Manchester Titans 82-13 Crewe Railroaders

Match report courtesy of Nathan @ http://www.dblcoverage.com

The Railroaders took a depleted squad to Manchester and the Titans’ new home at the Salford City Stadium to try and build upon their 22-6 win over the Staffordshire Surge a fortnight before.

The Titans meanwhile were looking to get their campaign underway after their disastrous 0-10 Division 1 season in 2011 where injuries, retirements and a squad mainly built up of rookies took their toll.

The junior Manchester side lost 31-0 to the Lancashire Wolverine Colts before this game but the seniors had the reverse fortune come the 3:30pm kick off.

The home team kicked away to start the game and Crewe looked set to drive well behind quarterback Chris Wainman who impressed early on through the air. He found holes in the Titans’ inexperienced coverage but then the Manchester D stepped up and forced a fumble through Joe Hutton, which they then recovered.

Alan Mead, one of the more experienced players on this side, led his offence out for the first time and then drove the length of the field before Jonathan Gago punched in for a short rushing touchdown. The XP attempt hit the post and bounced out to give the home team 6-0.

Crewe once again drove the ball well into Manchester territory with Wainman airing it out well but stalled before turning the ball over on downs. The Crewe D headed out but got shredded on just the second play of the drive as Mead pitched right to Nick Copley who ran 69 yards for the touchdown. However, the new ruling on celebrating going into the end zone pulled back the play. It didn’t matter though as Copley ran it in again from the 15. This time the PAT was good to push the score to 13-0.

Crewe’s mistakes were killing their otherwise superb play. This time Wainman, who showed a lot of promise on the day, threw a pick straight to Hutton who had a big day on D. And as Crewe continued to kill themselves, Manchester continued to punish them as Mead hit wide receiver Adam Simms deep for another TD. With the PAT good the score sat at 20-0.

But Crewe proved they were not dead, hitting Manchester back immediately with a deep score of their own with Wainman hitting Dan Ratcliffe who ran superbly after the catch, breaking a couple of tackles on his way to the end zone. The PAT was blocked. 20-6.

Scott Waterworth, running back, opened the next drive with a superb run, weaving, cutting and breaking tackles as he battled for another score. The XP was tacked on, 27-6 Manchester.

A couple of exchanges in possession followed before the Titans began to establish the ground and pound, changing backs and keeping Crewe’s D on its toes. Dave Barnett finished the drive with a 13 yard TD run to make the score 34-6 after the XP.

Crewe lined up to punt after a 3 and out on the next drive but Manchester’s D put in a big block to give themselves great field position!

Barnett punched in another TD to follow, which gave the Manchester Titans a 41-6 half time lead over the Railroaders.

Crewe looked a deflated team but continued to fight against the Titans but in vain. Manchester quickly added TDs with a deep pass to Ben Barker that blew coverage and a short rushing effort from Alan Mead, taking the score to 54-6.

A forced fumble and recovery gave the home team the ball yet again before Ross Profit ran strongly, breaking a few tackles, en route to another 6 points. With a successful XP the score was taken to 61-6.

The D stood up to Crewe again and turned the ball back over. The Titan O headed back into scoring territory but the Railroaders stood strong themselves. On 4^th down Manchester lined up for a FG but a high snap was converted with TE Chris Heap catching the pass and battling through the D for another score. 68-6.

The Crewe Railroaders managed to get a consolation touchdown against Manchester’s reserves who were now out on every drive. Wainman hit Ratcliffe again with a decent pass before Ant Hollinshead added the XP.

The Titans were not done scoring though as Nick Copley and Matt Brown added two further touchdowns on the ground ending the game a final score of 82-13.

The early mistakes from Crewe really killed them off and the depleted squad meant they tired in the second half, whereas Manchester had the numbers to keep fresh legs on the field at all times. Manchester look set to be early Division 2 Central favourites alongside the Sheffield Predators who are yet to play a game after their game with Staffordshire was postponed.

The Manchester Titan Junior Team ready to play the Wolverines Colts. Picture by JD.

Manchester Titans Juniors looked to bounce back from their opening day loss at Lanarkshire with the first match of a Double-Header with the Senior team at their new home ground at Salford City Stadium against the Lancashire Wolverines Colts.

The Titans kicked off to the Wolverines and on the 2nd play from scrimmage Lancashire managed to break containment on the outside and ran 48 yards to score. The extra point was good making the score 7-0.

