The home of American Football in Beds, Bucks and Northants
Selection of photos from the pre-season scrimmage between the Eagles and Kent Exiles at Bedford International Athletics Stadium on Sunday 28th February 2016.
Pictures by Gergo Toth Photo / 2G Creative. Prints available at www.gergotothphoto.co.uk.
Selection of photos from the Eagles Senior Camp, 20th and 21st February 2016. All photos courtesy of Neil Duffy.
Selection of photos from the 2016 Blackhawk Bowl, Saturday 27th February 2016.
All photos courtesy of JennaLou Photography. To view the full gallery, check out her album on Facebook.
The Northants Phantoms won the inaugural Blackhawk Bowl at Bedford International Athletics Stadium last weekend.
Action began with the Blackhawks facing up against the Phantoms. The young ‘Hawks managed to get two scores in the first half and lead at the halfway point, but after a couple of mistakes and some brilliantly constructed Phantoms drives saw Phantoms take the lead and the game 32-12.
The Blackhawks then faced-up against Northants Titans who demonstrated their experience with a confident victory. An excellent performance from the Spartans saw them see off the Titans, but it was the Phantoms who managed to maintain performance levels to beat the Spartans and tie with the Titans to clinch the trophy.
The final match of the day saw the Spartans overcome the Blackhawks to secure second place.
Speaking after the tournament, Jake Cooper said:
In terms of organisation I am delighted with how the day unfolded. It was a major milestone to play our first competitive football and I’d like to thank all who attended what we hope will become an annual event – I hope the day was enjoyable for all teams involved.
I am extremely happy with how the guys played and how they conducted themselves throughout. Obviously the tournament has exposed a number of areas in which we as a team need to develop and strengthen, but that is to be expected and we look forwarded to trying to address those issues and developing ahead of the Phantoms Charity Bowl on Saturday 27th.
Blackhawks 13-32 Phantoms
Blackhawks 0-37 Titans
Titans 13-21 Spartans
Spartans 20-24 Phantoms
Blackhawks 0-32 Spartans
Phantoms 19-19 Titans
Keep up-to-date with the latest news, squad details and events with out new mobile app for iOS and Android:
The club are delighted to announce the release of our mobile app for iOS and Android devices.
The app has been developed by our friends at It’s Just About, and enables you to receive the latest updates from the club directly on your device.
This means you can keep up-to-date with the latest news, squad details and calendar events, and access all of our social media channels from one easy to use location.
You will also be able to receive alerts to notify you of any breaking news or score updates from games as they happen.
Speaking on behalf of the club, Media Manager Michael Dilley said:
We are extremely excited to be able to officially launch our mobile app today for iOS and Android. Dean and the guys at It’s Just About have done a tremendous job putting everything together for us and we can’t wait to see what people think of it.
We’re also really pleased to be one of the first BAFA clubs to offer a mobile app, and I’m sure it’s an area more teams will look at in the future – hopefully with Dean’s help!
The app is available to download from the App Store or Google Play by clicking on the relevant banner below:
Offensive Coordinator Neale McMaster was very pleased with how the team has come together during this off-season’s training camps so far.
The second non-residential camp of the winter took place in Bedford this past weekend, and was attended by over 50 players across the two days.
Commenting on the sessions, McMaster said:
Offensively, I thought we had a terrific second camp, not just in terms of installing plays, but coming together as a team and a family.
We’ve spent a lot of time together as an offense over the past two camps – over 36 hours – and I really started to notice a difference on Sunday evening’s practice.
We’ve developed the offense and guys have picked it up so quickly, we’ve made the leap now from correcting basic playbook knowledge to correcting technique and minor details, and that normally doesn’t happen until later in the season so it’s pleasing to see that happening so early.
In particular I’ve been impressed with how well our senior players have taken to mentoring our younger rookies, and how much our rookies have progressed in a few camps.
That kind of bond is what makes championship teams, and I’m hoping to see a big performance from our offense in what should be a good test against the Kent Exiles on Sunday.
This weekend the team welcome Kent Exiles to Bedford International Athletics Stadium for a controlled scrimmage, which gives rookies and first-year players valuable game day experience, and an opportunity to embed what has been learnt during the pre-season so far.
