Offensive MVP - Carlo Oliva
Defensive MVP - Gareth Shelley
Most improved - Andrew Johnston

There were also 'Team Spirit' awards presented to Chris Salmond and Ewan Gillon and a special 'Appreciation Award' to Bryan Bramwell for his tremendous help in 2007.

Reflecting on their inaugural season, Headcoach Mark Bramwell said, “Today was all about rewarding our players who worked so hard this year and achieved so much. It’s been a great year, and a great way to finish the season.” He continued, “There have been so many people who have contributed this year from the coaching staff, the backroom staff and supporters, sponsors and partners.

Our thanks go to the Kirkcaldy Rugby Club for allowing us to stage our awards at their club house, and to Gamestation, and Chickenshop.co.uk in Kirkcaldy for their kind donations to the raffle, which generated £120 towards club funds”

But before they hang up their boots for the Christmas break, the Fire have 2 friendlies lined up. On Sunday 25th November they travel over to Glasgow to practice with the Tigers in preparation for youth football next year, and then the following weekend on Saturday 1st December, they continue when they visit the Clyde Valley Falcons in Wishaw.

Coach Bramwell is looking forward to the encounters, and then the Christmas break. “Everyone is very deserving of a break, with a chance to unwind in readiness for the 2008 season. We will look to return to pre-season training in time for Superbowl on February 3rd, when we will launch our recruitment campaign for 2008.”

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10th September 2007 - Cheerleaders rewarded

The Fife Fire Cheerleaders held their Annual Presentation evening recently with over 25 cheerleaders presented with Achievement Trophies. The most sought after presentations "Cheerleader of the Year" was presented to S1 Cupar school pupil - Daena McFarlane, who will now take on the role of Vice captain with the squad. "Most Improved Cheerleader" was presented to P5 Glenrothes pupil - Chloe Hodges.

The event raised £650 towards new cheer-uniforms for the squad for the Fire's next season.

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25th August 2007 - Announcing the Fife Fire Awards 2007

The Fife Fire awards party night will be held on Saturday 17th November 2007, at the Kirkcaldy Rugby Club. Friends and family are most welcome to come along and celebrate the Fire's inaugural season.

More details will follow.

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22nd July 2007 - Fire unstoppable in Wolves Den

The Fife Fire’s Junior American Football team travelled over to the Capital on Saturday to face the Edinburgh Wolves in the atmospheric surroundings of the Meadowbank Stadium.

The fixture was an exhibition game and forerunner to the Wolves senior team’s game against the visiting Manchester Titans, and would see the young Fifers get their first taste of playing in a stadium environment with a crowd.

The Wolves won the coin toss and started with the ball but couldn't establish a passing game as the Fire continued to shut them down and pressure their Quarterback. Stand out performances from Kieran Smith and Andrew “AJ” Johnston at the Cornerback positions provided a constant heavy assault on the Wolves Offense resulting in numerous fumbles and turnovers.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Fire again proved unstoppable with the running game pounding the ball at the Wolves defense with relentless effort. The score at halftime was an impressive 27-2 to the Fife Fire, with the Edinburgh youngsters managing to score a ”deuce” after a wayward PAT pass from the Fire was intercepted and returned for the 2 point score, much to the elation of the home fans.

The second half started with the Fire in possession and moving the ball quickly with a well executed reverse to Michael MacDonald who took it the length of the field for the score. Fullback Carlo Oliva also had a productive day with his power running style, taking defenders with him as he totalled 3 touchdowns for the day along with MacDonald.

The wolves managed a consolation score, again intercepting a PAT and returning it for the 2 points, to make the final score 51-4 to the visiting team.

