Loughborough Aces Football

Aces 13 @ Hurricanes 24

acesadmin — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:32:22 +0000

On the 25th of March, The Aces carried on their road trip down south to Hertfordshire to take on the #1 ranked Hurricanes in the BUAFL Championship Semi-Final.

After racking up nearly 1000 miles of travel in the playoffs so far; the ‘Road Warrior’ Aces were used to the early starts and long hours on the coach, and arrived at the field fresh and ready to play.

The game kicked off under perfect conditions on a lightning quick rubber-crumb field, which looked to favour both teams high powered offenses. However, two of the top-ranked defenses in the country shone in the first half of football. The ‘Canes came up with two turnovers, and the vaunted Aces D showed off their ‘bend but don’t break’ mentality and toughness; with stellar D-line play by the best tandem in the league Josh Gaff and Ash Miller. Hard running from MVP Tailback Adam Hope and slot receiver Chris Ossom began to wear down the Hurricanes, whilst QB Nick Jacquet found receivers Ross Hubbard and John Mathewson for gains on the outside, but ultimately, the Aces couldn’t crack the end zone. The only score of the half came from a short field goal by Hertfordshire, making the halftime score 3-0 Hurricanes.

The Aces came out for the 2nd half looking like a new team. Loughborough received the ball, and with excellent blocking from the return team, Hope made a huge return up the middle, casually avoiding defenders on the way, bringing the Aces to the Hurricanes 25 yard line. Hope followed this up by a big 20 yard run through the ‘Canes defense. A perfect fake to Hope and run by Nick Jacquet fooled the majority of the Herts’ players and breezed into the end zone from 5 yards out to put an exclamation point on the drive. And with the extra point, The Aces led 7 – 3.

The defense carried on their great performance from the 1st half with a 3 and out on the Hurricanes’ first drive. Sure tackling by Matt Eva, Ben Davies and the rest of the LB core was matched in intensity by the coverage skills of Joe ‘Batdown’ Parsons and the ever present ‘Watson Island’ (Ross Watson). This was followed by a huge blocked punt by the special teams, setting the offense up in great field position, and putting Hertfordshire on the ropes. However, the offense couldn’t capitalize on this, and the score remained the same. The next big point of the 2nd half also came on special teams, this time from an Aces error. A high snap for a punt was recovered by Hertfordshire deep in the Aces half. The Hurricanes took advantage of this with a pass and catch in the corner of the end zone. A failed 2 point conversion left the score 9 – 7 to the Hurricanes early in the 4th quarter.

The Aces O stepped up the pace again in the 4th quarter, with a massive run up the middle by Hope, and a screen pass to Mathewson, the Aces found themselves knocking on the door of the end zone again. With the Hurricanes D so worried about Hope running up the middle, Nick Jacquet scored again from a read option play. A failed 2 point attempt made the score 13 – 9 Aces.

Hertfordshire also stepped up a gear, with their offense also making some big plays on the Aces defense, culminating in a touchdown on the ground and a 2 point conversion, making the score 17 – 13 Hurricanes. The Aces still had time to mount a comeback, but airtight coverage by the ‘Canes DBs and pressure from the D-line led to the Aces being turned over on downs, and Hertfordshire’s offense punched in another to secure a 24 – 13 win for them.

This was a heartbreaking loss for the Aces, just one game away from the Championship game; but after facing so many problems in the long season, the Aces must look to the future with optimism.

Look out BUAFL, the Aces are coming back next year even better.

A full season report to come soon.

Ellis Wills-Wilson

Aces PR & Media Rep.

ACES 42 @ Clansmen 6

acesadmin — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:42:12 +0000

The first round of the post season saw the Aces travel to Stirling to face the Clansmen. After a 300 mile road-trip, the Loughborough posted a decisive play-off win over the Clansmen to secure another week of football. Full report to follow soon.

ACES 28 @ Longhorns 7

acesadmin — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:37:51 +0000

The Aces braved the elements at Leicester for the final game of the regular season. With second place in the MAC, Loughborough is set to prepare for the post season and week one of the play-offs. Full report to follow soon.

