With Division 1 North still wide open coming into the game the Yorkshire Rams played host to the division leading West Coast Trojans. The first meeting between the two sides was always going to be a tough hard hitting game with playoff berths and international bragging rights at stake. The Trojans led by Head Coach/Quarterback Gary McNey lead the divison and have run up big scores on a number of their division 1 rivals previously in the season.

Yorkshire lost the toss, but the Trojans chose to defer and the Rams elected to receive. The Trojans linedrove the opening kick off into touch though giving the Rams excellent field position at the 35 yard line. Former Youth team quarterback Andy Green opened the game for the Rams and his first pass fell short of his intended target. The Rams turned to their improving run game giving Full Back Phil Fitzpatrick a 22 yard carry which was stopped from going for a longer gain with John Sutherland pushing him out of bounds. Greens next pass fell incomplete and Scottish Running Back Graham Thompson was unable to gain any ground against his fellow countrymen. Greens next pass fell short and Greg Boyland punted the ball to the 24 yard line.

Head Coach Gary McNey came out with his Trojans offence looking to continue their good run of form which has elevated them at the top of Division 1. John Sutherland gained yards up the middle followed by a big gain by former Rams receiver Mark Squire. West Coast drew first blood when John Sutherland skipped to the outside, turned the corner and beat the Rams secondary to the goal line. The extra point was converted giving the Trojans a 7-0 lead.

On the ensuing kick off returner Joe Coultate stumbled over his team mate on the 4 yard line. Rookie Jamie Jackson newly signed after 2 years playing for Mission Hills High School in San Diego was stopped for a one yard gain before skipping for a further 3 yard gain. The Trojans stuffed Paul Goodward on the 3rd down giving the Rams an awkward 4th down at their 6 yard line. Greg Boyland was called in again and punted the ball from deep in the end zone to the 27 yard line.

Running Back Sutherland maintained the pressure from the Trojans attack going with a 7 yard gain on first down off the jet sweep. Matt Harkin was then unlucky not to keep hold of the ball for a Rams Interception but Dave Pasnik managed to put him off enough. The Trojans rushing attack was stopped on 3rd down giving them a 4th down. Quarterback McNey failed to connect with Mark Squire in the endzone giving the Rams field position on their 20 yard line.

French wide receiver Julien Boville failed to catch first down pass from Green and Jamie Jackson made short yardage on 2nd down. Jackson was then tackled for a loss at the 15 yard line on a toss play. Rick Lynch punted the ball away giving the Trojans field position at the 35 yard line.

Sutherland took the ball and on an identical jet sweep to the previous series he carried the ball to the Rams 11 yard line. Defensive end Paul Goodward got his finger tips to McNey’s pass and just managed to deflect it down as an incomplete pass. The Trojans carried the ball up the middle to the 6 yard line where Gary McNey dropped and then shovel passed the ball to Sutherland which he carried to the endzone. The extra point was converted putting West Coast out 14-0.

The versatile Joe Coultate took the kick off again and carried the ball to the 25 yard line. Phil Fitzpatrick carried the ball for a loss of one and Greens pass fell short of Sam Hardacker. Again, the Rams offence struggled to find their spark and were forced to punt the ball with Rick Lynch putting the ball out of bounds at the Trojans 36 yard line.

Sutherland juggled the hand off on first down but was able to hold onto it before being stopped for zero gain. McNeys pass on 2nd down fell incomplete out of bounds. On the 3rd down with the Trojans sticking with the jet sweep Coultate was able to show his athleticism getting to the outside to stop the West Coast offence. Atchison took the punt and advanced it 5 yards before being pushed out of bounds.

4 year veteran Fitzpatrick continued his good form carrying the ball for 15 yards up the middle. Paul Goodward got his first yards of the game with a 3 yard gain but two further gains of 1 yard left the Rams with a 4th and 5 situation. Rick Lynch stepped into punt the ball to the Scots 10 yard line. Sutherland continued to amass his yardage for the day with a run up the middle. The Trojans made little progress on their next attempt but then a serious injury to Paul Goodward stopped play for a long period of time. After a lengthy period of treatment, Paul was carried from the field of play by ambulance to the Leeds General Infirmary.

Back to the game and David Pasnik fumbled the ball on the hand off again but his reactions were quick enough to fall on top of the ball for a short loss. Paul Muscroft stuffed the Trojans rushing attack on 3rd down leaving West Coast to punt the ball to Yorkshires 35 yard line.

