Falcons Welcome Back Branagh

Following a successful 2011 season the Falcons have shuffled the pack in order to face the challenges of the 2012 schedule.

Colin Branagh who was Offensive Coach for the Falcons in 2009, and who then went on to be Head Coach at Birmingham and Gloucester, has returned to the organisation as General Manager. Colin has a great deal of experience and has been working with the National League Committee during 2011 season. He will be taking the day to day duties of running the club which now boasts 4 teams; Senior, University, U19, and U17 and potentially looking at a flag team too. Colin will also use his good business sense and connections to attract more sponsors and improve the match day experience

Colin said “I am excited about the prospects and assure you I will do everything in my power off the field to enhance the clubs fortunes”

Falcons Awards Night

Junior and Senior Falcons gathered at the Highlight in Leicester for the 2011 Awards.

Junior Awards

Senior Awards

Pictures

DMU Falcons Open with a Win

The newest addition to the Falcons family, the De Montfort University Falcons, began their debut BUAFL season with a win in their opening game. Colin Maringon led the way with a hat-trick of touchdowns and the defence stood firm for the Falcons to pick up a 24-6 win.

The Falcons offence used a solid running game and threw rarely, although quarterback Hunter Burns twice found tight end Jordan Jones, who finished as leading receiver, for 42 yards in the first half . The majority of plays were to half back Maringon and fullback Ehijie Egualeonan, and it was Maringon who struck first, running a sweep and doing well to stay in bounds before breaking free and running for a 55-yard touchdown. The defence meanwhile kept limiting Worcester to three-and-out, linebacker Darnell White-Taylor leading the way with tackles and also recording two sacks. Maringon went over for a second touchdown before a defensive lapse let in a Worcester receiver for a long touchdown pass, the only completed Royals pass in the half.

The second half began with a long drive downfield for the Royals, who took a couple of shots at the end zone but were unsuccessful, and the DMU defence stopped them on fourth down twelve yards out. After the change of possession, on the very first play fullback Ehijie Egualeonan went on a dive up the centre, but skipped out of his tackles and broke away for an astonishing 78-yard score. Maringon added a third touchdown to make the game safe, finishing the game with over 150 yards.

This was a promising start for De Montfort Falcons, but they know that the competition is going to get tougher. Next up are away trips to Northampton and Derby before the next home game against Warwick on 4 December. The season highlight is likely to be the local derby against the University of Leicester Longhorns on 5 Febuary.

DMU Chairman, Jordan Jones said, 'Sunday 6th November was a very proud day for me as a player and a chairman. Our team has come a long way from throwing a wilson ball around in Bede Park to now acting, playing and winning like a team. We have accomplished so much in the small time we had pre-season, with no affiliation year and no rookie year, we have come straight from the practice ground to league games, and what a game it is.

Our captains led us both offensive and defensively into victory against Worcester Royals. With many of our players first ever sacks and touchdowns, the Falcons are ready and eager to face other teams. Our championship coaching staff has moulded us all into eager players, hungry for victory and willing to step up when needed.

This season would not have been possible without the assistance of the Falcons organisation, De Montfort University's Student Union, the dedication of our coaches and the tireless work of the DMU Falcons committee.'

Joel Pearson

Falcons Central Conference Champions

This Sunday saw the Leicester Falcons secure their place in the British American Football Association, National League Division 1play offs, as well as being crowned Central Conference Champions

They secured this with a convincing 57 - 12 victory over their nearest rivals Birmingham Bulls. This was also revenge for the Bulls win over the Falcons earlier this year 15-7 in the torrential rain at Syston RFC.

This weeks game saw the offence finally click for the entire 4 quarters with Stuart Franklin taking the first half and Brad Thompson the second at QB. The first half saw Franklin connect in the endzone with passes to Dale Hawes, Timi Dada, and Dervan Allayne, with Dada running in from 30 yards out for his second Touch Down of the half. Ben Longland added to the convincing halftime score with a 24 yard field goal.