Fire Headcoach Mark Bramwell commented, “Another outstanding result for us. Good consistent play from our offense, and hard, relentless defense.” He continued, “All credit to the Wolves, they kept trying and wouldn’t quit. I hope that they keep working hard and improving and we look forward to having a good local derby on the east coast as they build”

The Fire are now looking forward to the season finale, again at Edinburgh on August the 18th. In the meantime, it’s back to the practice field in preparation. Anyone interested in coming along to see what the Fire are doing, or to get involved, can join them down at the Beveridge Park in Kirkcaldy, every Saturday from 10.30

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17th July 2007 - Stadium game beckons for young Fife team

The Fife Fire are competing in an invitational game against the Edinburgh Wolves this Saturday, on the hallowed turf of Edinburgh's Meadowbank Stadium.

The venue is home to the Wolves Senior team, and has been the stage for many historic American Football games in it's history, being the venue for the Capital Bowl for many years, and also hosting Scotland international games.

7th July 2007 - Fire welcome Wolves at Beveridge Park festival

The fire were taking part in the annual Beveridge Park festival today, providing demonstrations to the public as they practiced for their next regular season games in August. We were also joined by the Edinburgh Wolves, who came along to practice with us and get involved. Our thanks to them for making the journey, and to the public who came along to watch and find out more about the Fire and American Football in Fife.

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3rd July 2007 - Next Fire promotional event this Saturday

The Fife Fire will be taking part in an exhibition at the Beveridge Park festival, this Saturday 7th July. The team will be taking part in a training display, letting members of the public see what it takes to play American Football. They will also have an exhibition with the Edinburgh Wolves. The public can find out more, and get involved by learning how to throw and catch, try on the equipment and meet the players and coaching staff of Fife's only American Football team. We will be on the field from 1pm until 3pm, with the Wolves joining us at 2pm. We hope to see you all there.

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24th June 2007 - Fire extinguished after last gasp effort

The Fire travelled to Cambuslang in Glasgow yesterday to take part in the fourth round of the BYAFA regular season. Placed in group A, the first game of the day was against the Northern Wildcats. An excellent, solid performance on Offense saw an impressive run game batter the Northerners, but an uncharacteristically lack luster defense made the game a lot harder for the young Fife side. "We had far too many needless penalties on Defense today, several of which gave the Wildcats the ball on our 1 yard line after pass interference penalties in our endzone", explained Headcoach Mark Bramwell, "We are not usually guilty of giving away silly penalties, but we had a season's worth today. Our offense did a good job of ensuring the victory." Final score 39-25 to the Fife Fire.

The second game was against the home side Glasgow Tigers, and was a tough battle right from the start. The Fire could not establish a consistent offensive drive and only managed a single score as the home team handed out a good performance, winning 38-6 over a now downsized Fire. "The Tigers always bring a good hard game, and the last 2 times we have met, the scores have been really close", explained coach Bramwell, "We lost a few players to injury which really hampered our game, most notable with the loss of Cornerback Jordan Harvey going out with a concussion after a touchdown saving tackle".

The result meant that the Fire finished in 2nd place in group A, and would face the Inverness Wildcats from group B. After the mistakes of the previous 2 games in the day, the Fire were a lot more focused as they battled for a 3rd place win. Although both teams were suffering from injuries it was to prove a good game, with the lead changing several times. With under a minute remaining in the game, the Fire had the ball on their 5 yard line after an Inverness score gave them a 5 point lead. The Fifers drove the ball consistently down the length of the field, making full use of the game clock, and looking to score as time expired. Now inside the Wildcats redzone, and with the clock ticking down under 20 seconds, the Fire took to the line of scrimmage with the winning TD in sight. A well executed pass from QB Mikey Orr to Centre Cameron Plummer was caught inside the endzone, to seal the victory by 1 point and left only 4 seconds on the clock for an Inverness comeback. However in a cruel twist, the PAT pass was intercepted by the Wildcats, and returned for a TD for 2 points

"In the space of one play, we went from winning the game by 1, to losing it by 1, " commented coach Bramwell, "It was the most gut wrenching thing I have watched, to see the victory slip away like that, especially after we had battled our way so well for the winning score. A great way for the Wildcats to win, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone losing!" The final score 20-19 meant that the Fife Fire were placed 4th over all in the tournament, ahead of the Edinburgh Wolves, Northern Wildcats and the West Coast Trojans.

