After two wins on the bounce, the Leicester Longhorns travelled to north to play the Staffordshire Stallions for their third game of the season. This game had a lot riding on it, as a win for Leicester meant they would be sitting at the top of the table over Christmas undefeated.
After two wins on the bounce, the Leicester Longhorns travelled to north to play the Staffordshire Stallions for their third game of the season. This game had a lot riding on it, as a win for Leicester meant they would be sitting at the top of the table over Christmas undefeated.
It was a cold, overcast day for the Longhorns who took a lighter squad than usual for the game. But still the same spirit was there in the team from the outset, as on the first play from scrimmage QB Ted Watts sliced through the Staffordshire defense for a 40-yard touchdown run. This set the tone for the game straight away and with a powerful 2-point conversion, the Longhorns were up 8-0; whilst the Stallions hadn’t touched the ball yet. On their opening drive of the game, a miscommunication between the QB and running back led to a wild pitch that was recovered by the Longhorns. Ted Watts then just two plays later, again took it the distance with another long touchdown run. A failed two- point conversion left the score at 14-0 to the Longhorns.
On the ensuing kickoff, a great special teams play by linebackers Jamie McGee and Tom Waters resulted in a fumble by the Stallions returner which was recovered by the Longhorns. A strong drive by Leicester with some powerful running resulted in a score leaving them up by 20 points. This seemed to kick start Staffordshire who put together their best drive of the game after this. They moved the ball well down the field connecting with their tight end on a long pass and then a great throw downfield for a touchdown.
Both defenses came to play to for the next couple of drives for both teams. Until a great play design saw Danny Pedroni fly through the Stallions defense for a 70-yard touchdown run putting Leicester up 26-6. Despite a change at QB for the Stallions they couldn’t move the ball on offence. Up multiple scores the Longhorns decided to test their passing attack to Staffordshire’s surprise. Ted Watts hit wide receiver Thomas Slade for big gain foreshadowing what was to come in the second half.
A hard, tough drive by Leicester got them inside Staffordshire’s 20-yard line when Ted Watts unleashed a great throw to hit Thomas Slade in the endzone for another Leicester touchdown. They also converted on the two-point conversion. Now almost out of it, the Stallions changed QB again and tried to reestablish their passing attack. This however was instantly snuffed out by the Leicester defense with Danny Pedroni grabbing an interception. This turned into more points for the Longhorns as Ted Watts connected again with Thomas Slade for a long touchdown, but they couldn’t get the extra two.
On Staffordshire’s next drive, once again moved the ball through the air a bit until the Longhorns defense took control once again. On a designed rollout Staffordshire’s QB threw a jump ball up for his receiver downfield but again he was intercepted. This time by Ben Philpott to the delight of the Leicester sideline. This gave Leicester the ball back and they never returned it back to Staffordshire, successfully running out the clock and collecting a well deserved win.