Graham Thompson took the ball for a 1 yard gain as the Rams offence looked to spark into life and pull themselves back into the game but the Trojans Defensive line were able to drag Thompson down before he made a gain. Green found Fitzpatrick on 3rd down with a short pass but Fitzpatrick was unable to keep hold of the ball leaving the Rick Lynch to punt the ball again to West Coast 14 yard line.

Rookie DB Randy Pryce dragged David Pasnik down for a 3 yard loss on the 1st down and then McNey faked the jet sweep and passed to former Ram Mark Squire, but the pass was picked off by dominant safety Greg “Sunshine” Boyland with his 6th interception of the year. He skipped past the Trojans offence to return the ball for a touchdown which Rick Lynch converted to pull the Rams back to 14-7.

Fired up by the loss of spiritual leader Goodward, the Rams were flagged for an excessive celebration and had a 15 yard penalty assessed against them on the kick off. John Sutherland fielded the tee shot and carried the ball back to the 42 yard line. Pryce again stopped Sutherland in the backfield for a 4 yard loss before he carried the ball back to the line of scrimmage where he was stopped by Muscroft. The Trojans punted on 4th down and the Rams gained possession at the 26 yard line.

The Rams gave the ball to Nicholas Atchison on 1st down and scampered for 5 yards. Atchison ran hard on the next play too with Trojans linebackers bouncing off him for first down. Fitzpatrick was again unable to hold onto the ball from Green’s pass. The hit by Gary McNey on Rick Lynch who was following a pass downfield ended the half as the ball fell incomplete.

With the score so close at the half the Rams must have felt they had a chance of pulling the game back in their favour.

The second half kicked off with David Pasnik breaking into the open field for a large gain to the Rams 37 yard line before Coultate grabbed hold of him by the fingertips, stopping him from scoring. The Trojans offense progressed slowly forward with Sutherland and Pasnik being the main contributors. McNey then attempted to run a flea flicker which was broken up by Brice Marchand and Phil Keeling and the ball bobbled loose, this was pounced upon by Phil Keeling to give the Rams field position on the recovery. The Rams offense moved the ball on the ground but a fumbled hand off by Andy Green was recovered by the Trojans at the Rams 48 yard line to return the favour

The Trojans continued to use the jet sweep motion to gain yardage with Sutherland at the centre of every offensive move. McNey dumped a pass to Squire on the sideline to bring up a 3rd and 3 at the 30 yard line. Sutherland ran the ball up the gut for first down for a 4 yard gain, then skipped through the Rams defence for his 3rd touchdown which Pasnik converted to stretch the Trojans lead to 21-7.

On the ensuing Kick Off, Atchison gained excellent yardage but was stopped from further progress by running into Boyland who was blocking up field for him. On the set of four Graham Thompson carried the ball for a yard on the first down taking the Rams to the 49 yard line. The Rams rushing attack stalled with Atchison taking the ball inside the Trojans half but unable to get the first down with his two attempts so the Rams punted to the 34 yard line. Mcney and the Trojans offence took the field again making a short gain on the ground then Boyland was unlucky not to get the 2nd interception of his day when the ball bounced out of his hands. On the ensuing punt David Pasnik was unable to hold onto the ball which bounced around in the backfield before being pounced on by Matt Harkin who then fumbled the ball back to give Trojans a new set of downs as they recovered the ball at the 16 yard line. This swift change of possession was a real breaker for the Rams and Sutherland used strong running to gain the first down at the 27 yard line and again carried the ball for 5 yards. He was then stopped short on the 2nd down attempt after a gain of 3 yards. Full Back Stephen O’Neil ended the third quarter by rushing for 4 yards to convert the first down. The fourth quarter opened with McNey passing to Sutherland who gained a huge chunk of yards before being dragged down with a last ditch tackle by Joe Coultate.

Rob Kent penetrated the Trojans backfield and served up a punishing hit on Scott McMenemy in the backfield, Matt Harkin broke up the pass to the end zone by knocking the ball away. McNey attempted to run the ball himself on 3rd down but was stopped leaving them attempting a 21 yard field goal, which was converted by David Pasnik. The Trojans pulled out to a 24-7 lead.