The Fire now have a 6 week break until the next tournament in August, when the Edinburgh Wolves host on the 18th.

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18th June 2007 - Team sponsor comes on board for 2007

Fife Fire have secured a shirt sponsorship deal with a local family business the Blacketyside Farm Shop. Presenting the team shirts to local players Carlo Oliva and Gary Voss, manager Sue Hutchison said, "We are delighted to be sponsoring our local American Football team, and it's great to support such a great youth programme."

Headcoach Mark Bramwell commented, "I am very pleased that we have secured local sponsorship, and thank Sue and all at Blacketyside Farm Shop for their support. It is great to get the backing of a local company and I look forward to a continued partnership with them."

The Blacketyside Farmshop and tea room have a host of fresh, locally produced vegetables, preserves, free range eggs and meats, as well as their famous fruits available at the shop, or as "pick your own" at their farm just outside Leven, Fife.

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17th June 2007 - Cheerleaders perform at Scottish Deer Centre

The Fife Fire Cheerleaders were joined by the Burgh Babes Cheerleaders & NYC Chix Cheerleaders today at the Scottish Deer Centre near Cupar, as part of a fundraising day. The girls performed their cheer routines as well as entertaining the crowds with Highland dancing a solo performances.

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14th June 2007 - Valley Vipers win first Primary Schools trophy

After a lot of hard work from both Valley Primary and Torbain Primary Schools, the Fife Fire in partnership with Fife Council's Active Schools staged the first "Fife Fire Primary Schools Trophy" flag football games.

After home and away games for both teams, it was the Valley Vipers that came out with the win over the Torbain Tornados.

The first game in the 2 day event was hosted at Valley Primary School, and saw the home team win 34-18 over a smaller Tornados squad. The return game was much closer with Torbain leading for almost the whole game, only to be edged out in the last minute of play. Another win for the Vipers 28-24 saw them crowned as over all winners, with a combined scoreline of Valley Vipers 62 - 42 Torbain Tornados.

Active Schools co-ordinator Andrew Lane was very pleased with the way the games were played. "Both teams were a credit to their schools and played very well. Some of the children have only been playing for 6 weeks, and the standard was very impressive."

Fire Headcoach Mark Bramwell was equally impressed, "The young boys and girls did very well and showed some real potential for the sport. Both games were played in very good spirit, and although there had to be a winner and a loser, all the kids had a lot of fun and really enjoyed themselves."

Event organisers are looking forward to making this a regular fixture, and hope to see the Vipers have a chance to defend their win next term.

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Valley Vipers in action

Some of the Valley pupils with their trophy

20th May 2007 - Cheerleaders take to the airwaves

The Fife Fire cheerleaders were guests on the Mickey Gavin show on Kingdom FM recently, as he attempted to set a new world record for the longest radio show, staying on the air for 6 days! The girls performed live on air, and also spread a little cheer with a £30 donation to Kingdom Kids.

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The first game in the group stages saw the Fire take on new comers West Coast Trojans in their first ever game. It was to prove a baptism of fire for the Renfrew side as they were handed a 44-19 mauling by the power running game of Fullback Carlo Oliva and Tailback Joel Nwokoye, who both reeked havoc on the Trojans defense. Although the Trojans gave an impressive account of themselves, the Fire’s defense proved too strong and would ensure a victory in the first game.

