American football: Highland Stags continue to rise with by becoming Scottish Division champions
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Highland Stags sealed the Scottish Division title last weekend with a 13-6 win away at the Inverclyde Goliaths.
With a play-off spot already in the bag, the Stags knew that one victory from their final two regular season matches would see them crowned divisional champions.
It was not a foregone conclusion though, with the two teams only ever being two touchdowns apart.
In fact, it was field goals from Rory Grant that gave the Stags the upper hand, before Kyle Cocker completed a passing touchdown, receiving the ball from Drai Senior.
Grant then added a conversion for an extra point, and from there the Goliaths could only score once in response – meaning the Stags could celebrate the victory, and the title that came with it.
“It was a fairly nervy game all day,” Stags general manager Tom Hutchison explained.
“There was no point where we thought we were going to lose, but at the same time we weren’t far enough ahead that we were particularly comfortable at any point.
“Winning gave us the division title, which was good. It gives us a guaranteed home game for the play-offs, which is great.
“We’ll definitely have one, and potentially more as things go on. The guys themselves certainly celebrated on Sunday night.
“I think it’s taken a lot of stress off the guys. They know that we’ve done what we set out to do at the start of the year.”
The North One Scottish Conference title marks the Stags’ third success in as many years.
In the first season back after Covid, they led the way in a less formal Scottish division that did not have any ramifications for the American football pyramid.
Then, in their first season as a full BAFA member in 2022, they won the Division Two title – going on to lose in the British play-off final.
“It’s our third title in three years now,” Hutchison added.
“In the Covid year we won a local Scottish division. We then won the North Two in 2022, and now the Scottish Division One in 2023.
“That’s great, because it shows not just ourselves but also other teams in the league that we deserve to be here.”
