshead continued to press and completed the second quarter scoring when Fraser threw a 9yd pass to Hartley (9 for 84yds ), following a good interception by Larry Mann, for their second TD. Marshall kicked the PAT to put Gateshead ahead 15 - 14 at the end of the half.

The third quarter began with East Kilbride powering forward but the Senators' defence was holding strong with LB Gary Catherall in fine form sacking McNey 4 times. The Senators' D stopped the Scots next drive on the 5 but unfortunately the Gateshead offence were unable to move the ball. The punt snap sailed over Marshall's head and although he recovered it in the EZ it resulted in a safety. The Scots were having the slightly better play in this quarter and increased their lead to 22 - 15 to close the quarter when Sutherland got his second from close range.

In the fourth quarter Gateshead had to respond and tried to bring Larry Mann (14 carries for 175 yds) more into the game and on the next drive Marshall's 47yd field goal attempt was only just wide of the post. The Senators got the ball back with a last chance to save the game but although they moved the ball well, time eventually ran out and East Kilbride took the honours.

It was a typical Pirates/Senators game, hard fought, exciting and probably the hardest game each side has had so far this season.

This was to be the final score as no matter how the offenses tried to move the ball both defenses held firm.

So now the Senators have to wait the results of next week's games to find out who we meet in the play-offs.

Senators' Chairman and Head Coach Gary Marshall praised the Senators for another winning season at the club's annual Presentation Night at "The Schooner" on Saturday 1 December.

Before presenting awards to players and others, he said nobody should dispute that the Senators were among the top echelon of teams in the UK. He was rewarded by the team spirit which kept the club going through bad times and which excelled in the good. The team, he said, was his "Sunday family".

But there was a note of realism, and part of this was that the club only gave awards when earned. If there was nobody deserving of an MVP award, it was not awarded. This raised the value of those that were made. Sadly, not all those qualifying were able to be present because of work commitments.

After the presentations, a superb buffet meal was laid on by "The Schooner", who are pleased to be associated with the Senators and who provide hospitality for visiting teams after home games - not to be missed.

Awards were made as follows:

JohnHarrison MVP 'O' v Cheshire Romans (H) & MVP Game V Redditch Arrows (H)	Mark Sloan MVP 'D' v Romans (H)

Micky Thompson MVP 'O' v Arrows (H)	Craig Million MVP 'D' v Arrows (H)

Larry Mann MVP Game v Caesars (H) and MVP Game Romans (A)	Lee Fraser MVP 'O' Caesars (H)

Steve Wooton MVP 'D' Caesars (H)	John Hartley MVP 'O' Romans (A) & MVP 'O' v Pirates (A)

Mark Lindsey MVP 'D' Romans (A)	Gary Catherall MVP Game Pirates (A)

Peter Gannon was awarded MVP 'D' Pirates (A)

After the MVPs for each game, where awarded, were announced, Club Secretary Bill Gibson presented some extra season awards:

Season MVP 'O' - John 'Rapper' Lockhart	Season MVP 'D' - Gary Catherall

Season Leading Tackler - Steve Wooton	Rookie of the Year - Carl 'Charlie' Haddaway

Season Special Teams Player - David Nimmins	Players' Player 2001 - Mark Sloan

Play of the Season - Larry Mann	Clubman of the Year - Bill Gibson, presented by Gary Marshall