ACES 34 vs Renegades 7

acesadmin — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:33:20 +0000

The Aces welcomed back alumni and oldboys to Loughborough for the annual Homecoming game as they took on the NTU Renegades. The game started with the Aces receiving the ball and Chris Ossom returning to the 40 yard line. Aces star RB started strong as he plowed through the NTU Defense for some solid gains and move the chains. However, a high snap forced the Aces back and they could not recover and needed to punt. The Aces D started hard and pressured the NTU QB to force incomplete passes and stuffed the runs well short. NTU punted back to the Aces and this time they could capitalise. Hope took a screen for a big gain and the next play took a handoff thru the right for a 50 yard TD. THe XP was wide leaving the score 6-0. The Aces D continued their high intensity and pressured the QB causing him to throw an errant ball which was easily picked off by Safety Dave Platt, giving the O excellent field position. QB Nick Jacquet showed his dual threat nature as he ran for a first down and the next play threw to Hope for a TD., leaving the score 13-0. Continuing the excellent performance by the defence Anssi Saari ran into the backfield and brought the QB down, forcing NTU to punt. The offense cntinued rolling with Hope taking two handoffs for big gains. A series of plays with flags from both sides left the Aces with 1st and goal at the 12 yard line. Jacquet threw a quickly to John Mathewson who hauled it in and then converted the XP to make it 20-0. The defense slowed on the next possession as NTU moved into the redzone. They were able to compelte a pass through the middle and ran it in for the score to make it 20-7. The next Aces possession was dominated by runs by Hope and scrambles by Jacquet but they could not finish with points. NTU looked to threaten before half time but could were prevented by excellent coverage by Ross Watson and the secondary.
Aces started the 2nd half looking to get a few early scores and rotate in backups and rookies. The received the ball and did exactly that. Hope had a big run into to within the 10 yard line and Ben Burslem took the ball in for the score. On the ensuing possession Watson once again made a play on the ball and this time came away with it. The offense started rotating and saw James Slack in at QB, who threw a perfect spiral to Ben Burslem on the next drive for a TD to make the score 34-7. The defense also went in for the kill with Platt sacking the QB and Alex Hannah making a pick on the next play.
The rest of the game saw Aces backups and rookies get valuable gametime with many showing good reason why they should be higher on the depth chart. The game finished 34-7. The Aces travel to Leicester next week to play for the ‘Rose Bowl’.

