Redditch Arrows 52

Merseyside Nighthawks 8

THE Arrows maintained their place at the top of Division Two Central with this emphatic victory over their Ash Lane visitors.

And it was an excellent all-round display for the Hopwood-based side with the points coming from nine different players while the defense allowed just 39 yards and one first down.

The first touchdown came when Arrows quarter-back Richard Wilde hit wide receiver Phil Grove deep down the sideline who jinked inside the last defender to score.

This was just a taste of what was to follow, as the second quarter saw an explosion of points, starting with running-back Dave Mills charging in from 14 yards, kicker John Riddell adding the extra point.

But the home side were then given a scare when, straight from the restart, kick returner Mike Banks weaved 78 yards to score, quarter-back Tim Parr finding Craig Roe for the two-point conversion.

This score seemed to galvanise the Arrows and they struck back with their next possession, Wilde finding his way through from 11 yards to hand the Arrows a 19-8 advantage.

Redditch finished the half in style with Steve Bell running home from eight yards before a mistake by the visitors led to wide receiver Grove racing between defenders to complete a 29-yard scoring play.

A Wilde pass to wide receiver Matthew Robertson added a further two points and extended the lead to 33-8 at the break.

Running-back Mark Collett made several decent gains before taking the ball up the middle for a six-yard touchdown for his first score for the club as the Arrows continued to dominate.

Linebacker Jim Mortimer and cornerback John Ward were outstanding in defense and the fourth quarter was merely a matter of what the final score would be.

Trevor Savatard rumbled four yards for his first ever score, while defensive most valuable player James Chattoe provided the icing on the cake when he returned a fumble eight yards for the final score. The Arrows now have a week off before welcoming the Reading Renegades to Kings Norton on Sunday, June 18th (ko 4pm).