Jason Brisbane marshalled his defence to shut down the the Bulls, this time from on the field. The defence stopped the Bulls much vaulted running game in their tracks with stand out performances from line backers Mike Fears, Parm Singh and JP Palmer. This forced the Bulls into the air with their Quarter Back, Sam Steward, coming into the game and making some key completions but the pass defence, which featured the Taylor twins, managed to pick off the young QB at key times, Luke Taylor getting 2 interceptions and Richard Foulgler his second in 2 weeks.

The first half did see the Bulls cross the goal line but in fortuitous fashion. Steward threw the pass downfield and linebacker, Mike Fears, made an athletic dive to deflect the ball away. Unfortunately for the Falcons it landed in the arms of another Bulls receiver who strolled into the endzone.

In past weeks the second half has seen the Falcons take their foot off the pedal, but this time their focus remained and, with Brad Thompson now taken over at Quarter Back, the Offence continued to put on the points. Two more passes to Alleyne enabled him to get his hat trick whilst Dada, not to be outdone, ran in for his third score of the day. The scoring was finished off with Chris Rodrigo catching the ball from the kick off after the Bulls second score and running back 76yards for a touchdown. This means Rodrigo has taken a kick off return to the house at least once a season for the last 3 years.

The Defence stayed firm all of the second half with the only blip being the one long pass which saw both defenders go for the ball and unfortunately the receiver made a great catch giving Bulls their second Touch Down..

This means that the Falcons are guaranteed a home fixture in the National Playoff quarter-finals on 28th August at Syston Rugby Club.

Before then the Falcons have their final regular season game at home against Cambridge on the 14th August again at Syston RFC

Guy Kersey

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Falcons stutter to a win
Falcons 41 Cats 21

This game was the classic cliché of a game of two halves. Stuart Franklin started his first game at Quarter Back and the brief bits of gametime he had played in previous weeks had been good to shake off the rust. Stuart dominated the opening stages and commanded the offence to a convincing half time lead of 34 points to 7. The offence were productive both on the ground and through the air with Touch Downs from Dada, Loedon, and Hawes

The Defence had been as solid as the have been all year and former Peterborough Safety Richard Foulgler got his second interception of the season, almost returned his second for a Touch Down too.

At halftime Brad Thompson took over at Quarter Back. Thompson, who has played a lot over the season, has been steadily improving and has put in some fine performances. However against the Cats the offence stuttered in the second half and saw them only add 7 points to the half time score - a pass to Alex McCormick who ran down the middle of the field gave the rookie his first Touch Down for the Falcons and against his old club.

The Defence held firm but conceded two Touch Downs to break away plays and these additional 14 point could become costly later in the season.

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Leicester Falcons 24 – Oxford Saints 6

Leicester Falcons enjoyed a comfortable win over divisional rivals Oxford Saints at their new home of Syston RFC. On a sweltering hot day with little wind, it was the Falcons’ outstanding defensive secondary that made the difference, recording five interceptions between them.

The Falcons offence started with a three-and-out and Oxford’s offence started brightly, until Rich Davis, in his final performance as a Falcon, made a superb interception in the red zone and returned the ball 44 yards. From there, quarterback Stuart Franklin wasted no time in finding Dale Hawes who sprinted past his coverage and in for a 45 yard touchdown. Oxford were rattled and on the next drive it was linebacker Mike Fears’ turn to intercept the ball by taking advantage of some great blocking from the defensive line to return the ball (slowly) 34 yards for a score. Saints quarterback Scott Gallon was clearly having an off day and before the half was up Richard Foulger and Wayne Gumbs had also recorded picks. As the half wound down Ben Longland added a field goal to make the score 17-0 at the half.

Oxford head coach Len Scott must have had harsh words with his team at halftime because the Saints came out all guns blazing in the second half. Oxford took advantage of a fumbled hand-off to gain good field position and fullback Brian Myers powered over the line for a touchdown, although the extra point was broken up by Parm Sidhu. Subsequently, Timi Dada, who had previously had a quiet game by his own high standards, burst through the middle of the Saints defence on a simple dive play and carried on for a 43 yard touchdown. Finally Richard Foulger recorded his second interception to make the game safe.

