Two weeks after suffering a record breaking 81-7 defeat in Paris the Coventry Jets were thumped 90-0 in front of their own fans by the Sollerod Gold Diggers. The Danish Champions ran riot over a new look Jets team that, after a raft of defections, was further depleted on the day by injuries and players being declared ineligible due to clerical oversights.
Kasper Freiesleben Petersen’s 84 yard kick off return for a touchdown on the opening play was a taste of things to come for the Jets as the visitors scored on every one of the their possessions except the final drive when time expired. Coventry’s defence did stop the Gold Diggers on their second possession but any possible momentum was lost when Sollerod were allowed to recover their own punt. If the game wasn’t over for the Jets after the first quarter finished 30-0, it was certainly beyond resuscitation as they entered the break trailing 66-0.
Quarterback Alexander Cimadon threw three touchdowns to Alexander Simonsen whilst Jarl Due, Marcus Clausager and Jonas Bo Hansen chipped in with two scores each. Peter Fromberg and Peter Jacobsen also found their way into the endzone on a memorable day for the Danes as they scored no fewer than 12 touchdowns.
Bright spots were few and far between for the hosts. Deprived of running backs Kofi Campbell and Tony Perkins, Adam Gumbs gave a valiant performance on his home debut. As well as gaining some tough yards between the tackles, the former Peterboro’ Saxon showed great alertness to snag an onside kick and race 24 yards to give the Jets their best field position of the game. They couldn’t convert though as Alan Steel’s 34 yard field goal attempt was deflected.
Of the 22 players that started the 2010 National Championship game, less than eight months ago, the Jets were only able to call upon three. Consequently Head Coach Gerry McManus placed his faith in a blend of youngsters and rookies. “It’s a steep learning curve for the guys we had out there today and they will all have taken something from the game. We’ve faced two very good sides in this competition and whilst we’ve taken a hell of a beating my players have picked themselves up and carried on fighting.
“I couldn’t be prouder of my squad, their never say die attitude and the spirit in the camp is something that we’ve not seen here in a long time and will benefit us immensely as we head into the Premiership season.” With the Jets requiring a 99 point victory to progress past the round-robin group stage, the game was always going to be a glorified pre-season match as Coventry prepare for their first league game, away to Bristol next Sunday.
Several rookies started for the first time, amongst them was wide receiver Sam Hyde who made his reception for an eight yard gain. The debutante’s run blocking was excellent, as was Tom Anderton’s. Linebacker Steve Grimsley, forced to play late on after only joining the team six days earlier, made a valuable contribution as the rookie stepped up with tackles on three consecutive plays. Craig Jackson, starting for the second time, made great strides at outside linebacker and looks set to become a stalwart of the Jets defence for years to come.
Wayne Gumbs, brother of running back Adam, led the team in tackles, but even his outstanding effort couldn’t slow down the Gold Diggers’ offence as they racked up an impressive 460 yards. Quarterback Dom Olney was under was under constant pressure, but kept his cool and is maturing into the leader that his young squad requires. His brief turn on defence late in the game provided a bone-jarring hit that seemed to lift the supporters and his team mates.
With another European adventure over, the Jets move on to domestic matter with away games at Bristol and Farnham before the end of May. The Butts Park Arena will be the venue of Coventry’s next home games and will see double-header‘s with their promising Junior squad. American Football fans will get their first glimpse of the Under 17 youth squad at Pinley RFC on Saturday from midday. The Jets will be hosting the Chester Romans, Chorley Buccaneers and Balby Carr Mustangs.
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.