Battle of the East
Coldham’s Common
Sunday 8th February
KO 13:00
Cambridge University Pythons - v - UEA Pirates
-v-
CREDITS EDITOR
Steve Guy
ASSISTANT EDITORS
Tom Carr, Martin Steers, Jack Tavener
PHOTOGRAPHY
Garry Neesam (glnphotography.com) Robert Guy, Samir Hosein, Jack Tavener
DESIGN
Tom Carr & Jack Tavener
info@pythons.org.uk
/CambridgePythons
@CUPythonsAFC
/CambridgePythons
CAMBRIDGE PYTHONS SEASON 2014/15 With the support of
Welcome
from the President Welcome to our last regular season home game and what looks like our toughest test of the season. Our opponents today are our oldest of rivals, the UEA Pirates. We first played them in 1991 – several years before most of the players in action today were even born! The game today will be the sixteenth in the series. The Pythons have edged the last two games against UEA, but this season our rivals from Norwich are unbeaten and top of the conference with fewest points conceded. This, whilst the Pythons have really clicked into gear following our opening loss against Oxford Brookes, winning all three games since then without a point conceded. We have all the ingredients for a classic game today – we hope you enjoy it! Last weekend saw the Pythons win 48-0 against the Anglia Ruskin Rhinos. There were a number of big plays during the game, with the defense forcing five turnovers, two of which were returned for touchdowns and the offence starting to get up to speed. The most pleasing aspect of the team performance was seeing rookie players making tangible contributions. Ned Bransden (#25) ran a 71 yard touchdown. Daniil Miroshnichenko (#43) had his first ever interception, and two of our wide receivers Stephen Ford (#3) and Basil Woods (#87) had their first catches. All of them have worked hard in training and during games so far this season and are now getting rewards for that effort. The really exciting thing is that they will all be back next season. None of those four had ever played any kitted American football prior to joining us, showing that new players are always welcome to join us regardless of their levels of prior experience. Although today is our last regular season game at Coldham’s we still have two more away fixtures to round out the season over the next two weekends – away to Essex and then away to Kent. The prospect of post-season football is keeping the team focused as we concentrate on each game as we go. It is in our hand and a win this weekend will start to make the playoffs a real possibility. We will be travelling to both games by coach and should have some spare seats available for a minimal cost to any friends and fans of the team wanting to come and cheer us on. Contact us for details. #GOPYTHONS
Jack Tavener
President, Cambridge University Pythons
The Season So Far
Last week saw spectacular games up and down the country as Rivalries Weekend came to town. As is the tradition, Super Bowl Sunday saw fierce university rivals battle it out for bragging rights for the coming year. Often these games see the form book thrown out, and shock results are not unheard of. One such result was of particular significance for the Pythons. At ‘the other place’, Oxford University overcame the odds in spectacular fashion, beating Oxford Brookes University 13-6 in a close-fought Cavalier Trophy game. The result is particularly favourable for Cambridge. Having lost to OBU 0-10 in their season opener the Pythons required another OBU loss to ensure they could finish ahead of the Panthers without tie-breakers and now hold the possibility of a coveted playoff spot. To guarantee a position in the playoffs the Pythons must now win each of the three remaining games. Elsewhere in the league the 2nd place Kent Falcons held onto their position by defeating the bottom of the table Canterbury Chargers. Final score 29-14 to the Falcons. The Falcons playoff hopes also rest on today’s game, having lost to the Pirates in a close fought 7-12 match-up before Christmas. A loss for the Pirates today means that only the Pythons stand between them and the playoffs.
