League: Irish American Football League Regular Season
Coleraine Chieftains vs Craigavon Cowboys
Craigavon Cowboys finished their preparations for the first ever Shamrock Bowl by defeating Coleraine Chieftains 33-0 in Londonderry YMCA, Drumahoe, thanks to three touchdowns by Running Back Stanley Kingsmill and a touchdown each by Wide Receiver John Mullally and running back Nigel Trimble.
References
[1] Anon. (1986) “Cowboys into ‘Shamrock Bowl'” Belfast Telegraph. Monday, September 29, 1986. pg. 18
[2] Anon. (1986) “Cowboys to meet the Celts” Belfast Telegraph. Saturday, September 27, 1986. pg. 24
[3] Anon (1986) “A cracking good show for grid-iron fans” Belfast Telegraph. Tuesday, September 23, 1986. pg. 24
[Past Copies of the Belfast Telegraph are available to view online at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ ]
Craigavon Cowboys vs Belfast Blitzers
The Belfast Blitzers defeated the Craigavon Cowboys for the second time in 1986, winning 40-0 at Goodyear in Craigavon, two weeks after winning the Irish Championship against the Dublin Celts.
References
[1] Anon. (1986) “Cowboys look for revenge” Belfast Telegraph. Friday, August 29, 1986. Pg. 22. [Past copies of the Belfast Telegraph are available to view online at https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ ]
[2] Craigavon Cowboys American Football Team Website (2017) Charles ‘Chuck’ Ebron Interview [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20170514064407/http://www.craigavoncowboys.co.uk:80/news [Accessed 10 October 2018]
Carrickfergus Cougars vs Belfast Blitzers
The Belfast Blitzers made good preparations for the Irish Championship the following Sunday by defeating Carrickfergus Cougars 55-6 as part of the Carrick Festival. Gary Allen scored the Home Teams only touchdown while Derek McCord, Derek Hardy, Patsy Lundy, Damien McHugh and William Perry Neill all scored for the Blitzers.
References
[1] Anon. (1986) “Picture Caption” Belfast Telegraph. Monday, August 11, 1986. pg. 30
[2] Anon. (1986) “American flavour” Belfast Telegraph. Friday, August 8, 1986. pg. 26
Belfast Blitzers vs Dublin Celts
Belfast Blitzers became the first ever team to beat the Dublin Celts, triumphing 24-20 in the 2nd Leg of the Capital Cup which doubled as an IAFL match on 22 June 1986 at Cooke Rugby Club in Belfast.
Martin Press secured victory for the Blitzers in the dying seconds when crashed over over for a Touchdown from close range and then the Belfast team ran in the extra point to make the Final score 24-20.
Dublin Celts took a 6-0 lead with an early touchdown, however the Blitzers edged in front 7-6 when Wide Receiver Ivan Smith scored a TD to which they added the extra point.
Belfast went further ahead when Derek McCord returned a punt 85 yards to the endzone, which was again converted leaving the Blitzers 14-6 up. Following this the Blitzers sacked the Celts Quarterback in the endzone for two more points. Two more touchdowns from the Celts put them 20-16 up in this see-saw battle, but the Belfast defence held firm for 7 more minutes before scoring the vital touchdown.
References
[1] Anon. (1986) “Blitzers turn the tables” Belfast Telegraph. Tuesday, June 24, 1986. pg. 28
[2] Anon. (1986) “Neill set for Capital Cup blitz” Belfast Telegraph. Wednesday, June 18, 1986. Pg. 23
Coleraine Chieftains vs Belfast Blitzers
Report
Belfast Blitzers and Coleraine Chieftains met each other once in 1986 at Portrush on the Co. Down coast, where the Blitzers won.
The match was played as part of the Yankee Doodle Day which involved a special calvacade of American vintage motorcars which left Belfast on Saturday morning for the seaside resort, arriving on Sunday, via Antrim, Ballymena, Rasharkin, Cullybackey, Coleraine and Portstewart on its way to Portrush.
A Texas Rodeo Bull Ride, Arm wrestling and the Belfast Community Circus were also part of the events which were in aid of Ballymena Mentally Handicapped Hostel Fund and the Waverley Hospital.
References
Newspapers
[1] Anon. (1986) “Stylish motors take to the roads” Belfast Telegraph. Saturday, May 31, 1986. pg. 22. [Past Copies of the Belfast Telegraph are available to view online at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ ]
SOCIAL MEDIA
[6] Belfast Blitzers | Facebook (2019) Comments on Post by David Turner, August 12-17, 2019 [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/belfastblitzers/posts/2244208692356940 [Accessed 17 August 2019]
[7] Belfast Blitzers | Facebook (2019) Comments on Post by David Turner, September 7, 2019 [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/belfastblitzers/posts/2286790341432108?comment_id=2287705898007219&reply_comment_id=2292185984225877¬if_id=1568031304420635¬if_t=feed_comment [Accessed 9 September 2019]