Coventry Jets American Football Team went down to their heaviest ever domestic defeat this afternoon.
The Coventry Jets slumped to the most lopsided league defeat in the organisations history as they went down 81-20 away to reigning champions, the London Blitz. Whilst the two sides have squared off in each of the past four Britbowl finals it is evidently clear that there won’t be a repeat this year. The Blitz hold a familiar position atop the league standings but the Jets are in unfamiliar surroundings, 0-6 at the bottom of the table.
Head Coach Gerry McManus remains upbeat about the progress that his side are making throughout the most difficult season of his storied career. “The lads are making progress every game, we have some fine athletes that are constantly learning.” McManus thoughts were backed up by a first career reception for rookie receiver James Krakowski and a first touchdown for fellow rookie receiver Sam Hyde.
With injuries mounting for Coventry’s already depleted squad, a trip to the Capital was always going to be an epic challenge. The Jets provided a surprise for the Blitz, recently crowned EFAF Cup Champions with a convincing victory over Serbian outfit the Wild Boars, as they came out fighting and, thanks to Dominic Olney’s touchdown reception from Martin Ringeisen, trailed narrowly, 13-7 after one quarter.
With a wealth of depth to call upon the Blitz kept their starters fresh, rotating them in and out, and were able to pull away from a rapidly tiring Jets squad. Although out of the game by the half, trailing 40-7, Coventry refused to go quietly. Adam Biggs scored on another Ringeisen pass before the American quarterback was ruled out of the game with an injury. Olney stepped under centre and continued his superb display with touchdown pass, finding Hyde late in the fourth quarter.
Josh Hughes booted two extra points on the day to complete the Jets scoring. There were notable debuts for Ola Akinola, a rookie cornerback, and Brandon Yohnicki who stepped in at centre. The game also marked a return from injury for Kieran McManus, his first appearance in four years after suffering a serious knee injury. James Gascoigne, another rookie defensive back, cemented his burgeoning reputation as a physical corner by “lighting up” Britball’s star receiver Rod Bradley.
McManus will be hoping to see some players make it back from the injury list for Saturday’s home test versus the fifth placed Bristol Aztecs, themselves suffering their worst season in a very long time. The Aztecs visit Pinley RFC at 14:30 on the 16th looking to get a victory that will put them back into contention for a playoff place. The Jets are now playing for pride alone. For more details on the Coventry Jets and to find out how you can be part of their 2011 campaign, please visit their website www.covjets.com or follow them on Twitter www.twitter.com/CoventryJets.