LEEDS CELTICS

This Sunday saw the Celtics travel to Hull, playing against the defending league champions on their home ground, a tough matchup for any team.

 

Having received the opening kickoff, the Celtics offence were first to take the field, and after making a short gain, a bad snap of the ball resulted ina fumble recovered by the sharks, leaving them only 30 yards to drive for the score. A few plays later, the Sharks found themselves inside the 5 yard line, and on their third attempt, a Hull running back found the corner of the endzone, and after a successful 2-point conversion, the Sharks were up by 8.

 

On the subsequent kickoff return, a good return from Felix Titherley put the Celtics inside Hull territory, with just under 50 yards to go. Although the Celtics made some tough yards, they were unable to make the 10 yards required for a first down, and had to punt the ball away. However, after the Sharks kick-returner caught the ball, good downfield coverage pinned him inside the Hull 10 yard line, and an excellent tackle from rookie linebacker Rory Ellis put the ball loose, which the Celtics fell on to give their offence excellent field position.

 

Whilst the Celtics were unable to make any ground through the air on the 4 downs that followed, a penalty against a Hull player gave them a second chance, and after a great inside run from running back Fred Gough, a lofted ball from Dan Tope-Charlton found tight-end Alex Hall in the endzone for the score, putting the scores at 8-6 to the Sharks.

 

It seemed that this push from the offence put the Leeds defence into another gear, and they stopped the Sharks from making any gains on their subsequent posession, forcing them to attempt to punt the ball away. However, this kick was successfully blocked, and the offence had an opportunity to take the Celtics into the lead. It seemed that the Spartans couldn't find an answer for the inside runs from Fred Gough, with three successive plays all making positive yardage. However, a fumble once again proved to be the offense's undoing, and possession switched to the Sharks.

 

As the Leeds defence took to the field, they retained their good form from the previous series, and after stopping the Sharks from making any more yards, a big hit left the ball rolling loose, to be scooped up by Felix Titherley and run back for the score, putting the Celtics in the lead at 12-8.

 

Having received the kickoff, the Spartans took to the field, and although they were unable to make many yards running the ball, their punter made an excellent kick on 4th down; the ball rolling out of bounds on the 1 yard line, backing the Celtics offence right up inside their own endzone. Although they initially made some ground, a 3rd down pass was intercepted by a Hull linebacker, who ran it back the short distance for the touchdown, putting the Sharks back in the lead, 14-12.

 

In the last minute of the half, a Sharks player stripped the ball, and looked headed for another Hull touchdown. However, an amazing effort from receiver Jack Fuller brought him down short of the goal-line, and with time running out, Hull kicked a field goal to put the score at 17-12.

 

After the half-time break, the Hull made an attempt to take to the air, but this was quickly punished by free safety James Carmichael, as he intercepted the ball and returned it several yards before being brought down. However, once again, a fumble proved to be the Celtic offence's undoing, and the Sharks were able to find and recover the ball. This quick sequence of possession changes seemed to shock the Leeds defence slightly, and Hull were subsequently able to find the endzone, leaving them leading 24-12 as the game moved into the final quarter.

 

During this final 15 minutes, it became apparent that the lack of respite from the Hull offence was getting to the Celtic defence, as tackles began to be missed, and the Sharks slowly moved the ball down the field. Eventually, the Celtics were able to bring them to a stop, but after the change of posession, with Leeds deep inside their own territory, a pass once again found the hands of a Hull player, who ran it in for the score, adding another 7 points to the Celtic's woes.

 

As the clock wound down, despite a valiant effort on both sides of the ball from the Leeds side to make ammends and try and pull the game back, Hull kicked a field goal to finish off the clock, dispatching the Celtics with a final score of 33-12.