Many thanks to Stephen Mudd who is the Historian and Author of this excellent document originally produced by David and Doreen Sheppard in May 1994

1987 - SWEEPING SUCCESS

Unbelievable! That was the only word for it, the Cougars had in effect been relegated and they did not like it one little bit. They complained, they petitioned, they protested in any way they could, but in the end they were told there was nothing that could be done, the Cougars were not considered good enough for National Division Football.

To fully understand this decision, we have to go back to the turn of the year when Budweiser, having received mixed reaction to their initial season in Britball, agreed to hand over administrative responsibilities to the newly formed British American Football Association (BAFA) in the hope that this better structured format would iron out the previous years problems. The main aim was to unite all the teams under one league structure and an open invitation was sent out to all teams. The Budweiser proposals were enough to tempt the top BAFL teams away and this action was the final nail in the coffin as the league folded.

The Budweiser proposals were for a three tier football structure which would comprise four conferences of five teams in the elite National Division, six conferences of six teams in the Premier Division and eight conferences of six teams in Division One. This structure obviously meant that there were going to be teams disappointed at their placements, but no-one ever imagined that the Cougars would be in this situation.

The decision seemed to hinge on our play-off defeat of the previous season as the Fylde Falcons were placed in the National ahead of us on the strength of one seasons results. Our initial shock was mode even worse when the provisional conferences were drawn up. We were placed in the Borders conference along with five teams from north of the border. You can imagine we were really pleased at this, a 400 mile round trip for our nearest away fixture was too much to expect of the players in an arduous 10 game season.

Off we went again to protest, and thankfully the league saw our point and shuffled us into the Northern conference along with six other sides. A possible problem with fixtures was avoided in the month prior to kick off when a National Division place became vacant due to the Southampton Seahawks decision to drop down in playing level. The Cougars were approached but the lateness of notification and the fact that the vacancy was in the Southern Division meant that we declined and the Steel City Giants stepped in leaving our division with six teams again.

We were in the Premier, and coach Brogdon made it clear from day one that the Bowl was our aim, indeed we were highly touted as a major contender by all in the know and our preparation was to be thorough. Close season had seen us benefit in the players market when we were joined by the players who had left for the Bradford Dolphins less than 19 months previous and also by their rushing sensation Tony "Tiggy" Bell.

Three pre-season games were to be played to prepare the Cougars for their assault on the Premier Bowl with the first against league newcomers and conference rivals the Scunthorpe Steelers in February. Both teams were understandably rusty from their winter lay off and intended to ease themselves gently into the game although this fact was obviously not in the mind of Tiggy Bell. The first glance the supporters had of their new hero was on the opening kick off when he fielded the ball at the 20 yard line and set off running. It took a good two minutes for the noise to die down and the Cougars led 6 - 0 following the 80 yard return which stunned the Steelers. He scored again in the second half and together with three other Cougar scores they ran out comfortable 32 - 0 winners.

Our second game was to be a real ding- dong' match-up with the team of the moment as far as we were concerned, the Fylde Falcons. This was a game with a purpose for both sides and neither one wanted to lose,. Flyde needed the win to confirm their elevation to National Division status whilst the Cougars wanted the win to be able to say 'told you so' to the league.

The match took place amidst frequent snow flurries on a bitterly cold March day at Turf Moor, home of Burnley FC, and it was to be a major triumph for the Cougars as they ran out 32 - 12 winners with one touchdown from MVP Paul Pryce and four from Tiggy Bell. This was just the result the Cougars required, their confidence was sky high with both offensive and defensive units in dominant moods.

A final friendly game victory by 20 - 6 against the Coventry Bears in atrocious conditions at Featherstone Rovers RLFC ground continued the build up, and as opening day for the season approached spirits had soared, the players were champing at the bit and were all ready to go.

Our opening fixture was on paper a difficult away match-up with Locomotive Derby, and the first quarter saw us begin to establish our running game whilst our defence set about showing how the job should be done A 6 - 0 first quarter lead was little indication of what was to follow as the Cougars took complete control on both sides of the ball. The offence were running the ball at will and proved to be far too quick to contain on a very effective sweep, whilst on the odd occasion that Derby got the ball back the defence responded magnificently to quickly recover. A half-time score of 40-0 meant the game was already won, and this was the most points ever scored against the Derby team.

