Bedfordshire Blue Raiders

Bedfordshire Blue Raiders

Established	2006
Based in	Bedford, Bedfordshire
Home stadium	Phil Cottier Field, Bedford International Athletics Stadium, Barkers Lane, Bedford, MK41 9SB
Head coach	Chris Wallis, Craig Ramsay
General manager	Steve Guy, Tony Law
League	BAFA National Leagues
Division	Division 2 East
League titles	None
Division titles	None
Current uniform
Home Away

The Bedfordshire Blue Raiders were an American Football team competing in Division 2 East of the BAFA National Leagues (BAFANL). They entered the British American Football League in 2008 as one of five expansion teams, and play their home games at the Bedford International Athletics Stadium.

The Bedfordshire Blue Raiders merged with local rivals Milton Keynes Pathfinders in 2013 and formed Ouse Valley Eagles

History

The Blue Raiders were formed in August 2006 by Dave "Hanky Panky" Pankhurst and present-day Team Manager Steve Guy to replace the former teams from local towns such as Luton, Dunstable and Milton Keynes who all found success during the 1980s and 1990s.^[1] After quickly recruiting coaches (starting with Chris Wallis, former Head Coach of local rivals Peterborough Saxons and Cambridgeshire Cats who Guy knew from their time together at the University of Cambridge Pythons BCAFL team in the mid-1990s) and a full playing squad.

The team were accepted as associate members of the BAFL in August 2007.

2007

As part of the BAFL's requirements for associate members, the Blue Raiders arranged the two friendly matches which would enable them to gain full membership and enter the league the following season. The first of these was a home game played on 9 September 2007 against the Maidstone Pumas. Despite the visiting team scoring a first period touchdown, the Raiders were able to come back to win 18–8.^[2] Their away friendly match was played four weeks later against the Leicester Falcons, who themselves were associate members aiming to join the league. The Raiders lost 0–32. Two weeks later they played their third friendly match away to another associate team, the Milton Keynes City Pathfinders. Despite an early setback when their player-coach Anthony Coverdale dislocated his knee during the kickoff, they recorded a convincing 35–0 win.

The following month, it was confirmed that the Blue Raiders application to become full members had been accepted by the BAFL, and so they were entered into the league for the 2008 season where they were placed into the Eastern Conference of Division Two alongside the Peterborough Saxons, Cambridgeshire Cats, Watford Cheetahs and fellow expansion team the Milton Keynes City Pathfinders.^[3]

2007 Roster

Bedfordshire Blue Raiders 2007 roster
Quarterbacks  8 Liam Cooke 12 Tony Law  7 Chad Chisolm Running Backs 19 Khaled Miah 23 Stuart Jackson 42 Lee Hayward 48 Harry Burdon 34 Andy Cochrane 83 Jack Calow	Wide Receivers 11 Tim Muelchi 13 Michael McNally 27 Matt Hollingsdale 80 Matt Jones 81 Nathan Russell 86 Steve Webb 87 Sam Kilbey 88 Anthony Coverdale Offensive Linemen 57 Walter Bates 60 Rick Marsh 62 Tony Orfeo 64 Alan Ritson 69 Martin Songhurst 79 Martin Kent 72 Frank Moore	Defensive Linemen 56 Iain Connor    Mike Grigg 92 Liam Quinlan    Dan Bradnam 59 Paul Hayward 66 René Scholtz 77 Colin White-McCarthy 54 Gareth Thomas Defensive Backs 18 Kevin Kong 21 Dean Faulder 22 Chris Gray 24 Rhys Evans 25 Matthew Hannigan-Train 26 Richard Davies 29 Dean Griffith 49 Carl Gibbens  1 Steve Guy	Linebackers  4 Kevin Elsdon  5 John Stevenson 40 Craig Wilde 44 Paul Settle 51 Alex Shennan 53 Barrie Smith 55 Mark Davis 93 Adam Clayton	Coaching Staff Chris Wallis (HeadCoach) Steve Guy (GM) Andrew Barnard (Chairman)

Player Awards

The 2007 End of season awards took place at Bedford Athletic Stadium:

