The 2019 season began in ignominious fashion against a newly promoted Aberdeen side who shocked the home side with a heavy defeat.

New Head Coach, Dale Bottomley was looking for a strong start from the team in his first game at the adult level but a combination of a strong travelling Roughnecks and an inability to get a foothold in the game meant that Yorkshire played most of the game trying to come back from an increasingly large differential in the scoreline.

The Roughnecks took the lead in the first quarter when a series of debatable calls led to a long pass being caught impressively in the end zone. This was quickly followed by another touchdown when a Rams punt saw the ball snapped over the head of the punter and recovered by Aberdeen on the 1-yard line which led to a simple touchdown. The PAT was blocked by Spencer Whybrow which left the score at 13-0.

As the second quarter started, the Rams caused too many penalties on offense that stalled any chance of turning the tide of the game and the visitors added a field goal which was followed by another simple rushing TD with the aid of an interception.

The Roughnecks would get themselves another 2 points when a pass in the Rams own end zone was adjudged to have been intentional grounding and a safety was awarded. When the half time whistle was blown, the Rams walked off the John Charles Stadium field, shell-shocked and 25-0 down.

The second half didn’t get any better for the Rams as they struggled to move the ball on offense and whilst the defense held strong, the Scottish side added another field goal in a tight third quarter and then added a touchdown on a long rush early in the fourth. The PAT was missed again but the score was 34-0.

The day didn’t get any better on the ensuing kickoff as the ball was fumbled and Aberdeen took over and scored one again, this time adding a 2PAT to make the final score 42-0.

The Rams will be looking to bounce back next week when we travel to Scotland to face the Glasgow Tigers.