This match up was the curtain raiser to the later Premier Division game between the Senators and Bristol Aztecs Senior teams and proved to be a contest of great quality. Spared the appalling weather that had blighted the rest of the country the conditions were near perfect for the Senators to maintain their assault on the Northern Conference.

Forced to punt on their opening drive the Wolverines pinned their hosts back on their own twenty-yard line. However the home side soon got into their stride marching down to Wolverines’ three-yard line. Steve Manual crashed in for the opening score and Ben Forster slotted home the two-point conversion to give the Senators an 8 – 0 lead.

The Gateshead side continued to power their way down the field in the second period, putting together another long ball control drive that eventually saw Adam O’Brien dart in from ten yards out. Lancashire’s cornerback Lee Allan managed to break through to block the attempted conversion and leave his side only 14 – 0 adrift at the half.

The third quarter followed the pattern of its predecessors with the Senators power run up the middle interspersed with a series of reverses to keep the Lancashire defense guessing. Gavin Barr completed the drive with a ten-yard reverse and Forster duly obliged with the conversion to put the Senators 22 – 0 at the end of the third quarter.

Barr repeated his scoring feat at the start of the final period, and with Forster yet again being accurate with the conversion the Senators were virtually home and dry at 30 – 0. However, not content with such a margin of victory the Senators opted for and recovered an onside kick, resulting in another long march down field. The home side added a final score through a Steve Manual trademark four-yard punch up the middle to score with Forster’s attempted conversion sailing just wide right.

Although Lancashire benefited from good quality special teams, and a performance on either side of the ball that was full of passion, they clearly still have a lot of work to do if they hope to challenge the teams in the Northern Conference. Gateshead meanwhile have made it clear they have a versatile offense, backed by a tough defense and have placed themselves in a promising position to reach the play-offs.