The second leg of the Yorkshire derby took place with both teams experiencing differing fortunes the week before. The Rams had their playoffs hopes dealt a serious blow with a crushing defeat to the Division 1 North Champions West Coast Trojans, whilst the Mustangs secured their division status for next year despite losing to the Chester Romans. The Rams took the first leg in Doncaster at the start of the season 21-0 which kick started a good run of results for the Leeds based team.
Doncaster received the kick for a short return, tried to move the ball on their first two attempts but failed to make any headway. On 3rd down Quarterback Paul Farrar was lucky not be intercepted but Rams safety Matt Harkin was unable to hold on to the ball. The Mustangs punted the ball to the 35 yard line where former Mustang Quarterback Andy Green took over with the Rams offence looking to improve on their stuttering performance from last week. Graham Thompson made short yardage. On a broken play Green managed to avoid the Mustangs defensive line and scrambled impressively for a firstdown. On the next set of downs Green failed to find both Julien Boville and Craig Naylor with short passes along with a short run by Graham Thompson. Yorkshire were pegged 5 yards on the punt after being penalised for having 12 men on the field and punter Greg Boyland was unable to hold onto the snap which ran away from him in the wet conditions and was eventually forced to fall on in at the Rams 16 yard line giving Doncaster possession in great field position.
The Rams D Line held strong and pushed the Mustangs O back to the 21 yard line with strong play from Lee Morton and Paul Muscroft. On the next play, Muscroft was first to pick up the fumble after the weather again played a part, forcing the Mustangs to let the quarterback exchange get away from them. Given the ball back quickly, Andy Green then failed to connect with Craig Naylor on a diving sideline catch. Atchison made 6 yards on his first touch of the game which took the Rams to their 20 yard line, Atchison again took the ball on 2nd down after a mix up in the backfield with Green and was forced into a 1 yard loss. The Rams failed to move the ball and Boyland was more successful with his punt to the Mustangs 45 yard line. Craig Naylor was called for a personal foul though, for running into the receiver after he called a fair catch and the Rams lost another 15 yards.
The Mustangs had their tails up and Great Britain standout Brian Long took the ball on first down and carried it for 6 yards. Paul Farrar then connected on a deep ball on 2nd down to Glyn Davies which was stopped short with a diving catch at the one yard line. With inches to go, Long scored the Mustangs first points against Coach Weekes’ defence with a 1 yard run untouched into the end zone. The Mustangs then attempted the 2 point conversion which was fumbled and Rams linebacker Joe Coultate picked up the ball and sprinted 97 yards to the opposite end zone for 2 points giving the Mustangs a 6-2 lead.
On the next Rams drive, running back Sam Irace returned from several weeks out from injury with a 2 yard gain on first down. He then failed to keep his feet on the next play and lost a yard. Andy Green then dropped to pass and felt the pressure from the ever dangerous Chris Birks and Tim Sykes, he ran but was dropped which resulted in a 4 yard loss. Boyland came in to punt the ball giving Doncaster field position on the Rams 36 yard line. Quarterback Farrar handed the ball off to full back Matt Massa but he was stopped in the backfield by the outstanding Rams D. Long then looked to gain yardage with a dive up the middle but only gained a yard. On the next play to the outside he used his size to power through the Rams Defence to the 17 yard line for a first down. Paul Muscroft continued his strong game with a tackle in the back field on Andrew Jones for a 3 yard loss to end the quarter.
The Rams secondary covered the sole Mustangs receiver in the end zone on 2nd down and Matt Massa was stopped on 3rd down for no gain. An injury to rookie Rams lineman Jamie Beckwith delayed play for a while and on the restart the Mustangs went for the 4th down conversion but the Yorkshire defence stood strong and Brian Long was pushed out of bounds to turn the ball over on the 21 yard line.
Unable to move the ball effectively, Andy Green and the Rams offence went three and out on their next drive as Greg Boyland stepped in to punt the ball out to the 49 yard line.
