The Bournemouth Raiders put on a great display in their first competitive games of 5 on 5 flag football to finish second in the 7-team tournament at Meyrick Park today. With a squad of 11 on the day, coach Elliott split the squad up into an offense and defense and it paid dividends as the two units bonded straight from the off.

Birmingham Raiders 12-25 Bournemouth Raiders

In the first game of the day, and in the battle of the Raiders, Birmingham started with the ball and drove into the Bournemouth half, but the defense stiffened and the ball was turned over. On the first play of the day on offense QB Matt Heasman fumbled the ball and conceded a safety! 2-0 down after one play. The Raiders learned from that opening play and when they got the ball back, Heasman took a short snap and handed off to Brad Smith who gained a first down and got into the Birmingham half. On the next play Smith took the handoff and hit Tim Smith for a 35-yard TD.

The defense was playing very well with Ryan McKeon (on his Raiders debut) making a number of tackles and Hemsley and Jackson breaking up Birmingham passes. Brad Smith extended the lead to 12-2 on a 45-yard run, and then on the next offensive possession Heasman threw a 45 yard bomb to wideout Tim Smith. Brad Smith hit Tim Smith for the 1 PAT to increase the lead to 19-2.

Brad Smith lofted one up for newboy Daniel Nehorai who made a spectacular catch and run for another score as Bournemouth cruised into a 25-2 lead. With time running out Birmingham made a fight of it as they scored on a catch and run after blown coverage, and then Bournemouth conceded another safety to make the final score 25-12.

Leicester Eagles 12-13 Bournemouth Raiders

In the Raiders second game of the day, Bournemouth continued with the Heasman and Smith combination in the backfield. Smith continuing the running, and Heasman occasionally surprising the defense by passing. On the opening play of the game, Smith ran around the left for a TD to put the Raiders 6-0.

The Leicester O was a different proposition for the Raiders D, especially with their wishbone offense. With all eyes on the backfield, occasionally receivers were getting open. After an effective drive, the Eagles levelled the score at 6-6.

Raiders responded with a quick-fire TD, when Brad Smith found Tim Smith on a quick-out from 8 yards. They combined on the 1 PAT for the crucial extra point. 

Mark Elliott caught an interception, but the subsequent drive came to nothing. The Eagles bounced back, and scored again near the end, but the Raiders defense kept out the 2 PAT which would have put the Eagles ahead and the Raiders led 13-12.

The O couldn't get things going, and Leicester got one last chance in the last minute. They drove down to the Raiders 10, and on the last play of the game, Daniel Nehorai made the last ditch tackle on the one yard line. Leicester thought they had scored, and all 3 refs gave the TD, but the flag on the ground showed where the tackle had been made and the officials changed their mind to give Bournemouth the win.

North Devon Dogs 14-18 Bournemouth Raiders

This game was every bit as close as the previous one, and the officials pointed out that it was also the most entertaining one of the day. The Raiders were playing back to back games, and for the first time had to come from behind. The Dogs started with the ball, and their aerial threat was very real. Bomb after bomb reined down on the Raiders D. The Raiders were dealing with it, when out of the blue one of their giant receivers came out of no-where to score and put the Dogs 6-0 up.

The Raiders O responded with a good drive, and Brad Smith combined with Tim Smith on the favoured quick-out play to tie the scores up at 6-6. With the team celebrating tying the scores, and looking to go into the lead, the Raiders fell behind as Smith was intercepted on the PAT which was run back for 2pts! The Dogs had taken the lead again 8-6!

Mark Elliott was having a great game, and on the following drive his play was exemplary as he made a series of tackles which stopped the Dogs from extending their lead. With the ball back, Heasman hit Allen Gilbert for 20 yards, which took the ball down to the 1 yard line. Smith then threw a TD to Lee Eatly on a shovel pass to put the Raiders 12-8 up. The Dogs responded with a long range pass, and then a short Td pass of their own to re-take the lead 14-12.

On the next play Heasman hit Brad Smith on a short flare pass, and Smith ran it in for a 45-yard TD to put the Raiders 18-14 up. The Dogs rallied, and on the last play of the match Lee Eatly tackled a Dogs WR on the 1 yard to prevent the Dogs from winning the match.

Bournemouth Raiders 6-22 Southern Sundevils

With both teams 3-0, this effectively became the final. The winner would take the title, as the other 3-0 team were being beaten heavily on the adjoining pitch. The Sundevils contained a couple of players who used to play for the Eastleigh Devils many years ago, so this was a big 'derby' game. On the 3rd play of the game, a Sundevils player went down with a bad shoulder injury. The game was delayed for a few minutes as he was attended, and then later taken to hospital in an ambulance.

On the very next play after the restart, the Sundevils scored with a pass into the corner of the endzone. The Raiders O couldn't get going, and the ball was turned over on downs. The Sundevils then scored a decisive second TD to go 14-0 (after the 2 PAT was scored).

Brad Smith pulled the Raiders back into it was a 45 yard run, but the Sundevils scored again to go 20-6 up. The Raiders gave away a safety to put themselves out of contention 22-6. One final drive by the Raiders ended with them stalling on the one yard after two fumbled snaps, but the Raiders were never at the races in this one.

Stats:

Passing: Brad Smith 5 TD passes (2 point after TD passes). Heasman 2 TD passes
Rushing: Brad Smith 3 TD's
Receiving: Tim Smith 4 TD's (2 point after TD passes), Nehorai 1 TD, Eatly 1 TD, Brad Smith 1 TD
Interceptions: Elliott 1, Hemsley 1

Squad: Matt Heasman, Brad Smith, Daniel Nehorai, Tim Smith, Allen Gilbert, Mark Elliott, Lee Eatly, Ryan McKeon, Paul Jackson, Matt Hemsley, Rich Cleveland