PYTHONS RESULTS 201415 Oxford Brookes (H) L 0-10 Canterbury (A) W 58-0 Oxford (H) W 16-0 ARU (H) W 48-0
REMAINING PYTHONS FIXTURES Essex (A) February 15th Kent (A) February 22nd
2014/15 Season BUCS Tier 1 Eastern Conference UEA Pirates Kent Falcons Oxford Brookes Panthers Cambridge Pythons Oxford Lancers Essex Blades Anglia Ruskin Rhinos Canterbury Chargers
P 4 4 5 4 4 4 6 3
W 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 0
L 0 1 2 1 2 3 5 3
GD 73 53 36 112 52 -50 -173 -103
Pts 8 6 6 6 4 2 2 0
Gameday Roster Pythons
# Name 1 Darren HARVEY 3 Stephen FORD 4 Tom SOUTHERN 5 Ella NICOL-HARPER 7 Alex BUTCHER 8 Joe YARWOOD 9 Sam ROBERTS 10 Jaason GEERTS 11 Daniel BROCK 12 Richard HOBBS 13 Tom ZHANG 14 Akhilesh MULAY 15 Cam RAE 16 Rob BREWSTER 17 Harry RICHER 20 Joe MOORE 21 James DIGBY 25 Ned BRANSDEN 29 Sam THOMPSON 32 Jack TAVENER 42 Guy PETERS 43 Daniil MIROSHNICHENKO 46 Jon MAILES 50 Ram SARUJAN 52 Tom CARR 54 Oscar MACLEAN 55 Ed COZENS
College Darwin Selwyn Robinson Trinity Hall Trinity Selwyn Selwyn Sidney Sussex Churchill Robinson St John’s Queens’ Robinson Homerton Gonville & Caius Sidney Sussex St Catharine’s Girton St John’s Pembroke Queens’ St Catharine’s St Catharine’s Corpus Christi I.C.E. Homerton Homerton
56 Samir HOSEIN 58 Glenn HE 60 Mike ARMSTRONG 68 Richard ALLOWAY 75 Tim ALLEN 77 Niklas EK 78 Constantine CAPSAKIS 80 James STRATFORD 87 Basil WOODS 89 Toshan WICKRAMANAYAKE Adam BARLOW Kinjal DAVE Andrew SABA Dennis MENDOZA
Corpus Christi St Edmund’s Magdalene St Catharine’s St John’s Jesus Girton Peterhouse Robinson Trinity Gonville & Caius Instep Instep Instep
Head Coach Julian FULLER Offensive Coordinator Len SCOTT Defensive Coordinator Gary VILLIERS Special Teams Coach Craig DRIVER Lineman Coach Dan HARRISS Assistant Coach Chris WHITLEY Assistant Coach Alistair GEMPF Team Assistant Dave WILLIAMS Team Assistant Luke SCHUMACHER Gameday Manager Peter BAKER Co-General Manager Co-General Manager
Steve GUY Martin STEERS
Gameday Roster Pirates
# 2 5 8 10 11 13 14 16 17 20 21 23 24 25 28 32 34 35 40 41 42 42 44 45 47 48 49 50 51
Name Pierre-Antoine DUPRAT Francis HUGHES Ross AVEYARD Will BLACKSHAW Ben PAINTER Patrick SUMNER-STOKES Matt NEED Paul BANNERMAN Henry SCHOEN Brad WALSH George AUST Piers HARRISON-REID Gabe RUANE Matt BALL James RUSHMERE Charlie GUEST Mark NICHOLAS Miles EDINGER George ADEGBOLA Ed SAXTON Christopher CARSON Ryan PURDY Josh SIMMONDS Patrick MARCHINGTON Giuliano GRASSO Michael FLYNN Ed EVERITT James SAMBANDAN Max BLOY
53 54 55 56 58 59 61 65 66 67 70 72 75 77 84 85 86 88 89 90 92 95 99
Joseph MUMFORD Oliver MCARDLE Ben ROBERTS Aiden ROBINSON Peter GOUVOUSSIS Alex CAIRNS Michael PEARL Adam COWLAND Stuart COOPER Will TURNER Jonny DIAMOND Aaron BAINES Chris KIRCHOFF Eoin BYRNE Davy DELTON-WRIGHT Tim ALAZAWIE Alex STEWARD Mark JENKINSON James WELCH Jason HOWE Jamie GIRVIN Alex COLLINS James BURLEY Chuba ALVAREZ Dotun BOLAJI Chris BOLDERO Oliver DE ST CROIX Tom ESTERHUIZEN Miguel GARCIA Adam SOULEYMAN
Blast from the Past Team Interview
Name: Steve Guy Role: Co-General Manager Years with team: 1994-95 (player), 2010-Present (Co-General Manager) Other teams: Bedfordshire Blue Raiders (senior league) 2006-2010 (General Manager) You have racked up a lot of time with the Pythons. How have things changed in that time? Things have changed for the better, on and off the field. As an example, we currently have over 40 players – more than the team has had at any other time in its history. We now have matching uniforms and helmets – a distant pipe dream when I was playing! As much as things have changed though, there is still plenty of work to be done. Having seen Hertfordshire and Birmingham up close last season shows us the way things should be done. Both of those programs are the best in the nation, not just in terms of players and coaches but also in how they do things off the field too. One thing that has not changed is the camaraderie within the team. The faces change, but the great Python attitude, regardless of the score, remains constant. It sounds cheesy, but this team is really just one big family. Friends you make on the team are friends for life! You have seen a lot of players wear the Pythons jersey in your time with the team. Which ones stand out in your mind? It would be easy to name those players who arrived at the Pythons with a strong playing pedigree already established. People like Tom Piachaud, Brad Idzik and Tom Carr have been great, but that was expected. The ones that stick in my mind are those who came to the team with no prior reputation, but blossomed to their fullest potential as Python. Pookie (Ed: Hungarian Lajos Torok, with the team 2011-2013) was the best exemplar of this. He had some limited experience as a wide receiver back in Hungary, but once our coaches got hold of him and instilled a liking for blocking and tackling he became an incredibly versatile player lining up as not just a wide receiver but also a defensive lineman, fullback, long snapper, anywhere he was needed. Shawn O’Donnell (also with the team 2011-13) was another player who excelled himself whilst playing for us. Shawn had been a decent high school player back in the US, but he came to Cambridge over a decade later in his mid-30s to do his PhD and even by BUAFL standards he was undersized for an inside linebacker. He immediately became a valued and popular team leader and a key player.
