Match report: Knights Juniors conquer Midlands Division
In just their first year of competitive football, Northants Knights Juniors won the BAFA Midlands Division 2 Championship with a 100 per cent record.
The Juniors, an Under-19s team as part of the Knights programme, went unbeaten through the season and finished the year with six wins in six games.
Reflecting on the success, Head Coach Jack O’Beirne said: “I am so proud of all the players. None of our guys had ever played the sport before but they bought in to everything that we are building at this team and today we can see the rewards.”
Although the team had been training for a couple of years they had a year completely wiped out due to the Coronavirus pandemic and only returned to training at the start of 2021.
“I’m not sure you can overstate the achievement. I don’t think there has ever been a team to enter the league and win the division in the way that we did. It’s a special group.”
The Knights won the British American Football Association (BAFA) Midlands Division 2 which also included Leicester Falcons, Ipswich Cardinals and former National Champions, Black Country Vipers.
Running back Luke Brotherton led the way on offense and finished the season with the most touchdowns and most rush yards on the team. Whilst on defense it was captain Josh Haynes who had the most interceptions and touchdowns.
Coming into the final games on Saturday, the Knights sat at 4-0 and travelled to Black Country to take on the Vipers and Falcons.
First up was a game against the hosts, with a win to clinch the division. The Knights had previously struggled against the Vipers but not on this occasion, beating them 19-2 with quarterback Danny Hudson hitting wide receiver Jonah Stacey-Smith for a 45-yard touchdown being the biggest highlight.
“We had a tough time stopping the Vipers pass rush last time we played. We had worked hard in training since then to put a plan in place to stop it. Credit to my coaching staff for finding the answers and we saw that today," O’Beirne added.
With the divisional title in the bag, all that was left for the Knights was to complete the perfect season and go unbeaten.
The Knights defense had only given up 23 points all season, and determined to get another shutout they stopped the Leicester Falcons on every drive.
Once again it was captain Josh Haynes who made the impact play and caught the interception which he ran in for a touchdown. Quarterback Danny Hudson then ran it in himself for another touchdown to make the final score 12-0.
Usually, the winners of the Midlands Division would move into a playoff tournament with the three other divisional winners to find an U19 Division 2 Champion.
However, due to Covid-19 the playoffs have been scrapped this year meaning the Knights have no more games this season but will continue to train and recruit new players as some of the current team become too old to play next year.
To finish off, O’Beirne said: “It was a special way to end the season. Now we look ahead to next season and winning back-to-back division titles.”
The future is certainly bright for the Knights!
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