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more information contact: greenwichmariners@hotmail.com
STOP PRESS!: New Era Begins at Mariners
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Coach Mike Callan
takes over as Head Coach to lead new era at Greenwich.
Photo:www.picsbyvic.co.uk |
The University of Greenwich Mariners unveiled
a new head coach this week in Coach Mike Callan. Coach Matt Coppinger
has regrettably had to step down due to travel commitments and
will not be available for a bulk of the games next year.
Coach Callan has a solid history in football having
played high school football in the US, played in BCAFL for the
UEA Pirates as a student, coached US high school football as a
teacher and of course taught for a year as the assistant OC at
Greenwich. He is curretnly coaching at the top level in the country
for the BAFL Premier outfit the London Blitz.
Currently in South Africa Coach Coppinger sent
an email to players and coaches stating, "As many of you
probably know my job has seen me travel more and more over the
last 9 months. After giving it a considerable amount of thought
I regrettably have decided that I will not be able to commit to
the Mariners for the 2008/09 season. Personally I have valued
the highs (and the lows!) over the last few years. I have learned
an incredible amount about football, coaching and many other things(!)
It has been very rewarding to see you the players and coaches
develop. I think we all know we are not quite there yet, but still
we have achieved something few new teams in the history of British
University football have. So, I wanted to thank all of you for
your commitment, your patience and your dedication to the team.
Particularly I wanted to thank Rob Stewart and John Mellett for
their hard work and support as Club Chairman over the last 3 years."
The Mariners have compiled a 15-9 record under
Coach Coppinger making the playoffs in 2 of the 3 years. More
importantly many players from Greenwich have progressed to senior
football with further success.
With 4 years of hard work behind the team it is
important to make sure that the team continues to build on what
it has achieved. There is much potential for both players and
coaches and that with fresh ideas and leadership Greenwich can
make the transition to one of the top programmes in the country.
The team has always believed in promoting from within and this
year Greenwich were extremely fortunate to have someone come to
the team with a fabulous knowledge of football, a background in
teaching, great football experience and who is a reliable and
hardworking person. After much discussion with several key people
we are extremely happy to announce that Coach Mike Callan has
agreed to become the Head Coach for University of Greenwich.
Coach Callan has already started his preparation
for the new season and will be contacting players and coaches
shortly about his plans.
BUAFL MVP Game: Top Mariners are Southern MVPs
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TE Rob Stewart
completed his career at the Mariners by being selected to
the BUAFL's All Star Southern team.
Photo:www.picsbyvic.co.uk |
Coach Matt Coppinger, LB Leon Williams and TE
Rob Stewart were all selected to particpiate in the BUAFL's Most
Valuable Player Programme. Coach Coppinger was selected to be
the Head Coach for the MVP South team, while Wiliams made the
starting defensive lineup and Stewart impressing to be taken as
a TE/WR. Both players are in their final year with the Mariners.
Conditions on the day did not help either team
as the North opened the scoring on a long touchdown catch by Nott's
WR Ben Barker. The South responsded immediately with a 2 yard
TD from Hert's RB Issam Affoury. 7-6 South.
Late in the 3rd the North took the lead 12-7.
The South responded as Herts QB Fred Boyle led the team down the
field and into the North redzone. With only seconds left it looked
like the South would score to level the game but the North intercepted
an endzone bound pass to end the game.
LB Williams led the South in tackles in a fantastic
defensive display. TE Stewart also showcased his talent with a
finger tip catch to keep the final drive alive.
Coach Coppinger although disappointed by the loss
stated, "No one likes losing but today was about giving all
of our guys a chance to show case themselves in front of the GB
Lions and other scouts. We struggled to get the offense installed
in only 2 sessions and I think that showed today. I am extremely
proud of Leon's and Rob's contribution and they were a credit
to our programme."
Playoffs: Stags too strong for gutsy Mariners
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LB Leon Williams
and Sam Booton-Jones put in a gutsy performance against the
leagues's leading offense.
Photo:www.picsbyvic.co.uk |
An injury racked Greenwich side struggled on both sides of the
ball to contain Championship favourites the Southampton Stags.
Greenwich won the toss and elected to receive. The Stags defence
shut down the offence and forced a punt. The Stags failed to move
the ball consistently from their own half however and had to punt.