The second game was against the current league leaders, and so far undefeated, Highland Wildcats, who when the sides last met delivered a 32-0 blow to the Fire. This time around though, it was to be different with the young Fife team playing for pride in their own back yard. The lead changed hands several times as both teams traded scores. Going in to the final 2 minutes the Fire were down by 3 and in possession as they marched down the field and gained the all important Touchdown to give them the edge, as the game drew near the final whistle. With both their time-outs used, the Wildcats steadily worked their way down field to inside the 5 yard line, with a stand from the defensive unit stopping the TD. With only 2 seconds remaining on the clock, and the Highlanders knocking on the door, it was all to come down to the final play. Wildcats Quarterback Kenny McKay threw into the endzone for a sure catch, only to find Free Safety Michael Gaughan deny the Touchdown with an excellent read, enabling him to get a hand to the ball and ensure the 27-24 victory for the Fire. The win placed Fife Fire as winners of group A, and meant that they had to face Glasgow Tigers as winners of Group B in the final.

The final could only be described as a toe to toe battle of wills. The Fire, determined to win on their own doorstep, scored on every offensive down but could not stop the Tigers on defense. The sides continued to trade scores throughout the game, in the highest scoring game of the day. It appeared the team with the ball last when the final whist blew would win. The break in the game came when a loose fumble was recovered in the Fire’s endzone to give the Tigers the upper hand, and the breathing space they needed. The change of fortune gave the Tigers a boost and saw them score again as the Fire had no answer for the Glasgow side. As the game clock ran down, the Fire went all out in an attempt to finish the game on a high note, and went for a series of long passes deep into the endzone for a consolation TD but came up empty handed. The clock expired with a win for the Glasgow Tigers 63-45.

On reflection of the day’s games, Fire Headcoach Mark Bramwell commented, “Today was a turning point for the Fire. Our performance has improved steadily over the past few months, and we have pushed teams harder and harder each time. Today we defeated the current league leaders Highland Wildcats, who were previously unbeaten this year, and took second place over all in the day. Not so long ago we were the whipping boys, the rookie team that were usually on the wrong side of a win. We showed our true potential today, beating teams that have previously been over powering when we’ve faced them.”

He continued, “The final was the most intense game I have seen to date, with both teams determined to win. The scores continued to mount up, and we just needed a game breaker to give us the edge. The fumble that gets us the ball back, or the interception we return for the score. Unfortunately it was the Tigers that received the break in the game, and they took full advantage of it.”

And although they weren’t to lift the Kingdom Bowl trophy, coach Bramwell was immensely proud of the young team. “We’ve come a long way in a relatively short space of time. I’m very proud of everyone who played today, because we played as a team. We are now firmly established as a team that is there to compete. Other teams are now fearful of our hard hitting defense, and awesome running game that saw 2 of our guys receive MVP awards, Joel Nwokoye and Michael MacDonald”

He also expressed his thanks to the supporters who came out to get behind the Fife gridiron team. “We had a good turnout today, and a lot of people were asking questions and really getting interested in what was going on. Seeing a home crowd there to cheer you on really gives you a boost, and I’m delighted we could give them some great football games to watch. Of course, the ever faithful Fire Cheerleaders were there braving the Fife weather, and helping us along as well, so our thanks to them.

The next round of the BYAFA Junior season takes place in Cambuslang in Glasgow on June 23rd, when the Fire will be looking to win on the Tiger’s home turf next time around.

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10th May 2007 - Announcing Kingdom Bowl 2007

The Fire will be the next host team to stage a BYAFA regular season tournament, when on Saturday May 19th, 6 teams from across Scotland will converge on the Beveridge Park, Kirkcaldy.

The Fire will be taking on the Clyde Valley Falcons, Glasgow Tigers, Highland Wildcats, Northern Wildcats, and new comers West Coast Trojans, in the round robin Junior football competition.

The new event in the American Football calendar has attracted the backing of Beechwood Links Luxury Apartments, who are sponsoring the Kingdom Bowl.

6th May 2007 - Cheer we go Murrayfield

Our cheerleaders recently performed with Edinburgh Rugby at Murrayfield Stadium alongside the Scottish Rockettes Cheerleaders who are a Pro-dance squad. They performed at half-time to around 10,000 supporters as Edinburgh took on Munster.