Blue Raider of the Year - Steve Guy

Players Player of the Year - Lee Hayward

Offensive Player of the Year - Lee Hayward

Defensive Player of the Year - Kevin Elsdon & Paul Settle

Special Teams of the Year -Dean Faulder & Chad Chisolm

Rookie of the Year - Paul Settle

Head Coach's Blue Raider of the Year - Anthony Coverdale

Head Coach's Player of the Year - Mark Davis, Tony Law & Martin Songhurst joint winners

2008

BLUE RAIDERS SIGN NEW COACHES

The Bedfordshire Blue Raiders announce the signing of former Kent Exiles Head Coach Craig Ramsay as Defensive Co-ordinator and Minor League Hall of Fame Member Bob Shaw as Offensive Line Coach.

Coach Ramsay was a founder member of the East Coast Leopards in 1985 and a Britbowl winner in 1990 as a player with the Ipswich Cardinals. He had an impressive and successful coaching history with the Norwich Devils before moving on to be Head Coach at the Exiles in 2007.

Coach Shaw joins the Blue Raiders after a season coaching the Cornish Sharks. In the past he has coached with the Peterborough Saxons, Cambridgeshire Cats, London Mets and Team England.

Published Game Reports from 2008

Setback for Bedfordshire Blue Raiders following first ever win

Following the elation of a first-ever competitive win, Bedfordshire Blue Raiders were brought crashing back down to earth with a 35-0 defeat to Cambridgeshire Cats on Sunday.

Having opened their first-ever British American Football League (BAFL) campaign with defeat against the Colchester Gladiators on April 12, Raiders hit back to record a morale-boosting 12-6 win over Watford Cheetahs a fortnight later.

In the game against Watford, it took time for both teams' offenses to settle into the game, with all the points coming in the fourth quarter. Raiders took the lead when they ran the ball home from just a yard out after a 66-yard drive down the pitch.

That joy was short lived though as the Cheetahs ran the ball 68 yards from the kick-off return to score a touchdown.

However, with less than three minutes to go, Matt Smith caught a touchdown pass to seal victory for Bedfordshire.

On Sunday, meanwhile, Raiders had a day to forget as they were outclassed by Cambridgeshire Cats.

The defeat was a bitter pill to swallow for coach Chris Wallis, who was returning to the club he guided to 47 wins in 69 games.

Raiders struggled right from the outset and could not cope with the Cats.

Peterborough Saxons put Bedfordshire to the sword

Bedfordshire Blue Raiders failed to score in a second consecutive game as they went down 25-0 to the Peterborough Saxons.

In hot conditions, the Saxons took an early 6-0 lead after the Raiders had surrendered possession.

Despite the early momentum, the Saxons never had the chance to score again in the first quarter as the defense started to play with more aggression but, as has often been the case, the Raiders struggled to move the ball forward.

The Raiders had their moments and managed to keep the deficit at six points going into the final quarter.

Fitness began to tell and the Saxons scored two touchdowns in the final 13 minutes to consign the Raiders to their third loss of the season.

Explosive offense bags Bedfordshire victory

Some explosive offense from Bedfordshire Blue Raiders saw them record their second British American Football League win as they beat local rivals Milton Keynes City Pathfinders 35-18.

The game started well for the Blue Raiders, first preventing the Pathfinders from scoring, before taking a 6-0 lead through a two-yard run by Mike Wilson.

However, after an explosive start, the game slowed with both defenses prevailing. With half time approaching, a huge run by Richard Cohen set up the Raiders, Wilson powering through again from three yards to give his side a 13-0 lead.

After half time the resurgent offense, who had failed to score in their previous two games, scored again with quarterback Nick Tilbury running home from seven yards.

Fearing a landslide, the Pathfinders stepped up their game, forcing a fumble and scoring to reduce the deficit to 19-6.

Blue Raiders replied with Cohen running in for his first ever touchdown from 10 yards, before defensive end Nick Barker, not wanting to be left out of the scoring party, recovered a fumble and returned it to score the Blue Raiders' first-ever defensive touchdown to put them out of sight. Chris Gray made his first and only ever Interception and ran the ball back 15 yards before being tackled to stop another Pathfinders attack.

Two consecutive touchdowns for the Pathfinders late on gave the scoreline a more respectable look.

