Sunday saw Hellingly HoundDogs host round 2 of the SEYAF Championships 2018.

This was the first outing for the HoundDogs U11’s team and they didn’t disappoint.  With a small squad compared to many of the other teams, the young HoundDogs team put up quite a fight. Their first match was against Kent Phoenix which saw them lose 24-18 with 2TD’s from Ben Boorer including a full length of the pitch run. The other TD came from a Max Lewis-Clement run for 40 yards to score his first ever TD. Their second game was a tighter affair against Kent Exiles which finished in a 6 all draw.

The Cannadines Man of the Match goes to Max Lewis-Clements for his all-round enthusiasm and excellent running of the ball in only his 2^nd ever tournament.

The day also saw the HoundDogs under 17’s in action against Kent Phoenix. The teams have been playing friendlies in several different format this year, but this time was on an

adult pitch with the use of the kicking game being introduced. The team got off to a fantastic start by driving the ball down field and almost got a TD in their first drive, but the ball was thrown just out of the fingers of Charlie Boorer. The team went for the field goal, which was converted by Danny Townsend, to put the HoundDogs 3-0 up. The Phoenix came back and used their size advantage to score several TD’s as the HoundDogs small squad rotated where they could. The half time hooter sounded with the HoundDogs trailing 20-3. After half time the HoundDogs looked more confident and started to get their offense moving down field, getting several 1^st downs before stalling just before the EndZone. Again, Danny Townsend convert the field goal to put another 3 points onto the HoundDogs’ score. Back came Phoenix with another score and, as the HoundDogs chased the game, they started to take a few more chances. With a little more luck, they could have made some inroads, but Riley Davis was unable to hold onto a couple of finger tip catches from QB Jacob Boorer. The score line finished 43-6.

The Cannadines Man of the Match:

Offence – Euan Hammond. Played very well on the Oline which saw an improvement throughout the game.

Defence –Stanley Wilson. Got a fumble recovery for the HoundDogs early in the game.

Overall – Thomas Avann. Playing in his first ever game, Thomas was everywhere on the pitch and made several crunching challenges to stop Kent Phoenix in their tracks as well as playing a bit of Running Back and carried the ball extremely well.

Chairman Luke Boorer added “I’ts been a fantastic day for the club. Not only did we get our U 11’s team up and running for the season but our U17’s played well in tough conditions with a smaller than usual squad. I would like to thank all the parents for staying to watch all the games and for their encouragement from the side-lines. I would also like to thank the Committee and their hard work for organising the day. We held a raffle and BBQ which raised over £300 for the club, which will go back into improving training equipment and facilities for all our players. I would also like to thank Peter Drake, Richard Ashby, Michael Williams, Gavin Sutherland and Andy Rose for all their hard work on keeping people watered, feed and entertained with music etc”.

The HoundDogs are still on the lookout for more players to play across their teams, so if you are interested, please pop over to their website www.hellinglyhounddogs.com to find out more

*All photos courtesy of Richard Ashby*