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Tsunami Rookie Day a successThe wind and the rain couldnt stop the rookies
The Home of Brightons Premier American Football team
Tsunami Rookie Day a successThe wind and the rain couldnt stop the rookies
Written by: Bryn Price
The Tsunami are mourning the loss of cheerleader Hester Stewart who passed away unexpectantly in the early hours of Sunday 26th April 2009. Hester had been at the Tsunami and Waves awards dinner the night before celebrating the acheivements of players and cheerleaders for the 08/09 season. At the moment, details surrounding Hess's passing have not been released.
The Brighton Tsunami would like to extend their thoughts to the Stewart family during this difficult time. The Brighton Tsunami players wore pink ribbons as a sign of respect at the Brighton v Sussex Varsity Sports Day on Wednesday . We will update with details of a funeral when they are known.
Date: 30/04/2009
Written by: Bryn Price
It was a game where the outcome was never really in doubt. Royal Holloway Bears (0-6) had lost every game so far this season and the only thing in question was by how many points Brighton Tsunami (3-1) would win. The game was played in the worst weather conditions and both sides were grateful to be playing on Brighton’s hallowed 3G surface at Falmer. Tsunami were looking for revenge after the Bears beat Brighton 7-6 in this fixture last year on a WR reverse pass play.
Brighton kicked off the game and forced Holloway to punt after a 3 and out. Some trickery called in from newly-promoted play caller Martin Harrison and great blocking up front saw Brighton’s #39 Toyin Omodara go in from 9 yards out and put the Tsunami up by 6. Again Holloway went 3 and out but an unlucky punt hit #11 Robbie Falconer on the back and gave the Bears another chance to get some yards. Again, Royal Holloway wear unable to gain a first down and a turnover on downs occurred.
The second quarter saw Brighton stick up a further 14 points. The first touchdown was scored again by Omodara on a 4 yard run, #16 Nick Pyke stuck on the XP. #24 Mike Ogundare broke the Bear’s containment and ran for 18 yards to get the second. Brighton’s defense still had only conceded the one first down on the shanked punt.
Brighton began the second half with the same intensity as they finished the first. Omodara picked up his 3rd rushing TD of the game by running over the Bear’s defense on their goal line. With the game at 27-0, Coach Bainbridge decided to change things up and put in his back-ups to gain some valuable football experience.
On the first play of the fourth, #23 Ollie Bishop broke a tackle and went on a 27 yard TD run, his second TD of the season. Another 3 and out for Bears and Brighton went back on the attack. A great kickoff by Pyke followed by a huge sack by half the Tsunami defense saw Holloway start 3rd down on their 14 yard line. OLB Derrick McGriffin forced a fumble which #59 Josh Trimmer picked up and ran back home. Brighton were cruising 40-0 but managed to fit in one more score before the close. A 67 yard drive led by rookie QB #12 Luke Hughes ended in a TD when Hughes passed to fellow rookie #82 Edd Grocott for an 8 yard TD to finish the scoring Tsunami 46, Bears 0.
After the game, Coach Bainbridge expressed his delight with his squad, “Everyone performed well today. The starters dominated right from the get go and we managed to get every member of our squad on the field without slowing down. That’s the first half of our season in the book and we are playing some good football and have put ourselves in position with the win today to finish what we’ve started!”
Brighton go on the road next for a crucial game against the Portsmouth Destroyers (4-2) with both teams knowing that a loss will see them effectively out of the playoffs.
Gameday MVP was awarded to Centre/MLB Josh Trimmer, 1 FumR for TD.
Offense MVP was awarded to RB Oliver Bishop, 16 rushes for 157 Yards, 1 TD.
Defense MVP was awarded to LB Phillip Winslow, 7 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 1 FFum.
Special Teams MVP was awarded to LB Phillip Winslow.
Date: 25/01/2009
Written by: Bryn Price
The sun came out for a highly anticipated game in the seaside city between Brighton Tsunami and Surrey Stingers. Brighton (2-1) were hoping to bounce back from their Overtime loss to UEA (2-2) whilst Surrey (2-2) were on a high after their best start to a campaign since the 2005-06 season.
The game started brightly after Kick Returner Chris Hope returned the ball 70 yards to the 20 to give Brighton a great chance to score on their opening drive. After some power running on 4th and Inches by RB Toyin Omodara, QB Matt Russell threw the ball to TE Niall Sweeney to give Brighton the opening score. They were unsuccessful in converting for 2 points and the score was 6-0 Brighton.
Brighton forced 2 fumbles and recovered one on Surrey’s first offensive try and put the ball back into Brighton’s offense. Surrey forced Tsunami into a 3 and out but on the next drive, the Tsunami defence continued to swarm all over Stinger’s offense and on 3rd and 15, DE Derrick McGriffin broke through the offensive line to break up the hand-off and DE Andy Rayner recovered the fumble and returned it 53 yards to give Brighton a 12-0 lead.
During the second quarter, Surrey scored and the game was poised at 12-7.
Thankfully, Brighton shut out Surrey for the rest of the game and were able to try out rookies during the 4th quarter.
Following their win, Brighton goes into the Christmas break full of confidence and looking forward to exact revenge against the Royal Holloway Bears (0-5) on 25th January 2009.
Gameday MVP was awarded to Linebacker Chris Hope, 1 Tackle.