The second half continued in much the same way with the Cougar fans enjoying what was turning into a carnival atmosphere as twenty three points were added in the third and fifteen in the fourth quarter to leave the final score 78 - 0. We had totally dominated the game and the result must have served notice of our intentions to all other teams in the conference, although players from the Wrekin Giants who were with us in the crowd seemed to be unconcerned. They had come across Tiggy Bell the previous season whilst he was at the Bradford Dolphins and restricted him to 30 - 40 yards. His 243 yard display that day was nothing as they reckoned all we ran was a sweep and they would have no trouble closing that down.

The following weekend would see if their predictions were correct as we lined up against them at our temporary, home ground Farsley Celtic FC. The day was hot and sunny, as had been the previous few weeks, and the ground, already suffering from a hard season, was bare and dusty,. Any skirmish in the middle of the ground produced a large cloud of dust and it was difficult to see just what was happening. The game opened badly for the Cougars who, after receiving the kick off, handed it straight to the Giants following a Tiggy Bell fumble at the 18 yard line. Wrekin, however could do no better and immediately gave it back to the grateful Cougar defence. Five plays later and it was 6-0. In one play Tiggy Bell had destroyed the Wrekin defensive plan as he swept right for a 59 yard touchdown. On his next carry he went 50 yards, 14 - 0 and so it went. The second quarter was more profitable with three more Tiggy Bell touchdown runs plus TD passes from Glenn Stevens to tight end Tim Casey and receiver Sammy Pryce for a 46-0 lead at the half.

It was possible that the Giants were regretting their words of the previous week for on only seven carries in the half, Tiggy Bell had amassed 226 yards and five touchdowns, they had no answer to our gameplan. Their half-time talk must have been brilliant because the third quarter belonged to the Giants. Our offence struggled and turned the ball over, but our defence held firm and prevented any score. They were, however, threatening early in the final period when only an inspired goal-line stand following a Giants 1st and goal from the 5 yard line resulted in the ball being turned over on downs.

This defensive stand seemed to wake up the Cougars and they finished in style by adding four more touchdowns to finish the game 74 - 0 victors.

Two Home games followed and predictably resulted in solid wins. Crewe Railroaders were brushed aside 57 - 6 but had the distinction of scoring the first league points against the dominating defensive unit. So dominating were the defence that they were wanting to score themselves, and anyone there that day will still remember the 43 yard return of a blocked punt by Defensive Lineman Steve 'Bull' McKnight - that run took forever!

Locomotive Derby gave a better account of themselves in our return fixture but again were well beaten 58 - 12. They seemed to have learned from our earlier meeting, but even without Tiggy Bell who retired with injury after the first quarter, the Cougars were too strong as Eddie Harry took up the rushing duties to finish with two touchdowns.

The big test for the Cougars came the following week as they visited the Scunthorpe Steelers who were also unbeaten to stand joint Divisional leaders at 4 - 0, in the fixture which would see an outright leader emerge for the first time. The game opened well for Leeds as a 24 yard pass from Stevens to Casey gave them an early 6 - 0 lead. Not to be outdone, the Steelers hit back on a 42 yard run to tie the scores and although they pressed hard they were never to be in contention again and found themselves 14 - 6 down at the interval. The scoring was completed in the third quarter when firstly Running Back Tiggy Bell scampered 87 yards down the left sideline to the endzone and Eddie Harry, blasted in from the five. Both scores were converted for two points to give a final winning margin of 30 - 6 and an edge in the race for the Divisional title.

Three more away games were to follow and by the time the Cougars played at home again they were to have wrapped up the Divisional Title and stand 8 - 0. Manchester Heroes were the first to encounter the growing force of the Cougars as they were completely outclassed on a wet and windy, day which made good football difficult and the Cougars ran out comfortable winners by 48 - 0. Our visit to the Wrekin Giants produced an emphatic 50 - 0 victory which was set up by the best defensive performance of the year, as time and time again the defence poured through the Wrekin line to pressure their Quarterback and record 4 sacks , in fact there were calls from the stands for a mattress because the Quarterback spent so much time on the ground. Such dominant defence allowed our own offence to function at will and the game saw Tiggy Bell set a new British game Rushing Record with 439 yards. On the minus side the Cougars lost starting Quarterback Glenn Stevens through injury for the remainder of the regular season.