The result puts the Falcons clear at the top of Division 1 Central, with a record of 6-1. With three games to go the Falcons currently occupy second spot in Division 1, heading towards homefield advantage for the playoffs.

Joel Pearson

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Falcons lose their unbeaten record

Leicester Falcons 7 – Birmingham Bulls 15

Leicester Falcons slipped up against a spirited Birmingham Bulls side in their first game at new temporary home Syston RFC. In a game played in torrential rain and miserable conditions, very unseasonal for mid-June, the Falcons offence was given few chances to score.

Birmingham began the match well, forcing a three-and-out then marching down the field, capitalising on a mistake on a Falcons punt return to keep possession. However, they were stopped inside the red zone on fourth down by a solid tackle from Mike Fears. Subsequently it was the Falcons who struck first, Brad Thompson threw to Dervan Alleyne who outran his coverage and carried on into the end zone for a 72-yard score.

The Bulls offence was still moving the ball well however, and quarterback Richard Wilde had a touchdown pass called back for holding. After a couple of long passes it was left to running back Marcus Rey to run in for the game-tying score from 13 yards, taking advantage of some soft tackling. Things got worse for the Falcons when on the next possession Thompson was intercepted, and the pass returned for a score. After a failed conversion attempt the score was 13-7 going into halftime.

In the second half the rain increased in intensity, and as a result the Bulls abandoned their passing game and focused solely on the run. This proved effective, while only going for 3-4 yards each time, the ball kept moving and running down the clock. This created plenty of work for the defensive line, with Tom McCormick leading the way in tackles, but kept the Falcons offense off the field for a large part of the second half. After a Bulls punt got a fortuitous bounce to go out at the 1-yard line, the Falcons luck got worse as the wet ball was fumbled in the snap. After the recovery was adjudged by the officials to be in the end zone, the Bulls were awarded a safety and a 15-7 lead. The Bulls carried on their effective short running game to run out the clock in the fourth quarter and take home the win.

This was a frustrating game from a Falcons point of view as missed tackles proved costly and the awful weather allowed few chances for big plays. The result shakes up the BAFACL Division 1 Central division as it leaves four teams tied on identical 4-1 records, including both the Bulls and the Falcons, and next week’s opponents Nottingham Caesars.

Joel Pearson

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Falcons Second Win 26 : 0

Following a convincing win against Nottingham in week one the Falcons confidence was high. However, they knew Oxford would be a tougher challenge as the Saints had won their first game against Peterborough 31-6 and a lot of people thought that these would be the games to decide the conference winners.

The game saw the coaching debut of Defensive Coordinator, Jason Brisbane, and he certainly got the best out of his unit. The Defence had achieved a mark of ‘C’ in week one, i.e. can do better and they certainly did, making the Saints work hard for every tough yard. They restricted the Saints to only three first downs in the whole game with less than 100 yards gained in total, and made three interceptions.

From the start, the Falcons Offence marched the ball down the field in the opening drive, but failed to convert a vital fourth down. The Saints, buoyed from their defensive stand, took over on their own 10 yard line but, after two failed runs for no gain, they were facing a third and long. They went for a pass to the right but only found new Falcons Safety, Richard Fougler, who picked off the ball and raced in for a touchdown to open the scoring.

After a series of three and outs for the Saints, the Falcons moved the ball well but did not manage to score, until Timi Dada broke loose and kept up his excellent scoring record, as well as achieving his second consecutive 100 yard game. In the strong wind the Falcons Quarterback struggled to connect with his receivers but luckily the ground game was again dominating. However, the Falcons Offence’s story of this game had to be that of missed opportunities. Having made several trips inside the Saints 20 they should have been more than 12 – 0 up at halftime, although there was a tough call against Quarterback Brad Thompson who hit Ben Longland in the back of the endzone where he was harshly ruled out of bounds.

The Falcons Offence had the luxury of a Defence that was totally dominating, not to say there weren’t some scares. The Saints launched a long pass down the sideline, and it looked as though their Receiver had beaten the Falcons Safety, Rich Davis, but as the Receiver landed with the ball, Davis ripped it away and returned the ball 40 yards to put the Falcons in excellent field position.

