The Blackhawks still led the pack in Div 1 North B going into Gameweek 6, but the loss against the Honey Badgers last time out meant it was tight at the top.
Only two wins out of two would do in this cross-conference clash in Bradford. And the Hawks came through, with victories against the West Yorkshire Roosters and the Lincolnshire Longhorns.
With just three games to go later in the month, will the Blackhawks get over the line?
Here’s how it panned out:
Touchdowns – Jack Mulholland 2 / Adam Newton 2 / James Newton 1 / Scott Smith 1
Interceptions – Phil Watson 2
Pick Six – Phil Watson
Facing a depleted seven-man Rooster squad, the Blackhawks began with a defensive stop before halfway. This turned out to be a common feature of the game.
The offense began efficiently for the opening four plays, then a drop and botched snap brought up a fourth and long that ended with a PBU by the Roosters defense. Another defensive stop followed, and then the offense clicked into gear.
A deep touchdown to Jack Mulholland on the second play of their next drive got the Hawks on the board, but a drop on a key third and goal play meant that the offense came away empty-handed on their third drive of the game.
Newcastle added a second touchdown soon afterwards. However, their next drive was thwarted by the halftime whistle, as they failed to stop the clock in time to punch in another score.
The Blackhawks built on their 13-0 lead in the second half, eliminating errors and delivering four touchdowns on four possessions. The defense continued to hold firm, despite seeing a score by the Roosters (and a fantastic diving catch behind the receiver) chalked off for an impeding the blitzer penalty.
A defensive shutout was confirmed on the final drive of the game. Phil Watson housed a Pick Six as time expired to apply “the mercy rule”. The game ended 47-0 to the Blackhawks.
Touchdowns – Jack Mulholland 2 / Adam Newton 2 / James Newton 1 / Scott Smith 1
Interceptions – James Newton 1 / Phil Watson 1
After losing the toss, the Blackhawks started with the ball and made the most of things – grabbing an opening-drive touchdown and one-point conversion. However, the defense’s clean sheet record for the day fell early in this one, as they gave up an equalising score on an eight-play drive straight afterwards.
The offense subsequently gave up the ball with a short-field turnover, and the Longhorns put themselves up 13-7 with nearly 13 minutes of the first half gone.
With their slender division lead potentially on the line, Newcastle roared into life.
The offense scored quickly. The defense got a quick stop. The offense scored again. The defense held firm with a PBU on fourth down. And then the offense scored once more.
When the defense picked off a deep pass inside the two-minute warning, the offense even had time to add another one.
Inside of seven minutes, the Hawks had somehow engineered a 27-point swing, and went in at half-time up 34-13.
The second half initially began as the first half had ended, with a defensive interception leading to a quick offensive score. And with a commanding 27-point lead, the Blackhawks head coach was content to play soft in defence to use the clock against the Longhorns, even if it resulted in scores.
After a fortuitous rebound touchdown on the Longhorns’ next drive, this cautious approach meant the offense only saw the field for eight plays for the remainder of the half – with both drives stalling owing to drops.
The Longhorns were able to add two further scores to their tally, but their last score arrived with only one second left on the clock – meaning the Blackhawks closed out for a win that felt a lot more comfortable than the final score of 40-32 suggested.
MVPs for the day were Adam Newton for Offense, and Ian Sutherland & Saskia Köttler for Defense.
NEXT UP:
The Hawks wrap up their BAFA regular season in Billingham on July 27, with games against the West Yorkshire Warthogs, Steel River Stingrays and Sheffield Giants Black.
Sheffield Giants Blue sit one game behind after a 3-0 gameday last weekend. But Newcastle hold the head-to-head tiebreaker after sweeping Sheffield earlier in the year.