On the current roster it has been great watching the new players develop. Tom Zhang (#13), James Digby (#21), Nik Ek (#77), Ned Bransden (#25) and Sam Roberts (#9) have all made some highlight plays despite never playing the game before joining us. Stephen Ford (#3) was inches short of scoring a touchdown last week against Anglia Ruskin – I think they’d have heard us cheer in Oxford if that had happened! Speaking of new players developing, how have you viewed this season? The opening loss to Oxford Brookes was gut-wrenching. OBU had played a game before meeting us and we were blooding a lot of rookies. On another day things could have gone differently and we would have won. Such a loss could have completely derailed a team, but I am so pleased with how we have knuckled down since then, winning every game since and not conceding any more points. The way other results have played out means that if we win our remaining games we will win the conference and qualify for the playoffs. To do that after losing our first game would be an amazing testament to the determination and doggedness of our players. It will not be easy. UEA, Essex and Kent will be doing all they can do to stop us. What is the rivalry like with UEA? The Pythons have three big rivals. Two of them are obvious to the outsider: Oxford, our eternal rivals in everything we do and Anglia Ruskin, our cross-town rivals. The third team is UEA. Every season the Pythons have contested they have played UEA at least once. The Pythons have played UEA more than any other team. The links between the respective coaching staff in the 1990s mean that this fixture is particularly important to the old lags on the Pythons staff: me, Coach Fuller and Coach Scott! The Pirates walloped us 42-26 in 2012 and the subsequent two games between us were narrow Python victories, so nothing is easy in this fixture! What would you say to anyone thinking of giving a go to playing American football? Do it! It is a great sport that has room for everyone, regardless of your size and shape. The social side of things is fantastic too. You really have nothing to lose.
The Opposition
It is fair to say that the Pythons and the Pirates have history. The Norwich-based team first started playing in 1987, a full four years before the Pythons formed. Every season the Pythons have played has seen them paired up as divisional rivals with the Pirates, meaning that the Pythons have played UEA more than any other team and that this is a heated and strongly contested rivalry. UEA’s last win in the series was a wild 42-26 victory in February 2012 as their running attack lead by Chris Carson (225 yards) and Joseph Van Der Merwe (125 yards) overpowered the Pythons. A year later the Pythons gained revenge with a nail-biting 15-12 upset win in Norwich, Pythons wide receiver Steve Kinnersley catching two touchdowns, the first a 45 yard score with the pass thrown by running back Brendan Bader on a trick play and the Pythons defensive efforts being lead by a career performance from linebacker Shawn O’Donnell (17 tackles and a forced fumble). Last year the Pythons took down the Pirates with a 22-6 win greatly aided by the threeheaded monster on run offense: Joe Moore (150 yards), Jonty Richardson (118 yards) and Alex Brew (2 rushing TDs) and a big game from several on the Python defense: Guy Peters (1 INT and a pass defended), Adrian Ball (a forced fumble), and Brendan Loftus (2 fumbles recovered).
Historic Results (home team listed first), Cambridge lead the all-time series 12-3 1991 UEA 12 – 24 Cambridge 1992 Cambridge 18 – 6 UEA 1992 UEA 0 – 34 Cambridge 1993 Cambridge 0 – 18 UEA 1993 UEA 8 – 25 Cambridge 1994 Cambridge 20 – 6 UEA 1994 Cambridge 34 – 8 UEA 1995 UEA 6 – 41 Cambridge 1995 UEA 0 – 27 Cambridge 1996 Cambridge 23 – 0 UEA 1996 Cambridge 18 – 12 UEA (OT) 1997 UEA 28 – 20 Cambridge 2012 Cambridge 26 – 42 2013 UEA 12 – 15 Cambridge 2014 Cambridge 22 – 6 UEA
“The UEA Pirates are looking at continuing their winning season after beating on-field rivals Kent and off-field rivals Essex, bringing them to 4 - 0 so far this year. The Pirates always look forward to Cambridge, a fixture we prepare hard for and always a highlight of our year. Best of luck to both teams, may the best team win.” Joseph Mumford Pirates President
info@pythons.org.uk
/CambridgePythons
@CUPythonsAFC
/CambridgePythons