ACES 13 @ Lions 21

acesadmin — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 21:22:01 +0000

The Aces travelled to Birmingham in a clash of BUAFL heavyweights. With the teams facing each other for the 5th time in 3 seasons. All 4 previous encounters had been tight affairs, but the Birmingham Lions led 3-1 in the head-to-head. All eyes across the BUAFL were on the game as they anticipated top performances from two of the best teams in the league. The winner of this game would be in the driving seat to win the Midlands Athletic Conference and hot favourites for the BUAFL Championship. Such was the popularity of the game that it was sponsored and called the Football America UK Bowl with the winner and MVP received prizes courtesy of Football America.
The toss saw freakish weather conditions with a combination of rain and hail. The game started with a bang as the Lions returned the opening kickoff deep into Aces territory. The Lions were unable to capitalise on this and the Lions chose to go for it on 4th and 2. Aces D stepped up to the task, and caused an Lions QB Johnny Glover to throw an incomplete pass in the endzone. The Aces O took to the pitch backed up near their own goal line. After two runs for no gain by Adam Hope, miscommunication between the O-line and QB saw Nick Jacquet sacked in the endzone for a safety. As the Lions got the ball back after the free kick, Glover hit his favourite target Ben Brown down the middle who was able to run it in for a long score, leaving the Aces sideline in shock. THe XP was blocked by Ross Hubbard leaving the score 8-0 in favour to the Lions. The Aces were unable to gain any kind of rhythm and were forced to punt. The ensuing Lions possession saw a fumbled ball by was recovered by a Lions Offensive Lineman. A pass breakup by Aces rookie corner John Kenyon forced the Lions to punt. The Loughborough offense was unable to gain much as the Lions D-line stopped Hope from gaining any momentum and forced another punt. This time though, punter John Mathewson was hit by Lions D-lineman Kyle Burrows which gave the Aces a reprieve. Hope took a handoff for a 6 yard gain but a sack and run for a loss left the Aces to punt again.
Now into the 2nd quarter, the Lions offense made a key play on 3rd and short as Glover found a receiver over the middle for a big gain. A few plays later Lions thought they had scored again but it was brought back for holding., however, this didn’t matter as Glover hit the same receiver in the endzone. Another missed XP put the score at 14-0 to the Lions. The Aces Offense came back onto the pitch looking for some points before the half. Hope had some solid runs to move into the Lions half. A few more plays later (and a Pass Interference call) the Aces were in the redzone. Looking to score, Nick Jacquet was hit launching a pass and the ball landed in the hands of a Lions LB who returned the ball all the way to the endzone. XP was good and the Lions led 21-0. Not wanting to fold after such a momentum changer, the Aces O returned to the field and Jacquet took command with several runs and kept moving the chains. After a few more handoffs to Hope and Burslem, the Aces were again in scoring position in the redzone. Jacquet tried to hit Mathewson in the endzone but the Lions CB made a play on the ball and came down with it. That was the end of the half and the Lions were leading 21-0. Whilst the Aces rued their missed opportunities, towards the end of the half, they looked forward to creating more in the 2nd half and taking advantage of them.
The Aces O started the second half and signalled their intentions as Jacquet connected with Burslem on a pass for a 1st down. Jacquet continued to keep his cool and scrambled on a few more runs to get into scoring position. This time Jacquet picked out a perfect TD pass to Mathewson, who made sure the DB couldn’t get his hands on it. Missed XP left the score at 21-6.
With Lions changing their QB for the second half, the Aces D were able to put pressure on him and force a punt. The Aces O took advantage of this and continued their solid play with strong gains on the ground from Adam Hope and Chris Ossom. However, the drive ended abruptly when it was ruled that Mathewson fumbled a catch on a screen, and a Lions LB fell on the loose ball. Less than two plays later, the Lions fumbled the ball and Aces LB JP Jones was quick to recover, giving the momentum back to the Aces. That was also the end of the 3rd quarter.
With the Aces needing points quickly, they went to the pass game and had 3 incompletions. Going for it on 4th down, Jacquet tried to find Mathewson who was interfered with by the Lions DB, giving the Aces a new life. Adam Hope then took the game into his own hands as he made solid gains on the ground and through the air, a vital one coming on 4th and inches. He capped off the drive with a short catch and dived into the endzone. The XP was good and the Aces were down 13-21, looking for a second-half comeback.
Wanting the ball back, the Aces went for an onside kick and it was recovered by Ross Watson. However, the refs judged the ball not to cross 10 yards before the recovery. The Aces D looked to force a 3 and out and that is exactly what they did. However, the Lions D did exactly the same and the Aces punted the ball back from deep in their own half. With very little time left, the Aces had to get the ball back soon. Aces hopes were almost shattered by Lions RB Dan Conroy running into the endzone but it was brought back for an offside flag and effectively ending the drive. After such a nail-biting game was there still one more surprise left? Aces had the ball and needed to score to have any chance. Trying to pull out all the stops the Aces went for a Hook and Ladder play with Hubbard tossing the ball to Hope, but good coverage from the Lions LBs saw the play stopped for 8 yards. A sack on the next play and two more incomplete passes saw the ball turned over and the end of the game with Birmingham winning 21-13.
Coach Sherratt said ‘We were slow and got ourselves into a hole early with bad field position and made some mistakes, towards the end of the first half the big interception was pretty much a two score swing, but I’m really glad with the way we responded and did really well in the second half and if we started faster who knows what would’ve happened?’
The score line and quality of the game showed the exceptional talent that was on the field from both teams. The game showed the highest quality of University football in the UK and both teams played a respectful, hard fought game. The Aces are hoping to make the playoffs and face the Birmingham Lions again. However to get there, they take on the Nottingham Trent Renegades at home next week.
Offensive Stats
Jacquet – 8/15 65 yards passing 2 TD 1 INT. 63 yards rushing on 15 attempts
Hope – 16 rushes for 84 yards. 3 rec for 25 yards 1 TD.
Mathewson – 3 rec for 30 yards 1 TD
Burslem – 2 Rec for 10 yards. 6 rushes for 20 yards

