Sheffield Giants Run the Football to Victory

This weekend the Sheffield Giants hosted the Chester Romans in what was the fourth home game of American football played at “Fortress” Norton Sports Park this season.

The Giants were coming off back-to-back home wins, having defeated the Sandwell Steelers 31-16 on June 18, followed by a 21-0 victory against the Birmingham Bulls at Homecoming on July 2. The Giants had it all to prove though as sandwiched between those victories was their biggest defeat all year away at Chester less than a month ago.

The Romans entered the game on the verge of making the playoffs so had everything to play for against the Giants, however a new game plan on offence, and a defence that matched its typical high standards, ensured that the rematch played out very differently to the first meeting.

The Giants started the game on offence, initially making small gains with the running game as they found their feet, but as the drive continued the Offensive Line marched down the field and wore the opposing defence down. After 10 plays Barron Abrahams scored the opening Touchdown with a 17 yard carry into the end zone.

The startled Romans first offensive drive evaporated following a fumble, allowing the Giants to quickly take back over, but the heavens opened and the two teams exchanged punts on offence as the rain fell. The Giants adapted soonest though and on their third offensive drive put together another 10 play drive, with Abrahams punching the ball in.

Chester responded with a touchdown of their own on the next drive, but as the conditions worsened it was the Giants that took a stranglehold and went into the half time break with a 22-12 lead with one more touchdown from Abrahams.

The rain didn’t let up after the interval and the game looked like it was about to turn with the Romans scoring very quickly following a defensive slip, but the Giants stood tall with Matthew Sherridan refusing to bend on the Romans’ two point conversation attempt. The Giants offense then responded in kind with a monster 87 yard touchdown from that man Abrahams.

At the final whistle the Giants took a 38-12 win with star running back Abrahams breaking records and finishing with 33 carries for 306 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 3 two point conversions and 87 Luke Spooner running one in for good measure.

The sport of American football can often seem complex and confusing to newcomers, with passing plays, trick plays, and special teams. But sometimes it is as simple as running with the ball as hard as you can and wanting it more than your opponent.

Speaking after the game offensive line coach Oli Monaghan said: “We had a lot of guys step up in spots they’d not been in yet this year. To see them rise to the challenge was very fun.

"It was also very fun to see the buy in we got from doing something out of the ordinary in the modern game.

"After the first game we needed a rethink and we got exactly what we deserved on the day, the win.”

With such a dominant offensive display it would be easy to overlook contributions from the other phases of the game but there were standout performances from defensive dlayer of the week Joe 'Stewie' Wallis with 5.5 tackles and two pass breakups, Tom Shaw with 7.5 tackles, Henrique Baptista-Borges with 5.5 tackles and one fumble recovery, and from special teams player of the week Clark O'Connell with two tackles on kick off and a number of key blocks.

“Hard work pays off,” said head coach Matt Flynn after the game.

“We took the loss away at Chester personally but to a man we refused to let it define who we are and used our anger to help us prepare for today.

"The offence was outstanding of course, but it was a team performance and I couldn’t be prouder. Nobody outside of Sheffield expected this result today. But we believed.”

Up next for the Giants will be their final game of the 2023 season at home against the Northants Knights, an opponent they faced all the way back in April in a game that was ultimately abandoned.

The match takes place on Sunday with a noon kick off and both teams will be looking at this fixture to prove that they are the better team, and to end their season on a high.

The Giants have been backed by raucous support at home all season with drums, horns, sirens, and even vuvuzelas being used to generate an amazing atmosphere.

Head to Norton Sports Park, 289 Warminster Road, Sheffield 8 and to get a look at American football being played right here in your city.

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