Andrew Jones and Matt Massa combined to take the Doncaster offence to the Rams 37 yard line. Rams safety Matt Harkin stopped the first down play at the line of scrimmage. On 2nd down Paul Oates caught the ball at the sidelines but failed to get his feet down inbounds. Brian Long came back into the Mustangs backfield but a false start penalty pushed them back to 3rd and 15, the Mustangs went to the air to make up the yards and failed to find Glyn Davies on the touchline. The Doncaster team again attempted the 4th down conversion with Long remaining in the back field, he took the ball but was tackled out of bounds by Randy Pryce before they were able to make the first down.
Action was required by the Rams after such a poor start and American running back Mack Holley took over in the backfield to make a 7 yard gain, head coach Weekes kept the ball on the ground with Holley again carrying the ball for first down and with 10 minutes to play in the half the passing game of the Rams finally clicked when Andy Green aired the ball out to Hytham Atchison who bobbled the ball before gaining possesion and shaking off the Mustangs secondary to run in for a 47yard touchdown reception putting the Rams ahead 8-6. The Rams extra point team were moved back on a false start penalty but Greg Boyland had no difficulty in converting to give the Rams a 9-6 advantage.
The Mustangs attempts to come back were dealt a blow by verteran Lee Mortons big hit, then a fumble was forced on the next play giving the Rams field position in the Mustangs half. Mack Holley stayed in the backfield and staged a one man scoring show, making a first down before carrying the ball for a 9 yard gain inside the Mustangs 10. Holley then ran through the opposition linebackers for the first down before taking the ball over the goal line on a 3 yard touchdown run. The snap for the extra point was high and with Quarterback Andy Green at holder he attempted to connect with kicker Boyland but the pass was just short giving the Rams a 15-6 lead.
The Mustangs response was swift and powerful with QB Farrar using Oates, Massa and Long to good effect and with a good mix of pass and run, but all was too late and a Brian Long run brought an end to the half.
The Mustangs kicked off the 2nd half and Hytham Atchison took the ball back to the Rams 37 yard line. The Rams were flagged for a block in the back and then came out passing for the first three downs, failing to convert any of them. Doncaster got possesion at the Rams 48 yard line following Boylands punt.
On first down Brian Long found a wall of Rams defenders before going back on himself where he was met by ever improving James Marsden with a huge hit that dropped him to the turf. Joe Coultate then stopped Long on his next possession which he moved for a 6 yard gain, third down and Marsden again dragged Long down for zero gain. Tim Sykes false started for the Mustangs pushing them back to 4th and 12 where they played it safe with Brian Long punting the ball to the 14 yard line. Atchison returned the ball to the 25 yard line for the Rams offence to take over.
With a fresh set of four, Sam Irace took the ball for a 4 yard gain but was then stopped on second down for a loss of 1 yard. Andy Green overthrew Atchison on 3rd down but the team in black were offered a new lease of life with a personal foul for a late hit on Andy Green giving the Rams 1st and 10 at the 45 yard line.
Recent signing Jamie Jackson couldnt hold onto the ball on his next carry which bobbled around in the wet and was jumped on by Doncasters Neil Kettlewell for the recovery. However, the Mustangs were flagged for a 15 yard penalty for kicking the ball on the fumble and the Rams regained possession at their 46 yard line. After dodging a bullet, Andy Green scrambled out of the pocket but was unhappy with his his open receivers and threw the ball away. Sam Irace carried the ball for a first down to the Mustangs 46 yard line. An icomplete pass saw Yorkshire bringing back Mack Holley, carrying the ball on the ground two times in a row for a total gain of 10 yards. He then powered for another 10 yard gain bouncing through the Mustangs D Line, but when Holley carried again on an identical play he was finally stopped short by the Mustangs.