As a result of this weekend’s scrimmage there is no practice for the senior team on Sunday. Youth Team training will take place at BIAS on Sunday afternoon between 1 and 3pm.
Defensive Coordinator Darren Hill described himself as being “delighted” with the progress made by the team during this off-season’s training camps.
The second non-residential training camp of the winter took place in Bedford this past weekend, and was attended by over 50 players across the two days.
Commenting on the sessions, Hill said:
The second camp was another great success. Both days saw a combination of scheme install, individual and group skills, film review, group and team practice.
I am delighted with the progress the team is making as a whole and all the players have improved tremendously over the last two days.
This weekend the team welcome Kent Exiles to Bedford International Athletics Stadium for a controlled scrimmage, which gives rookies and first-year players valuable game day experience, and an opportunity to embed what has been learnt during the pre-season so far.
As a result of this weekend’s scrimmage there is no practice for the senior team on Sunday. Youth Team training will take place at BIAS on Sunday afternoon between 1 and 3pm.
BAFA have confirmed that the Blackhawks will be playing in the South Eastern Conference (SEC) North Division for the 2016 season.
The newly-formed ‘Hawks will go up against Aylesbury Vale Spartans, Bishop’s Stortford HighFlyers, Victoria Park Panthers, Ware Wolves, West Essex Showboats and Westcliff Storm.
The season kicks off week commencing Monday 4th April, and the schedule will be released by BAFA this Tuesday, 23rd February.
The regional championships will be on 13th August for the south and 14th August for the north, and the date of the final itself is yet to be confirmed.
SEC North
Aylesbury Vale Spartans
Bedford Blackhawks
Bishop’s Stortford HighFlyers
Victoria Park Panthers
Ware Wolves
West Essex Showboats
Westcliff Storm
For further details on the 2016 alignment, including details of the play-off structure and tie-breakers, check out the full article on Pulling the Flag.
The Blackhawk Bowl Flag Tournament takes place this tomorrow (Sunday 21st February) at Bedford International Athletics Stadium, sponsored by Bul-1 Civil Engineering.
The tournament is the Blackhawks’ first taste of competitive action and sees them up against three other teams who are confirmed as attending:
– Aylesbury Vale Spartans
– Northants Phantoms
– Northants Titans
The first game is scheduled to kick-off at 9.30am, the tournament will run until around 2pm and there is free admission for all.
A trophy and medals will be up for grabs for the winning team, and a trophy will also be presented to the runners up.
The Blackhawk Bowl Flag Tournament takes place this Sunday at Bedford International Athletics Stadium, sponsored by Bul-1 Civil Engineering.
The tournament is the Blackhawks’ first taste of competitive action and sees them up against three other teams who are confirmed as attending:
– Aylesbury Vale Spartans
– Northants Phantoms
– Northants Titans
Flag football is the fastest growing format of the game in Great Britain encompassing schools, colleges, universities and community football.
Flag is non-contact version of American Football where tackles are made by pulling a flag off an opposing player. The game retains the same principles as the contact form but in a 5v5 non-contact arena, and is a tremendous way to increase passing and catching fundamentals.
The first game is scheduled to kick-off at 9.30am, the tournament will run until around 2pm and there is free admission for all.
A trophy and medals will be up for grabs for the winning team, and a trophy will also be presented to the runners up.
JennaLou Photography will also be in attendance on the day.
As part of the Senior team’s preparations for the 2016 season, the second non-residential training camp of the winter takes place this weekend at Bedford International Athletics Stadium.
The weekend kicks off at 8.30am on Saturday morning with a welcome meeting in the BIAS committee room, before the offense and defense split to work on installations.
A lids-only practice session follows heading into lunch, before a second practice session and positional film review in the afternoon and evening.
Sunday starts with another film review and lids-only practice, and ramps up after lunch with a final positional film review and practice in full pads.
We are always on the lookout for new players, coaches and commercial partners. If you would be interested in joining one of our teams in any capacity please do not hesitate to get in touch.
As well as on ovfootball.com, you can stay up-to-date with all the latest news and events on our Facebook page or via Twitter.
Eagles February Camp Schedule:
