Bournemouth Raiders games in 1990

Raiders 0 Eastleigh Royals 9
Eastleigh 16 Raiders 0
Raiders 0 Basingstoke 7
Eastleigh 32 Raiders 0
Basingstoke 0 Raiders 0
Raiders 4 Eastleigh 14
Raiders 0 Solent 12
Final statistics
Tables
National rankings
Season review

Friendly - March 1990

Raiders 0 Eastleigh Royals 9

When the Raiders were accepted into the league in February of 1990, it was evident that they required a pre-season match against a league side to see what we would be up against. Mark Elliott arranged a game against our nearest rivals, the Eastleigh Royals, to be played at our ground.

The problem was that we didn't have a ground! We turned up at our local school playing fields on a Sunday morning and decided we would play on the school rugby pitch. We didn't have markings so we trotted down to the Unigate factory round the corner and 'borrowed' a number of cones that were there.

In what turned out to be a dull encounter, the Raiders were by no means over-awed or outplayed by their more experienced rivals, but it was the Royals who earned a valuable psychological victory.

In the first half neither side made much headway on offense. The Royals had managed to move the ball a little with their running game but they had insisted on mixing it up with their passing game which the Raiders coped with admirably. Stu Winship and Brad Smith were charging through the Royals offensive line and picking up sacks left right and centre. There were also crucial interceptions from Matt Heasman and Pete Larcombe as the Raiders D came good.

In contrast the Raiders could muster nothing on the ground except for a few unintended scrambles from QB Heasman. The passing game also struggled as the Royals defense swarmed all over the Raiders inexperienced O Line. Osborn and Branch in particular took quite a pummeling on the left hand side from the Royals DE Matt Suthey and DT Kirk O’field.

Elliott - 12 carries

The first half saw the Royals stick more with their running game and the Raiders found themselves entrenched deep inside their own half. Nevertheless, both sides went into the break at 0-0.

Eventually the first points came as the Raiders began to tire late in the third quarter. On a fourth and long, as the Raiders punter Rich Cleveland was ready to kick the ball long down field, center Stu Winship over-threw the snap and the ball sailed through the goalposts, gifting Eastleigh the first two points of the game with a safety.

The fourth quarter saw the Raiders visibly tiring and soon, with DT Alex Moland off the pitch with cracked ribs after some vicious hits from Eastleighs rather large #61, the Royals began to find some success with their passing game. Keith Benham and Trevor Gay caught several passes. Gay in particular was giving Leigh Arnold a torrid time at RCB. Eventually after having driven to the Raiders one yard line a third and goal saw that man Gay sneak over for a TD despite being hit by Mark Elliott in the backfield.

The Royals then converted the PAT for a 9-0 win.

Plus points for the Raiders were the performances of the two DE’s Smith and Winship, LB’s Cleveland and Reeks and the safety Mark Constant. On offense the right side of the line featuring Hobson and Moland had showed promise for the future despite the size of their opponents.

STATS

PASSING

HEASMAN 4-11-2-15-0

RUSHING

ELLIOTT 12-21
CLEVELAND 2-2
HEASMAN 4-10

RECEIVING

REEKS 2-10
ELLIOTT 1-3
CONSTANT 1-2

SACKS

WINSHIP 3.0
SMITH, BRADLEY 3.0
ELLIOTT 1.0

INTERCEPTIONS

LARCOMBE 1-0
HEASMAN 1-7

PUNT RETURNS

CONSTANT 1-5

KICK RETURNS

SMITH, BRADLEY 1-10
CLEVELAND 1-8

TEAM:

ELLIOTT, REEKS, ARNOLD, HOBSON, MOLAND, BRANCH, WINSHIP, CONSTANT, SMITH, HEASMAN, CLEVELAND, OSBORN, LONG, LARCOMBE

Week 1

Eastleigh Royals 16 Raiders 0

The Raiders were confident that they could beat Eastleigh this time and perhaps in different circumstances they would have. In the first quarter Eastleigh appeared to be establishing a running game but they were unable to score. The Raiders for their part were managing to get past the line of scrimmage on occasions.

