The Rams received the ball first but couldn’t make any headway and had to punt giving the Pirates the chance to make some ground but they faltered and also punted. Following some exchange of possession the Pirates drove
the ball up field with some penetrating runs, finishing with a 5 yard touchdown pass from Matt McCusker to Jason Byworth. The two point conversion failed leaving the score at 6-0 midway through the first quarter. The Rams again went three and out and had to punt giving the home side
another chance to use the ball. The Pirates drove to the visitors five yard line but The Yorkshire defence held firm and regained the ball with a turnover on downs. Ram’s new signing, Phil McGrath got his side out of danger with a nifty run through the middle gaining nineteen yards and a
first down. Another 2005 signing, Rob Tingle, helped move the ball upfield but Yorkshire came to a halt and had to punt. The first quarter closed with the Pirates on the attack again with Byworth adding yardage for the home side.

The start of the second quarter saw the Rams defence hold EK and force the punts which ended at the Ram’s nine yard line. Making slight yardage they once again had to punt, which was good to just past the halfway line. The
Rams gained possession once more and started a drive from deep in their own half, but the first pass was intercepted by Ivor Clark, who was awarded the Ram’s Opposition MVP, and returned forty one yards for the Pirates second TD making the score 12-0. Yorkshire started to make some good ground after the kick off and got deep into Pirates territory. EK’s Ross Templeton saved
what could have been a touchdown when Ram’s Adam Purcell passed to Lee Morton open in the middle but Templeton batted the ball from Morton’s hands. The Ram’s went for it on fourth down but the play brought out the
chains and they failed to make first down by inches.
The Pirates regained possession but lost it quickly with an interception by Andy Holden at the halfway line. This lead to some hard pressure from the Ram’s team. Good runs by McGrath and Tingle put Yorkshire into a scoring
position and Purcell tried a long pass to Mark Squire in the end zone but was just inches too far. Purcell continued to help his team when he kept the ball on fourth and ran for a first down at the Pirate’s 14 yard line. Luck was not with them though as they lost possession on a fumble giving EK
a breather. The Ram’s ‘D’ held rock steady again and the Pirates had to punt. Yorkshire’s twin terrors, McGrath and Tingle, kept the ball going as halftime drew near. Yorkshire were leaving it late to capitalise on possession and good ground advantage but another pass to Squire was again
just out of reach. The Rams were closing in to score but time ran out for them bringing the half to a close.

The start of the third quarter saw the Ram’s defence hold solid and the Pirates having to punt. Purcell kept a failing drive alive with another run through open space in the middle to the opposition’s 40 yard line. Tingle gained more ground for the Ram’s and this was finished off with a jinking thirty four yard run by McGrath putting six points on the board for Yorkshire. Chris Kuc, signed just the week before, split the sticks to add the extra point. Following the kick off EK made a forcing drive getting to
the visitor’s five yard line but Yorkshire’s defence dug in and gained the ball again. They couldn’t move the ball and punted which started a scoring drive by the Pirates finishing with a fifteen yard pass from McCusker to
Dave Mooney making the score 18-7. The Rams used some fresh people on offence with Neil Stubbs and Iqbal Mohammed showing what they could do, and both of them not letting their side down. The third quarter finished with
Pirate’s Lloyd Ashworth intercepting Pucell’s pass and getting to Yorkshire’s 6 yard marker. The final period started well for the Ram’s with another new signing, Simon
Vardy, intercepting in the endzone. The Ram’s got clear but turned over possession though they got the ball back quickly when Simon Grey recovered a fumble at the home 32 yard line. Kuc showed that he could catch as well
as kick when he gathered a pass inches from the ground for a twenty yard reception. Yorkshire could have had another six on a pass from Purcell to Squire, left alone in great position, but the wet ball skipped through his
fingers. A couple of plays later the Ram’s went for the score on fourth down when Purcell threw to Kuc but he was knocked out of the back of the endzone. Action picked up with just under four minutes left in the game starting with a powerful run up the middle by Tingle. McGrath gained his
second TD for the Rams with a seven yard run and the extra point by Kuc made it 18-14 with three minutes to go.. This was helped by superb play by Yorkshire’s offensive line, who had been outstanding all day, and they were rewarded with the Ram’s MVP…it was presented to Paul Appleyard for a superb game. Yorkshire were now starting to roll, Craig Pennington flying through the line and dropping on a loose ball to recover the fumble deep in East Kilbride’s gave the visitors a great chance to score. Tingle and McGrath pushed closer to the scoring line followed by Purcell racing to score but stopped just twelve inches short. With a minute and a half on the clock,
four downs and one foot to go the odds were on for the Ram’s first victory against the Pirates…but the Gods of Football turned their backs. On the first snap the Pirates defence stormed through and caused a fumble which
they recovered at their own one yard line. They couldn’t do anything with the possession as Yorkshire’s defence dug in their heels once again and gave the Ram’s possession with a punt. The Rams tried their hardest to get
the score as the seconds slipped away but time ran out for them and they came away with an unlucky loss. This game was played in true football fashion and was a credit to both
teams. Yorkshire will take heart from this performance and look forward to the rematch this Sunday at Tetley’s Stadium at Dewsbury…kick off at 3pm