Great Britain: London Blitz U19 claim fifth straight championship with dominant win over Nottingham Caesars

| American Football | 08/29/2023

The London Blitz completed the five-peat this past Sunday as they breezed past the Nottingham Caesars in the Under-19 Britbowl Final, ending the game with a score of 36-0.

Led by standout linebacker Miles McCarthy, Nottingham started out hot on defense, preventing the Blitz from gaining a first down before a fourth-down tackle-for-loss put the ball in the hands of the Nottingham offense. The Caesars’ run-heavy, I-form style, which had been unstoppable within the Northern division, was easily contained by the London defense as Nottingham went three downs with very little gain.

Fourth down saw the Caesars attempt to punt the ball back to the Blitz, but it wouldn’t be that simple. The snap bounced to the right of the punter who scrambled to recover the ball, but Emmanuel Ssingo came up with the recovery, returning the fumble 30 yards to open scoring for the Blitz. Quarterback Corey Badry found a wide open Harley Skinner-Henry to make the score 8-0 for the defending champions.  

After a turnover on downs from the Caesars, the Blitz took possession of the ball. A spectacular back-shoulder catch from Skinner-Henry set the Blitz up in Nottingham territory before Badry topped off the drive with a great ball to Oisin Moroney to extend their lead. BUCS All-Star running back Dejahne Erskine ran in the two-point conversion to boost the lead to 16-0.

The next Blitz offensive drive would end abruptly after having the ball ripped from the hands of the running back before Nottingham’s Bart Nowakowski scooped up the ball. Unfortunately, nothing came of the drive as the Caesars gave the ball back on fourth down.

Before the end of the half, defenses took the spotlight; two sacks from the Blitz’ Edward Kyere put the ball back in the hands of Badry, who soon after was picked off by Nottignham’s Joe Timmons. The Blitz managed to force a three-and-out in dangerous territory, and yet another terrific Skinner-Henry catch put them another score up before the break with the score at 22-0.

If the heads of the Nottingham Caesars weren’t already down, the opening drive of the third period certainly did the job. After a Blitz pick six was called back, Nottingham team captain Miles McCarthy went down with a knee injury – a huge loss on both sides of the ball. On the following play, quarterback Kade Streaker-Meads was picked off by Blitz defensive back Nicolas Challier, putting an end to a demoralizing drive.

Coach Jason Henry (Left), MVP Harley Skinner-Henry (Right). Image courtesy of CodeName Productions

Challier picked off Streaker-Meads yet again on their next drive, setting up a Rhys Whitcombe rushing touchdown to make it 28-0. The final score came via Owayne Montaque, who ran in the two-point conversion to make the final score 36-0.

Unsurprisingly, Harley Skinner-Henry was awarded MVP as the Blitz claimed their fifth straight championship and the Caesars put a bitter end to an otherwise phenomenal season.

A current student at Bournemouth University as well as a quarterback with eight years of playing experience. Brad's goal is to be a part of the growth of the game around the world through journalism and media.