The third road game saw the Cougar roadshow at Crewe on a sweltering July day. Coach Brogdon deputised at Quarterback and after a slow and shaky start the Cougars took control to romp to their eighth straight win by a margin of 62 - 6 with three touchdowns apiece for Eddie Harry and Hector Hurley following the earlier ejection of Tiggy Bell.

Back home, and our 8 - 0 record was improved further when the Cougars were given a walkover victory over the Manchester Heroes when they were unable to field a team due to injuries. A friendly game against the Wirral Wolves was hastily arranged to avoid a blank date, score 62 - 6 to the Cougars.

Our regular season came to a close with our final Home fixture against the Scunthorpe Steelers who had given us our closest game when we visited in mid-season. This fixture was as close, and a scoreless first half could have been worse if not for a last gasp Chuck Brogdon tackle when the Steelers stripped the ball, and for three failed field goal attempts by the Steelers kicker from around 35 yards.

The second half saw a transformation as the Cougars began to perform to their usual high standards to score on their first five possessions through Paul Pryce (2), Eddie Harry and Dave McIntosh runs and a Tim Casey catch with only one Steelers touchdown in return for a final score of 32 - 8. The win had been achieved without the services of Tiggy Bell (suspended) and Glenn Stevens (injured) although both were expected to return for the Quarter Final play-off game a fortnight later.

So there we were, our first objective in getting into the play-offs had been achieved and thanks to our perfect 10 - 0 record we were assured of Home field advantage throughout. The competition was sure to be fierce as only the best eight teams were left in the competition and any thoughts of an easy game were now very much misplaced. Our dominating defence and free-scoring offence would now be tested and although we were considered 'hot favourite' to reach the Bowl, the players were not going to be allowed to think all they had to do was to turn up and the opponents would roll over.

The Cougars were still unsure as to their Quarter Final opponents and had to wait until the following weeks game between Dunstable Cowboys and Oxford Bulldogs which would decide the Central Conference, giving the winners a Home fixture whilst the losers would be given the task of travelling to meet the Cougars.

Unusually the sun shone and the weather was good as a crowd in excess of 1500 gathered to watch the Cougars tackle the first stage in the play-offs against the Oxford Bulldogs. The Bulldogs had finished with a regular season 8 - 2 record having scored 319 points whilst conceding only 71 , and they were the lowest ranked team in the play-offs.

Having elected to receive, a good kick off return allowed the Cougars to start on their own 31 yard line, but requiring a good solid drive we were suddenly facing a 3rd down and eleven. On what should have been a passing down Coach Brogdon pulled a master stroke , the defence blitzed and Stevens handed off to Tiggy Bell on a draw play Bell saw the hole, blasted through and took a route out towards the right sideline evading desperate tackles to finish in the end zone for a 60 yard score. The two point conversion was good and the Cougars had the start they required.

The Bulldogs then made an amazing decision to run the ball on fourth down deep in their own half Unfortunately they decided to go up the middle and ran slap bang into the figure of Steve 'Bull' McKnight There was no way he was going to be pushed backward and the resulting collision could be heard in the town centre. The Cougars had the ball back and a couple of plays later it was 14 - 0 with Bell scoring for the second time.

Possession changed from side to side as neither team could capitalise on good drives with defences making one good play after another and the game settled into a quiet period before that man Bell swept in from 20 odd yards for his third touchdown and a 22 - 0 scoreline. The Cougars could have settled for this at the break, but in the final seconds Quarterback Glen Stevens launched a massive bomb which Sammy Pryce managed to connect with for an unbelievable 28 - 0 halftime lead.

The second half opened well for the Bulldogs as they took the kick-off and marched downfield. The drive ended with a 2 yard Quarterback run and the Bulldogs were on the board. Any thoughts of a comeback were quickly shattered as the Cougars responded in classic style by taking only four plays to find the end zone on a Steve Bertram sweep around left end.

With two further Tiggy Bell touchdowns in the final quarter against one further Bulldog score the game ended in a 46 - 14 victory leaving the Cougars only sixty minutes of playing time away from their first Bowl appearance, with only the Colchester Gladiators, who had travelled to play the Cotswold Bears and come away 66 -0 victors, standing in their way.

