Following last Saturdays convincing victory against the Chester Romans, the Yorkshire Rams welcoming another of their old rivals the Staffordshire Surge to South Leeds Stadium. Staffordshire were keen to avenge the loss inflicted by the Rams in their first meeting of the season 3 weeks ago when the Rams clinched the victory with a last second fumble return on a failed screen pass.

Following a deep Paul Goodward run which was increased by a block in the back penalty against the Surge, quarterback Andy Green kept his starting role with the team and his first pass was completed to Julien Boville for a 10 yard gain and first down. The Rams offence was pushed back following a holding penalty and then turned to running back Paul Goodward to attempt to grind out hard yards on the ground. The Rams were unable to gain a first down following the penalty and on 4th down Yorkshire elected to attempt the field goal. The attempt from Rick Lynch fell short and the Surge offense took over at the 23 yard line. Richard Large’s first pass fell short and Martin Tranter failed to gain yardage on the 2nd down rushing attempt. Paul Muscroft and Brice Marchand stuffed the Staffordshire run on 3rd down and were left to punt to the 49 yard line.

Yorkshire came out passing and failed to convert on their first attempt, they turned to their running backs Justin Lester and Graham Thompson who failed to gain much yardage and the Rams punt team were brought out on to the field. Rick Lynch punted deep and the Surge were lucky to escape after a fumble was almost recovered by Hytham Atchison at the 10 yard line but then lost the ball on their first down when the ball was knocked lose in the tackle. The Rams moved half the distance to the goal on the 2 line yard after an offside penalty. Running back Graham Thompson made short work of the defence to put the Rams up with Rick Lynch adding the extra points for a 7-0 lead.

Staffordshire gave up a personal foul on the extra point attempt which was assessed on the kick off which the Surge received at their 16 yard line but were pinned further back by yet another penalty giving them possession at the 11 yard line. Running back Brett Rosenbaum gained 5 yards on his first carry of the game and had his further yardage wiped out by a holding penalty. Richard Large overthrew his pass on the next down with Greg Boyland sniffing for his 5th interception. On his next attempt from shotgun he was intercepted by Hytham Atchison at the 24 yard line, American running back Mack Holley gained excellent yardage which was wiped out by a block in the back penalty against the Rams. On the replayed down Rick Lynch was intercepted by the Surge and the ball was returned to their 34 yard line. The Surge kept the ball on the ground this time with Brett Rosenbaum gaining 3 yards on first down. Rams linebacker Rob Kent stopped the run on the next down alongwith the dominanting Rams defensive line. On the Surge punt rookie Iveson Dyer returned the ball to 49 yard line. Mack Holley gained 3 yards on the first down with Graham Thompson powering through the inital tackle for a first down. The quarter ended with the Rams 7-0 to the good.

Craig Naylor was unlucky not to catch Rick Lynch’s pass and the next down was whistled dead after an illegal procedure leaving the Rams with a 3rd and 11. Holley carried the ball for 5 yards leaving the Rams with a 4th and 6th which they punted to the 25 yard line. Brett Rosenbaum carried the ball for 5 yards to the 30 yard line, he carried the ball for another yard but was stopped by Rams veteran player Phil “Bilko” Keeling. Therun Surge came out in shotgun formation but were called for a false start pushing them back to 4th and 9. Greg Boyland broke the 3rd down pass attempt up and was unlucky not to get his 5th interception for the season. Hytham Atchison returned the ball for a 46 yard touchdown on the punt but it was nullified by a Rams penalty on the return team. The Rams were pushed further back to 1st and 15 after a false start penalty. Paul Goodward hit a wall of defenders on his run but had the good sense to bounce it outside for a 6 yard gain. A further false start penalty took the Rams back to 2nd and 14. Goodward then fought for hard earned 3 yards giving the Rams a 3rd and 12 on which the pass dropped by Sam Hardacker. Greg Boyland punted the ball deep into the end zone and the Surge took over at the 20 yard line. Brett Rosenbaum was stuffed for a 1 yard gain by Phil Keeling and Rob Kent. Rosenbaum was stopped by Greg Boyland after gaining a first down. The pass was dropped on 1st down by Neil Sullivan when it just dropped out of his grasp. Quarterback Richard Large overthrew Martin Tranter on the 2nd down attempt. The Surge moved to a spread shotgun formation and gained good yardage on a screen pass but were left with a 4th and 5 attempt. The punt was returned 10 yards by Hytham Atchison who avoided several tacklers to give the Rams possession at their 46 yard line. Mack Holley gained a first down with a 20 yard run with the pass from Rick Lynch lucky not to be intercepted. Full back Phil Fitzpatrick scored his first touchdown of the season when he sprinted into the endzone from 32 yards out. Rick Lynch converted the extra point and the Rams opened up a 14-0 lead.

