A Step Too Far

July 25th, 2025

East Kilbride Pirates 06 – Manchester Titans 12

The Pirates went into their final league game of the season knowing that there were two scenarios which would see them progress into post-season play-off action. One of which they could control, the other being totally out of their hands. The latter required Coventry Phoenix to lose both of their remaining fixtures. However with their early kick off victory over Nottingham negating that possibilty, it fell to East Kilbride to take matters into their own hands and defeat Manchester.

The chase got off to the worst possible start when EK’s opening drive stalled and they had to punt. The punt snap rolled along the ground into the endzone leaving punter Rory Kay with no option but to scoop in out of the back of the endzone and concede a safety. Manchester were similarly slow to start and they too went 3-and-out. The Pirates second drive did gain momentum, moving into the red zone before stalling. Kay’s 34-yard field goal attempt drifted just wide of the left hand post. The Titans again had to punt, but Lenkowski’s kicking was pinning the Pirates deep in their own half.

The field position battle seemed to swing in EK’s favour early in Q2. Ryan Strachan picked off a Charlie Martin pass and returned it to the Manchester 32-yard line. From there, a series of runs by Greg Black took it even closer before QB Cameron Dunn faked a hand off to Black then carried the ball himself for a 4-yard TD. Kay’s PAT hit the right post, but the Pirates now had their noses in front. The Titans’ response was immediate, taking just three plays to score. The last of those was a 32-yard pass by Martin to Manny Eze and Lenkowski duly added the PAT for a 9-6 lead. Late in the quarter Lenkowski had the chance to increase that advantage, but his 41-yard field goal was blocked at the line of scrimmage.

The defences continued to hold the upper hand throughout the third quarter, when the only scoring opportunity was a 48-yard field goal attempt by Lenkowski that fell short of the target. The normally reliable kicker soon found his range early in the final period when he slotted over from 23 yards. With the game still on the line, neither offence could free themselves from the shackles placed on them, and despite a tense finish, Manchester were able to see out the victory without too much stress. They now progress to the play-offs, with a game against Coventry to come and determine which of them gets the 1 seed and home field advantage. The Pirates can only look back at what might have been and start planning for 2026.

The final Jack Daniels Gameday MVP award went to Ryan Strachan who led by example throughout not only this game, but the whole season.

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