Saturday the 26^th of June saw the HoundDogs play their first ever National League U16 tournament, when they travelled to London Blitz. The team, which is combined with Kent Phoenix was mainly full of rookie players who had never played a contact game of football against an opposition before.

The team’s first game was against Kent Exiles, who are the reining National League Champions from 2019. The exiles ran away with the game and scored regularly against the inexperience Hellingly team. There were several positives made from the defence though, as they stopped the Exiles getting to 50 points on the board.

Hellingly 0 – 38

Next up was Wembley Stallions. This saw a vast improvement from the young Hellingly Team as they managed to get the offence going and crossed into the EndZone twice. However, the stallions offence managed to get over the milestone of 50 points.

Hellingly 16 – 52 Wembley Stallions

The last game saw the HoundDogs take on the hosts, London Blitz. Both teams had fought hard all day but neither had managed to get a win. On the first play, the HoundDogs ran the ball all the way to the EndZone for a fantastic 45 yard TD. The HoundDogs then doubled their lead to take the score to 14-0. The Blitz came back strong and managed two TD’s of their own to take the score 14 all at half time. A change of ends saw the HoundDogs continue to run the ball effectively and continue to put pressure on the Blitz team. The game saw the HoundDogs run out winner to finish the day with their first win.

Hellingly 38 – 14 London Blitz

Coach Luke Boorer added “very proud of the team. We have a lot of young players who have never played in helmet and pads before against people who are not their friends. We have been working closely with Kent Phoenix to get this project off the floor. Both teams would struggle to attend tournament on their own due to player numbers, but combined, we have a lot more options. I am very proud of all the players to day who tried their best all day and never let their heads drop. I am delighted for the win, not for me as a coach, but for the players. It shows to them just how it feels to win and what hard work can achieve. I would like to thank all the other coaches, parents for their help this season and the referees, who without, we could not play.”

HoundDogs MVP

Defence – Finn Wilson, an captain’s performance on defence. Organised his troops and led from the front

Offence – Ollie Stratford, 1st ever game but keep his composure playing QB .