Wednesday the 15th was an unusual Wednesday for the HoundDogs teams’. Instead of mud, sweat and pains, the shirts and dresses were out as the HoundDogs players attended the 2021 end of season awards. The Teams gathered, along with family members at Hailsham Town Football Club’s clubhouse with the evening being compared by chairman, Luke Boorer.
First up were the U11’s Flag team award winners followed by the U14, U16 and last of all the U19 Legion players. 2021 saw the introduction of the “Top Dog” Award, an award presented to a club person who has gone above and beyond for the help that they have offered the club off the field. This years winner is Cavan Baker-Sells for his help during the 2021 Dog Bowl event.
Chairman, Luke Boorer added “This is one of my favourite nights of the season. Its a great chance to see everyone dress up and celebrate the 2021 season. Its been a tricky year but on and off the pitch, with Covid having a massive knock on effect to the season. I would like to thank all the parents and players for their efforts. The work that the Committee has put in, has been second to none, but most importantly, I would like to thank the Coaches, who turn up week in, week out. Without them, we can not operate. I would also like to thank Dom and Hailsham Town Football Club who allow us to use their facility for the evening. Now the 2021 season is over, we are planning for the 2022 season which starts on Wednesday the 22nd of September. As you see, we do not get a lot of rest. On a side note, this season is a hard season for us. We lose three players for our club as they become to old to represent the club. Riley, Danny and Jacob were three of the founding members of the club when we set up some 5 and a half years ago. I would like to thank these three for helping the club get going all those years ago, their help with player recruitment and their commitment to helping us become who we are today. I know all three of these players can go and make a real difference at adult and universities teams around the UK.”
U11’s Award winners
U14 Award winnersU16 Award winnersU19 Award winnersTeam photos including the new “Top Dog” Award for 2021Coach Alastair Cameron-Dick, QB, Jacob Boorer, WR, Riley Davis, TE, Danny Townsend and Chairman, Luke Boorer.
On Saturday 4th of September, Hellingly Phoenix played, a joint team of Hellingly HoundDogs and Kent Phoenix, played in the final tournament of the 2021BAFA South Division. The games were hosted at the home ground of Wembley Stallions. Hellingly Phoenix would play three games however the game against London Blitz was classed as a scrimmage game, a non competitive game due to low players numbers on the Blitz behalf.
Rowan Crouch fights to get away for an Exile player. Photos courtesy of Martin Apps
Hellingly Phoenix’s defence started off well, making some big plays and containing the Kent Exiles offence from driving the ball down the field. However the offence could not get rolling in the first game and struggled to advance against the Kent Exiles defence. However Hellingly Phoenix’s defence displayed the strongest performance against the Kent Exiles holding them to three scores for the entire game. An interception from Ryan Hedges and another from Calvin Clark helped limit the high powered Kent Exiles offence. Strong pressure from Lucas Apps at nose tackle helped keep pressure on the Kent Exiles QB and strong performance from Fin Wilson, Sam Espie and Andre Silva, who was playing in his first ever contact game, helped limit the pass game.
Exiles 19 – 0 HoundDogs
The Kent Phoenix team next kicked off against the hosts, Wembley stallions. The offence had a better performance during the game and scored the first touchdown of the game midway through the first half. This was chalked off the board by the referees because the Hounddogs player celebrated as he entered the endzone. The rest of the game the Hellingly Phoenix offence came close but was simply just not good enough when the times mattered most. The defence put in another strong performance against the Wembley Stallions with, Charlie Brooker and Lucas Apps providing pressure to the Stallions QB. There was also impressive performances from Sam Espie, Fin Wilson, Ryan Hedges and Calvin Clark which helped hold the Wembley Stallions offence to only 12 points
Wembley Stallions 12 – 0 Hounddogs
For the final game of the season the Hellingly Phoenix would play a scrimmage against London Blitz which gave the younger side of the Hellingly Phoenix team a chance to show their talent. There was several good performances from Sol Irving and Joe Malloy on Offence.
Coach Luke Boorer added “It was been a massive learning curve for all our U16 players. Unlike most teams, we don’t get to train week in, week out with each other. We can see the progression from the first tournament to the last tournament. All the players have come on leaps and bounds. When you look back you can tell we were missing several key players in areas that really strengthen our game for the last tournament. But you go to these games with the players available and its great to see them step up and grab the opportunity with both hands.”
25/7/21 South East Legion @ Thames Valley Tigers – Stan Wilson
Final score: 16-16
The South East Legion’s battle with the Thames Valley Tigers last Sunday saw the team make giant leaps forward from the loss a fortnight prior to the occasion. All of the HoundDogs on the team gave their all and played key roles in the close affair in Swindon.
SE Legion players at half time during debrief
With the loss of Alex “Russell” Edwards on the offensive line, the offense could have easily struggled to perform. But thanks to high quality performances across the board, the Legion were able to move the ball early and often, picking up countless first downs thanks to the dynamic running game. Hounddogs running back Roman Cameron was a big part of this deadly rushing attack. Under center, QB Jacob Boorer delivered another sterling performance once again showing off his chemistry with fellow HoundDog WR Riley Davis.
On the other side of the ball, the Legion were relentless and brutal when dealing with the Tigers offense. The first several drives saw repeated 3 and outs and not a single completion through the air whilst the Tigers rushing attack struggled to make it more than 3 yards at once. HoundDogs Stan Wilson and Harrison Kane were able to lead the defense to another impressive performance similar to the 2nd half of the last game at Wembley. Kane’s countless tackles and tackles for loss earned him defensive MVP for the game.
Next week, the SE Legion will welcome the Hertfordshire Cheetahs to Horsebridge recreation ground, home of the HoundDogs, for what will be the toughest game of the season so far.
11/7/21 South East Legion @ Wembley Stallions report – Stan Wilson
Final score: 36-6
Sunday the 11th of July, saw the Hound Dog’s U19 contingent play their first game of the season as the South East Legion along with players from Kent Phoenix, East Kent Mavericks and Brighton Scorpions. Whilst the score line may be underwhelming, the performance from the Legion was not was not. For the majority of the players, it was their first competitive football game but that didn’t stop them stepping up to the mark and delivering solid performances
Early in the 1st quarter, Legion struggled with self-inflicted penalties but thanks to aggressive QB play from Jacob Boorer, the offense was able to move the chains throughout the game and operate in enemy territory. Boorer showcased his chemistry with Bristol Pride, GB and Hound Dogs WR Riley Davis on multiple occasions and, when scrambling, even used a spin move to evade a would-be-tackler for a first down!
QB Jacob Boorer on route to complete a 25 yard pass attempt – Photo courtesy of Tony Small
Legion struggled defensively throughout the first half with their lack of experience and numbers showing. However in the second half, the Stallions offense only managed to cross into the EndZone once with a pick six after a fumbled pass attempt. The second half was a vast improvement compared to the first half, which was led by Legion defensive captain, Stan Wilson. The biggest positive of the day defensively was the number of turnovers. South East Legion capitalised on several errant throws by intercepting the Stallions QB twice along with multiple forced fumbles recovered across all four quarters.
Whilst there were notable performances all across the roster, Hounddogs rookie centre Alex Edwards had perhaps the most impressive outing. Edwards improved dramatically after the first quarter and was a brick wall on the offensive line for the remainder of the game.
Riley Davis with the catch to move the ball downfield – Photo courtesy of Tony Small
South East Legion will look to record their first win of the year on the 25th of July away at the Thames Valley Tigers. Expect a big performance from the team as they begin to find their groove and turn heads in the Britball world.
Sunday saw the HoundDogs host their annual U11 and U14 Dog Bowl, an invitational Flag American Football event. The day saw clubs travel from all over the South of England to come and take part in the 2021 event.
The overall winner at the U11 age bracket was London Blitz who won all four of their games.
London Blitz U11’s Coach Sreeni Shaji collecting the Dog Bowl trophy from Hellingly Chairman Luke Boorer
The U14’s was won by Solent Redstorm who beat Kent Phoenix in the final.
