A lackluster performance by the Rams, where if things could go wrong they did, saw them go down at home forty points to twelve against the visiting Lancashire Wolverines.
Lancashire kicked off the first Rose Bowl decider but good defence by them forced the Rams to punt on their first possession. After the Yorkshire defence held the Wolverines a sliced punt put the home side at a good advantage but Adam Biggs intercepted the pass by Ram’s QB Simon Dewdney to give the ball back to Lancashire at their own 19 yards line. Just after mid point of the first quarter a fumble by Yorkshire on their own 17 yard marker gave the Wolverines superb field position. Wayne Glover took full advantage with a pass to Joseph Black for the TD to put the visitors up 6-0. The Rams very nearly drew level at the end of the quarter when Justin Kirby had a pass knocked from his hands by Biggs.
The start of the second quarter saw some good plays by both teams with Rob Tingle getting close to the Ram’s endzone but some strong defence got the ball into Yorkshire’s hands but again a fumble gave possession away. Glover took advantage again and scored on the second play with a 3 yard pass to Neil Sullivan to make the score 12-0. The middle of the quarter saw some of the best play by Yorkshire’s offence, starting with some good runs by Paul Calvert and Dewdney pushing the ball through the line. A toss by Dewdney to Lee Taylor got the pigskin on Lancashire’s 10 yard spot from where Andy Hill went in for the six. On the kick off a superb downfield tackle by Hill started Lancashire’s drive from their own 21 yard line but after making some yardage a pin point pass from Glover to Sullivan put the visitors up 18-6 and the two pointer by Phil McGrath finished the half at 20 -6.
After some good offence by the Rams, Justin Lester being presented with an award from the Wolverines for his efforts, the Lancashire ‘D’ held them and forced the punt which started a defensive third quarter, Ram’s Gaz Wild being awarded the MVP for a superb game. In the closing stages of the quarter another fumble by Yorkshire led to a Wolverine’s TD, a hat trick for Sullivan, on a seven yard run to make the score 26-6.
The beginning of the final period was a series of fumbles and penalties, one of the penalties brought back a touchdown run by McGrath for Lancashire. The visitors did get another TD shortly after with a pass from Adam Purcell to Sullivan, who was awarded the opposition MVP for his haul of scores, to make the score 32-6. Yorkshire got another TD near the end of the period when Rik Lowthion threw a 14 yarder to Justin Kirby. Lancashire brought the game to a close with another score, Jason Howarth a 17 yard run and he also went in for the two points to finish 40-12 and for the Wolverines to take home the inaugural Rose Bowl.
The Rams now have a week off to iron out the kinks before their road trip to take on the Gateshead Senators. The next home game at the Ram Stadium is on the 20th June against the Staffordshire Surge.