High-flying Highland Stags head for London this weekend determined to show they are an American football force from the north of Scotland.
The Invergordon club will face Bristol Apache in play-off final for the British American Football Association (BAFA) Division 2 title.
Less than a year after being accepted into the NFC North Division 2, they are on the brink of becoming UK champions at their level.
Beating highly-rated Scunthorpe Alphas 18-8 at home last month booked their place in this showdown with Bristol, although both teams have almost certainly gained promotion to Division One due to their scorching results in 2022.
The Stags won all eight league games, seeing off the competition from Aberdeen Roughnecks, Dumfries Hunters, Clyde Valley Blackhawks and Dunfermline Kings.
Next season in NFC 1 North, they could go head-to-head with Northumberland Vikings, Yorkshire Rams, Lancashire Wolverines and Inverclyde Goliaths, although the set-up of the divisions has still to be confirmed.
Bristol Apache won all eight of their matches in SFC 2 West, coming out on top against Somerset Wyverns, Cornwall Monarchs and Torbay Trojans.
Bristol won their semi-final 35-0 against Northants Knights and will be capable opponents for the Stags at the New River Stadium on Sunday at noon.
Success has opened eyes nationwide
However, general manager Tom Hutchison insists preparations since beat the Alphas have been through and they’re ready to go for glory at the end of a brilliant season few could have predicted.
He said: “It has been a long two weeks waiting for this, but we’re really looking forward to it.
“We’re excited to get there and show everyone what we’re capable of. We’re obviously quite remote up here, so not many people from the wider leagues get to see our games.
“This is the first year, the BAFA have held a full Division 2 Championship. You used to just have north and south champions.
“This year, it was decided the two teams who win through should play one another in a final weekend, so we’re proud of what we’ve done so far. It’s very rare for a team to come into the league and do what we’ve done.
“People know who we were now, which wasn’t the case a year ago.
“Bristol are a very good team, who are also unbeaten. We’re under no illusions that we will be tested, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We have video footage from four of five of Bristol’s games this year and we’ve been delving into that, learning how they play and decide how we can stop them.
“The coaches and players have worked hard into looking at those and we are prepared as we can be.”
Club appreciates financial backing
A GoFundMe page, set up by the club’s social media volunteer Stuart Brimble, raised more than £2,600 to help cover the costs of getting the 60-70 strong squad, coaches and staff to the UK capital.
And Hutchison explained the cash made it possible for some players to be involved.
He said: “As well as the GoFundMe efforts, which was great, lots of companies have really helped us out with sponsorship which has made a huge difference.
“We are hugely appreciative of that, because there were guys who might not have been able to afford to travel, but now they can, which is a huge bonus.
“We’ve got some way to travel. It’s a 1,600-mile round trip, whereas Bristol have a two-hour trip. I’m sure that will have an impact, people can be a bit out of sorts, but we have done everything we can to ensure everyone will be prepared.”
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