Pirates Apply Capital Punishment

July 25th, 2024

Edinburgh Wolves 13 – East Kilbride Pirates 28

EKP eventually won this encounter on a day when they themselves provided most of the obstacles to be overcome. The win however sees them complete the “double” over Edinburgh and go above them in the League table.

Edinburgh won the toss and elected to receive the ball, but they were forced into an immediate 3-and-out. They instantly got possession back, when a bad exchange saw the Pirates fumble away the ball on their own 5-yard line. The visiting defence held firm at this point and forced the Wolves to go for a 24-yard Field Goal attempt that ultimately drifted wide of the left upright. East Kilbride’s next two drives were both short lived, ending on a punt and then another fumble. It was a case of fourth time lucky however, when a drive that started on their own 10-yard line concluded with RB Mark Stewart driving the ball home on a 3-yard carry. The 2PAT run was then stopped short on the final play of the Quarter.

A good return of the resulting kick off left Edinburgh in EK territory, but their 8-play drive was thwarted on a 4^th Down Sack by Yousef Betout to get the ball back into Pirate hands. EK ‘s Offense was beginning to click into place, and a 10-play drive took them to just 2 yards short of the endzone. From there, Stewart again powered the ball home to double the lead, the 2PAT once more being unsuccessful. That situation remained unchanged as the game progressed to half-time.

A penalty on the kick-off return backed the Pirates up, and their third fumble on the day left Edinburgh with the ball and just 5 yards to go. Their initial attempts made no impact, but a “roughing the passer” penalty on EK, gave the Wolves a new set of downs and placed the ball on the 1 yard line.From there, QB Jamie Morrison scored the TD and Kyle McIlroy added the PAT. This rattled East Kilbride who lost their focus for a few moments, and the home side took advantage by scoring again. Morrison connected with McIlroy for a 9-yard TD and although the 2PAT attempt failed, the Wolves had moved into the lead. To their credit, the Pirates bounced straight back, and regained the upper hand when an 8-play drive was rounded off by a 21-yard pass from Cammy Dunn, finding Martin Gallagher in the endzone. Dunn also ran in the 2PAT, putting EKP 20-13 ahead as the game headed to the final period.

A strip-sack by Ryan Strachan immediately after the change of ends got the ball back for EK, but they couldn’t take advantage and soon had to punt. Fortunately for them, the Wolves’ returner failed to catch the ball cleanly and a marauding James Williams gleefully fell on the loose ball. Another short field could only mean one thing, the ball was handed off to Stewart who added his third TD of the day with an 8-yard carry. Dunn found Andrew McBride, who did a great job of toe-tapping in the endzone as he headed out of bounds, in a catch worthy of more than just the two extra points. From this point the game pretty much petered out and closed with EK as 28-13 victors.

Pirates’ MVPs on the day were Ryan Strachan on Defense and Chris Dick on Offense, with Mark Stewart taking the overall award.

Due to the forfeit of the final home game of the campaign on Sunday 4th August by Merseyside Nighthawks, the Pirates now have several weeks off to prepare for a long trip to Coventry to take on Tamworth Phoenix in the last game of the season. This takes place on Sunday 11^th August, with a 2pm kick off at Coventry Butts Park Arena.

Report by Bill Campbell
Photos courtesy Duncolm Sports Photography – you can find a full gallery here.   

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