Yorkshire Rams 0 - 61 East Kilbride Pirates

Fri Jul 10 2015

The Rams faced another tough battle when the Pirates came to town, having already beaten the Yorkshire side 63-2 in Scotland, East Kilbride would have travelled south expecting to go home with another win but having struggled on their travels this season, the Rams were hoping to cause another upset.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be and the tone was set early when the Rams took the opening kickoff and were promptly on the receiving end of a big return that went all the way into the endzone and the home side faced an uphill battle trailing 7-0 within the first minute. The Rams did move the ball successfully on their first drive with a good pass and a big couple of runs from Duante Wint-Angus and [Elliot Jackson](/post/2014-12-10-meet-team-2014-rookie-year-elliot-jackson/ “Meet the Team - 2014 Rookie of the Year, Elliot Jackson”) moved the ball towards the halfway line but the ball was stripped and EKP had the ball back. They would make the most of it when QB Neil Baptie ran the ball in from the 10 yard line. Another running touchdown was added later in the first quarter and the Rams found themselves 20-0 down at the end of the quarter.

Into the second quarter and the Rams had more issues with a punt snap and once again the opposition managed to recover the ball in the endzone and score a TD that the home side will feel they should not have conceded. The defence stopped the 2-point conversion though and managed to hold the Pirates to a long field goal attempt on their next drive. The field goal was missed from over 40 yards but the Rams couldn’t stop the scoring before half time and Baptie ran another TD in, this time from further out and at the half it was 33-0 for the second game running.

The Rams received the ball at the start of the second half but couldn’t move the ball on their first drive and had to punt away. Baptie would make it a hat trick of touchdowns when he, once again, evaded the defence and ran the ball in. The score was now 40-0 and the “Mercy Rule” kicked in, which couldn’t have come at a better time when the south Leeds sunshine became a storm of heavy rain and strong winds. East Kilbride continued to put the pressure on the home side though and added a passing TD when Baptie linked up with Jamie McLaughlin to add another touchdown to his already impressive stats this year.

Moving into the fourth quarter and the Pirates added another running touchdown and when the Rams fumbled in their own half, the EKP defence collected the ball and ran it in to make the score 61-0 when time finally ran out.

The Rams will next be in action on 19th July at home to the Coventry Jets, in what is now an extremely important game after the surprise victory by the Predators against Tamworth.