Nottingham Caesars 16-7 Northants Knights (BAFA Central East) 26.09.21
Sometimes victory comes at a cost and, for the Nottingham Caesars, their undefeated, BAFA Central East campaign did just that on Sunday afternoon as defensive line, Josh Poultney, required hospital treatment late on in the 16-7 success over visiting Northants Knights.
A scoreless, first quarter, would be punctuated by a missed field goal attempt from 17 yards out, after much back and forth between the Caesars and the Knights, however, early in the second, the deadlock was broken when, following on from a personal foul, the Caesars would be seen to take a first down on the Knights’ 18 yard line.
That would lead to a first and goal for the hosts on the seven, followed by an interception on the one which is tackled into the end zone for a safety, putting the hosts two points up.
The first touchdown of the game went to the Caesars, running back Karim Hamdi crossing and, with the extra points also good, the Caesars moved to nine before, in the latter stages of the first half, the Knights, having reached a first down on the Caesars 28 yard line, cross for a passing touchdown, the extra points meaning that, at the half, the Caesars held a narrow, 9-7 lead.
As the second half began, another field goal attempt would be missed, this from just ten yards out, whilst at the end of the third quarter, the lead was extended by the hosts, crossing for a touchdown and extra points on the conversion moving the Caesars nine clear going into the last quarter.
The final quarter would see the Caesars roster putting in the hard yards on the field of play, play which would include a stylish interception from defensive back, Micky Fisher, before the game would be held up with 2:28 on the clock, a neck injury to defensive line, Poultney, requiring an ambulance visit, neck brace etc (the Nottingham Sport send their wishes for a good and speedy recovery).
The Knights however looked to close the game themselves at the death, and, on a fourth and goal in the closing stages, they fell short of the score and the Caesars would pick up a sixth, straight, divisional win at 16-7, the result seeing their Central East campaign consist of six wins, and zero losses, and no sacks against them, in all games (inc. Manchester Titans).
The Caesars will now dust themselves off, take a step back and take stock, look to a post-season camp, and onto pre-season ahead of the 2022 season – more on that as it comes.
In the BAFA Central East Division this campaign, Head Coach Vanden Warner, and his Nottingham Caesars, have remained undefeated, posting six victories, and two cancellations (Lincolnshire Bombers games both pulled); the only blot on the Caesars copy-book, a cross-divisional clash with the UK’s number two ranked side, the Manchester Titans.
Results/Record for the Nottingham Caesars 2021 campaign are as follows (cross-divisional match in italics):
Northants Knights (a) W 14-6
Lincolnshire Bombers (a) W 38-19
Northants Knights (h) W 21-18
Manchester Knights (h) L 34-6
Scunthorpe Alphas (a) W 33-6
Scunthorpe Alphas (h) W 34-8
Northants Knights (h) W 16-7
Pld 6 W 6 D 0 L 0 F 156 A 64 PCT 100.0.
*Article provided by Peter Mann (Senior Correspondent).
*Main image @gridmotorsportmedia another win for Nottingham to make it six from six.
