Team captains shake hands before the game, Panthers to right.
(Photo: NFL Europe)
Leicester Eagles 20 Prudhoe Panthers 18 (OT)
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Team captains shake hands before the game, Panthers to right. (Photo: NFL Europe) |
Eagles Captain James Hossack grabbed the all important flag on the first play of overtime after Panthers had been forced back close to their own endzone by a motion penalty following a thrilling 18-18 tie during regulation and then lifted the trophy, presented by Scottish Claymores wide receiver Rowelle Blenman.
Eight teams contested the NFL Channel 5 Trophy, with Leicester and Prudhoe winning their groups to earn a place in the final.
The north east youngsters led 12-6 at half-time as touchdown passes from James Tolchard to Andrew Ho and James Armstrong came either side of a scoring toss from Marcus Gambrill to Alex Riorden for the Eagles. Leicester were held on their opening drive of the second half and Panthers were set to move further ahead when an endzone-bound pass was intercepted by tournament MVP James Stratford, who raced the length of the field to level the final at 12-12.
Prudhoe held the lead for a third time when Paul Turbitt made it 18-12 but the Eagles again swooped to level when Stratford rushed to within a yard of the endzone for Riorden to hit Ben Kerry and send the game into overtime. In a nail-biting final both sides failed to convert all one and two-point conversions.
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Gary Marshall gives the lads a pep talk. (Photo: NFL Europe) |
"We knew this would be the toughest tournament we'd ever played in because it was invitational and the best teams in the country were here," said Eagles coach Andrew Gambrill. "I think our defensive won it for us because every time Prudhoe's best running back, who had beaten us every time before, got the ball, we had two men there to tackle him."
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Prudhoe Panthers (Photo: NFL Europe) |
Leicester Eagles reached the final with a 2-0-1 record from their group, beating Strathclyde Posse 13-6 and Sydenham Spartans 27-6 before tying 12-12 with London Os. Free-scoring Prudhoe Panthers saw off the challenge of the Birmingham Bulls 13-6 in their decisive group game having beaten Dominoes Oxford Saints 42-6 and Denbigh School from Milton Keynes 20-0.
Scottish representatives Strathclyde Posse finished as runners up in the Eagles' group and enjoyed shutout victories over London Os and Sydenham Spartans, with only a narrow 13-6 loss to Leicester Eagles in their first game denying them a final berth.
The Birmingham Bulls beat Oxford and Denbigh without conceding a point, scoring 36 points in the process, but were edged out of the final running by Prudhoe in an agonising 13-6 loss and finished second in their group.
Prudhoe Panthers 42 Dominoes Oxford Saints 6
Birmingham Bulls 25 Denbigh Pioneers 0
Dominoes Oxford Saints 0 Birmingham Bulls 12
Denbigh Pioneers 0 Prudhoe Panthers 20
Birmingham Bulls 6 Prudhoe Panthers 13
Denbigh Pioneers 25 Dominoes Oxford Saints 26
NFC
Strathclyde Posse 6 Leicester Eagles 13
London Os 20 Sydenham Spartans 22
London Os 0 Strathclyde Posse 7
Leicester Eagles 27 Sydenham Spartans 6
Sydenham Spartans 0 Strathclyde Posse 25
London Os 12 Leicester Eagles 12
Championship Game
Leicester Eagles 20 Prudhoe Panthers 18 (OT)
Thanks to Matt Heasman matt.heasman@lineone.net for information for this report.