Britbowl XXXVII Bristol Aztecs – London Warriors

Words and Images by Dave Tidswell

Following last years’ exciting Championship game between these two clubs, 2025’s Britbowl XXXVII was the re-match most of us wanted and also expected would happen. During the regular season the Aztecs and Warriors had battled through two tough head-to-head contests. The first was a close win for London, the second a tie, the stage was set then for the “Britbowl Decider.”

Standing in their way at the play-off semi-final stage had been Manchester and Coventry. The Titans would host the Aztecs after a season where Manchester had surprised some followers of the British league with the level of their play, when some expected them to be in a full on “re-build mode.” Bristol had too much for them though and booked their tickets for a trip to Butts Park. The Phoenix were unable to trouble the scoreboard operators against the Warriors, who racked up forty-one points to secure their spot in the big game.

British teams have always played fast and loose with their nick names, and some would question “has there ever been an indigenous Aztec community living in Bristol?” The answer would be no, but in the North Bristol Quarter you will find the Aztec West business park! Indeed, the team were all business as they entered the field running behind their flag bearer. In contrast the physically imposing Warriors strode menacingly on to the pitch ahead of the coin-toss.

White hat Ollie Maskell flipped a coin, quarterback Dee Williams of the Warriors called it right, and as is the thing nowadays, he chose to defer. The Aztecs would get the ball first. With the kick sailing through the endzone, it would be a touchback. Bristol quarterback Ethan Gretzinger, a native of New York handed the ball to Emmanuel Ebedi Bawa who churned out five yards. Gretzinger then took to the air, deep left to AJ Carr who snagged the pass and raced towards the Warriors redzone. A jarring hit shook the ball loose though, and the Londoners recovered. On his own twenty, Williams surveyed the field, nothing was open, so he scrambled for a few yards to keep the Bristol defence honest. On the next play he dropped back, wound up the arm and completed a fifty-yard pass to NFL Academy graduate Henry Rowland. Just like that, the Warriors were at the Aztecs thirty. Time for another scramble from Williams, who swept right resulting in a first down. Tenacious running back Andy Owusu came into the backfield, he fought through contact to get to the three, setting up first and goal. With the Bristol defence biting on the run-fake, Williams popped the ball over the mass of bodies in front of him and found tight end Eden Thiede Palmer all alone in the endzone, he welcomed the ball into his hands for the touchdown! Reiss Ormonde-Cunningham’s PAT kick was good, and the Warriors led 7-0.

Looking to respond and appease for the fumble, Carr took the kick-off deep and made it to his own twenty-six. Bawa broke away for twenty-nine yards and Bristol were looking threatening. Gretzinger showed plenty of moxie as he dodged would be tacklers in the backfield, but his pass fell incomplete. His next attempt was successful though, as he found Harry Buckland for thirty yards and a first down. Three more positive plays got them to the Warriors twenty-six, but it was now fourth down and they chose to try a field goal. Spencer Cutlan slotted it through, and the Aztecs were on the scoreboard. London 7 Bristol 3.

Jonathan Mbanefo took the return to the forty-eight and Williams and his offence returned to the field. He had numerous weapons he could go to, but as the middle of the field opened up, he chose to keep the ball and make the most of the lane that had appeared. Two missed tackles and fifty yards later he had scored! Cunningham tacked on the PAT to make it 14-3 Warriors.

Carr continued on returning duties for the Aztecs and on this attempt, he was stopped by a thumping hit by Tonye Dokubo. With the end of the quarter approaching Gretzinger knew he would have to go big, and he did! With receiver Tim Lucas getting behind the coverage, he unleashed a deep ball to the endzone where a diving Lucas made a spectacular catch for the touchdown! London blocked the PAT though, making the score 14-9 as the first quarter came to an end. After fifteen minutes of gametime it was evident we were witnessing a heavy weight Football encounter, the scores and the hits were coming thick and fast!

With the field reversed the Warriors would have the opportunity to stretch their lead but after three attempts they had to punt. Gretzinger completed some short passes to keep the chains moving, but with the defences getting the upper hand the teams exchanged a series of punts. The Warriors made some progress, and with the help of an unnecessary roughness penalty they found themselves at the Bristol six. Christian Dzulnysky came in at quarterback and gained two extra yards before being tackled and then switched out for Williams. His elusiveness paid dividends, and he wriggled in for the score! Cunningham obliged with the PAT kick and with half-time approaching the momentum was with London.

