With the Pirates travelling with an understrength squad and the Rams missing a number of vital players this game was looking to be more equal than their positions suggested, and it was. Jordan Falconer, who was awarded the Ram’s MVP for a superb game, was the difference between the two sides.

The Rams kicked off and held the Pirates to the punt which was sliced giving good field position to Yorkshire but they also couldn’t make any headway in this mostly defensive game. The Rams tries to take first blood on their first possession with an attempt at field goal but the ball fell short of the sticks. Good runs by Falconer drove the ball well up the field but the Ram’s defence stood their ground and held firm giving the home side another go at offence. Moving the ball well with runs by Andy Hill and Justin Lester, Yorkshire gained yardage bit by bit but were stopped inside the visitors half and had another attempt at the field goal. Dave Pawson’s kick looked as though it had sneaked inside the post but the ref showed wide and the score remained 0-0. East Kilbride’s movement was stopped at the half way marker when they fumbled and the ball was recovered by Ben Walsh to start another drive by Yorkshire. As the quarter neared it’s end a long pass from Rik Lowthion to Lee Taylor was intercepted at the Pirates 1 yard line by Stuart McNeill to save a certain touchdown.

Forcing East Kilbride to punt on their next possession the Rams took over the ball once more and another pass from Lowthion to Taylor, who was awarded joint MVP for the Rams along with Rob Parker who both had outstanding games, got the ball to the visitor’s 20 yard line. Yorkshire were unlucky not to go in front when Lowthion threw to JJ Forder running into the endzone but the ball was inches too far from his hands. After failing to take advantage the Rams turned over possession for the Pirates to have a go, and they hit the scoreboard for six points when Falconer found space down the right side to race 44 yards for the TD to put his side 6-0 up. Exchanging possessions during the mid portion of the quarter both defences had to dig in but Jon Sutherland broke through a gap in Yorkshire’s line and made it to the 11 yard line before being brought down. A couple of plays later and Jonathan Chilton went over the line but the score was negated on a Pirate’s penalty. The Ram’s ‘D’ stopped him on the next play but another six was added to East Kilbride’s tally with a four yard pass from Lee Fraser to Stuart Hare. The attempted two pointer was stopped by Craig Waite forcing Sutherland out of bounds. Defences once again took over and the half finished with the visiting Pirates up by 12-0.

With Yorkshire receiving the ball to start the second half they began by making good headway with passes from Lowthion to Forder and Taylor and runs by Hill and Lester they drove deep into Pirate’s territory but the momentum was lost when Kenneth McPhail intercepted the pass from Lowthion at his own 35 yard line to give the advantage back to his team. More runs by Falconer and Sutherland got the Pirates to Yorkshire’s 11 yard line from where quarterback James Thompson took the snap but having all his receivers covered ran the ball himself through a hole in the middle to increase the score to 18-0. The Pirates were on the move again but the third period ended with a sack on Thompson by Rob Parker near mid field.

Yorkshire started well again at the beginning of the quarter with Hill’s runs and Taylor’s catches but luck was not with the Rams when a pass by Lowthion to mid field was knocked into the air and after a number of players tried to catch it, the bobbling ball was finally brought to ground by the Pirates. Sutherland took the hand off and sprinted away but Parker was again at hand to chase him down. The next play was a pass from Fraser to Graeme Murphy in the endzone but the TD was not given as Murphy was ruled not in control of the ball when down. Trying again Fraser dropped back to pass but was sacked by Hill forcing East Kilbride away from the Rams endzone. Good defence by Yorkshire turned the ball over to them when East Kilbride could not make the required yardage on their fourth down. The Ram’s drive started deep inside their own half with a blistering run by Lester to the half way line but was unfortunately brought back on a penalty call. Lowthion again went to the air and got his team out of danger with successive passes to Justin Smith and Paul Calvert who got the first down inside the Pirate’s half. After a short run by Hill Lowthion followed with a couple more passes, one to Taylor and the other to Forder at East Kilbride’s nine yard marker this was followed by Hill’s burst through the middle to the four yard line. The stand of the game was here as the Pirates, giving away four consecutive penalties, held Yorkshire out to take over the ball on downs. The game closed with East Kilbride on the attack, Falconer with a last long run into Yorkshire ground. After a good all round performance by Yorkshire they were unfortunate to concede their first shut out of the season.

The Rams now look forward to a break before they take on the Nottingham Caesars in the last regular game of the season on 1st August at Ram Stadium, Dewsbury. Kick off 2:30pm