The reigning British Champion Coventry Cassidy Jets got their title defense off to a sputtering start as they edged the Bristol Aztecs 16-7 in a turgid affair punctuated by penalties and injuries at Coventry Sphinx FC.
Last season's defensive standout Dominic Olney took the player of the game plaudits for another stellar all-round performance highlighted by two lengthy interception returns.
Running back Kofi Campbell found himself locked in the changing rooms as the game began, it seemed as though his offensive team mates were with him in spirit as the Jets consistently failed to move the ball.
Quarterback Ed Tate's first pass as a Jet was wildly inaccurate, finding only a wide open Aztecs linebacker in the shape of Thomas Johnson.
Bristol's offense was stifled on it's opening drive as Jeremy Simms made one tackle and also broke up a Dave Keen pass. The pattern repeated itself through 'til the final play of the first quarter when Tate hit the ever reliable Mark Cohen for an 18 yard score and a 6-0 lead. Britbowl hero Fraser Houston was on hand to convert the extra point to push the lead to 7-0.
The visiting Aztecs were being completely stifled by the dominant Jets defense and didn't make it out of their own half until a roughing the passer penalty against Matt Barrett pushed them over the halfway line on the penultimate play of the half. The drive came to nothing as Gary Clarke, who enjoyed a memorable debut, broke free to register the second of his two sacks.
Keen was unable to find any rhythm and saw a total of 4 of his passes picked off by the rampant Jets D, the beleaguered quarterback would finish the day completing just 7 of 23 attempts. His lone highlight cam midway through the third period, a 10 yard completion to tight end Stuart Toogood pulled his team back into the game with Jon Wyse kicking the conversion to level the scores at 7-7.
Coventry struggled in the kicking game as Cohen was unable to get the ball down on some wayward snaps resulting in two broken plays and a blocked field goal, depriving Houston of two 42 yard and a 55 yard attempt. They finally got it right for a chip shot of 24 yards early in the fourth quarter giving the hosts a 10-7 lead and affording a little breathing room for Head Coach Gerry McManus and his team.
Those three points had come off the back of Olney's first interception and his second, on the following drive, had a similar result though this time Houston hooked his 32 yard attempt wide of the left upright. Bristol were beginning to run out of time as they went in search of the score that could stop them from dropping to 0-2 on the season. On a third and seven play Adam Biggs turned in time to see the ball heading in his direction and the Jets' veteran cornerback gratefully picked it off before scampering back 42 yards to his opponents 2 yard line.
Campbell took the first bite of the cherry, driving the ball down to the one before Tate was stood up on the line on second down. Campbell tried again and this time powered his way in to give the Jets a vital two-score advantage at 16-7. Houston's extra point was blocked due to a blown assignment. Bristol again failed to progress out of their own half as Paul Newey began to exert his dominance. A sack and an interception for the evergreen linebacker sealed the victory as Coventry improved their record to 6-0 over the Aztecs and 1-0 on the season.
Next up for the Jets is a trip to Prague where they'll try to ignite their European campaign before returning to the Sphinx to face the London Blitz on May 31st. The match will see a repeat of the last two National Championship games with the two teams winning one apiece.