With the temparature approaching 80 degrees (in April!) the heat became almost unbearable in the second quarter. Eastleigh had supplied the four referees from their own organisation as the league officials were unable to show their presence until the second half. This is where some suspect referreeing came into action. The Raiders were outnumbered 3-1 in playing numbers and by sheer coincidence the second quarter lasted an hour and 15 minutes despite Bournemnouth running the ball every play! With two minutes left the Royals planted themselves on Bournemouth's 1 yard line and charged in for a touchdown. On the ensuing 2 PAT, defensive king-pin Rich Cleveland (who was having the game of his life) was knocked unconscious and left the game. The 2 PAT was successful and Bournemouth went into the half-time break feeling bitter and broken, trailing 8-0.

With official referees, the second half ran far more smoothly, the Raiders grabbed a few yards rushing and Marc Reeks grabbed four valuable catches, but was guilty of dropping a pass from Heasman in the endzone when it was right on the numbers. That was the Raiders first chance of scoring,  but with the score at 8-0 in the fourth quarter came their second chance. The Raiders elected to punt  on first down from their own 15 yard line. Back up QB Paul Whickham booted the ball right down to Eastleigh's one yard line where Bradley Smith picked up the ball and ran it into the endzone thinking that he had scored.

The Royals started a drive which went no-where. They ended up punting and the Raiders drove to Eastleigh's twenty yard line. With six seconds left and on fourth down, Matt Heasman threw a hail-mary pass which was picked off at the goal-line by Keith Benham of the Royals, who returned the ball all the way back for a TD. On the PAT, which the Royals faked, Mark Elliott let an interception slip through his fingers into the hands of a Royals tight end who wrapped up the scoring.

TEAM

Back (left to right) - Mike Head (coach), Steve Shergold, Paul Harrison, Paul Whickham, Mark Constant, Bradley Smith, Mark Elliott, Bobby Lee, Marc Reeks, Matt Heasman, Jeremy Webb, Leigh Arnold, Matt Francis
Front (left to right) - ?, Simon Osborn, Matt Hobson, Richard Baker, Stuart Winship, Richard Cleveland, Alex Moland

STATS

PASSING

HEASMAN 3-13-2-13-0
WHICKHAM 2-5-2-11-0
WEBB 1-3-0-6-0

RUSHING

ELLIOTT 15-25
HEASMAN 2-9
ARNOLD 1 - -2
REEKS 1- -3
WHICKHAM 1-1

RECEIVING

REEKS 4-20
ELLIOTT 1-6
SHERGOLD 1-4

SACKS

WINSHIP 3.0
SMITH 2.0
HOBSON 1.0

INTERCEPTIONS

REEKS 2-13

PUNT RETURNS

CONSTANT 3-46

KICK RETURNS

SHERGOLD 2-36
CONSTANT 1-5

Week 2

Once again the Raiders expected to win and for the first time it can be said that they nearly did. The first quarter started brilliantly, almost. On the first play Elliott found a huge hole in the Ironsides defence but fumbled the ball, which he recovered. On the next play the Ironsides planted a late hit on Elliott moving the ball fifteen yards downfield for a first down on Basingstoke's 40. On the next play Heasman faked a handoff, rolled out and hit Bobby Lee for another first down. This was followed by a successful screen pass and an eventual attempt at a drop goal which was missed by Rich Cleveland. However, on the next play Cleveland made up for the miss by intercepting the Ironsides first pass. Unfortunately though he slipped over after a return of only 4 yards. Throughout the rest of the half the Raiders applied pressure without scoring. Then in the second quarter a Basingstoke punt rolled to Bournemouth's one yard line. The Raiders O spluttered and the Ironsides got the ball on Bournemouth's 25.

Some vigorous egging on by the sideline support from Oxford led to Elliott foolishly giving away 2 personal fouls on the next two plays and on the third play Basingstoke scored, despite the efforts of Heasman at outside linebacker. The PAT was successful and the Raiders went into half-time 7-0 down.

Steve Shergold got the ball rolling in the second half when he returned the opening kick-off 47 yards only to see the offense go back about 50 on the next drive. Soon after Rich Cleveland left the field injured. It was not until the fourth quarter that the Raiders offense got moving again. Heasman hit Bobby Lee on a 25 yard pass.