Greenwich were then forced to kick the 3rd punt of the game but
this time #33 Tam Amachree returned it 50 yards for the opening
score, it was his 3rd punt return in as many games. Ben Webb added
the XP, 7-0.
The Stags rushing game started to gain hard yards in the 2nd
quarter with strong running from #5 Kai Passler culminating in
a 2 yard touchdown strike. League leading rusher Amachree, then
broke a 47 yard rush on his way to the endzone. Greenwich rallied
and moved the ball into Southampton redzone territory but failed
to score.
Both offenses struggled in the 3rd quarter but eventually the
Stags scored again on the ground with #37 Ben Webb scoring from
19 yards out and then adding the XP. 26-0.
The Stags didn’t let up in the 4th quarter as #1 Michal
Katnik finally found the passing breakthrough hitting an uncovered
Olney in the middle of the endzone from 10 yards out. The game
was beyond Greenwich but the Stags weren’t finished as Passler
added another 2 yard score. Webb added both extra points and was
then called upon to attempt a 34 yard field goal to complete the
scoring.
Game 8: Resurgent
Blades Get Revenge
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Rookie
Richard Francia has developed into a solid QB completing 5
of 10 on Sunday for 102 yards.
Photo:www.picsbyvic.co.uk |
Greenwich stumbled into the playoffs in their
final game of the season as a below par performance saw them lose
to division rivals Essex. In an ugly affair both teams struggled
to generate much offense as two long runs from Essex in the 3rd
quarter made the difference. The Blades ran out winners in a 21-12
as the Mariners appeared to self destruct.
RB Wesley Eversley opened the scoring for the
Mariners in the 1st quarter on his way to 135 yards off of 25
carries. In a disastrous 3rd quarter for Greenwich, Essex seemed
to wake up and responded with 3 TD runs and a safety to take a
commanding 21-6 lead. The Mariners responded with another Eversley
TD run in the 4th but it was too little too late. A highlight
was QB Richard Francia showing his maturity as a QB by completing
5 out of 10 passes for 102 yards.
However, to add to the Mariners woes they lost
star RBs Paul Crawford and Wesley Eversley late in the game.
Despite the loss the Mariners sneak into the playoffs
and face University Championship favourites the Southampton Stags.
Game 7: Evers-oh
Close to Magical Season
Greenwich cruised to a solid victory on Sunday against the Anglia
Ruskin Phantoms winning 26-0. Star of the show was rookie RB
Wesley Eversley (16 carries for 120 yards and 2 TDs)
who now needs 213 yards in his final game to break the magical
1000 yard barrier.
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| Rookie RB Wesley Eversley could break 1000
yards if he gains 213 next Sunday. Photo:www.picsbyvic.co.uk |
The win takes the Mariner's closer to their 2nd playoff season
in only 3 years under Coach Matt Coppinger and his staff. Greenwich
need to beat division foe Essex next week to guarantee a spot
in the playoffs.
Behind the blocking of fellow RB’s Paul Crawford
and Dmitry Pestryakov, as well as WR
Daniel Dubier and Darren Durup, Eversley
helped moved the chains early in the 1st quarter. The rookie RB
tiptoed in from 9 yards out to open the scoring. K Ian
Jacquet converted the XP.
The Mariners defense was firing on all cylinders and restricted
ARU to only 1 first down in the entire game. Led by 1st year SS
Alex Dall, rookie LB Abdulahi Suileman
and DL Keido Williams the defense quickly forced
ARU to punt. A fearsome hit by LB Suileman set
the bar for the rest of the game.
ARU faced an onslaught from the Greenwich defense as DL
Keido Williams forced the fumble and LB Suileman
came up with the recovery. The Mariners moved the chains but failed
to capitalise deep in the red zone on 4th down. “The
Slash” Firas Iskandarani playing QB/RB/LB/DB almost
gave the Mariners the ball back but dropped an interception deep
in Phantoms territory.
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| Defense gets to work with LB Leon Williams
and Abdulahi Suileman gang tackling with CB Greg Jordens.
Photo: www.picsbyvic.co.uk |
With the ball back in the hands of QB Richard Francia,
he moved the chains quickly by throwing to TE Rob Stewart.
