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What The Press Said... 05/06 Archive|Wessex Scene|03May06

CELEBRATION FOR STAGS

Stags 79-8 Cougars: The Southampton Stags have a long history of near misses in recent years, being perennial runners up to Birmingham in the Southern Conference finals in recent years. Their achievement this season in even managing to reach the finals is notable due to the teams two regular season defeats which meant they had to play the top 3 seeded Southern Conference teams away from home in order to reach the final.

However this they did, and in some style defeating Birmingham Lions 19-12 having already lost to them in the regular season in a 99 point thriller. The Stags showed great character in the 4th quarter, especially in defence repelling a string of attacks from a strong Birmingham offence. This set them up for a Conference deciding clash with Cardiff Cobra’s whom they brushed aside 19-6 in a relatively comfortable match. Similarly Teesside had come through as Northern Conference champions, losing only once in the regular season and putting in some commanding performances. They sealed their place in the final by defeating the much-vaunted Loughborough Aces 21-14.

And so, on March 26th the Stags made their way onto Butts Arena, Coventry, as pre-match favourites knowing that they were just 4 quarters away from winning the College Bowl, something they had not done for 13 years.

The opening encounters were close, with the Stags showing that they were going to be a handful offensively, scoring from the first drive of the match. However it briefly looked as though the Teesside offence might have the measure of the Stags defence scoring through a field goal before the Northern Conference champions worked a good touch down to take an early 8-7 lead.

This was to be the last time Teesside really threatened, as the more physical and well-oiled Stags began to show their class. Ted Baynham, the Stags quarterback, marshalled the offensive plays with the quality and precision of passing and running his team have come to expect of him. First Baynham unleashed a running back from close range after an aggressive series of drives to put the Stags back ahead, before one of the most impressive and spectacular moves of the day saw the mercurial quarterback throw a 40 yard pass to Tom Fordham who touched down with glee right at the death of the first quarter.

Much of the same followed in the second quarter with four more touchdowns dampening any chances of a competitive game. Offensive frailties and a lack of composure from the Rogers the Cougar’s quarterback meant that the Stag’s defence were able to secure a great number of turnovers in good positions on the field, allowing the offence the freedom to play an expansive game. Baynham’s half-time statistics of a cumulative 260 yards passed and 15 of 18 completed passes tells much of the dominance the Stags enjoyed.

Half-time saw a different type of deluge as the rain came down. The cheerleaders from the respective universities attempted to lift the spirits of the spectators, indeed this may have been the highlight of many a Teesside supporters day with their cheerleading squad looking a class above their footballing counterparts.

After half-time the Stags started to introduce some of their secondary players, giving them a chance to experience the big game atmosphere in preparation for next years assault on the title. Teesside may well have known that their fortune was to get no better however as the opening score of the third quarter saw linebacker Justin Sysum hold onto an intercept after an ambitions pass from Rogers, the Teesside Quarterback, and run 30 yards to touchdown.

Baynham continued to prove his class, consistently finding his target on offence allowing the Stags to keep moving forward whilst aggravating the Teesside defence enough to keep drawing fouls. The Stags offence indeed completely shut out the Teesside defence never allowing them a sniff at a sack on Baynham all afternoon.

The end of the game could not come fast enough for a clearly bewildered Teesside squad. The final score line of 79-8 does not flatter a Stags team who consistently came up with all of the answers to the questions asked of them by the Cougars with a display that does credit to their considerable coaching staff. It also broke many records, from the largest winning margin to the highest score by a team in the final and the largest aggregate score. Baynham rightly picked up the Most Valuable Player award and a jubilant Stags team celebrated a deserved and convincing victory.

Alex Hayes

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Announcement 08/09 Archive|STAGS.org.uk|16Feb09

MIAMI HURRICANES STAFF TO DELIVER COACH EDUCATION IN SOUTHAMPTON

Stewart Cramer, of the University of Miami, will return to Southampton to deliver a talk on the technical aspects of scouting and film analysis. He will be assisted by Coach Martin Hume who spent the 2008 season with the Hurricanes as a volunteer offensive assistant.

See full story for details and how to register your interest...