Second down and Green aired the ball out to first year Ram Craig Naylor but Chris Richardson broke up the play. Green aired out again but overthrew Rich Godfrey and the Rams attempted their first 4th down conversion and Craig Naylor caught Greens pass for his first reception of the day and a successful conversion. Mack Holley was stopped on 1st down by Chris Birks, but then caught a Green pass at the 4 yard line and ran the ball in for his second touchdown, pushing the Rams further in front. With Greg Boyland receiving treatment on the sideline, fellow safety Matt Harkin took over the duties but failed to get any air under the kick which was sliced into a pile of players. The Rams stretched their lead to 21-6 and time was quickly running out for Doncaster.
Starting at the 29 yard line Brian Long punched the ball into the Rams defence and was stopped by French linebacker Brice Marchand after getting first down. Clutch Mustangs receiver Paul Oates was not having one of his best days, dropping the ball on 1st down before Long made headway for 4 yards, stopped only by a, now swarming, Rams defence. On 3rd down the Rams defence smothered the play at the line of scrimmage. Paul Farrar took a gamble and aired the ball out on 4th down with the flags flying at the snap but he failed to convert on a deep ball. Given the 2nd chance on 4th down, Brian Long rumbled for the 1st down with a drop of the shoulder. With the wind in their sails, the Mustangs went for a pass on their next play, but Rams standout Hytham Atchison grabbed the tipped ball on Farrars pass for an interception which he returned to the Mustangs 32 yard line before being pushed out of bounds.
Jamie Jackson was stopped at the line of scrimmage before a second effort took the ball for a 1 yard gain. Richard Godfrey then made a finger tip grab for Andy Greens pass rolling out of the pocket but former Ram Tim Adams did enough to put him off and it fell incomplete. The Rams went for it on 4th down and after the ball fell dead on another passing play, the Rams got a reprieve and were given a first down by a Tim Adams holding penalty. Phil Fitzpatrick took his first carry for 6 yards, then Andy Green failed to find Rams veteran Justin Lester in the end zone. Sam Irace was then dragged down in the backfield for a 5 yard loss and the drive was stalled. With their normal kicker Greg Sunshine Boyland still receiving treatment on the sidelines and back up kicker Rick Lynch out for the game, the Rams went for the 4th down conversion in the redzone but failed to convert on the pass.
The Mustangs took over possession at their 18 yard line and quickly looked to run off tackle for a gain, but Lee Morton jumped on the ball for his second fumble recovery of the season following Paul Muscrofts huge hit forced a fumble. The Rams had regained possesion at the 4 yard line after a short gain by RB Graham Thomson, Justin Lester then continued to add stats to his excellent Rams career by following his blockers into the end zone on a 4 yard carry and the final touchdown of the day. Craig Naylor took over extra point kicking duties and after converting gave Yorkshire a 28-6 lead over Doncaster.
Desperate to score, Paul Oates failed to look for Paul Farrars pass who was hit as he passed and had the wind knocked out of him but kept his field general duties by means of a dump pass to running back Brian Long for a 1 yard loss. The Mustangs then fumbled the ball but recovered it back again immediately to keep the drive alive. Yorkshires French Linebacker Brice Marchand was unlucky not to get his first interception of the day when safety Matt Harkin bumped into the back of him on a broken play, but it was enough to end the Mustangs game and as the Rams took the ball back after a turnover on downs they looked the run the clock down with Sam Irace carrying the ball to keep the time ebbing away.
With a final game coming up against the West Coast Trojans, the Rams used the remainder of their plays to try and kick start their spluttering pass game, but to no avail and at 4 and out the ball was handed back to Doncaster, far too late for them to score and the game was whistled over by the officials before the ball could be snapped.
The Rams, now 6 and 3 for the season but out of the playoff race, finish up their fixtures next week with a trip to Scotland to meet the West Coast Trojans, looking to improve upon their previous performance against the tough Scots.
The Rams would like to thank all their fans for the fantastic support they have received this year at the South Leeds Stadium, the Yorkshire Rams Cheerleaders have also been outstanding and the gameday experience would not be the same without them.