A bad pitch on their first play meant the Titans were already facing 2nd and 17 but completions by QB Ryan Gannon to TE Patryk Tomaszewski and FB Jake Currie weren’t quite enough for a first down and the Titans had to punt. Both teams exchanged punts until LB Kieran Candon picked off a Lancashire pass, giving the Titans great field position at the Wolverines 28 yard line. However the Titans were not able to pick up a first down and were left to attempt a 39 yard field goal attempt which fell short.

The 1st quarter ended with the Wolverines driving from their own 22 yard line. The managed to drive all the way down to the Titans 1 yard line when they fumbled the exchange and DE Uchenna Aniedu pounced on the loose ball. However, once again, Manchester was unable to move the ball and a short punt, gave the Lancashire great field position on the Titans 25 yard line. But more good defense from the Titans forced the Wolverines to settle for a field goal which they made from 33 yards out, making the score 10-0. With time running out in the 2nd quarter, Gannon tried to force the ball deep toward WR Sam Pollard but the pass was intercepted. Lancashire couldn’t add to their lead though as Candon came up with his 2nd turnover, recovering another Wolverines fumble.

The 2nd half kickoff was returned to midfield by Titans rookie Harry Moran, but again the offense failed to pick up a first down and were forced to punt the ball away. On Lancashire’s next drive, the Colts wideout #1, who had been guilty of 3 dropped passes in the first half, pulled off a spectacular one-handed grab and ran into the endzone for a 31 yard score. The extra point was no good, leaving the score 16-0. Again the Titans offense went 3 and out, but with Pollard out with an arm injury, James Newnes stepped in at punter and he was unable to handle the low snap and was tackled in the endzone for a safety.
Following the free kick, the Titans Defense stepped up again with sack by DE Sol Webber which led to another Lancashire punt. But despite Gannon completions to WR Nate Farrell and Currie, Manchester again had to punt the ball back to the Wolverines. 5 rushing plays later, the Wolverines scored from 6 yards out to increase the score to 24-0 as the 3rd quarter expired. Rookie Joe Pownell came in at QB to try and spark some life into the Titans offense but only managed a 6 yard completion to Farrell before the Titans were forced into a punting situation again. With Newnes now out with a hand injury, James Newman was called on to punt and another low snap meant he was forced to run 12 yards for a first down. However the referees correctly ruled that his knee had touched the ground when he had picked up the snap and the play was returned to that spot, giving the ball to Lancashire. The Wolverines failed to convert their 4th down attempt, turning the ball over on downs to Manchester but Pownell threw an interception to set up Lancashire’s final score; a one yard TD run with a successful extra point.
The Titans failed to move the ball on their last 2 drives, and the only other highlight was DB Brody Holland’s first interception to snuff out Lancashire’s last drive with the final score 31-0.
Titans standout players were Nate Farrell with 5 catches, Kieran Candon with 6 tackles, an Interception and a Fumble Recovery, Jordan Mason with some outstanding plays in a new position of LB, but GB lineman Adam Carter was named MVP by the coaching staff because of his desire and effort throughout the game.

The Juniors’ next game is away to Lancashire on May 26th.

Juniors Current Standings:

Pos			Team	W	T	L	Scores	Diff	Pts
1	↑		Lancashire Wolverines	2	0	0	56.0	34	2.0
2	↓		Lanarkshire Longhorns Juniors	1	0	1	34.0	15	1.0
3	↑		Gateshead Senators Juniors	1	0	1	41.0	4	1.0
4	↓		Leeds Bobcats Juniors	0	0	0	0.0	0	0.0
5	•		Manchester Titans Juniors	0	0	2	0.0	-53	0.0

The Titans kicked off to the Longhorns and despite Lanarkshire picking up a couple of first downs, Manchester’s defense stiffened and forced a punt giving the Titans great field position at their own 44 yard line. An offside penalty and a 6 yard run by FB Jake Currie gave the Titans their 1st first down of the season. Another penalty and a Ross Aveyard run moved the ball to the Longhorns 30 but QB Ryan Gannon’s first pass intended for WR Dan Johnson was intercepted, ending a promising drive.
The Longhorns next drive was slowed by a 4 yard tackle for loss by DE Luke Mitchell-Taylor and a sack by LB Paul Morrison forcing a punt. Gannon quickly got the Titans moving with a 12 yard pass to Currie who then ran for 10 yards and another first down. However the drive stalled again in Longhorns territory and the Titans were forced to punt.

