Nottingham Caesars

Nottingham Caesars
Established	1984
Home stadium	Harvey Hadden Stadium, ; Nottingham
Head coach	Barry Boseley
General manager	John Burnett
League	BAFA Community Leagues
Division	Division 1 South West
League titles	None
Division titles	None
Current uniform
	Primary
	Alternate

The Nottingham Caesars are an American football team playing in the United Kingdom. The Caesars field a senior team in Division 1 Central of the BAFA Community Leagues (BAFACL). The team is affectionately known by its players and fans as "The Big C".

History

The Caesars began play in 1992, in competition with the cross-town Nottingham Hoods. The Hoods saw some success including a conference championship in 1992 under the leadership of import players Mike Grossner and Vic Quirolo. The Hoods stopped play in 1994, and this boosted the Caesars considerably, who then posted an undefeated 10-0 record in 1995. Since then, the Caesars have seen moderate success, with 3 conference championships including a trip to the Britbowl in 1997, ending in defeat to the Redbridge Fire 26-7.

Although the team lost out to the Tamworth Phoenix in the 2008 semi-finals, due to a league reshuffle the team earned promotion and in 2009 played in the BAFL 1 South West Conference. The Caesars struggled in 2009 picking up just two wins, 2010 was even less successful with their only win coming at home to the South Wales Warriors on the last day of the season, however this was enough to keep them in Division 1.

2011 season

In 2011 a reorganisation of the division saw the Caesars competing in the Central Conference with the Leicester Falcons, the Birmingham Bulls, the Oxford Saints, the Peterborough Saxons and the Cambridgeshire Cats.

After an excellent pre-season victory over Gloucester Banshees, the Big Cee began the 2011 campaign with a trip to local rivals Leicester Falcons. The heavily-favoured Falcons dominated the first half of the game, but the Caesars rallied to put in a very respectable performance in a 54-22 defeat.

The following week's home opener against Cambridgeshire Cats saw the return of those players who had been in BUAFL action over the winter, and the difference was immediately apparent in a 21-6 victory. Danny Miller picked up the Defensive MVP award on debut, while quarterback Dan Johnson linked well with Charlie Paterson, who continued his fine start to the season with a memorable touchdown.

The unfortunate withdrawal of Peterborough Saxons from the league meant that the Caesars had three weeks of hard practice before welcoming Oxford Saints to the Harvey Hadden Stadium, and it appeared to pay dividends as they picked up their biggest win of the season. Tom Snee score twice on his way to the Offensive MVP award, while a dominant Caesars defence turned the ball over five times in the 52-15 victory.

Three consecutive victories raised morale and expectations in the Caesars camp ahead of the visit of top-ranked Falcons to the Harvey Hadden, but were soon crushed as the visitors racked up the points on their way to a 50-2 victory - with the only Caesars points coming courtesy of a safety on the opening kick of the second half.

That defeat meant that the Caesars would probably have to win three of their remaining four games to enter the post-season play-offs, and started the run-in well with a 25-6 win at Cambridgeshire Cats. After conceding a touchdown on the opening drive, the Caesars defence rallied to shut out the Cats for the remainder of the game, giving the offence ample time to score the necessary points. Running back Simon Dale scored twice, while Johnson found Phil Hine for the receiver's only touchdown of 2011.

The Caesars visited Oxford two weeks later hoping to continue their upturn in form, but were nearly stunned by the plucky Saints. Despite a dominant opening drive, the Caesars offence stuttered in the first half and were made to pay as the Saints ran into a shock lead. Half time saw an about turn in fortunes however, as defensive back Chris O'Dea made a crucial interception, allowing wide receiver Paterson completed a hat-trick of touchdowns and secure a vital 27-13 road win.

Victory at Oxford and the "home" walkover against Peterborough meant the Caesars needed just one win going into their final two games of the regular season to secure a play-off berth, but it would be no easy task against a Birmingham Bulls outfit that had moved to the top of the division following Leicester Falcons fielding an ineligible player in their earlier clash.

The home game saw the Bulls show just why they were one of the pre-season play-off favourites, shutting the Caesars offence down and restricting them to just a field goal. This left the defence with a near-impossible task, and despite the best efforts of defensive MVP Stacey Martin, the Bulls ran out 28-3 winners.

That result meant that the Caesars had to win the final game of the season to progress, but it was not to be. After a cagey start from both teams, the Bulls found their stride and took a lead into half time. Despite a score for the Caesars on the opening drive of the second half, the Bulls secordary stepped up to the plate and scored twice on interceptions as the Big Cee searched for way back into the game.

A 34-10 defeat saw a disappointing end to a highly-encouraging regular season for the Caesars, with plenty of improvement expected in 2012.

The Caesars formally closed the 2011 season with their annual All-Stars Charity Game against the Lincolnshire Bombers. Players from Gloucester, Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire, Sheffield and Doncaster all took part in a highly entertaining match that saw the Caesars All-Stars come from behind in the final quarter to secure a 28-26 victory. The game raised money for local charity When You Wish Upon A Star and the Jennifer Trust.