The second half saw the Falcons use Fullback Marius Lodoen more. He made a number of good runs threatening to break through and it wasn’t long before he did. A clever misdirection play saw him go the distance for 44 yards and his first touchdown of the season, which saw what can only be described as a spiderman celebration.

Stuart Rawlings kept up his fine scoring record and came on in the fourth quarter and, after a couple of short runs, saw a run of many cutbacks making a number of tacklers miss before going in from 38 yards out, for is second touchdown in two games. This however was the Defences day with excellent performances by Ian Sturgess, lead tackler Jonathan Palmer, Mike Fears, Simon Harris, David Brix and Richard Fougler, but all round it was a real team performance.

This result puts the Falcons on top of the conference and with a great defensive performance all bodes well for the season ahead.

Guy Kersey

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Falcons Win Season Opener 54 : 22

The Falcons kicked off their 2011 season on Easter Sunday against local rivals, Nottingham Caesars. The 2010 head to heads had seen mixed results for the two teams with a 35-35 tie in Nottingham followed by a 66 -10 thrashing by the Falcons at home. Many thought the latter result was solely down to the presence of former NFL Quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt, so the Falcons were keen to show this was not the case.

Coach Stuart Franklin, in charge of the Offence this year, started Quarterback Brad Thompson who ended last season with a good performance in the play-off quarter-final . The Falcons came out of the blocks quickly with Timi Dada breaking off one of his trademark runs to open the scoring by running right following his blocks and strolling in from 40 yards out.

The new look Falcons Defence, featuring recruits Mike Fears, Jonathan Palmer, Rich Davis amongst others, were bending but not breaking; the Caesars making gains off the left side with short passes. However, this came to an end when rookie corner Sam Heritage picked off the Caesars Quarterback and returned the ball into Caesars territory.

The Falcons continued using their power running game spearheaded by the 1 - 2 punch of Timi Dada and Marius Lodoen. It wasn’t long before the Falcons were crossing the goal line a second time and again it was Dada, this time breaking tackles and finally carrying tacklers into the endzone. Dada ended the day with 182 yards from 11 carries and 2 touchdowns and sat out the fourth Quarter. Newcomer to the Falcons, Stuart Rawlings, who also plays for the Leicester Longhorns University team, started his senior league career with one of the simplest touchdowns he will ever score by strolling in untouched from 11 yards out.

The new signing who had the biggest impact was wide Receiver, Dervan Allayne, a local Leicester player, who has joined the Falcons from Premier finalists, Coventry Jets. Dervan caught four receptions most of them short and, using his speed, left defenders in his wake and ended the day with 4 catches for 142 yards and 3 touchdowns. Speedster Chris Rodrigo finished off the scoring with a long pass down the sideline.

With the game secure the Falcons took the opportunity to give their rookies some experience, especially the secondary defence players, enabling the Caesars to make a couple of consolation touchdowns. However, the experience the new players gained will help them in the season ahead. Quarterback Brad Thompson ended the day 10 of 18 for 298 yards and 4 touchdowns whilst the ground game gained 280 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The game ended 54-22 in the Falcons favour; a great result but both sides of the ball did not click 100% so, although this was a comfortable win, the signs are that the Falcons will improve from here.

Guy Kersey

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Leicester Falcons – Four Tiers of American Football

This season has seen some tremendous growth for the Leicester Falcons. The senior team has brought in new coaching talent and swelled its roster with a good blend of talented rookies and experienced players. They have started the year unbeaten and later this season will be moving into their new 3,000 capacity stadium. However, this is just part of the development that has been achieved. General Manager, Guy Kersey, has a clear mission and vision for the club of sustained growth and development built on a solid foundation.

Last year the Falcons launched their Junior Programme (under 19) and, after vigorous recruitment and training, they have successfully joined the Central Division of the BAFACL Junior Kitted League. Although they are yet to notch up their first win, the growth and development is evident. The Junior programme has been run by Head Coach Karl Burgess, Offensive Coach Andy Hill and Manager Joel Pearson, all established members of the Falcons organisation. Their focus is not a 'win at all costs' mentality but to develop good football players with the correct habits & fundamentals. The aim is not even to act as a feeder to the seniors, although that is a benefit, but for these young people to enjoy the sport and have a long term career in it.