The Gladiators were never going to be easy to beat. Both teams wanted the win and nerves must have been felt by all the players as kick off approached. Evidence of this was not long in coming as the Cougars set the game in motion and kicked off. The kick was not particularly good, but what happened next was almost beyond belief as the Colchester return man appeared to freeze. The ball bounced and bobbled as the Cougar players pursued. The home crowd were yelling at fever pitch, they could see what was about to happen but couldn't believe it. They were ecstatic when Linebacker Andy Kershaw got to the ball first to be quickly tackled by the Gladiator, and despite their protests, the situation was Cougar ball within sight of the end zone. Whatever nerves had been with the Cougars had suddenly evaporated, they had the ideal start and were surely not going to waste it. Three plays later they were on the board with a ten yard touchdown run although the conversion failed.

Solid defence then prevented the Gladiators from making any real headway and they were forced to punt when once again the visitors handed Leeds great field position with two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties tagged onto the end of the return placing the ball on the Colchester 35 yard line. This time the Gladiators had toughened up and Leeds were completely closed down to face the prospect of a fourth down which was too close to punt yet too far a field goal attempt. They decided to go for it and were rewarded by a Tim Casey touchdown catch which when converted left the Cougars 14 - 0 up.

The Gladiators were making some terrible mistakes and when the Cougar kick-off was fumbled to be pounced on by, the grateful Leeds covering team the crowd were beginning to wonder just how many points would be scored that afternoon. Eight more followed in quick time and Leeds led 22 - 0 early in the second quarter. The following kick-off was successfully dealt with and the Gladiator offence had it's first real chance as they mounted a long drive which looked certain to end in a score until a fumble on the goal line which handed the ball back to Leeds.

Things were definitely not going the way, of the Gladiators, but to their credit they continued to play tough defence and succeeded in getting the ball back with about two minutes to play in the half. This was all the time they needed as a well executed two-minute drill was rewarded with a touchdown pass and conversion for a 22 - 8 half-time scoreline.

One touchdown each in a very evenly fought third quarter kept the game flowing and the crowd entertained. The Gladiators had now settled down and were playing well, moving the ball and looking dangerous, but the Cougar defence seemed to have the knack of creating a big play when it mattered. A further Leeds touchdown from Paul Pryce was followed by one such play when Sammy Pryce, playing Cornerback, intercepted a pass to thwart another comeback bid and set up yet another touchdown for brother Paul.

The final score of the game, just as in the first half, belonged to Colchester as a consolation touchdown made the final score 44 - 22. The Gladiators had in many respects beaten themselves in an error prone first half and on their second half showing were a much better team than the score showed. Would the result have been different without the errors? Who knows?, but the Cougar team played as they had to play and took every advantage offered, it was a good team performance and they were the team going to Cardiff for the Bowl game against the Bournemouth Bobcats.

The morning of the Bowl game dawned with the prospect of a dry warm day which would be perfect for both players and fans. The road to Cardiff seemed to be a procession of coaches and cars bedecked with blue and gold Cougar colours, as well over 1000 supporters made the journey to what they hoped would be glory. The main stand was packed with fans from both sides and was awash with colour as the pre-match chanting became louder and louder prior to the introduction of the teams.

Both sets of supporters were hoping for the victory and only one would be going home happy, unfortunately the long unhappy journey home would belong to the Cougar fans. The game itself was a big anti-climax as the Cougars never really got things moving.

They were closed down by great defensive work by the Bobcats and the Cougar defence was completely outplayed by the strong running offence. No matter what Leeds tried, Bournemouth seemed to have an answer and before we knew where we were, we were 17 points down. Eddie Harry then provided the Cougars only moment of cheer when he ran 95 yards to return the kick-off for six points, but a further Bobcat score left us trailing badly at the half.

The second half was one way traffic, as the Cougars tried to go to the air with no success and passes were picked off by the Bournemouth defence. The Bobcats were still moving the ball and three second half scores sealed the 43-6 victory to send their fans wild.

Although having been well beaten, the Cougars were given a tremendous ovation by, their supporters who knew that each and every one had tried as hard as they could.

The season had been a tremendous success and had really proved what had been said all along, the Cougars were good enough for National Division football "TOLD YOU SO!"