A winding run by RB Paul Crawford of 38 yards
put the Mariners in the redzone. Two plays later and Crawford
crashed in from 3 yards out. K Jacquet once again
nailed the XP. 14-0 at the half.
ARU brought pressure on defense and the Mariners seemed to stall.
Eversley who was being rested came back on to ignite the offense.
Two plays later and he powered in from 30 yards out off the blocking
of TE Rob Stewart, OT Ike Ihebuzor, RB Crawford and
WR Durup. This time ARU managed to block Jacquet’s
kick.
Into the fourth quarter and the Mariners opened up the passing
game. A long catch by WR Durup from QB
Francia put the Mariners in good field position, but
once again they came away empty handed. Another pass defensed
by DB Iskandarani and solid tackling by SS
Dall gave the Mariners good field position. Several long
runs by Crawford setup fellow RB Pestryakov for
his 2nd TD of the year from 8 yards out. Pestryakov was unlucky
not to convert the 2pt attempt. Final score 26-0.
Game MVP went to RB Wesley Eversley who despite
only 16 carries rushed for 120 yards and 2 TDs.
Defensive MVP went to SS Alex Dall who led all
tacklers with 4 tackles (1 for loss) and 1 pass defensed.
Offensive MVP went to RB Paul Crawford who returned
to the team after 1 week out to record 7 carries for 82 yards
and a TD.
Game
6: Mariners Escape To Victory
Greenwich battled to a hard fought victory against Kent coming
away with a 14-8 result. In a game strangely dominated by penalties
both teams failed to get into any rhythm.
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| TE Rob Stewart's key catch led to the Mariner's
2nd score. He finished the game with 3 receptions for 91 yards.
Photo:www.picsbyvic.co.uk |
After last weeks disappointing loss to Herts, Greenwich were
keen to bounce back. The Mariners Special Teams made an immediate
impact with SS Dion Andrade returning the opening
kickoff for 42 yards. From here the Greenwich offense looked clinical
as they moved the ball efficiently down to the Falcons redzone.
2nd year RB Dmitry Pestryakov capped off the
drive with a well executed 11 yard run for his first career touchdown.
K Ian Jacquet slotted home the PAT.
The Mariners defence led by LB Ken Agu, LB
Sam Booton-Jones and NT Hakky Akinyomi soon
stopped the Falcons running game. DL Keido Williams
came up with a fumble recovery to give the ball back to the Mariners.
QB Richard Francia wasted no time and hit TE
Rob Stewart for a 50 yard gain. He then ran for 11 yards
to get into the Kent red zone. From here rookie RB sensation Wesley
Eversley sped in from 12 yards to put the Mariners two
scores ahead. K Jacquet nailed the PAT to make it 14-0.
The game looked like it was going the Mariners way, however the
2nd quarter turned into a penalty fest with both teams moving
forwards and backwards but failing to get close to the endzone.
As the 2nd quarter ended, the Falcons had gained some momentum
and certainly had not given up.
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| 2nd year RB Dmitry Pestryakov scores his
first career touchdown. Photo: www.picsbyvic.co.uk |
The 3rd quarter continued in a similar vain to the 2nd. The Mariners
offense couldn’t move the ball through penalties and a stiff
Falcons defense. Late in the 3rd the Mariners got into the Falcons
redzone through a Francia pass to WR Jacquet. However, penalties
and a sack saw the Mariners come away with nothing.
The 4th quarter turned into a smash mouth game of football as
Kent’s revived running game ground out the yards. Assisted
by two personal fouls Kent were given the ball on the Mariners
2 yard line. From here they pounded in the ball and converted
the 2 points to make the game 14-8.
Kent’s onside kick was recovered by the Mariners with just
2 minutes left. Greenwich needed a first down to kill the clock
and end the game. On 3rd down Francia’s screen pass to Eversley
was batted up in the air and unbelievably caught on the ground
by a Kent DL. The Falcons had one last shot, but the Mariners
defense stiffened with backup LB Rob Stewart
and SS Dion Andrade making key plays to seal
the victory.
Game MVP went to LB Ken Agu who worked relentlessly
to take home 6 tackles and 2 assists.
Defensive MVP went to rookie LB Abdulahi Suileman
who had a great performance in his first start.
Offensive MVP went to TE Rob Stewart who finished
with 3 receptions for 91 yards.
The 2007-08 full regular
season results are shown below:
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