Following the launch of the Junior team, the Falcons are proud to announce two more tiers. We have started after-school clubs at a number of schools, which act as a recruitment for the Junior team, but one school in particular, Beaumont Leys School, has proved very enthusiastic. This school club for under 16s had a tremendous turnout with in excess of 30 young people participating each week. The after-school co-ordinator Shaun Issit felt that he wanted the programme to focus on the kitted game, not flag football.

Thanks to the help of BAFA and their new 'Kick Start' programme, this has become achievable through the loan of equipment and will allow the team to compete later this summer. The programme, under the guidance of Coach Stuart Franklin, will expand to an additional weekend session in order to allow opportunities for young people outside the school to join in.

The latest piece in the jigsaw is the formation of the DMU Falcons, a team from De Montfort University Leicester. DMU was formerly part of a combined Leicester / DMU Longhorns team competing in the British Universities American Football League. Changes to this league meant they could no longer be a combined team and, while the Leicester University Longhorns continued, it left the DMU students without a team.

With the support of the Students’ Union and a number of determined student athletes led by Chairman, Jordan Jones, the DMU Falcons were started. The team will have its own committee but will be advised by the Falcons management team on budgets, funding and game day management while the Falcons will support them with coaches, facilities and expertise. The DMU Falcons have been entered into the 2011/12 season and the Varsity match against the Longhorns is sure to be a fans’ favourite. Their home games will be played at the Falcons’ new stadium, Beaumont Park. The DMU Falcons have been training for a number of weeks and having a regular 35 plus turn out including a number who already have playing experience.

With these 4 teams within the organisation the long term future looks very bright for the Leicester Falcons.

News Index

Walkabout Sponsor the Falcons for a 4th Year

The Leicester Falcons are pleased to announce that the Walkabout Leicester will be sponsoring the team for the 4th successive year. This year they have agreed a series of deals for the players coaches and staff including discount cards, regular team events, post game entertainment and team breakfasts on away trips.

Walkabout Leicester are inviting all the visiting teams to the Falcons to enjoy their hospitality on match days as well. The Falcons have hosted many successful events over the years including this years superbowl party that saw over 200 players and fans enjoy a great night.

The Falcons and Walkabout have had a long a successful relationship and, with the Falcons moving into their new stadium later this season, the support of the Walkabout has been invaluable. This will hopefully be a platform to launch a successful campaign for the Falcons in BAFACL division 1.

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Do you have any relatives who might like to learn about how to reduce their risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes?

Leicester Diabetes research group and Loughborough University are currently running a research study for young people aged 18-40 years about diabetes risk. This study involves 3 visits over a 12 month period. Each visit will involve a health screen and blood tests. If they participate they will receive £20 per visit as a contribution for their time. If you have relative who might be interested please contact:

Dr Emma Wilmot: STAND@uhl-tr.nhs.uk or 07580802570

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Cheap Tickets at Leicester's Highlight Comedy Club

Our Sponsors, the Leicester Walkabout Australian Bar, in Granby Street Leicester are pleased to offer reduced price tickets to Leicester Falcon players and supporters at their Highlight Comedy club above the bar.

Save £5

From 1st September 2010 tickets for any of the Comedy nights in the Highlight Club can be purchased for £10 (Normal Price £15).

To book your tickets simply go to the Highlight Web Page, book the seats you need or call the booking hotline on 0844 844 0044 and quote booking code: LEIFAL10.
Note: A Booking Fee is added for web and hotline bookings

To avoid the booking fee place your reservation by calling the club direct on 0116 2515816 and quote booking code: LEIFAL10

Christmas Special Offer - Save 15%

For their special Christmas shows a 15% discount will apply to all tickets. These should be booked through the website, the Highlight Hotline or to save the booking fee by calling the club direct on 0116 2515816 and quote booking code: LEIFALX15

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