In the Border Conference the two Edinburgh teams face English opposition. The Knights face an away trip to take on a Saints team who have only managed to complete one fixture so far in their weather-hit season whilst the Predators will have to be at their very best as they host table-topping Newcastle.
The game in Durham should be intriguing. The Knights returned from their enforced lengthy winter break last weekend with a convincing win over the University of the West of Scotland Pyros.
The Knights recorded their first defensive shutout of the season and scored 5 unanswered Touchdowns to record a 33-0 win which moved the Knights to a 2-1 record for the year and secured their second win in a row.
The Saints will have no doubt studied film which points to the Knights having a number of weapons in their armoury that could do damage on the day. Last week’s game MVP, Running Back Jamie Welsh, will be prime amongst these. He notched both a 37 yard and a 46 yard touchdown run and to play a pivotal part in a victory which saw the Knights generate 283 yards of offense.
The Saints will have also given considerable thought as to how to penetrate the ‘Black Knight’ defense. Kay and MacIver at the heart of the defense, recorded 2 interceptions and 4 sacks of the Pyros’ quarterback.
Elsewhere Northumbria host Teesside and the Sunderland Spartans face a unique challenge in terms of their BUAFL regular season history as they host the Leeds Celtics from the Northern Conference. The Celtics have pushed themselves right into playoff contention in the Northern Conference with last week’s victory over the Huddersfield Hawks and will be seeking to maintain the momentum as they look ahead to the massive clash with city rivals Carnegie on Super Bowl weekend.
In the MAC the Lincoln Colonials host the Loughborough Aces and the Derby Braves host the Coventry Jets before the two home teams go head to head in next week’s ShowBowl showpiece in Derby. Down the A6 the Leicester Longhorns will face the Worcester Royals as both teams seek to record their first win of the season whilst the Lions will have a week off following their game against the Stallions being awarded.
The SWAC sees much of this weekend’s hot action as perfect records are on the line. The unbeaten Bullets host the unbeaten Killer Bees and the unbeaten Barracuda host the unbeaten Demons in a weekend which will shape the playoff race significantly. The Plymouth Blitz will make the long journey to Cardiff to take on the Cobras whilst Tarannau head to Gloucestershire to try to halt the march of the Gladiators.
The Thames Valley Conference and the SEC see a number of cross-conference match ups. The Hurricanes will take their perfect record to Brighton where they will face a Tsunami side who narrowly lost an epic encounter with the Solent Redhawks last week. Victory will almost certainly secure the ‘Canes the Conference championship but it will be one of their toughest tests yet and could affect their charge to be the number one ranked team going into post season.
The Portsmouth Destroyers will look to go 6-0 as they take on rookie team, the Brunel Burners. The Burners have shown much promise this year but the League is an unforgiving place and they have their work cut out to make the playoffs in their debut year. The Reading Knights host the BNU Buccaneers as both teams look to sneak into Challenge Trophy contention with a victory but the biggest match up of the day will be the mouth watering SEC clash between bitter rivals the UEA Pirates and the Essex Blades.