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Senior Flag Hit Pocket of Turbulence
July 1st, 2010
The Jets went into their second home tournament in as many weeks on Sunday full of confidence from their first win two weeks ago and also only narrowly losing on the last play of the game to the South Wales Warriors who were one of the teams to travel back up for this tournament. The other team to visit were the in form Chichester Sharks. Coventry took on the Sharks in the first game of the day and stuttered on their first couple of drives, not gaining a single first down.
There were no such concerns for the visitors as they drove the length of the field twice for two quick scores resulting in an early 12-0 lead. The Jets steadied the flight and Adam Grindrod found Steve Timmins on a deep pass with the speedy receiver zipping away from defenders to get some points on the board for the Jets. This was quickly followed up by a good, technical blind side catch by Rob Coleman who managed to grasp onto the ball whilst spinning, finding himself in the open field and able to hand the Jets the lead for the first time at 13-12.
One drive remained for the Sharks in the half and, seemingly like all season, the Jets defence played three perfect downs before being beat deep on fourth and long. Sharks quarterback Neil Henderson made a precision pass deep down the field just over Andrew Gambrill’s outstretched arm and the Sharks snatched a half time lead.
When play resumed the Jets found themselves in a downward spiral that they wouldn’t escape from for the rest of the day. The Sharks completed several quick passes to advance down the field to score three more times. Coventry tried and tried but couldn’t move the ball, on the only occasion that they did find any momentum it was halted by an illegal equipment call on Grindrod for having a sewn up pocket on his shorts. The rarely enforced ruling tainted a game that had been played in good spirits up until that point, even though the Sharks were cruising to their 32-13 victory.
Worse was to come for the Jets as they found themselves on the wrong end of a 54-0 thumping. The Warriors from South Wales possess lightning speed and their high powered offense should prove a match for any team in the nation. This was always going to be an uphill battle for the Jets even though they pushed the Warriors to a last play score the last time they met. With players out and the heat taking its toll the Jets were beaten early with the Warriors scoring four times in the first half to no reply. With some refereeing calls going against the Jets an already one-sided affair ended in the lopsided scoreline. Head Coach Andrew Gambrill praised his hard working team and selected Coleman as his offensive MVP with Timmins earning the defensive nod.
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