Mavericks show plenty of spirit

East Kent Mavericks continued their impressive debut season in the topflight of British gridiron with a thrilling 40-26 win over Sussex Thunder at Aylesham on Sunday. The home side struck first with quarterback Josh Adamson finding receiver Mark Hughes for a touchdown for an early 7-0 lead, however the Sussex defence forced a turnover on the next Maverick drive and tied the scores. The Mavericks returned with a touchdown by Adamson and their defence remained solid with a brutal, literally helmetbreaking hit by linebacker Matt Power. Receiver Chris Townsend caught his first touchdown of the season on a 15-yard pass before the break but Sussex managed to reduce the deficit to 21-13 at half-time. The Mavs claimed the first points of the second half, with receiver Luke Jones extending the Mavs’ lead to 28-13 on his way to more than 100 yards receiving for the day. The Thunder’s counteroffensive ended with an interception by Fard on what would have been a touchdown pass but a touchdown before the end of the third quarter narrowed the score to 28-20. Sussex kept the pressure on in the fourth quarter to make it 28-26 but East Kent’s running back Richie Bowen plunged across the goal line for six points and after a 70-yard reception to Robbie McDonald, Adamson completed a one-yard pass to Hughes for EK’s sixth touchdown. The victory improved the third-placed Mavericks’ record to 6-1, guaranteeing them a winning record in their first ever season in the Premiership and keeping them on-track for a play-off berth.

Picture: Glenn Lindley CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: Richie Bowen keeps his focus as he runs in for a touch down