ACES are Coming Home

acesadmin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:27:55 +0000

For Aces players, coaches and fans of the past and the present.

This year’s annual Homecoming will be against the Nottingham Trent Renegades and the Loughborough Aces invite our alumni from far and wide to support the Cardinal and Gold in their last game of the regular season.

The Aces will host the Renegades on the “Cage” at Loughborough College. Join us after the game for Homecoming drinks at the Griffin, proud sponsor of Aces American Football.

ACES 35 vs Braves 14

acesadmin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:13:41 +0000

The Aces hosted the Derby Braves at ‘The Cage’ in a historic rivalry. The Braves were looking to earn a first win against the Aces in their long history of encounters. However, this was not to be as the Aces won the contest 35-14.
The Aces Offense started strongly again with Ben Burslem taking the ball almsot 70 yards to the endzone on the third play of the game, which was just a sign of things to come from Burslem for the rest of the afternoon. On the next drive the Braves set up a strong running game with a few first downs. However, the Aces defense persevered and caused an incompletion on a 3rd and long pass. After a deep punt, the offense took the field. This time it was RB Adam Hope who led the way with some strong runs, capitalised by a touchdown from within the 3 yard line to make the score 14-0. Derby took the ball to near midfield on the next drive but were forced to punt after good pressure from Anssi Saari and Ash Miller on a 3rd and long. The two offenses exchanged a few more punts, after which the Aces started a drive at their 30. John Mathewson caught a Nick Jacquet pass through the middle for 50 yards which took the Aces into the redzone. However, the offense could not convert this to points on the scoreboard and Derby received the ball in their half. The next drive saw Derby score on pass play making the score 14-7 at halftime.
The Aces kicked off the 2nd half and made sure that Derby would punt. The offense, led by QB Nick Jacquet and RB Hope, drove down the field but misfired in the redzone and the FG attempt was no good. The Braves had a 3 and out and punted again. Now it was time for the Ben Burslem show as he made some long runs and a big catch to get near the endzone. He looked to finish it off himself a few plays later and ran it in for the TD, making it 21-7 to the Aces. The Braves were looking to get back into the game, and they managed to by finding a hole in the Aces secondary, scoring on a 30 yard pass play. After getting the ball back, the offense put the ball back into Burslems hands who made some good gains and ran down the clock. The offense drove down the field for a 1st and goal. QB Jacquet kept the ball himself on the next play and ran in for the score to put the Aces up 28-14, with very little time left. On the next drive, a critical one for Derby, the Aces defense fired strong with a sack by Saari and 2 more incompletions. On the resulting key 4th and long play the Aces secondary covered well forcing the QB to scramble for the 1st down marker, but FS Ross Watson came down to make the stop. With less than two minutes left the Aces had some short running plays to run down the clock. With the Derby defense crowding the middle, Burslem managed to break off a 60 yarder down the sideline for his 3rd TD of the day and make the score 35-14. The Braves only had time for a few plays and tried to get in the endzone with long passes. However, the QB could only find Aces LB John Varney who was tackled short a yard before the endzone. Had Varney been able to get into the endzone, it would have been his 3rd TD in the last 3 games.
The clock ran down and the Aces celebrated the win to go 5-0 for the season and continue the winning streak against Derby. After the Christmas break the Aces continue the rest of their regular season looking to retain their MAC title and move into the playoffs.