Atchison’s return was again stopped by one of his own players when he ran into the back of Graham Thompson but still managed to get the ball to the 40 yard line. Andy Green’s pass fell just short of Tight End Andy Durkin on 1st down but an offside penalty made their second attempt 1st and 5. Full Back Fitzpatrick carried the ball again for a first down into Trojans terrority at the 40 yard line going in. Rick Lynch then failed to catch Greens pass, which hung high in the air but Jamie Jackson carried the ball for 4 yards giving the Rams an important 3rd and 6 to convert. Electing to pass, the throw from Green was picked off by Andrew O’Neill who returned the ball for a touchdown. The Trojans failed to convert the extra point but still extended their lead to 30-7.

Randy Pryce returned the kick off to the 32 yard line despite a mix up at the catch between him and Coultate. The Trojans gave up 5 yards on an offside penalty before Andy Green failed to connect with Craig Naylor. Green then scrambled after stumbling in the backfield and gained 5 yards giving the Rams 3rd and 5 at the Trojans 37. A chink of light was snuffed out when French standout Julien Bovilles pass was wiped out by an illegal procedure penalty against the Rams pushing them back to 3rd and 10. Craig Naylor caught the ball on the sidelines but the play was again whistled dead for an illegal procedure pushing Yorkshire back to 3rd and 15. The next pass to Naylor was too high and he failed to hold onto the ball. The ball was punted to the Trojans 49 yard line with time running away from the Rams.

The Trojans then had another set of four, but McNey fumbled the ball on first down and the Rams recovered it on the half way line. With no option it seemed, but to pass their way out, Green found Andy Durkin on the side line for a 5 yard gain before the tight end went out of bounds. On the next play the Rams latest signing, 18 year old High School standout Jamie Jackson fumbled the ball at the line of scrimmage and Andy O’Neill recovered before racing to the end zone for his second defensive touchdown of the day. The extra point put West Coast into a commanding 37-7 lead.

Atchison returned the ball to the 32 yard line where he was stopped this time by the Trojans defence. Quarterback Green, flushed out of the pocket and unable to find any open receivers, was forced to throw the ball away. On his next attempt the ball was thrown over Godfreys head and he was unable to pull the catch in. Rick Lynch then failed to hold onto a short quick pass from Green and was left to punt the ball out to the Rams 37 yard line.

With the game over as a competition and the two minute warning being a distant memory, the Trojans started their next drive determined to increase the lead before the game was called. Brice Marchand hit Gary McNey but he was lucky enough to get the ball off whilst in the grasp before being taken to ground, the ruling was an incomplete pass. Lee Morton then used his height to break up an intended pass to Mark Squire but failed to bring the ball in for an interception. Ex Ram Squire then managed to get his hands on the next pass and gain a first down at the half way line. Sutherland then continued his his deeply impressive offensive show, carrying the ball for 9 yards to the 41 yard line. McNey overthrew Pasnik on the next play, but with seconds left in the game was then able to find Squire open in end zone to go 43-7 up.

Scuffing the ball along the ground short on the kick off, the Rams wedge man, Rob Kent, got to the ball first and returned the kick to the half way line. With literally a few seconds left, Andy Green took to the air once more, but was unable to connect on a deep pass to Rich Godfrey. He overthrew on his next attempt to Rick Lynch and that ended the game and give the Trojans a 43-7 win.

With the game a memory, the two sets of players shook hands, got changed and retired to the Sports Caf, who are proud to sponsor both the Rams and the Trojans. With the Glasgow based team staying overnight in Leeds, the players took the opportunity to make the most of the sponsors hospitality and party into the night. One player unable to enjoy the celebrations, however, was Rams veteran Paul Goodward, who at the time of the post game party had just finished the first stage of treatment at the LGI to relocate his ankle joint and fix the severe damage to his Tibia. The thoughts of all the Rams are with Paul, who remains in the Leeds General Infirmary this week, we wish him a safe and speedy recovery. All of the Rams organisation would like to thank the excellent paramedics and ambulance staff of Michael Hughes medical services and also coach Hardaker of the Rams, himself a paramedic, for their swift and professional response. The Trojans sideline staff, in particular Catherine McClintock, should also be commended for their contribution during the lengthy period that Paul lay injured.

The Rams play again next week at the South Leeds Stadium, with the second leg of the Yorkshire derby against Doncaster. The first game between the two teams was won by Yorkshire, who ran out 21-0 winners. Entry is free and kick off is at 4pm.