2008 Roster

Bedfordshire Blue Raiders 2008 roster
Quarterbacks 15 Phillip Cutts 12 Tony Law  1 Nick Tilbury Running Backs 27 Richard Cohen 26 Armando Cordero  7 Mark Davis  5 Pete Hammond 42 Lee Hayward 33 Khaled Miah 44 Michael Wilson Wide Receivers 83 Jack Calow 88 Anthony Coverdale 82 Matt Hollingdale 19 Michael Jarvis 80 Matt Jones 87 Sam Kilbey 13 Michael McNally 81 Nathan Russell 86 Matt Smith 21 Ben White	Tight Ends  8 Liam Cooke  6 Steve Guy 81 Nathan Russell Offensive Linemen 64 Mitch Allen 57 Walter Bates 66 Russ Begbie 60 Gary Culleton 75 Brian Jelley 79 Martin Kent 72 Frank Moore 71 Tim Morris 62 Tony Orfeo 69 Martin Songhurst 51 Alex Wall	Defensive Linemen 98 Nick Barker 93 Andy Barnard 99 Iain Connor 96 Mike Grigg  5 Pete Hammond 48 Liam McGar 34 Gareth Pullen 92 Liam Quinlan 55 Paul Settle 51 Alex Wall	Defensive Backs 23 Stuart Butt 21 Cameron Clark 40 Michael Cox 24 Rhys Evans 18 Kevin Kong 17 Ricardo Lory 29 Lee Masters 32 Tim Muelchi 31 Adam Parker 11 Ali Veitch Linebackers 61 Gareth Boyd 93 Alan Brook 90 Matt Field 25 Matthew Hannigan-Train 50 Darren Hunt 18 Kevin Kong 52 John Murphy 34 Gareth Pullen 54 Gareth Thomas 22 Chris Gray	Coaching Staff Chris Wallis (HeadCoach) Bob Shaw (O-Line Coach) Craig Ramsay (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers) Steve Guy (GM) Andrew Barnard (Chairman)

Player Awards

The 2008 End of season awards took place at The Flower Pot in Bedford:

Blue Raider of the Year – Andy Barnard

Player of the Year – Mike Wilson

Offensive Player of the Year - Mike Wilson

Defensive Player of the Year - John Murphy

Special Teams Player of the Year - Michael Cox

Rookie of the Year – John Murphy

Coaches Player of the Year – John Murphy

Head Coach's Player of the Year – Iain Connor & Tony Law

Head Coach's Blue Raider of the Year – Andy Barnard & Steve Guy

2009

In Blue Raiders most successful season they reach their first (and only) Playoff only to be stopped by Colchester Gladiators for the 3rd time this season.

The team were ranked 4th in the conference at the end of the regular season and therefore qualified for a playoff position.

Being ranked 4th meant that they were to meet the number one ranked qualifying team the Colchester Gladiators.

Raiders lost 16 / 41 to the Gladiators.

Coach Wallis Steps Down

The Bedfordshire Blue Raiders announce that Head Coach, Chris Wallis steps down.

Blue Raiders Announce New GM

General Manager and Founder Member, Steve Guy announced step down, although he will remain a part of the Blue Raiders organisation in the future.

Former QB Tony Law takes over the reigns at the team and unveils to the team the re-brand and the future of the team on his watch.

Blue Raiders sign new Head Coach

The Bedfordshire Blue Raiders announce the appointment of Craig Ramsay as the next Head Coach of the team.