The Surge took the kick off to the 35 yard line and gained 5 yards with Lee Trethaway’s first carry of the game. Brett Rosenbaum added a further 2 yards to give the Rams a 3rd and 2. Rosenbaum was hit hard after converting for the first down but fumbled the ball to give Yorkshire possession at the half way line. Andy Green took over the offence again and a run by Justin Lester was stuffed by the Surge D line. Craig Naylor failed to catch the pass from Green and were left with a 3rd and 13 attempt. Justin Lester failed to catch the ball which was above his head the Rams gained a first down following a roughing the passer penalty by Adam Steele giving them possesion at the 39 yard line. Staffordshire read the play well and dropped Justin Lester in the backfield for a loss of 6 yards. Green ran for 5 yards to give the Rams a 4th and 11th , the punt team came onto the field and punted the ball for a short 8 yard gain. Richard Large fumbled the ball on the Surge first down and offensive lineman Adam Steele proved a hard man to bring down as he powered forward for a first down. The Surge gained another first down with a screen pass to Martin Tranter taking the Surge to the Rams 40 yard line. Greg Boyland got his 5th interception of the year on the next pass and returned the ball to the Rams 36 yard line. The Rams went in at half time with a 14-0 lead.

The Surge took the 2nd half opening kick off to the Rams 47 yard line but failed to make progress after Lee Trethaway was stopped by Rob Kent on the run. Neil Sullivan failed to catch the pass on 2nd down when it bounced off his chest pad, Large overthrew his receiver on 3rd down and the pass on 4th and 7 was broken up when Matt Harkin hit the receiver as he went to catch it.

The Rams offence went to Veteran running back Justin Lester to get yardage on the ground but he was left frustrated by a tackle for loss but a face mask call put the Rams back in with a chance of making first down after Andy Green converted with an 8 yard pass to Craig Naylor. On the next play Staffordshire’s secondary played good pass defence and Andy Green failed to fit the ball into the tight window he was given. On the punt return Staffordshire called a fair catch and took over at the 22 yard line but were pinned back to the 17 by a false start penalty. Neil Sullivan held onto a finger tip catch above his head for a 10 yard gain to give Staffordshire 2nd and 5. Steve Goulden was the first man into the sack on Richard Large at the 16 yard line. Paul Goodward blocked the punt which rolled into the end zone which he dived on himself to put the Rams up 20-0. The Rams were called for a delay of game on the extra point which Rick Lynch had blocked.

Greg Boyland stopped an excellent kick off return by Martin Tranter with a last ditch tackle at the 27 yard line. Large turned to the screen pass again which got a short gain of 3 yards before being stopped by Neil Goodward. Lee Trethaway carried the ball but was stopped by the Rams defensive line. Richard Large was hurried by Paul Goodward on 3rd down and failed to make contact with his receiver. The Surge went for it on 4th down and Richard Large found Anthony Charles with space in the end zone to make the touchdown catch. Lee Trethaway was stopped short as the Surge attempted to go for 2 points.

