CHORLEY Buccaneers blew away the cobwebs to pick up two impressive pre-season wins against Standish Raiders.

It was a big test for the Bucs who had only five players remaining from last season – the rest having graduating to the Blackburn-based Lancashire Wolverine Colts.

After the closes season, there were always going to be a few early errors and the Bucs benefitted from some sloppy Standish handling on their way to a 46-14 win.

First, Lee Blundell forced the visiting quarter back to fumble and then pounced on the loose ball in the endzone to give the Bucs an 8-0 lead.

And another fumble, this time in the backfield, saw Bucs further increase their lead with Alan Barrow scooping up the ball to score. The Raiders had to reply and did so when quarter back Aiden Hill connected with receiver Andy Van Biljon for a full length touchdown.

But the Bucs wasted no time with their next possession with quarter back Arron Taylor passing to running back Rocky Widdowson over the entire Raiders defence to give the Bucs offence their first touchdown of the day.

Further touchdowns from Sam Thompson and rookie receiver Jason Hoyle gave the Bucs a commanding 34-6 lead at half time. The second half was the Brendan Berry show.

The Bucs started off witht he ball and running back Berry wasted no time as he broke several tackles and ran the full length of the field to give the Bucs a 40-6. From the restart, Berry show as some great coverage, leading to a one-handed interception which he then returned to the endzone to give increase the lead to 46-6.

And it was virtually a repeat scoreline in game two as the Bucs recorded a 43-14 win. Berry was again in the thick of the action, scoring with a fumble return, a touchdown and another following a crunching hit on a Raiders rivals.

Quarter back Kit Varney twice found his range to connect with Hoyle for two impressive touchdowns while Alan Barrow and rookie Derry Holt ran in six yard and seven yard touchdowns respectively to round off strong performances.

Head Coach Ian Nicolson said “It was a fantastic team display in both games and we produced some fantastic football with everyone player doing their part.

“It’s clear that we still have things to work on though before our first league tournament. I’m looking forward to training.”

The Buccaneers are next in action in Birmingham.

Any players aged 14 to 16 years old who would like to get involved with the Bucs kitted team then email info@chorleybuccaneers.com