2009 Roster

Bedfordshire Blue Raiders 2009 Roster
Quarterbacks 15 Phillip Cutts  8 Jack Lidyard 13 Nigel Mansfield Running Backs 40 Enrique Alonso 28 Jack Calow 32 Eric Cullipher  7 Mark Davis 26 Sam Peel 29 Liam Quinlan 44 Michael Wilson 31 Joe Wroczynski Wide Receivers 88 Peter Coppenhall 80 Martyn Forster 82 Matt Hollingdale 19 Michael Jarvis 87 Sam Kilbey 83 Dean Moore 81 Nathan Russell 86 Matt Smith	Tight Ends 11 Liam Cooke (TE/QB)  6 Steve Guy Offensive Linemen 62 Mitch Allen 57 Walter Bates 70 Mark Blackwell 79 Martin Kent 72 Frank Moore 71 Tim Morris 60 Mark O'Donnell 51 Demi Omisakim 69 Martin Songhurst 64 William Walsh 75 Clint Wright	Defensive Linemen 98 Nick Barker  1 Andy Barnard 54 Gareth Boyd 59 Iain Connor (DL/OL) 48 Pete Hammond 25 Matthew Hannigan-Train 61 Andy Holland 15 Mike Keogh (DL/QB) 55 Paul Settle Linebackers 90 Matt Field 96 Malc Fraser 93 Brad Hopkins 52 John Murphy 50 Jim Plagmann 50 Gareth Pullen (LB/DL) 49 Philip Wingham	Defensive Backs 17 Michael Cox 23 Matthew Johnson (FS) 18 Kevin Kong (FS/LB) 31 Adam Parker 27 Ben Rosen 42 Elliot Viechweg	Coaching Staff Chris Wallis (HeadCoach) Steve Guy (GM & Assistant to Chris Wallis) Andrew Barnard (Chairman & Assistant to Coach Ramsay) Anthony Coverdale (Wide Receivers) Craig Ramsay (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers) Julian Fuller (Special Teams Coordinator/Line Coach) Geoff Clarke (Defensive Backs) Rhys Evans (Assistant to Coach Clarke) Matthew Hannigan-Train (Assistant to Coach Ramsey) Michael Cox (Assistant to Coach Clarke) Michael Wilson Snr. (Running Backs) Iain Connor (Strength & Conditioning)

2010

This season saw the public unveiling of the new Blue Raiders logo aka "Kiefer" after its initial unveiling to the team at the 2009 Awards evening.

2010 Roster

Bedfordshire Blue Raiders 2010 roster
Quarterbacks  7 Luke Smith  8 Simon Perks 11 Alan Shea 13 Phil Cutts Running Backs 18 Kevin Kong 27 Josh Cerri 29 Liam Quinlan 30 Andi Peat 31 Jason Crabtree 32 Eric Cullipher 40 Enrique Alonso 42 Lee Hayward 44 Michael Wilson	Tight End 48 Mark O'Donnell 57 Walter Bates Wide Receivers 80 Martyn Forster 81 Nathan Russell 82 Chris Russell 83 Ben White 87 Nick Piper 88 Pete Coppenhall	Offensive Linemen 61 Warren Temple 62 Mitch Allen 64 William Walsh 66 James Salfarlie 69 Martin Songhurst 70 Adam Clough 71 Tim Morris 72 Graham Searle 75 Lee Brown 79 Martin Kent Defensive Linemen 61 Warren Temple 62 Mitch Allen 66 James Salfarlie 75 Lee Brown 79 Martin Kent 92 Liam Smith 98 Daniel Field 99 Michael Dilley	Defensive Backs 17 Michael Cox 21 Clinton Harper 22 Darren Richens 23 Matthew Johnson 24 Simon Conby 25 Don Palmacci 28 Jamie Smith 49 Carl Gibbens Linebackers  1 Darren Gregory  4 Jim Plagmann 50 Gareth Pullen 52 John Murphy 55 Matt Clark 59 Wayne Collins	Coaching Staff    Tony Law (GM)    Craig Ramsay (Head Coach/Defensive Co-ordinator)

Team Awards

Blue Raiders win the John Slavin Award 2010 for Best Marked Field for both "Best in Division Two" and "Best in the League".^[4]

BAFRA awards the John Slavin Trophy in even numbered years to the team with the best marked field. This includes correct field dimensions, correct line and other markings, correct size goal posts, correct positioning of pylons and the condition of the field surface. The title is awarded to the team that has comes out best in an audit carried out by BAFRA members at each game. A perfect facility scores 0. In 2008, when the Trophy was last awarded on this basis, it was won by Oxford Saints. This year saw Bedfordshire Blue Raiders take the title in a close run contest with fellow Division 2 team Berkshire Renegades.

