The Jets travel to Horsham on Saturday looking to avoid finishing the season with a losing record. After starting the year with four straight loses Head Coach Gerry McManus has worked a minor miracle to turn the team into a title contender as they went on to win four of their following five matches. Victory at the Sussex Thunder would see Coventry finish the regular season at 5 & 5, narrowly avoiding their first losing season since debuting as the Jaguars in 2004.
Coventry’s record versus the Premier League’s bottom club is 3-0 including a recent 48-6 demolition at the Butts Park Arena. Lorne Sam passed for 210 yards in that encounter and a repeat performance will see him top the 2000 yard mark for the season. With 1830 yards to his name already, Sam has comfortably eclipsed Tim Spaull’s 2007 Jets’ record of 1534.
Whilst Coventry’s passing game will be at full strength their passing defense is weakened by the continuing absence of Adam Biggs. The Captain of the secondary is still away in Tanzania scaling Mount Kilimanjaro in support of the Myasthenia Gravis Association. Rookie defensive back Shaun Rice will miss out once again with his ongoing neck problem so wide receiver Jeremy Simms will be called upon to play both ways.
Kofi Campbell will also have double duties playing at both running back and continuing his development as a serious pass rushing threat at defensive end. GB Lions star David Saul is another player that’s likely to pull a double shift for the Jets. Second in tackles only to Vince Brown, Saul is also a threat at wide receiver as he proved in the European Championships, scoring Great Britain’s only touchdown of the tournament.
McManus will once again be denied the services of giant defensive tackles Matt Barrett and Mick Mills, however, the pair have been ably deputised for by rookie duo Mark Wade and Colm Jones. Fan favourite Anthony Nip will look to further his conversion to defensive end after looking impressive in his prior outing versus the Thunder. For more details on the Coventry Jets please visit their website www.covjets.com or follow them on Twitter www.twitter.com/CoventryJets.