A Festival of Football: Premiership Titans and U16s Victorious

By Tim Foster

Green, white, and royal blue. Photo by James Camenzuli.

Home of Manchester Titans Belle Vue Stadium hosted a “Festival of Football” on Saturday 8th August 2026, initially under Titans royal blue skies and ending under the Belle Vue floodlights. With teams on site from 10am for the BAFA Mixed U16 Northern Playoff Tournament to an evening KO at 6pm for the Titans’ final Premiership North regular season game against the Nottingham Caesars in the annual White-Out game - it was a wonderfully long day!

Games for the BAFA Mixed U16 Northern Playoff Tournament kicked off at 12pm with two pools of teams playing alongside each other on 5-a-side pitches. Pool 1 on Pitch 1 featured the hosting Manchester Titans, the East Kilbride Pirates and Birmingham Lions. Next to them in Pool 2 the Sheffield Giants, Yorkshire Academy Assassins and Edinburgh Napier Knights with the winner of each Pool progressing to the National Finals and the runners-up going to the Plate Finals.

Photo by James Camenzuli.

All U16 players gave their all in the two games they played, supported by raucous family and friends in the stands with vuvuzelas, cowbells and airhorns competing in a cacophony of noise throughout the afternoon. I will focus on Pool 1 which saw three incredibly close games. First up was Manchester Titans versus East Kilbride Pirates (EKP). Titans tied the scores on three occasions before a final seven-point score saw a 31-24 hometown win.

Two of our fantastic volunteers, Elisa and Karina, at the merch desk on the concourse. Photo by James Camenzuli.

EKP then took on the Birmingham Lions. A tight, high-scoring game saw the lead change hands three times in the final nail-biting minutes but a late score by the Lions edged it 38-34. A winner takes all game with the Titans awaited, with the wonderful EKP coaches taking their seats in the stands to watch the Pool play out. Initially the Lions had the upper hand, but great defence and then attacking skill from the Titans stretched the game to a two-score advantage. The Lions were not done and came back to be within one score with the clock ticking. More attacking flair from the Titans however brought the final score of the game for a 26-12 win, securing a trip to the National Finals. They will be joined by the Yorkshire Academy Assassins who triumphed in the other winner-takes-all game in Pool 2 against the Edinburgh Napier Knights.

Djoss Balela, a man who knows how to accessorise. Photo by James Camenzuli.

As the U16 Tournament was coming to a close the Titans and Caesars were warming up on the practice field. Nottingham made the trip from the Midlands after an impressive win at EKP in the previous game week, with a group of noisy cowbell-wielding fans in tow. They were ready to give everything they got. Since their arrival to the Premiership in 2025, the Caesars have given the Titans three tough games (Titans winning all three), so we expected nothing less – which is what we got.

QB Alex Ross, finding his man downfield (not pictured). Photo by James Camenzuli.

Titans were captained by Alex Lenkowski (K, #17), Scott Tomlinson (OL, #56), Connor Greenhalgh (WR, #11) and Jerome Darko (DB, #7), with Gaz Shadwell (LB, #22) taking the field as a starter for the first time, and a debut for Sameer Sandy (DL, #61). The 1st quarter was a real arm-wrestle with one failed FG attempt by Titans being the only threat to the scoreboard. Titans were keen to get points on the board and did so in the 2nd quarter with an epic 52-yard FG from Lenkowski.

DB Iqbal Al-Amin in pursuit. Photo by James Camenzuli.

Caesars hit back with a repeat of their score at the David Ross Sports Village earlier in the season with Elliot Knight (WR, #5) taking an inch-perfect pass in the right corner, the ball just clearing the stretch of James Eaton (DB, #9). The extra point was no good. From their own 38-yard line Titans then re-took the lead with Josh Mills (QB, #3) finding Connor Greenhalgh downfield, taking the catch over his left shoulder and powering away from his chasers. The extra point conversion was good for a score of 10-6 at the half.

WR Sam Wilson at full stretch. Photo by James Camenzuli.

Titans’ DBs then dominated defensively with pressure from FJ (#10), DK (#28), Iqbal Al-Amin (#20), Derrick Florence (#40), Djoss Balela (#0) and Ben Komba (#27) with interceptions from James Eaton (#9). Great catches downfield from Brad Temple (WR, #1) the Wilson twins (Matt, #81 and Sam, #88) gave Titans field advantage. Two characteristically strong carries by Nathan Jewkes (RB, #12) gave Lenkowski easy FG position.

Running Back Hafeez Bisiriyu evading tackles in the golden hour sun. Photo by James Camenzuli.

After knocking on the door of the Redzone, Alex Ross (QB, #8) found Hafeez Bisiriyu (RB, #34) on a motion, allowing him to dive through the left corner pylon for a TD. The extra point was good, stretching the Titans’ lead to 20-6. In the 4th Quarter Caesars found Knight again to bring themselves within a score and keeping the pressure on the result. Titans controlled the rest of the game and when Ross found Jewkes with a toss there was no stopping him rumbling into the endzone. Another one-point conversion by Lenkowski resulted in a 27-13 final score.

Players gave Head Coach George Foster the Gatorade treatment after the final whistle. Photo by James Camenzuli.

This was a game Titans had to work hard to win but they finish the season 8-0 - their third unbeaten regular season record in the past four years (2023, 2024). Under the Belle Vue floodlights their ever-growing fan-base went home savouring the prospect of the next home game. As Premiership North Champions we will host our fifth straight National Semi-Final on the 22nd August against London Blitz (3pm Kick Off). Get your tickets and bring the noise for our boys, as two weeks’ worth of preparation will fill them with confidence to secure a spot in BritBowl XXXVIII.

Players signing one of the club’s old helmets for a fan after the game. Photo by James Camenzuli.

Shout-outs to the epic organisation by Maddy Tjalma, B West and Verity Dean, all the game-day volunteers, and the tail-gaiting food and beverage providers for giving us all a day to remember, and to the BAFRA crew of referees who kept going all day. A special thank you and farewell (for now) to Sam Penfold (WR), wishing him well as he relocates to Germany. Sam has played for the Titans, scoring some superb TDs over the past few seasons, and been part of the chain crew for his and other teams in the club. After the author’s fall in The Brotherhood at the end of last season Sam offered some sage advice: “You should have gone to SpecSavers”. On behalf of the Penfold Army, we will miss you!