2011

2011 Roster

Bedfordshire Blue Raiders 2011 roster
Quarterbacks  7 Martin Day 12 Anthony Law 32 Darragh Mooney 19 Cullum Papworth    Simon Perks Running Backs 40 Enrique Alonso    Dom Alphe 27 Joshua Cerri    Andrew Peat    Brendan Walsh 44 Michael J Wilson Tight End 57 Walter Bates	Wide Receivers 80 Marytn Forster    Matthew Hollingdale 87 Daniel Kilbey 85 Kyle Shiels 26 Dwayne Small 24 Jamie Smith    Ben White Offensive Linemen    Adam Clough 66 Michael Dilley 79 Martin Kent 71 Tim Morris 48 Mark O'Donnell 56 James Salfarlie 75 Mike Walsh    Mitch Allen 64 William Walsh    Graham Searle	Defensive Linemen 96 Daniel Field 72 Lee Brown 93 Conor Hewitt    Gareth Thomas    Sean Dobson Defensive Backs 31 Jason Del-Boyer 49 Carl Gibbins    Kevin Kong 22 Darren Richens	Linebackers 54 Charles Mack 52 John Murphy 50 Gareth Pullen Other 29 Richard Cooper    Phillip Cutts    Sam Delasalle 28 Matt Duffin    Clinton Harper 15 Charles Luetchford    Jordan McQueen 55 Richard Melton 86 David Morales    David Pankhurst  5 William Theurer    Adam Veitch	Coaching Staff Craig Ramsay (HeadCoach) Anthony Coverdale (Coach) Ian Papworth (Coach) Martin Songhurst (Coach) Michael J Wilson (Coach) Geoffrey Clarke (Coach) Mark Davis (Sideline) Steven Guy (Stats) Kevin Gedny (Official Photographer)

2012

The 2012 season started off well for the Raiders as with an influx of new rookies and several veteran players joining the team.

This coupled with the appointments of former London Blitz Offensive Line Coach and current Great Britain Lions Offensive Line Coach Anthony Fitzpatrick as the new Offensive Co-ordinator and former Blue Raiders Center and Offensive Line Coach Martin Songhurst as Special Teams Co-Ordinator.

Renewed positive influences were starting to show within the team.

Conor Hewitt (DL) becomes the first-ever Bedfordshire Blue Raiders player to be selected for the Great Britain Lions U19 American Football team.

2012 Roster

Bedfordshire Blue Raiders 2012 roster
Quarterbacks  8 Simon Perks 12 Tony Law 18 Phillip Cutts 19 Callum Papworth 32 Darragh Mooney Running Backs 24 Jamie Smith 25 Dom Alphe 26 Brendan Walsh 27 Joshua Cerri 29 Richard Cooper 40 Enrique Alonso 30 Andrew Peat 44 Michael Wilson	Tight End 48 Mark O'Donnell 57 Walter Bates Wide Receivers 15 Charles Luetchford 80 Marytn Forster 82 Matthew Hollingdale 83 Ben White 85 Kyle Shiels 86 David Morales 87 Daniel Kilbey	Offensive Linemen 56 James Salfarlie 62 Mitch Allen 64 William Walsh 75 Mike Walsh 79 Martin Kent 66 Michael Dilley 71 Neale McMaster Tim Morris 72 Lee Brown 93 Conor Hewitt 48 Mark O'Donnell 57 Walter Bates Defensive Linemen 79 Martin Kent 66 Michael Dilley 72 Lee Brown 93 Conor Hewitt	Defensive Backs 22 Darren Richens 28 Matt Duffin 31 Jason Del Boyer 49 Carl Gibbins Linebackers 29 William Theurer 54 Charles Mack 55 Richard Melton 96 Daniel Field 50 Gareth Pullen 52 John Murphy	Coaching Staff Tony Law (GM) Craig Ramsay (Head Coach/Defensive Co-ordinator) Anthony Fitzpartick (Offensive Co-ordinator) Martin Songhurst (Special Teams Co-ordinator) Anthony Coverdale (Asst. Offensive Co-ordinator/WR Coach) Anthony Fitzpartick (Interim Youth Team Head Coach)

Player Awards

The 2012 End of season awards took place at Bengal Brasserie in Bedford:

Blue Raider of the Year - Tony Law

Team MVP - Gareth Pullen

Rookie of the Year - Byron Chowles

Coach’s Player of the Year - John Murphy

Offensive MVP - Enrique Alonso

Defensive MVP - Conor Hewitt

Special Teams Player of the Year - Byron Chowles

Team Awards

Blue Raiders win the John Slavin Award 2012 for Best Marked Field in Division Two for the second time running.^[5]

2013

With great expectation the 2013 season came with the addition of a new Home strip that incorporated the colour scheme from the logo re-brand of 2010.