We were inside the two-minute warning, so Gretzinger had limited time to work with. He found Carr for twenty-five, but the Warriors defence shut down the next two attempts, leaving Bristol to punt on fourth down. Footballs by their nature, seldom bounce in straight lines, and the Warriors coverage team fell foul of an extreme example when one of the coverage team suffered a glancing blow to the leg, making the ball live. Sam Hodge was alert to the situation and recovered the ball for Bristol. The Aztecs would have a great opportunity to reduce the deficit. Gretzinger looked off the corner to the right before sprinting left into the endzone for the touchdown! Cutlan slotted the kick, and we were now at London 21 Bristol 16. With a few seconds left on the clock Mbanefo returned the ball towards the Warriors sideline, the resulting tackle led to a melee with a number of players getting involved. After the officials had stepped in to calm things down, the Warriors chose to take the knee to end the half. As the teams retired for the break, the game was poised on a knife edge.

During the pause in play, a group of BAFA Hall of Fame members were on the pitch being introduced to the crowd. British and European champion Nigel Dias was impressed with what he had seen so far. “I’m loving the intensity they’re bringing” he said “these boys are hitting!”

As they re-entered the field, both sides had visions of lifting the trophy, and you could easily make the case for either of them to do it. It would likely be a thin margin that divided them with a handful of key plays deciding the outcome. Walter-Dabo would receive the ball, and the Warriors would have their chance to get back on top. They engineered a first down but ran out of steam and had to punt. Bristol’s first drive followed the same pattern, initial gains followed by a punt. This time London’s offence clicked, making three first downs on successive plays. Williams found Mbemba in the endzone, but he couldn’t hold on. They had to settle for a field goal from Cunningham, giving them an eight-point advantage at 24-16. With the ball back in Bristol’s hands, not for the first time Gretzinger went deep, this time connecting with Noah Clack who made it to the London twenty-nine before being wrestled to the ground by Ryan Claudio. The Aztecs were in a “hurry-up” offence mode and Gretzinger darted forward to make it first and goal, but then they imploded. A false start penalty and a sack deep in the backfield by Rio Savvaris forced them to go for the field goal. With Cutlan out injured, the job fell to Ollie Luck, he delivered, returning the Bristol deficit to five points. It was Warriors 24 Bristol 19 at the end of the third quarter.

Back in possession to start the final period, the Warriors didn’t get off to a good start. Two penalties on the same play had them at first and thirty-five, but the ever-resilient Williams didn’t let it get to him and connected with Rowland for a big gain. A face mask penalty on the Aztecs gave London a first down in the Bristol red-zone.

The game was about to turn.

Scrambling in his backfield Williams took a double hit, and the ball came loose. Bristol’s Trafford Ali was the first to react, scooping the ball from the turf and with his eyes as big as saucers he set off on the long road to the London endzone! With Theide-Palmer in hot pursuit the crowd were on the edge of their seats as an epic foot race unfolded. To the relief of the Warriors side-line and fans, Ali was brought crashing down at the one-yard line!

The Aztecs would have four attempts to punch the ball in, and had the Warriors defence guessing when they lined up with Josh Petrie in the backfield and Gretzinger out wide. There was motion and shifting before the ball was snapped to Petrie, who dashed into the endzone, for a moment it looked like Bristol had taken the lead, but there was a flag! “Illegal Shift” announced Maskell. It would be second down and Gretzinger was back behind the centre, but his maizie east west run led to no gain. London’s defence were standing firm, but two defensive holding penalties put the Aztecs at the three-yard line. Runs by Petrie and Bawa were stifled, before Gretzinger finally found a gap to poke the ball forward and break the plane of the goal line for the go-ahead score! The Aztecs were up by a single point, mindful that London would have an opportunity to come back they chose to go for two. Bawa drifted into the back of the endzone and Gretzinger found him with a deft touch pass. With nine and a half minutes to go, Bristol led 27-24.

The Warriors looked to establish a drive but with the Aztecs defence buoyed by taking the lead, they forced London to punt. Bristol were now looking to eat up the clock and managed to secure two first downs taking valuable minutes away from the Warriors. We had now arrived at the two-minute warning, to say it was tense would be an understatement. The reliable Bawa was churning out some yards, when disaster struck, the ball was punched out by the Warriors, they would have another chance.

With little time left, London couldn’t afford to be conservative, Williams rolled out and cocked his arm, but before it came forward the ball was knocked out of his hand by Alex Gray and recovered by George Rimes, Bristol were now in control! There was 1.38 on the clock and London had no time outs left. Bristol called three running plays and took a time out with two seconds left. On fourth down Gretzinger took the knee, Maskell took the ball and held it aloft and the Britbowl trophy took on a decidedly orange glow!

There would be a new name in the Britball history books. After an epic game, The Bristol Aztecs were the new British Champions. Gretzinger acquired a stylish MVP cap for his personal trophy cabinet and Offensive Lineman David Pemberton made history by becoming the first player to win the National Title with three different teams.

With his winners’ medal hung proudly around his neck, I spoke with the Aztecs head coach Pete Jones to get his thoughts. “Really pleased to have helped deliver the first championship to Bristol, and all the players and coaches that came before me. Keen to continue to grow our product on and off the field and looking forward to next season already!”