  Bobby Lee caught 2 passes for 36 yards

This was followed by a screen pass and a draw play which resulted in another first down. However, soon the Raiders were stuck on fourth and 17. QB Heasman rolled out and threw a bomb downfield to Steve Shergold who pulled off a brilliant diving catch only for the referees to wave him out of bounds. The Raiders had blown it again.

TEAM

ELLIOTT, REEKS, SMITH, OSBORN, SHERGOLD, WEBB, WHICKHAM, ARNOLD, LEE, CLEVELAND, HEASMAN, CONSTANT, FRANCIS, MOLAND

PASSING

HEASMAN 8-15-0-76-0
WHICKHAM 0-4-2-0-0

RUSHING

ELLIOTT 6-21
HEASMAN 3-8
ARNOLD 1-2

RECEIVING

ELLIOTT 3-13
LEE 2-36
SHERGOLD 2-24
ARNOLD 1-3

SACKS

WINSHIP 2.0
SMITH 1.0

INTERCEPTIONS

LEE 1-10
ARNOLD 1-7
CLEVELAND 1-4
WHICKHAM 1-2

KICKOFF RETURNS

SHERGOLD 1-47
HEASMAN 1-7

PUNT RETURNS

CONSTANT 1-0

SCORING

Table

GAME 4

EASTLEIGH ROYALS 32 RAIDERS 0

This game was disappointing to say the least. More than anything the turnout was sad, but worse than that was that the Royals were flattered by the scoreline. The team started off in a determined mood and ended in a jovial one.

The Royals failed to score against the 11 man team they faced until the second quarter. The usual Eastleigh 1 yard run up the middle got the first TD, followed by a refereeing cockup. Elliott threw an incomplete pass after being sacked, but the refs ruled the ball live and the Royals returned it 50 yards for a TD. QB Paul Whickham had a disastrous day throwing 5 interceptions and only one complete pass. On a brighter note however, Simon Osborn made a great contribution on the D line including a fumble recovery on the Royals five yard line. However, next play Paul Whickham was intercepted in the endzone and it was up to Bradley Smith to stop the Royals from returning the ball all the wayback for a TD. In the fourth quarter with the Royals taking it easy and expecting to score a half century the Raiders toughened up. A few vicious hits slipped in and Royals DT Matt Suthey took the brunt of most of them. To top things off, the Raiders gained 7 yards on a draw play thanks to a Stu Winship block. Highlights of the day were Steve Shergold's performance at cornerback where he shut Trevor Gay out of the game and Mark Constant's three interceptions.

Constant: 3 interceptions

TEAM

ELLIOTT, J.CONSTANT, SMITH, OSBORN, SHERGOLD, WEBB, WHICKHAM, CLEVELAND, MOLAND, M.CONSTANT, WINSHIP

PASSING

WHICKHAM 1-14-5-4-0

RUSHING

ELLIOTT 4-13
WHICKHAM 9-20
SMITH 1-1
SHERGOLD 1- -6

RECEVING

SHERGOLD 1-4

SACKS

WINSHIP 3.0
MOLAND 1.0

INTERCEPTIONS

CONSTANT 3-42
WHICKHAM 1-4
SHERGOLD 1-0

KICKOFF RETURNS

SHERGOLD 4-46
CONSTANT 1-5
ELLIOTT 1-0

PUNT RETURNS

CONSTANT 1-8

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Farce At Basingstoke As Bournemouth Force First 'Result'

First Points In Moral Win For Bournemouth

Suddenly it looked like the Raiders were going somewhere. Rather sneakily they ran the same play again and Smith nabbed another 6 yards for a first down. Leigh Arnold then scampered around the left side for a short gain. Then on second down the Raiders used their trump card and came up with a play which was to earn great praise later on.

QB Heasman faked a sweep with Smith and handed off to the blocking back Mark Elliott who ran through a huge hole between Marc Reeks and Alex Moland for a gain of around 15 yards. The Raiders did not score on that drive, but that one play worked consistently to anger and frustrate the Royals D who seemed powerless to stop it.