Outstanding pressure on the Longhorns QB by DE Tom Hargreaves, firstly with an 11 yard sack and then with a 7 yard tackle for lost, forced another Longhorns punt but the Titans could only go 3 and out despite the good field position.
On Lanarkshire next series, more pressure from Hargreaves resulted in a 10 yard sack for DT Bruce Sibanda, which in turn led to the 4th Longhorns punt of the first half. Defenses continued to rule with the Titans and Longhorns exchanging punts and the half finished as Gannon’s desperation pass was intercepted, leaving the scores tied 0-0.

Aveyard muffed the 2nd half kick-off, leaving the Titans backed up on their own 12 yard line. Gannon was sacked on 3rd down forcing another punt with the Longhorns returned all the way back to the Manchester 4 yard line. 2 plays later the Longhorns QB sneaked in from 3 yards out for the opening score. The snap on the XP was fumbled but the Lanarkshire holder still managed to evade several Titans defenders to run in the 2PAT conversion. 8-0 to the Longhorns.

Hargreaves came in to replace the injured Gannon on the next drive and ran 13 yards with the fumbled snap on the first play. However, he lost the snap on the 2nd play also, Uchenna Aniedu recovered for the Titans but was then hit and fumbled, gifting the ball to Lanarkshire on the Manchester 29. On 3rd & 8, a pass was thrown up for grabs and caught by the Longhorns receiver before being tackled by DB Jack Brymer at the 1 yard line. The Lanarkshire QB sneaked in for his 2nd TD on the next play. The Longhorns again converted the 2 point attempt making the score 16-0.

After the kickoff, a 19 yard run by Aveyard moved the ball to midfield but the drive stalled after Currie’s 20 yard run was called back due to a holding penalty and on 3rd and 22, Hargreaves pass was intercepted. The Longhorns then drove 55 yards to end the 3rd quarter on a 6 yard TD run. The extra point failed and the score was 22-0.

Neither team was able to score in the 4th Quarter and the Longhorns eventually took a knee to end the game, with the final score 22-0. A disappointing defeat for the Titans but a marked improvement on last year’s result. Manchester’s next game is away to Leeds on April 29th.
Titans standout players were Tom Hargreaves, Bruce Sibanda and Jake Currie – with rookie FB & LB Currie being named MVP by the coaching staff.

Juniors Current Standings:

Pos			Team	W	T	L	Scores	Diff	Pts
1	↑		Lancashire Wolverines	2	0	0	56.0	34	2.0
2	↓		Lanarkshire Longhorns Juniors	1	0	1	34.0	15	1.0
3	↑		Gateshead Senators Juniors	1	0	1	41.0	4	1.0
4	↓		Leeds Bobcats Juniors	0	0	0	0.0	0	0.0
5	•		Manchester Titans Juniors	0	0	2	0.0	-53	0.0

The TSG Cheer (Trafford School of Gymnastics Cheer) programme draws on talent from both the Manchester Lightning and Unity Allstars cheer squads, providing both groups benefits from training on a sprung floor in a fully equipped gym and crossing over between programmes to fit their skill level and competitive commitment.

Lead by Program Director and Head Coach Marie Jenkinson TSG squad members bring a wealth of cheer, gymnastics and dance experience not only having competed at both regional and national levels but also having entertained audiences at large public events such as the Men’s rugby 7’s international rugby festival, and Lancashire County Cricket home games.

TSG Cheer is open to male and female participants of all ages – regardless of ability/size/experience. Anyone can become a cheerleader!

The Lightning will be present at all of the Titans senior team home games providing support from the touchline and half time shows for spectators.

Also look out for the squad supporting the Greater Manchester Marathon on the 29^th of April!

From all at the Titans welcome aboard!

http://www.uamanchester.com/tsg-cheer-performance-team.html

The Manchester Titans are very proud to have two Junior players selected for the Great Britain Lions Junior Program in preparation for the 2012 European Championships later this year.

The first selection was Adam Carter (18). He has been selected for his abilities on the offensive line. Adam is a third year Titan who has been with the Junior program since its initial season in 2010. Adam has developed into a vital member of the Titans squad as well as a leader amongst his team mates.

The second Titans selection was Wide Receiver Sam Pollard (17) who joined the Titans last season after playing his youth football with the Bolton Bulldogs. Sam displayed a great deal of promise from the beginning although due to injuries missed most of the games in 2011. However this has not deterred Sam for 2012 and he has returned showing more promise than ever before.