This season saw the club have the first winning start to the season in its history.

Riding high on a 4-0 start to the season after defeating Essex Spartans, Watford Cheetahs and Maidstone Pumas twice no one could have predicted how the rest of the season would play out.

Once again though, it was an away trip to Colchester that started the downfall of the Raiders season. Poor turnouts in the practices leading up to the game, were starting to take its toll, but as usual the squad arrived on Gameday confident of pulling out a win. Sadly that wasn’t to be the case, and Colchester cantered to a 48-16 victory on their way to lifting the National Division title.

Whilst sporting a record of 4-1, externally everything was rosy for the Blue Raiders. Internally however, practice numbers were falling into the low teens occasionally, as injuries and a lack of player commitment by various members of the squad started to take its toll. 3 back to back losses, including a 21-7 loss to rivals Milton Keynes Pathfinders had left the Raiders with a 4-4 record heading into the last two games of the season. By this point the Raiders had lost a lot of players, and the squad size was approximately half of that which started the season, none of which could have been expected. With no healthy QB’s on the roster for the scheduled game against the Kent Exiles, the decision was made to forfeit the fixture and hand Kent a 1-0 win. This took the Blue Raiders to an upside down record of 4-5, with no hopes of making the playoffs and struggling to see out the season. Practices were now down to around 5-15 people average, and the future was not as bright as all had hoped.

The final game of the season was an away fixture at the Essex Spartans, the team the Blue Raiders beat in the opening game of the season. In order to be able to play this fixture several members of the Blue Raiders coaching staff had to re-register as players and start this game. Thankfully the experience of the players brought them through a tough game, and they finished the season a respectable 5-5. Little did anyone know that this would be the final game the Blue Raiders ever played.

At the end of the game, Club General Manager Tony Law announced he was stepping down as Chairman, and that an EGM would be scheduled to sort out a new GM moving forward. At this point, Coaches Anthony Fitzpatrick, Anthony Coverdale, Martin Songhurst and Head Coach Craig Ramsay also announced they would be stepping down, with Fitzpatrick and Coverdale heading to coach at Premier Division team, the London Blitz, Songhurst stepping down to concentrate on other interests and Ramsay stepping down to spend time with his family, after nearly 25 years of coaching.

Player Awards

The 2013 End of season awards took place at Indian Summer in Bedford:

Team MVP - John Murphy

Offensive Player of the Year - Darragh Mooney

Defensive Player of the Year - Michael Cox

Special Teams Player of the Year - Danny Lipner

Rookie of the Year - Jack Judge

Senior team season records

Season	Division	Wins	Losses	Ties	PF	PA	Final Position	Playoff Record	Notes
2007	BAFL Qualifying	2	1	0	N/A	N/A	N/A	Wins: Maidstone Pumas MK Pathfinders. Loss: Leicester Falcons	—
2008	BAFL Division Two East	4	6	0	128	197	3 / 5	—	—
2009	BAFL Division Two East	8	2	0	203	73	2 / 4	Lost 16–41 to Colchester Gladiators in quarter-final.	—
2010	BAFA Community Leagues Division Two East	6	4	0	176	134	3 / 6	—	—
2011	BAFA National Leagues Division Two East	3	6	0	88	182	5 / 7	—	—
2012	BAFA National Leagues Division Two East	4	6	0	130	190	4 / 6	—	—
2013	BAFA National Leagues South Central	5	5	0	184	163	4 / 7	—	—

Blue Raiders Britball Records

Longest run 94 - Lee Hayward, (Bedfordshire Blue Raiders) vs Maidstone Pumas, 9 September 2007^[6]

Most Sacks In a Season 13.0 - Paul Settle – 2008^[7]

Oldest player to rush for a 1,000 yards in a season Michael J Wilson (born 1963) in 2008. (This record was never submitted to the Britball)

References