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The Kent Phoenix under 14 squad got the 2024 season off to a very good start with a creditable fourth place in the inaugural Stinger Bowl Flag Tournament. The tournament, hosted for the first time by the Brighton & Hove Scorpions, saw six teams gather from around London and the South to compete for the first flag championship of the season. The Phoenix squad did our club proud. They were competitive in all three games played and, on a different day, may well have finished the competition undefeated.

Solent Red Storm vs Kent Phoenix

The first match of the season started tentatively. The offense, despite showing some great skill, found it difficult to get on the scoreboard early on but the defense did their best to make it difficult for the Solent Red Storm with excellent tackling from Casey and Harry. Finally Mark was able to weave his way through the Solent defense on a running play to score.

Unfortunately Mark’s dazzling touchdown run wasn’t enough against a good Red Storm team who eventually ended the day as the Stinger Bowl I champions. The Red Storm were able to put up four touchdowns to secure victory.

A few early mistakes led to defeat for the Phoenix but there was much to learn from and build on through the rest of the day.

Kent Phoenix vs Brighton & Hove Scorpions

Undeterred by their first defeat, the Kent Phoenix bounced back against the tournament hosts. The defense took to the field full of confidence and their intense coverage made it very difficult for Brighton to advance up the field.

The offense was equally strong as the running backs and receivers found space and notched up three touchdowns to secure the win. Mark scored two rushing touchdowns while James added a receiving touchdown from quarterback Henry.

Kent Phoenix vs Kent Exiles

Finishing second in their half of the draw, the Phoenix were pitched against their old rivals the Kent Exiles in the third-fourth playoff game.

The Phoenix defense was up first. They showed such grit and determination and were able to snuff out the Exiles first drive and the offense then put the Exiles on the back foot with a lightning fast rushing touchdown from Mark to put the Phoenix 6-0 up. The Exiles quickly responded to level the scores.

In the best spirit of the Exiles-Phoenix rivalry, it was a tense and exhilarating game. James scored the second Phoenix touchdown with an outstanding catch in the end zone from quarterback Mikey’s perfect throw. Once again the Exiles responded and despite an absolutely heroic fight to the final whistle, the Phoenix narrowly missed out on victory to end the day in fourth.

Player awards

Offensive MVP: Mark
Defensive MVP: Casey

Honourable mentions to Michael for his unparalleled focus in the Exiles game, and to James, for discipline on the line and some great catch and run action.

Final standings

1. Solent Red Storm
2. South Coast Spitfires
3. Kent Exiles
4. Kent Phoenix
5. Hellingly Hound Dogs
6. Brighton & Hove Scorpions

Speaking after the tournament, Phoenix under 14 Head Coach Dave Taylor said:

“I’m so very proud of our entire team; some truly fantastic performances across the board. I think everyone has come away with a few great moments of play and a couple of things to take back to training to learn from. We were competitive in every game and had a few rolls of the dice gone our way, we easily could have gone 3 for 3. I think the element that I am happiest about is how everyone worked together, I never had to go hunting for people, and when we made mistakes, the team communicated in positive supportive way.”

You can view all the results from the tournament on our website here.

The Kent Phoenix under 14’s will return to practice after Easter with just a couple of weeks to prepare for their next tournament.