Knights hit tip top form
Farnham Knights....... 47 Gloucester Centurion 14
THE Farnham Knights closed in on a play-off spot with another vital win – thanks to some top tips from three NFL aces.
Steve Rains’ men – along with the 27th Regiment of the Royal Logistics Corps – were put through their paces by cornerback pair Brandon Carr, of the Dallas Cowboys, and Will Blackmon, from the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Miami Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake at their Aldershot Garrison training camp to mark the extension of the deal with Wembley Stadium and Sky TV to show live NFL games in this country.
And it worked a treat as the Knights took their record for the season to 8-1 with a victory which means they must now beat the Bournemouth Bobcats on August 17 to book their place in the post-season knockout.
“This was a good win which keeps us on track for the play offs,” Rains said. “But we still have room for improvement to get us back to where we were at the start of the season, but we are getting the job done.”
The Knights started positively and soon put points on the board when strong running from Kingsley Ejiogu and Marcus Kumolu moved them into the visitors territory and QB Oli De Ruyter hit WR Stephen Godfrey with a 21yard pass, unconverted.
The Centurions however hit straight back with an excellent special teams score as they returned the kick off for a touchdown – the extra point was good and they moved in a 7-6 lead.
That was as good as it got, however, for the Centurions as the ruthless Knights turned the screw. De Ruyter found WR Godfrey again with a deep pass into the endzone with Paul Wakeford this time adding the extra two points for 14-7.
Wakeford himself was next to careerer into the endzone after WR Stealey-J Wills brought play to the Centurions’ oneyard line with a 35-yard reception.
Leading rusher on the day, however, was Ejiogu, who racked up 161 yards on just 15 carries and he featured heavily in the Knights’ first drive of the half and finished it off with a tackle breaking 34-yard sprint into the endzone. The extra point attempt failed and the Knights lead 26-7.
A chilling moment of dejavu, however, saw the Centurions pull another great Special Teams play out of the bag in returning the kick off for their second score of the afternoon, but the Knights soon recovered and restored their advantage with two quickfire touchdowns – De Ruyter finding Wills from 11 yards before Mike Davies picked up a fumble to run in from three yards.
Simon Burnell then wrapped up the scoring with the only score of the fourth quarter, duly converted by De Ruyter running in the twopointer, before the Knights made their own little piece of history by introducing their all-female backfield of Alison Berrisford and Laura Hill for the first time.