Solent RedStorm U14’s Coaches, Simon Chambers & Ivan Cataroach collecting the Dog Bowl trophy from Hellingly Chairman Luke Boorer.
U11’s coach, Phil Crisp added “The u11 team acquitted themselves extremely well against some very experienced sides. Despite over half the team only having taken up the sport in the last month or two, for two games they were within distance of the other teams, and two games were agonisingly lost on the very final plays of each game. Despite this, the HoundDogs’ rapid improvement and comparatively very young ages bodes extremely well for the future!!!”
MVP’s
Offence – Dylan Ticehurst Defence – Aiden Brown Mangers’ Award – Sonny Crisp
U14’s coach, Luke Boorer added “We succumbed to the evil Covid issue where we lost one of our offensive weapons because his whole class was sent home a few days ago. We also lost a couple of players also being unavailable for other reasons, but we played with what we had. I am very pleased with how all the players applied themselves. We had the bare minimum of players, so everyone played every snap of every game on offence and defence. All our players fought hard throughout their entire matches. They never let their heads drop.”
MVP’s
U14’s Offence MVP – Frank Wilkinson Defence MVP – Matt Wiggins Manager’s Award – Chloe-Ann Wiggins
Chairman Luke Boorer added “The Dog Bowl is a major event for us. We are a club that is built on keeping fees as low as possible, enabling as many children as possible to play the sport that we love. Events like the Dog Bowl help us to make money which helps us to achieve our goals. I was very worried about the event this year. I kept an eye on the weather and it didn’t look good. As I drove to the ground on Sunday morning the heavens opened. We usually allow visiting teams to park on the outfield but, with the wet weather we had, I had to change this on the morning. We had to get everyone to park up North Street in Hellingly. So, I would like to take this moment to apologise to any local residents if this caused any issues. Each year we host the Dog Bowl event, we try to improve on the previous year. This year we ran an A5 gameday programme. This included fixtures, team information etc. We also sold some advertising space within the programme. Our gameday programme was sponsored by Haulaways, Power Fuels, JMD Builders Merchants and Todds Barbers. Tesco’s provided us with all the bread and sauces for the BBQ, KD butchers provided us with all the burgers and bacon at a reduced rate. We were also given raffle prizes from Football America, The Shore Bar, Power fuels and Elmbank Laser amongst others. Without generous businesses like these, our event would not be the success it was. I would also like to thank all the volunteers that helped out on the day, along with the parents who baked cakes. Peter Drake on the BBQ; Dom and Nicki on the raffle and cake stall; Heidi who kept things going and some of our U16’s and U19’s who helped run the games. A special mention goes to Cavan who helped Peter on the BBQ. He single-handedly served everyone their tea and coffee whilst serving the food and taking the money too. It’s seeing the older kids help out which makes me proud of the work our club (and many other great local clubs) do to keep kids engaged and off the streets. Our referees, Mary and Ted Smith, along with Lee Parsons were amazing on the day. Again, these three are all volunteers. I would also like to thank Andy Rose and Paul Kirk who kept the music going and compered the whole event. Andy has been running the music every year since we started hosting events, along with Richard Ashby. Unfortunately this year Richard is unwell, so Paul stood in to help. We all wish Richard well. I would like to also say thank you to Hellingly Cricket Club who allow us to use the pitches and Katie who ran the bar. I was asked this morning by another coach, “same time next year?”. Well, currently, my head says definitely, but my feet are still not agreeing!”
Full results U11’s
SCS 0 -12 SR SCS = South Coast Spitfires KP 12 – 20 KE SR = Solent RedStorm SR 0 – 12 LB LB = London Blitz KE 0 – 24 SCS KE = Kent Exiles LB 16 – 0 KP KP= Kent Phoenix SR 20 – 6 KE BHS = Brighton & Hove Scorpions KE 12 – 22 LB HHD = Hellingly HoundDogs SCS 6 – 12 KP
U 14’s
BHS 0 – 7 KE SR 22 – 0 BHS KE 7 – 15 KP BHS 13 – 16 KP KP 6 – 18 SR KE – 6 – 7 SR Final KP 6 – 19 SR
Hellingly Hound Dogs Youth American Football Club 