Britbowl XXX – London Warriors V London Blitz

London Warriors Head Coach, Tony Allen, Has A Long Association With British Championship Games. As A Player He Was A Linebacker For The Legendary London Ravens, And Interestingly, Back In Their Mid-Eighties Heyday, The First National Title Game Was Also Between The Two Powerhouse London Programmes, The Ravens And The Then, Streatham Olympians.

Some thirty years later, he heads up the most successful British team in recent history, and for the sixth year on the bounce they faced off against their cross-town rivals, the London Blitz to determine who would be crowned Champions. The result in the last three finals has got progressively closer, with the Warriors edging last years’ match up by one point due to a last second field goal. The stage was set then, for another titanic struggle, with Worcester’s Sixways stadium providing an excellent venue. So how did it all go down?

Under typical British summer skies (clouded over) the teams met at centre field for the coin toss. The Blitz had the good fortune to win it, but they would have few other moments of positivity throughout the ensuing four quarters. Receiving the kick their opening drive featured a succession of positive runs from GB rusher Temi Oduyemi, leading to three first downs, but then the Warriors defence found the formula to put the brakes on the Blitz, and they had to punt. Returner Josh Amis ripped off a big gainer and the Warriors took over in good field position. Bullish running by Dwayne Watson was proving hard for the Blitz to defend, and with the defence keying on the running game Warriors quarterback Jerome Allen took the opportunity to pick out receiver James Cherry in the back corner of the endzone for the go-ahead score. The PAT was good and it was 7-0 Warriors. The Blitz needed to get back in the game quickly, but on their first play a mis-handle turned the ball over to end the first quarter.

Into the second quarter and the Warriors turned up the heat. Watson steamrollered his way in from one yard out with Jacquet tacking on the extra point 14-0. The Blitz kept plugging away with quarterback Josh Adamson making a good gain on a keeper, but then as if to rain on their parade, the heavens opened and the Blitz turned the ball over. Watson thundered for twenty yards, but a big sack by defensive end Josh Vines forced the Warriors to attempt a field goal, which was missed. The Blitz had another chance to establish themselves, but with rain at torrential status, and the ball now behaving more like imperial leather than full grain football leather, they fumbled for two plays in succession.

They recovered the first miscue, but the second squirted into the endzone and they conceded a safety. 16-0 Warriors. Changes had to be made and the Blitz introduced a new triggerman in the shape of Tim Liechte. It had little effect as they were forced to punt. Jerome Allen was driving the Warriors downfield with a combination of well executed plays, when he went deep to wide-out Luke Benjamin.

The rangy receiver utilised his extensive catch radius to snag the ball and sprint in for the score, the kick was good, and just like that, it was 23-0. The Blitz were now desperate for a score, so desperate that they threw an interception! The Warriors had little time left in the half to work with and attempted a fifty-yard field goal, it sailed wide, but at the half they had been dominant and were good value for their lead.

Thankfully, as the players returned to the field for quarter three, the rain had abated. The Warriors had possession and having dominated on the ground in the first half, they chose to take to the air at the start of the second. The Allen to Cherry combination produced a big gain, but they couldn’t sustain the momentum and the Blitz started back with a big connection of their own. Closing in on the Warriors goal-line they handed the ball to the powerful Demi Adeji who burst in to open the Blitz’s account. With the extra point it was now 23-7. The teams exchanged possessions, but it was the Warriors who stepped up to assert their authority. “The Dwayne Train” crashed through the Blitz defence, setting up Allen to connect with Cherry for their second score on the day. This time the PAT was missed, so the score sat at 29-7. At this point, Adamson was re-introduced for the Blitz.

The final quarter started with a succession of three and outs for both teams. There were delays as an official was treated for cramp and shortly after, a Blitz lineman had to be stretchered from the field. With time running out the Blitz looked to go deep, but the ball was picked off by Warriors safety Amis, who had been impressive all day. The coaches gave Jacquet the chance to close out the game for the Warriors at quarterback, and he did, feeding Watson the ball to give him the opportunity to put the exclamation mark on his day with another score, securing himself the MVP trophy in the process. The PAT pushed the score to 36-7. The Blitz weren’t about to give up though, and with just sixteen seconds left Adamson connected on a score. They went for a two point conversion and got it, but it was too little too late and the Warriors were Champions by a score of 35-15.

The celebrations ensued on the side-line, and with mayhem encircling Coach Allen, he remained his stoic self, despite being treated to the obligatory Gatorade bath. It had been a dominant performance, but it was exactly what had been expected. The Warriors programme has now become a victim of its own success, with little to stretch them each season, the challenge for them now, is to stay motivated. Complacency must be their biggest enemy, but with Tony Allen in charge, I don’t see it getting a foothold in South London.

Point of interest – The first British Championship game was held in 1985. So shouldn’t this game have been Britbowl XXXI?

Photo credit – Kyle Hemsley