Offense MVP was awarded to Tight End Niall Sweeney, 2 Catches for 11 Yards, 1 TD.
Defense MVP was awarded to Defensive Back Russ Mumford, 3 tackles.
Special Teams MVP was awarded to Kick Returner Chris Hope, 2 Returns for 98 Yards (70 Long).
Date: 7/12/2008
Written by: Bryn Price
193 rushing yards and two interceptions were not enough for Brighton Tsunami (1-1) to earn a W against the UEA Pirates (2-1) on a gusty Sunday afternoon in the Seaside City. A heart-wrenching touchdown pass in overtime saw the home team lose to the Norwich outfit.
The game started out in Brighton’s favour, scoring on their first drive when RB Mike Ogundare rushed in from 4 yards out. The following Tsunami drive started on their 2 yard line after the Pirates went 3 and out. Brighton were unable to move the ball and had to punt from their end zone. Brighton’s defence were rampant however during the first quarter, with LB Chris Hope recording his first sack of the season and Safety Marcus Dilley picking off QB Martin Ray’s pass.
During the second quarter, another interception, this time by Defensive Back Rob Falconer, gave Brighton the ball on the Pirate’s 15 yard line. After some short gains, Ogundare went in again from 5 yards out to score his second TD of the game. Kicker Nick Pyke made sure the XP was good and Brighton went into the half 13-0 up. It seemed as if UEA had nothing to offer to break the Tsunami offense or defence.
Pirates received the ball at the second half and managed to score on their opening drive of the half. The XP was good and Brighton’s offense went on for the first time in the 3rd only 6 points up. However, a false start penalty and fumble recovered by UEA bought the Tsunami defence back on the field. In fact, the second half saw Brighton make far too many mistakes, including an important 15 yard run called back for holding, and gifted UEA with an opportunity another scoring opportunity.
With the game tight in the 4th quarter, UEA tried to break down the Brighton defence once more. With the Pirates at 4th and long, they threw up a prayer that was dropped by the WR. However, a harsh pass interference penalty was called on DB Nick Pyke and 3 plays later, Ray was in the end zone after bumping out wide. Brighton blocked the PAT and the game was destined for Overtime.
Pirates won the toss and elected Brighton to have the first attempt. A pass from QB Matt Russell to RB Oliver Bishop was ruled a fumble by the umpire, bringing the Pirate’s offense on to try to win the game. A quick slant by UEA saw them go in for 6 and the Pirates had won. It was Brighton’s ill-discipline that saw them loose with 125 penalty yards, more than UEA’s offense had tallied in 4 quarters of regulation football.
Brighton will be looking to bounce back and go into the Christmas break with a win over the Surrey Stingers (1-1) on 7th December.
Gameday MVP was awarded to Linebacker Kevin Yetman, 7 tackles.
Offense MVP was awarded to Running Back Ollie Bishop. 3 catches for 22 yards
Defense MVP was awarded to Defensive End Andy Rayner. 3 tackles and 2 sacks.
Special Teams MVP was awarded to Niall Sweeney.
Date: 25/11/2008
Written by: Bryn Price
Brighton Tsunami (1-0) got their season off to a winning start, earning a hard fought victory on the road. Brighton ran for 336 yards and scored a Punt Return Touchdown as they beat the Anglia Ruskin Phantoms (0-1) 26-6. Gameday MVP #24 Michael Ogundare rushed for 189 yards but was denied from scoring twice by red zone tackles from Phantom’s Free Safety.
The first quarter saw both teams try to drive the ball on the ground due to weather conditions but ended scoreless. 7 minutes into the 2nd Quarter, Ogundare broke through into the Phantoms secondary on a 26 yard run before being tackled on the 3. Running Back Toyan Omodara punched the ball in to give Brighton the lead. Kicker Nick Pyke tacked on the extra point.
Brighton then forced Anglia Ruskin into a 3 and out. Another great drive by Brighton saw Full Back Ollie Bishop score on the ground but Pyke was unable to stick the ball between the posts leaving it at 13-0. The Phantoms once again had to punt on their drive and managed a 20 yard punt straight to Returner Marcus Dilley. 45 yards later and Brighton were back in the endzone following a superb return. Pyke kicked for the extra point and Brighton went into the half with a 20-0 lead.
During the third quarter, Phantoms forced Tsunami to punt on a 4th and long from deep in their half. Josh “Houdini” Van Nes came out to punt but saw great vision and instead ran the ball to the first down marker. Brighton were able to capitalise on this when they added to their score with Wide Receiver Audley Swain going into the endzone on a wrap-around. Brighton were cruising 26 to zero points.
The fourth saw Anglia Ruskin finally able to put something together on offense with their Quarterback somehow managing to escape a maul down the middle of the field, bouncing outside to score 6 points. The 2-point conversion was no good. 7 minutes from time, a Phantoms injury saw the game end abruptly with Tsunami coming out 26-6 winners.
Gameday MVP was awarded to Running Back Mike Ogundare, 17 rushes for 189 yards.
Offense MVP was awarded to Centre Josh Trimmer.
Defense MVP was awarded to Corner Back Nick Pyke.
Special Teams MVP was awarded to Marcus Dilley, 3 returns for 45 yards, a TD and 2 tackles.
Date: 11/11/2008
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