Verity Brawn – Junior Team Manager commented on her players achievements “I couldn’t be more proud of both players. It is truly a tribute to all the hard work we have all put in over the last 3 years. I also believe having the national team program for players to aspire to is great for the future development of football in the UK.”

Manchester Titans would like to congratulate both players on a fantastic achievement and would like to wish them good luck in their international endeavours.

The Titans involvement in the new Lions organization does not stop at these two young men. The Titans would also like to congratulate Junior Team assistant head coach Kenny McPhail in the appointment as Great Britain Lions Junior, Special Teams Coordinator.  Senior Team Offensive Coordinator Tom Leonard has also been appointed assistant quarter backs coach for the Lions Senior team.

Best of luck to all the players and coaches involved in the Great Britain Lions.

Coach McPhail (Front Right) and the GB coaching staff

Currently training twice a week,  in preparation for our first fixture of the 2012 British American Football Association Nation League Division2 in April, there are positions to suit every size and shape and no experience is necessary!

If you would like more information about joining please contact: recruitment@manchester-titans.co.uk

Time: Juniors 10am – 12pm, Seniors 12.15pm – 3pm

Cost/Subs: £5

Location:
Salford City Stadium Community Pitches,
1 Stadium Way,
Eccles,
Greater Manchester,
M30 7EY

Until the stadium postcode becomes operational on sat nav devices, please use this postcode – M30 7LJ.

Yeah, I’m not even going to lie about it, I became a football player through getting completely owned by the computer at a comedy football game. Makes me glad I never bought a copy of ‘Figure Skating 09, The Spandex Edition’ anyway.

The first training session I attended was in January 2011 and I actually skipped a rugby game in Fleetwood to be there. Partly because only 2 players had turned up for training that week and I was annoyed, but mainly because I had to satisfy the voice in my head asking if football was all it was cracked up to be on the computer.
In the pouring rain I was made to do burpee’s, sit ups, star jumps, sprints, stand in the worlds most awkward body positions, run in oddly named routes whilst the worlds most fragile QB pelted balls at me and an angry sounding coach from Chorley shouted ‘C’MON MAN’ every time a ball was dropped. (Not to mention someone having a fit, which scared half of the guys to death). But the minute I ran my first slant route, saw the ball fly in a perfect spiral straight into my hands, I fell in love – and everything people loved about the sport made sense.

I’ve not played a single minute of Rugby since that session.

Pre season was definitely an odd feeling. For the past eight years I’d walked into Rugby training sessions knowing exactly what to do, which line out to call, who should be at what ruck and setting up the next Queen running play. I’d gone from ‘6-3-5-4-2-7 Tight’ to ‘3-4 Cover 2, Mike Blitz’ in the space of a week.  That was a much bigger change than I expected.

Now I was a blank slate in a world of what seemed to be 20-year veterans, ex-university players that almost knew how to tackle and everyone else in between. Being a junior I learnt to play a little bit of everywhere with a main focus on 2 or 3 positions. It was a lot to take in and I couldn’t walk up and down the stairs properly after the first few sessions of standing in a linebacker stance, let alone having to learn a proper 3-point stance (against my will) for the O-Line. But I was making friends left right and centre and having a craic I’d pretty much lost in the midst of the Rugby season. Life was good and for 3 hours 12 until 3 every Sunday, this had become the highlight of my week. When training expanded to twice a week, I suffered from literal Nerdgasm’s! (For those of you who don’t know what a nerdgasm is, imagine back to when you first got colour television and you’ve just about hit on the head).

I’m going to time warp a little bit, and jump to the start of the season. Titan’s juniors had lost a lot of returning players from the year before and thanks to the will power of the team manager and the fortunate folding of another local club, we’d managed to scrape past the 25-player minimum registration barrier. So it’s safe to say we were going to hit the first game at a disadvantage. What was supposed to be an eight game season was instantly reduced to five thanks to the folding of two teams, and we received our only W’s on the season in the process.
The first game of the season was set for Leeds away. I had no idea if they were any good or not, and I didn’t really care. I enjoyed the fact that to me the whole ‘oh my god, they won the cup last year, they’re awesome’ pre-game self psyche-out had gone and I could just focus on my own game. Last minute pre-game checks and play through were done, and I was named a Captain, which probably meant more to me than the coaches realised.