ACES 48 @ Jets 0

acesadmin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:12:40 +0000

The Aces hosted the Coventry Jets this weekend at ‘The Cage’, and looked forward to continuing their winning streak. The Jets did not pose much of a problem as the Aces won 48-0 and moved to a 4-0 record.
The game started with a bang as Chris Ossom returned the opening kickoff back to the endzone but was called back by the referees for a penalty, the second time this has happened in 4 games for Ossom. The Aces offense took this frustration out on the Jets defense as Adam Hope and Ben Burslem made solid gains on the ground, assisted by good blocking from the line. In the redzone, QB Nick Jacquet threw a pass to Ross Hubbard who made it look easy.
The Aces defense was also hungry for points as John Kenyon picked off an errant Jets throw on their first offensive play, to make it 14-0. On the next Jets drive the linebackers and defensive line did a good job of putting pressure on the Jets offense and stopping them from getting into a rhythm. The drive was highlighted by an Ash Miller sack forcing the Jets to punt. The Aces O got the ball back deep in their own half but some quick gains moved them to midfield. An alert play by Jacquet and Burslem when the defense moved offside allowed the offense to move into the redzone, but a fumble cut the drive short. The Aces D was stingy as usual and the Jets punted after a 3 and out, giving away good field position, to the Aces O. The drive started strongly with a big run by Burslem to the 10 yard line. The Aces scored soon after, as Jacquet and Hubbard connected on a play identical to the 1st TD of the game. The Aces D had no issues in forcing another 3 and out as the Jets were unable to recover from a sack by Anssi Sarri and tackle in the backfield Jean-Paul Jones. The Jets punted back to the offense and they needed only a few plays to score, Jacquet finding Burslem open in the middle of the field and continuing to the endzone. The next drive did not start well for the Jets as the running back fumbled deep in their half and was recovered by John Varney. Two plays later Jacquet passed into the endzone for his 4th of the half and Burslem caught his 2nd. The XP hit the upright making the score 34-0. After the restart, the Jets tried some long passes as the clock ran down in the half, but the Aces secondary ensured there were no completions.
The Jets requested to kickoff the 2nd half and nearly had a similar result to the opening kickoff. This time Adam Hope received the kick and almost broke free but was pushed out of bounds deep in the Jets half. More importantly, there were no flags this time. The offense looked to capitalise but were just short of the marker on 4th down. The defense were solid as usual and made the Jets punt again. The next offensive drive saw some rotation in personnel as James Slack and Andy Mayall came in at QB and RB. Slack led the drive well, with completions to Mayall, Burslem and James West. However, the offense could not convert on 4th and 2 in the redzone, leaving with no points. The team traded punts a couple more times before the Aces sustained a drive. There was further rotation on offense giving backups some real gametime. They capitalised on their chance and drove down the field, with Mayall running in for the score from 5 yards out. 41-0. After another 3 and out the offense received the ball back near their own endzone. Slack threw 2 completions to West who managed to find some yards after the catch. The drive sputtered near the redzone and the resulting FG attempt was wide. After two more plays from the Jets offense, the ball was back in Aces hands as linebacker Varney made an interception and was straight into the endzone making it 48-0 after the XP. A few runs the clock had run down and the Aces moved to 4-0.

ACES 58 vs Stallions 6

acesadmin — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:32:09 +0000

The Loughborough Aces welcomed the Staffordshire Stallions to ‘The Cage’ for the first home game of the season. The Aces have an impressive record at home, with only 1 loss over the last 2 season. They maintained the record and moved to 3-0 with a comprehensive 56-6 victory.

The Aces were pumped for the game and this showed right from the start when two Aces rookies combined to score. The first play from scrimmage saw John Kenyon force a fumble and Jon Varney picking up the loose ball and running 30 yards to the endzone. The Aces offense was prolific as usual with Adam Hope and Ben Burslem getting the ground game started swiftly. Chris Ossom then ran the next ball into the endzone, quickly putting the Aces up 14-0. Not to be outdone, the defense were quick to make three straight tackle for losses and force the Stallions to punt from their own endzone. The offense had a couple of miscues and had to settle for a James Caveney field goal. The rest of the half continued in the same manner with Aces defense cutting Stallions drives short but the offense making mistakes at crucial points and unable to put more points on the board.

