Fresh from a stunning national title win, American football side Highland Stags have plans to make an even bigger impact from next year.
The club, which trains in Inverness and plays home games in Invergordon, have been crowned the Saltire Division champions, which was a league set up to be competitive amid Covid times.
The Stags, who have been swelling their numbers in quality thanks to players stepping up in ages from the Wildcats, are not even full members of the BAFA National League.
By invitation, they were allowed to compete in the Saltire Division alongside Clyde Valley Blackhawks from Wishaw, Dumfries Hunters and Dunfermline Kings.
Seen as outsiders by many, they were not expected to be too competitive.
However, they ripped that script up and became the champions, securing a nail-biting winner-takes-all showdown away to Dumfries to land the title.
Wildcats influx boosted numbers
Head coach Josh Crofts explained how last season played out.
He said: “The Saltire Division is what would normally be Scottish Division Two. With Covid, two divisions were set up, the Saltire and the Caledonia competition.
“The Caledonia competition was for the top Division One and Premier teams. The Saltire was mainly for Division Two sides.
“With us not being full members, we were invited into the Saltire competition. It really was a big achievement for the club, not even being full members, to go on and win the Saltire title.
“We haven’t been fully accepted (by the British American Football Association, or BAFA National League) as there is certain criteria for games and player numbers we had to meet and over the last couple of years we have just fallen short, through no fault of our own sometimes.
“But this year, we had a really good turnout. We had a good influx of lads come up from the other Highland youth team, the Wildcats. Aged 18-19, they have joined us and we have a strong batch of lads.
“We have boys who when they played for the Wildcats played for under-19 GB team. That (experience) has made a big difference.
“Currently, we have a squad of around 50, with four unkitted coaches. We are in a really good position. Winning the Saltire Division, we hope, will get us over the final hurdle and we can become full members.”
The club trains at the Merkinch Nature Reserve, while Ross Sutherland Rugby Club in Invergordon hosts their home fixtures.
Glory achieved on 500-mile trip
After three wins apiece, it all came down to an away clash against main rivals Dumfries and Croft praised his players for delivering when the pressure was on.
He added: “We had won three games, drawn one and lost one ahead of the game at Dumfries and they were in a similar position, so it really was a winner-takes-all fixture.
“We had a 500-mile round trip and the boys turned it on with a bit of style with a convincing 46-6 win.”
Green light bid for Division Two
Croft hopes their eye-opening success leads to full league membership and an automatic place in a revamped Division Two next year.
He said: “All the coaches are very proud of the players. We’re also proud of all the coaches at the club. They put in a lot of time and effort. We are all amateur and it’s a big commitment on top of their day jobs.
“Hopefully we will get approval to go into a full Division Two next season. Ideally, we’d like to aim for the play-offs and maybe even target a British title (Brit Bowl).
“It will be a very difficult goal, but I think still achievable with the team that we’ve got here. We’re just waiting to hear from the British League about how the leagues will be made up next year.”
Club gearing up for next year
The squad are recharging their batteries and will be back with big goals to aim for in 2022.
Croft said: “The season usually starts at the end of April, early May. American football is a really physical sport so the boys will get a couple of months of rest to recuperate.
“The backroom work will start next month and the boys will start training again in mid-January or early February.”
The club celebrates its on-field success this Saturday with an awards night, which sits alongside the annual general meeting.