I’ve always had butterflies before opening kick off, regardless of the sport or the time in the season, but this time it was different. It was an excitement more than nervousness; the voice in my head was going ‘I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but it’s damn sure going to be fun’. No matter how many skeleton drills or practice scrimmages you do, nothing can prepare you for that first game, when it’s finally you versus other people and the coaching is all gone for the next 2 hours. It felt odd, like the first time you ever look at something with 3D glasses on and it took me a few minutes to gather myself and get acquainted with how things were going to work on the pitch. Once it clicked, it felt brilliant – I was taking on offensive linemen, made a tackle in the backfield, got a pat-down, returned a punt (by accident) and best of all I was actually good at it! We lost that game, but I didn’t care. We put out our best performance of the season and beat them in the second half 6-0!

Sadly the season got progressively worse results-wise and I had to miss the second game due to an interview.

Our third game was against Gateshead at home and my worst nightmare had come true, I had to play defensive end, or so I thought. I’d practiced a little bit before the game but that was about the extent of my knowledge of what to do physically, despite knowing the playbook by heart. I got on to the pitch and the first play of the game I’m lined up shading the best Michael Oher lookalike in the world in their Left tackle. The ball was snapped, and a split second later I’m in the FB’s face and pressuring the QB. This was the most fun imaginable on the football field! After months of griping and complaining about having to play line, I’d become overwhelmed with passion for the position. Gateshead played an Option offence, so if I got remotely around the corner the ball was in the opposite direction – but I still managed to come away with two sacks and three tackles! I’ve also classed myself as a DE ever since. Yeah, we lost this one too – a pattern is emerging I know.

The following Sunday, we’re up against Leeds again with the reverse fixture of the opening game of the season for us. This time I’m at Outside Linebacker and in the words of Coach Murdoch, ‘You’re going to be Blitzing every play, have fun!’. The defence (myself included) didn’t put out the best showing possible. We struggled to maintain outside contain and when we did the person in the backfield had disappeared. I managed to come away with another sack and three tackles, two injured knees and a t-shirt tan I’m still dealing with to this date.

In the weeks post this game, we had a rubbish turn out to training, something we’d struggled with all season – but this was taking the mick. Coach Stretch did his best and got us to play a little bit of 5-a-side football with the numbers we had. But for me it was a disaster. I tried to run a fly route and my Achilles tendon partially ruptured – there was my season over instantly. I was absolutely gutted, but there was nothing I could do to prevent it – just accept it and move on.

Final game of the season was Lancashire Wolverines away at their anniversary event. I was stood on the sidelines with my crutches for this one, but I was still allowed to walk out as a captain that made it a little bit sweeter. We had a makeshift side, people playing out of position and quite a few people not even bothering to pitch up. This was the hardest game of the season for me. We got torn apart that game with a devastating result, and to stand on the sideline helpless to it is the worst feeling in the world. I let the players know how I felt at half time with an Alex Ferguson inspired hairdryer, that JP still quotes to this day. We didn’t end the season on a high, that’s safe to say. But my passion was not quelled in the slightest.

Since the season finished I’ve attended Football University Camps, Combine testing events down in London and spent my whole off-season making myself a better football player as well as getting other football related things into the pipeline for the future!

I’m also now a permanent fixture on the committee as the club’s Welfare Officer and hoping to clinch myself a starting spot on the Senior team defence, and avoid the abuse a rookie is undoubtedly going to get the best I can.

Roll on the 2012 season.

GO TITANS.

JJ

Adam Simms- Senior Offensive Player of the Year
Andrew Burridge- Senior Defensive Player of the Year
Ashley Dewing- Senior Special Teams Player of the Year
Joe Hutton- Senior Rookie of the Year
James Dean- Senior Coaches Player of the Year & Player’s Player
Titan of the Year – Ryan Farrell

Daniel Johnson – Junior Offensive Player of the Year
Gordon Cheung – Junior Defensive Player of the Year
Mike Sanusi – Junior Special Teams Player of the Year
James Newnes – Junior Rookie of the Year
Jack Brymer – Junior Coaches’ Player of the Year
James Johnson – Junior Players’ Player of the Year

Volunteer of the Year- Leanne Woodhouse and Angela Marsh

Date: Sunday 13th & 20th of November 2011
Location: Aldwinians Rugby Club
Time: 11.30 – approx. 3pm
Cost: £5

To your register your interest and receive further information please fill in the registration form.