In the second quarter the Royals got their first TD when Trevor Gay pulled off a brilliant catch to give them a 7-0 lead. Things looked like they were about to fall apart for the Raiders. Their next drive stalled and the Royals had a first and ten on the half-way line. However, they gave away a couple of penalties and after a Bradley Smith sack, the Royals new center fluffed a snap, and the ball was grounded by the QB for a safety. The Raiders went into half-time 7-2 down.

The Royals got a severe telling off at half-time whilst the Raiders coach used a better tactic in order to help improve his teams second half performance. Sharing drinks with the referee's was the Raiders only hope of doing well in the second half, and it almost worked.

The Royals started the third quarter by running the ball more. They were no longer trying to score 50 points, they were now trying to win a game that was turning against them. Fortunately for the Raiders, whenever Eastleigh threatened , someone on the Black and Grey defense would come up with a big play (Brad Smith deserves mention for his tremendous display at defensive end and 3.5 sacks). However, in the fourth quarter, the Royals had a third and goal on Bournemouth's 1 yard line. Rich Cleveland called the outside linebackers into the middle to stop Eastleigh's usual blast up the middle, but the Royals sneaked in around the outside and grabbed the PAT for a 14-2 lead.

The Raiders were not dead yet though, a few more big plays pinned the Royals back again and Trevor Gay saw a punt snap soar over his head. Fortunately for Eastleigh, Gay managed to kick the ball away for a safety and the game ended 14-4.

TEAM

ELLIOTT, REEKS, ARNOLD, MOLAND, DUNN, SHERGOLD, WEBB, WHICKHAM, SMITH, CLEVELAND, OSBORN, CONSTANT, HEASMAN

STATS

PASSING

HEASMAN 5-9-1-31-0

RUSHING

ELLIOTT 10-52
HEASMAN 2-10
SMITH 5-16
ARNOLD 5-6
WHICKHAM 3-8

RECEIVING

CONSTANT 2-20
SHERGOLD 1-8
ELLIOTT 2-3

SACKS

SMITH 3.5
ELLIOTT 1.5
DUNN 1.0

INTERECEPTIONS

REEKS 1-8
CONSTANT 1-0

KICKOFF RETURNS

ELLIOTT 1-0
CONSTANT 2-9
ARNOLD 1-8
SMITH 1-7

Solent Sail Past Bournemouth

End of season friendly

Raiders 0 Solent Scorpions 12

The new found wishbone system was once again working brilliantly with Elliott picking up a 15 yard gain on his first carry thanks to a great fake from Leigh Arnold. Matt Heasman was also having a good game at QB and in the first half was regularly hitting his new receivers on the numbers only to see half of the passes dropped!

Somehow Solent managed to hold out until half time and then they surprised the Raiders in the second half by transforming themselves into an excellent side. The Solent coaches had obviously done their homework at half time as suddenly the Raiders threat on the ground was nullified. On offense Solent began to isolate the Raiders CB’s in one on one situations and they picked up a number of first downs thanks to the accuracy of throwing from their QB.

Two touchdowns for the Scorpions followed, one in each quarter, and there could have been more but for crucial interceptions by Cleveland and Elliott and a couple of sacks by Brad Smith.

Although a disappointing result, the Raiders took heart from yet another improved offensive performance. Surely the first TD would come soon.

The D-Line (particularly Moland and newcomer Goult) showed tremendous effort all game

STATS

PASSING

KKICK RETURNS

ARNOLD 2-20
ELLIOTT 1-5

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Stats

1990 Season – Final Statistics

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The Raiders despite looking very disorganised on kick-offs and returns showed they were a team to be reckoned with as they produced a number of good returns. On a few scoring positions the Raiders managed to get into, instead of calling field-goals the Raiders took the unusual decision of electing to try drop goals which gained great praise from match officials once they realised you could do them. To the Raiders misfortune both drop goals attempted during the season went wide. The only other notable call on special teams during 1990 must have been the Raiders famous punt on first down against Eastleigh (0-16) which rolled from the Raiders endzone.

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