2012 season

Following the BAFANL pre-season meeting in November, it was announced that the Caesars would take part in a restructured North section of Division One.^[1] The move will see the Caesars renew old rivalries with the Coventry Jets, Gateshead Senators and Shropshire Revolution, as well as Glasgow-based outfit West Coast Trojans and games against Lancashire Wolverines and Merseyside Nighthawks. Despite being grouped with six other teams, the ten game schedule will remain.

Following the 6-4 season in 2011, a coaching shake-up was announced, with Adi Giles joining the staff as Offensive Co-Ordinator and Assistant Head Coach replacing long-standing OC Stephen Brittle. Former player Karl Walkinshaw was also moved into a coaching position, working with the linebackers as well as acting as Assistant Head Coach.^[2]

Commenting on the changes, Head Coach Barry Boseley said "2012 is a year of change and a new challenge for the Caesars. I am committed to helping our new coaching staff and players become the best they can be on and off the field. With God's guidance, we will meet the challenges of 2012 by playing Caesars football and battling hard on the field."

Following an excellent winter of recruitment, the Caesars began the 2012 season in style, winning their first four games to sit at the top of the First Division table.

2012 BAFANL Coaching Staff

Head Coach / Defensive Co-ordinator: Barry Boseley
Offensive Co-ordinator / Assistant Head Coach: Adi Giles
Assistant Head Coach / Linebackers Coach: Karl Walkinshaw
Special Teams Co-ordinators: Ben Pepper
Running Backs Coach: Vanden Warner
Wide Receivers Coach: Richard Musk
Defensive Backs Coach: Mike Holden
Team Manager: John Burnett

Youth Team Head Coach: Matt Walker
Youth Team Assistant Head Coach: Gavin Young

Team Records

2011 BAFANL 1 Central Conference 6-4
2010 BAFL 1 South West Conference 1-9-1
2009 BAFL 1 South West Conference 2-8-0
2008 BAFL 2 Central Conference 9-0-1
2007 BAFL 2 Central Conference 8-2-0
2006 BAFL 1a Northern Conference 0-10-0
2005 BAFL 1a Northern Conference 2-7-1
2004 BSL Division One A Northern Conference 3-6-1
2003 BSL Division Two Northern Conference 9-0-1
2002 BSL Division Two Northern Conference 7-1-2
2001 BSL Division One Northern Conference 1-7-0
2000 BSL Division One Northern Conference 2-6-0
1999 BSL Division One Northern Conference 6-3-0
1998 BSL Division One Northern Conference 5-5-0
1997 BSL Division One Northern Conference 7-1-2
1996 BSL Division Two Northern Conference 6-4-0
1995 BAFA Division Three North East Conference 10-0-0

2011 roster

Nottingham Caesars roster

Quarterbacks

7 Dan Johnson
12 Simon Denning

Running Backs

28 Simon Dale
19 William Hobbs
11 Ennis Gale
29 Vanden Warner
88 Dave Hine

Wide Receivers

85 Charles Paterson
10 Tom Snee
82 Philip Hine
81 Joseph Pate
80 Rob Hardwick
15 Nikki Burton

Tight-Ends

28 Stuart Vickers
22 Nick Wadlow
89 Jerome Edwards

Offensive Linemen

62 Adam Burnett
79 Jacob Vincent
66 Darren Frew
64 Kyle Clark
63 Phil Gaskin

Defensive Linemen

78 Andy Cusworth
50 Stacy Martin
52 Paul Facey
44 Alex Poole

Linebackers

3 Adrian Giles
33 Karl Wilkinshaw
58 Leon Lewis
45 Chris Nicholas
83 James Smith
55 Spencer James

Defensive Backs

31 Chris O'Dea
47 Mike Holden
25 Jason Smith
24 Marcus Boswell
43 Dan Kitchen
37 David Buckell

Injured Reserve

18 James Muller

Bench Warmer

80 Rob Hardwick

Youth Team

The Caesars Youth Team became fully kitted in the 2009 season, starting as associate members to the league. Due to low numbers, players currently play both sides of the ball; however, numbers are on the rise. In their debut, a controlled scrimmage against the Peterborough Saxons, the team managed to achieve victory. The team will be playing friendly games for the rest of 2009. Following the same pattern as the senior team, the youths are affectionately known as 'The Little C'.

RESULTS

5/4/09 Peterborough Saxons @ Nottingham Caesars W 26-6

19/4/09 Nottingham Caesars @ Yorkshire Rams L 6-0

4/5/09 Nottingham Caesars @ Birmingham Bulls L 24-2

17/5/09 Redditch Arrows @ Nottingham Caesars W 13-12

9/8/09 Nottingham Caesars @ Redditch Arrows W 14-0

4/10/09 Peterborough Saxons @ Nottingham Caesars W 26-0

Youth Roster 2009

Nottingham Caesars Youth roster 2009