Shropshire jumping towards an American football Revolution

The Shropshire Revolution American football squad are flying high in the NFC 2 South.

And that comes two years after they went through an entire season without a single win.

The success provides a great boost for the sport in Shropshire, which has seen numbers taking part steadily grow in recent years.

Based at Oakengates Leisure Centre in Telford, the Revolution players are one game away from a perfect 10-0 season after defeating bottom of the table Crewe Railroaders on Sunday, following victories over teams including the Humber Warhawks and Chester Romans.

It was the final home game for the Revolution at Oakengates and they made sure they signed off in style, with a 52-7 victory.

The win keeps them in the hunt for the number one seed for the playoffs, meaning that the route to the Brit Bowl would potentially avoid either the Gateshead Senators or Leeds Bobcats.

The home side got off to a slow start and took the lead through the boot of kicker Kris Doody, who converted two field goals.

Shropshire decided to give starts to a number of their fringe players who had the chance to impress coaching staff ahead of their playoff run.

It was Doody again who increased Shropshire’s lead when he caught a short pass from quarterback Alex Wake.

The Revolution defence has been in irresistable form all season with defensive back Josh Peck one of the standouts.

Peck intercepted a wayward Railroaders pass and returned the ball 40-yards into the endzone to make the score 19-0 - it was Peck’s seventh interception of the season.

Shropshire added another two offensive touchdowns from Kris Doody and Nathan Hartshorne-Wood, afterwhich running back Andrew Charman produced a moment of brilliance taking the ball 70-yards into the endzone.

The Revolution defence added two more touchdowns of their own - a forced fumble in the endzone and a 40-yard interception from defensive back Lee Burnside.

Crewe scored a consolation touchdown to end their 2017 campaign on a high, but the day belonged to the Revolution who finish their season away to Humber Warhawks next weekend.

After the game Revolution offensive coordinator Neil Holtschke said: “I’m delighted for the guys, as 9-0 is a huge achievement for any team.

“We gave players further down the depth chart a chance to start the game to get some match experience, the majority of these were rookies playing their first full season for the team.

Shropshire’s head coach Stephen Tonks added: “It was another dominate performance, especially after a slow start.

“However, we showed what kind of team we are and regrouped to deliver a great result.

“I’m confident that we can travel to Humber and get the win to end our regular season 10-0 which, having gone 0-10 two seasons ago is fantastic for all those involved at the club.”