2017/18 Season Review
Heaven and hell. Up and down. Ying and Yang. None of these things are as polar opposites than the first and second halves of the Warriors' 2017/18 season.
Hallam experienced a reshuffle ahead of the season, following the retirement of long-serving Head Coach Richard 'Grizz' Batty. Offensive coordinator Tom Kharchi was promoted to Head Coach while continuing his play-calling duties, with Warriors alum Anthony 'Eli' Marsden coming in to take over the defensive coordinator role vacated by Coach Batty. Hallam also had several first team players gradating, and so required less experienced players to step up and lead from the front.
Despite these changes, Hallam not only hit the ground running but flat out sprinting come the start of the season. League new-boys University of Leeds Gryphons came to Bawtry and were immediately introduced to Hallam football, with experienced Quarterback Dutch Stephenson finding men in the end-zone on each of the Warriors' first two drives.
And the foot stayed on the gas, with Hallam soaring to a half time lead of 40-0 at the half. The running clock rule hindered Hallam's offence in the second half, and the game finished 46-6, the Warriors having scored on all three phases of the game thanks to fumble recoveries taken to the house by Sam Fossey and Ronel Daley-Thomas, and a kick return taken all the way for 6 more from Fossey.
The following week saw a trip to the UCLAN Rams, who had proven to be tough opponents for Hallam last season. However the Warriors' picked up where they had left off against the Gryphons and romped to a 31-0 win, including the first rushing touchdowns of the season from Luqman Said-Abdullah and the first pick-six from game MVP Fossey.
Hallam were touted as the only potential rivals to the 'scholar dollars' over in the University of Nottingham, and were early favourites to meet the Students in the playoffs final. And this motivated the Warriors through til Christmas, dispatching Liverpool John Moores University Fury 30-9 and the cross city rivals the University of Sheffield Sabres 40-20 along the way to a perfect 4 and 0 start to the season. The Warriors' passing game was too much for defences to handle, with Stephenson slinging for 12 touchdowns in the opening 4 games to 5 different receivers.
However, when Santa came around to drop off presents for the Warriors, it seems he must have taken something away with him. Hallam lost each of the four league games in the new year, and try as they may, could not find a rhythm in the pass game. Despite the slump to 4 and 4, Hallam qualified for the playoffs as a wildcard team, seeded 8th.
This saw the previously highly anticipated match-up of the Hallam Warriors against the University of Nottingham Students, albeit a bit sooner than many would have expected. Despite the recent run of form, Hallam heads remained high and preparations for the heavy-weight bout went well. But luck was not on the Warriors' side, and the arrival of heavy snow fall in March saw the fixture cancelled. With no time built into the BUCS season schedule for such hindrances, it was put to a vote for all of the Division 1 playoff teams to decide whether plans for future playoff rounds should be postponed in order to play all of the fixtures or not.
With the sixteen teams unable to come to a unanimous decision, BUCS rulings stated the schedule would go on as originally planned and the higher seeded teams from the unplayed matches would progress to the next round. This spelled an end of the Warriors' BUCS season, with only hopes of a win in Varsity to redeem the team's season.
The Steelbowl was scheduled to go ahead on Sunday 22nd April, with Hallam the holders having won the last 4 consecutive Varsity matches. But once again, lady luck did not smile on Hallam. The opening game of the BAFA senior season was due to take place on the same date, and with all referees booked to officiate the various Senior Ball games in the area the Steelbowl was cancelled for the first time in its history, with the two sides having to settle for a win a piece in the 2017/18 season. The Warriors retained the trophy through default as the holders, but it is no comfort for those Warriors for whom the match was due to be their last outing in the Maroon of Hallam.
Heaven and hell. Up and down. Ying and Yang. None of these things are as polar opposites than the first and second halves of the Warriors' 2017/18 season.
Hallam experienced a reshuffle ahead of the season, following the retirement of long-serving Head Coach Richard 'Grizz' Batty. Offensive coordinator Tom Kharchi was promoted to Head Coach while continuing his play-calling duties, with Warriors alum Anthony 'Eli' Marsden coming in to take over the defensive coordinator role vacated by Coach Batty. Hallam also had several first team players gradating, and so required less experienced players to step up and lead from the front.
Despite these changes, Hallam not only hit the ground running but flat out sprinting come the start of the season. League new-boys University of Leeds Gryphons came to Bawtry and were immediately introduced to Hallam football, with experienced Quarterback Dutch Stephenson finding men in the end-zone on each of the Warriors' first two drives.
And the foot stayed on the gas, with Hallam soaring to a half time lead of 40-0 at the half. The running clock rule hindered Hallam's offence in the second half, and the game finished 46-6, the Warriors having scored on all three phases of the game thanks to fumble recoveries taken to the house by Sam Fossey and Ronel Daley-Thomas, and a kick return taken all the way for 6 more from Fossey.
The following week saw a trip to the UCLAN Rams, who had proven to be tough opponents for Hallam last season. However the Warriors' picked up where they had left off against the Gryphons and romped to a 31-0 win, including the first rushing touchdowns of the season from Luqman Said-Abdullah and the first pick-six from game MVP Fossey.
Hallam were touted as the only potential rivals to the 'scholar dollars' over in the University of Nottingham, and were early favourites to meet the Students in the playoffs final. And this motivated the Warriors through til Christmas, dispatching Liverpool John Moores University Fury 30-9 and the cross city rivals the University of Sheffield Sabres 40-20 along the way to a perfect 4 and 0 start to the season. The Warriors' passing game was too much for defences to handle, with Stephenson slinging for 12 touchdowns in the opening 4 games to 5 different receivers.
However, when Santa came around to drop off presents for the Warriors, it seems he must have taken something away with him. Hallam lost each of the four league games in the new year, and try as they may, could not find a rhythm in the pass game. Despite the slump to 4 and 4, Hallam qualified for the playoffs as a wildcard team, seeded 8th.
This saw the previously highly anticipated match-up of the Hallam Warriors against the University of Nottingham Students, albeit a bit sooner than many would have expected. Despite the recent run of form, Hallam heads remained high and preparations for the heavy-weight bout went well. But luck was not on the Warriors' side, and the arrival of heavy snow fall in March saw the fixture cancelled. With no time built into the BUCS season schedule for such hindrances, it was put to a vote for all of the Division 1 playoff teams to decide whether plans for future playoff rounds should be postponed in order to play all of the fixtures or not.
With the sixteen teams unable to come to a unanimous decision, BUCS rulings stated the schedule would go on as originally planned and the higher seeded teams from the unplayed matches would progress to the next round. This spelled an end of the Warriors' BUCS season, with only hopes of a win in Varsity to redeem the team's season.
The Steelbowl was scheduled to go ahead on Sunday 22nd April, with Hallam the holders having won the last 4 consecutive Varsity matches. But once again, lady luck did not smile on Hallam. The opening game of the BAFA senior season was due to take place on the same date, and with all referees booked to officiate the various Senior Ball games in the area the Steelbowl was cancelled for the first time in its history, with the two sides having to settle for a win a piece in the 2017/18 season. The Warriors retained the trophy through default as the holders, but it is no comfort for those Warriors for whom the match was due to be their last outing in the Maroon of Hallam.