Tyrants top BUCS Northern Division 1 after back to back wins

The Tyrants bounced back from a shaky start to the season with a statement making win against the University of Leeds Gryphons, winning 16-14 and improving to 2-1 for the season.

The game was decided in the final seconds of the first half, when wide receiver Max Simmons came down with an improbable catch in the corner of the endzone. With six seconds before half time, the Tyrants needed something special to avoid going into the break behind. Sandwiched between two defenders, Simmons launched himself high above the sprawling gryphons, plucked the ball out of air, and sent the Tyrants’ sideline into hysterics. 

It so easily could have been a write off game for the Tyrants after starting Quarterback Joe Dodd limped off injured in the first quarter. But the resolve the team showed in overcoming the undefeated Gryphons was second to none. Quarterback Leendert van Dalsen stepped up and kept the team moving forward and provided the crucial game winning pass under severe pressure. This type of grit is a strong reason why the team are looking likely to be in contention for the championship come the end of the season.

Not to be overshadowed by the revitalised offence, the defence came up with a big play of their own. After a few drives with little to show for it the Tyrant’s needed to get something going and a mistake from the Gryphons centre provided them the opening. A high snap sent the ball careening over the head of the opposition Quarterback and the tandem of Milan Cabrnoch and Rico Hall swarmed onto the loose ball and belly flopped into the endzone to put the Tyrants 8-6 up.

An opening drive score by the Gryphons had a feeling of deja vu from the opening day loss against the Liverpool Raptors. A methodical drive marched the ball down to the Manchester goal and a brilliantly executed bubble screen put the Tyrants down 6 early. But the Tyrants are a massively improved team from the first week and their confidence was up fresh off the back of a convincing 34-14 win against Liverpool John Moores Fury in game-week two.

The momentum in the first half would continue to swing back and forth between the teams. The Gryphons put together an impressive march up the field, the opposing Quarterback, Michael Hubbick, got the drive off to a flyer with a perfectly timed throw to #88 Jonah Stacey Smith, who burst down the middle of the field and put the away team within touching distance of the goal line. A handoff to the shifty running back, Seb Ellis, added the six points, and a throw to the tall frame of #88 added the two extras. 

The final touchdown of the game was an absolute killer for the Gryphons. They’d marshalled the Tyrants’ main offensive targets for 29:54 of the opening half but the soaring Simmons score at halftime silenced the Yorkshire sideline.

Scoring was confined to the first half. The second half became a pure grind for both sets of players. The customary Manchester downpour made any hopes of throwing the ball in the closing stages of the game near impossible. So the punishing run game was the only option for both teams and it became a battle of who could best stop the opposing running back. A battle which the Tyrants dominated.

A second half lock out by the defence dispelled any nerves, with Destiny Olusegun, Pierce Lüthi and Nelson Hamilton all having performed brilliantly. As the final whistle blew the UOM brass band serenaded the players with S Club 7’s Reach. A strange choice for a victory song, but I don’t think the Tyrants heard it over their screams of joy. 

The Tyrants victory broke an impressive ten game unbeaten streak dating back to the start of last season for the Leeds Gryphons. A walkover victory against the Hull Sharks the following week has put the Tyrants top of the table with a record of 3-1, two points above the Raptors. 

The Manchester Metropolitan Eagles await the Tyrants in their next game on December 3 at Platt Lane Sports Complex.