The second half started on a more positive note, with Chris Ossom taking the opening kickoff back to the house. However, a flag on the field for holding had the play called back and the offense started with the ball at midfield. Solid play by the offensive line saw Hope run into the endzone a few plays later. Ash Miller and JP Jones had tackle for losses on the next drive to force another Stallions punt to the 40. Hope then got into his element with 3 consecutive rushes to take it into the endzone, highlighted by a hurdle and a few stiff arms. Same pattern of events continued with the defense forcing 4th and long and the offense taking it in. This time Chris Ossom trucked a few players on his way to the endzone.

By this point in the game, Aces had started rotating players. On the next offensive possession QB James Slack threw an interception off a tipped pass, but the defense held strong with JP Jones recovering a fumble. The next offensive series saw rookie James Onwuemezi run into the endzone on his first ever play for the Aces, putting the Aces up 44-0. Another fumble recovery by the defense let Andy Mayall run the ball in for his first score of the season. The pattern didn’t continue on the next drive as the Stallions broke off a 60 yard run and the Aces gave up their first score of the season. The next offensive drive saw Ben Burslem make a big catch through the middle and ruled down at the 1 yard line. He ran it in on the next play, just as the clock ran down the 0.

Final Score : Aces 58 – Stallions 6

Touchdown Scorers: Jon Varney, Chris Ossom (x2), Adam Hope (x2), James Onwuemezi, Andy Mayall, Ben Burslem

The Aces host Coventry next weekend and looking for another strong performance to move to 4-0 for the season.

ACES 49 @ Wolves 0

acesadmin — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:30:54 +0000

The Aces travelled to Warwick for their second game of the 11/12 BUAFL season, looking to register their second win of the season. They achieved their goal and came back with a 49-0 victory over the Warwick Wolves. The Aces performed well on all three facets of the game, with touchdown scored by Offense, Defense and Special Teams.

The game was put out of reach almost immediately. A strong showing by the defense forced Warwick to go 3 and out. A couple of runs by Adam Hope and Ben Burslem put them at the Wolves goal line. Hope was able to make the short run to the end zone untouched. The defense forced another 3 and out, aided by a sack from Anssi Saari. The ensuing punt was returned back to the Wolves 20 by Ross Watson, assisted by a huge block from Jon Varney.

Only 2 plays later Nick Jacquet kept the ball to walk into the endzone. The next Wolves possession lasted only 1 play as Anssi stripped the ball of the Wolves running back. Adam Hope only needed one play to get into the endzone. The ensuing kickoff was fumbled and Matt Eva recovered the ball on the Wolves 6 yard line. This time Nick Jacquet only needed one play to get into the endzone. Just like that it was 28-0 halfway through the first quarter, and almost no chance for Warwick to get back into the game.

The first possession of the 2nd quarter saw the Aces go for a field goal. In a freak occurrence the kick was blocked and landed in the endzone and resulted in a frantic chase to land on the loose ball. Centre Joe Walker emerged with the ball, the first Aces Offense Lineman to score in atleast 5 seasons.

The Aces started rotating players in the second half, with many rookies getting considerable time and for many their first real experience playing a competitive American Football game. Dan Reeves, James Whitehead and Andy Mayall had good offensive performances in the second half, with Dan scoring his first Aces touchdown. On the defensive side, Diekola Lanre-Oja had some pass breakups and Sam Ruddock held the Wolves ground game. The highlight of the second half was safety Ross Watson intercepting a long pass by Warwick, reversing field and running 70 yards for the score. The Defense was put under pressure near the end of the game with Warwick getting close to the Aces goal line but stayed strong to maintain their shut out for the second straight game.
Final Score: Aces 49 – Warwick 0

Touchdowns scored by Adam Hope (x2), Nick Jacquet (x2), Joe Walker, Dan Reeves, Ross Watson

Next weekend the Aces host their first home game of the season as the Staffordshire Stallions travel ‘The Cage’.