The Rams led 20-6 as the Surge kicked off which was returned a short distance by Justin Lester to the 38 yard line. The pass by Rick Lynch was broken up by a finger tip touch by the Surge secondary stopping Craig Naylor from making the catch. The Rams were called for a hold on the next carry and were taken back for 2nd and 15. A run by Graham Thompson was stopped at the line of scrimmage and a further holding call took the Rams offence backwards. Greg Boyland punted the ball deep which found touch at the 33 yard line for the Surge offence to take over. Rob Kent stretched to stop a good run by Brett Rosenbaum after gaining the first down. Matt Harkin broke up another pass which spilled out when the receiver was hit as he caught the ball. Rosenbaum was forced out of bounds short of the first down marker giving Staffordshire a 3rd and 2. Neil Sullivan got the first down as he held onto a bobbled pass and ended the quarter with the Rams still ahead 20-6.

Rob Kent and Paul Muscroft stuffed Neil Sullivan when he stepped into running back for a 2yard gain. Richard Large over threw Martin Tranter who just got his hands to the ball but was unable to hold onto the pass which left Staffordshire with a 4th and 3 which Large overthrew giving the Rams possession at their 42 yard line. Full back Phil Fitzpatrick took the ball for 4 yards following Running Back Justin Lester before Paul Goodward took the ball forward for a 1st down at the Staffordshire 41 yard line. Justin Lester fumbled the ball on the hand over but was aware enough to fall on the ball for a 1 yard loss. Mack Holley returned to the back field and carried the ball to the 39 yard line. John Ellis evaded Holleys block to make the sack on Rick Lynch for a loss in the back field. The Rams were called for a delay of game penalty before Greg Boyland to the 19 yard line. Rosenbaum was tackled in the backfield for a 3 yard loss but Richard Large was able to get the first down. Martin Tranter made good headway for an 8 yard gain and Large completed the pass to Neil Sullivan to gain the first down before he stepped out of bounds. Tranter was stuffed on a sweep play by Mack Holley. Richard Large was rushed by the Rams defence as they continued to turn the screws as Paul Goodward forced Large to throw early which fell short of Tranter on the sideline. Staffordshire were taken back by a false start penalty to give them a 3rd and 16 late in the 4th quarter. Large completed a pass at the 30 yard line to former Ram James Parkhouse who then failed to pull in a catch in the end zone.

Rosenbaum carried the ball to the outside but was knocked out of bounds with a big hit by Brice Marchand and Matt Harkin. An attempted flea flicker was stopped by Phil Keeling in the back field with a sack at the 32 yard line. Staffordshire went for it on 4th down and Parkhouse was unlucky not to hold onto the pass which bounced off his chest pads.

Yorkshire took over on with time running out and Graham Thompson was stopped at the line of scrimmage on the first down. Thompson took the ball to the outside but the play was called back for illegal motion. Thomson ran the ball again and was stopped for a gain of 1 yard as the 2 minute warning sounded. Julien Boville was unable to catch the pass in heavy traffic and Greg Boyland punted the ball out of bounds at the Rams 50 yard line.

Large moved the ball to the 24 yard line with time running out but was unable to hold onto the ball on 1st down which Paul Matthews fell onto to end the game and giving the Rams the lead in the division over the Surge. Phil Fitzpatrick finished with 3 carries for 44 yards and 1 touchdown, Graham Thompson with 7 carries for 17 yards and 1 touchdown. Paul Goodward had 4 carries for 24 yards in addition to his defensive touchdown and Mack Holley had 7 carries for 36 yards. Quarterback Andy Green completed 3 of 6 passes connecting with 3 different receivers including first catches for Wide Receivers Craig Naylor and Julien Boville.On defence Phil Keeling had an outstanding day with 4 solo tackles, 5 assists and 1.5 sacks for 15 yards, Steve Goulden had 4 solo tackles 2 assists and half a sack. Rob Kent had 5 tackles and 7 assists, Brice Marchand had 4 solo tackles. Paul Muscroft had 6 solo tackles and 1 assist.

The Rams and the Surge now swap places in division 1 with the Rams moving to 4-2 and the Surge falling to 4-3. The Rams travel to Chester Romans next Sunday looking to build on their current winning streak and solidify their playoff charge.

MVP: Phil Keeling