The DMU American Football Team (DMU Falcons) have had a stellar season this year, having won five consecutive games in their division - their best performance to date.
The team, who have now been promoted to division 1, began the season with low expectations, as several of their senior players graduated the previous year, they believed their focus lay in training up a strong side for the future.
Many members had only recently joined the Falcons, and were thrown in at the deep end when it came to playing in BUCS fixtures, but the team maintained the focus on training - they wanted the emphasis to be on playing the sport and having fun.
But the Falcons were about to experience an unprecedented bout of success. After a rocky start with a loss to Huddersfield, they returned with renewed drive to win every single game since –by their fourth game the Falcons were already at 3-1, their best season’s result ever.
Their final game in the division was against the favourites, the Staffordshire Stallions, with both teams fighting to make it to the playoffs. The game was close, and went to double overtime at 12-12. A touchdown scored in the second overtime, followed by strong defence on the DMU side which prevented Staffordshire from retaliating and meant that DMU bagged a euphoric win. When the full time whistle blew everyone from the DMU team ran onto the pitch in celebration.
Image credit: Alex Hulme Photography
Quarterback Tyler Arthur credits a really close knit team for their success: “I feel like the social side has been the most integrated it has ever been. We go and watch games as a team and everyone gets on – a really great environment on and off the pitch”
The team have also benefited from the fantastic new 3G facility at Beaumont Park, the high impact pitch allowed them to practice tackling safely and become more comfortable with the sport.
So how are they feeling for the upcoming Varsity match? This year Leicester have been relegated to Division 2, whilst the DMU Falcons have been promoted, meaning for the first time ever they are in the higher Division. However, the team aren’t going to let themselves get complacent.
Leicester are a strong team, and playing against them will be a good measure for the standard the Falcons will be aspiring to beat next season.
The team are justly proud of what they have achieved so far, and are already in the best position they’ve ever been, and a win against Leicester would end the season on an absolute high.
Their win against Staffordshire means that for the first time the Falcons made it to the playoffs, where the top eight seeded teams play in a knockout style tournament with teams from other regional groups. They have already won their first game of the playoffs 21-20 against Sunderland, and will host the Liverpool Raptors in the next stage on the 17 March at Beaumont Park.
Posted on Tuesday 5 March 2019