The girls had a great time, and loved the experience of performing at such a fantastic stadium.

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The Fife Fire Cheerleaders have been selected to perform at Murrayfield on Friday 4th May alongside the Edinburgh Rockettes professional cheer squad, as Edinburgh Rugby take on Munster.

9 of our girls will perform as part of a 20 strong squad during the half time show at Murrayfield. Cheer Coach Angela MacDonald is understandably excited about the opportunity. "This is a great experience for the girls and a real chance of a lifetime to perform in such a fantastic stadium. I am over the moon for them and know they will have a great time"

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28th April 2007 - Fire Fullback takes tournament honours

The Clyde Valley Falcons hosted the latest Junior championship tournament today, that saw rookie Fullback Carlo Oliva lift the tournament MVP award after an outstanding performance.

After receiving 2 game MVP awards, against the Northern Wildcats and then the Glasgow Tigers, he was named as over all tournament MVP after amassing nearly 300 yards rushing, en route to racking up 5 touchdowns and 3 point after conversions. He also connected with QB Mikey Orr for 5 completions.

After losing the first 2 games, the Fire's ever improving squad notched up another win in game 3 against the Northern Wildcats, and then pushed the Glasgow Tigers all the way in the last game of the day, to lose by only 9 points as the Tigers ran out 34-25 winners.

14th April 2007 - Fire and Wolves joint practice

The Fire travelled over to Edinburgh today to practice with the Wolves. Both teams took part in conditioning drills as well as technical drills and bag work.

Rounding off the day with a game based practice, both teams were to benefit from the days work, as well as making for an enjoyable afternoon in the sunshine.

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11th April 2007 - Joint practice with Edinburgh

The Fire will be traveling over the Forth to Edinburgh on the 14th April to take part in a combined practice with the Wolves. The return leg of the session is to compliment the work achieved when the Wolves joined the Fire for a combined practice back in November last year. With around 30 young athletes getting specific coaching from a collective coaching staff, it should prove to be another beneficial day for football on the east coast.

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7th April 2007 - Fire help promote healthy living

The Fire moved their training over to Balwearie High School today as part of Fife Council's Active Schools community health day.

The team took part in demonstrations and an exhibition game, allowing the public to get a closer hands on feel for the game of American Football.

Our cheerleaders were also there performing some of their dance routines to entertain the 150 strong public who turned out on a beautiful sunny day to take part in all kinds of different sports and activities.

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5th April 2007 - Next promotional event for Fife Fire

The next event the Fire will be promoting is to be held this weekend at Balwearie High School, in association with Fife Council's Active Schools. We will be on the astroturf from 11am onwards with demonstrations, an exhibition game, and also giving anyone interested a chance to "have a go" at flag football.

The community health day will see lots of people of all ages attending from schools and community groups, and all will have a chance to get involved in competitions, see different clubs and activities, have taster sessions in lots of sports and also try out some healthy foods! Our cheerleaders will be there as well, performing in the gym hall, so whatever your interest, come along and meet the boys and girls of the Fife Fire on Saturday 7th April.

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And in doing so, Michael becomes the first young player in Fife to carry on where his dad left off, and compete on the gridiron. “Mikey has always wanted to play American Football, and when he became old enough he was itching to get involved”, said Angus, “Then when he found out about the Fife Fire starting up, nothing could stop him!”

Michael said “It’s great to have the chance to play American Football like my dad did when the sport first started here. Hopefully we’ll be as successful as the 49ers were when I watched them growing up”.

Fire Headcoach Mark Bramwell said, “It’s great to think we have a second generation of American footballer, and Mikey is the first in Fife! He has football in his blood, thanks mostly to his dad, and it shows on the football field. It’s great to think we are continuing a tradition at the Fire, and it’s always pleasing to see the young guys' parents down to cheer them on.”

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24th March 2007 - BYAFA season opens in Inverness

On a very bright and sunny day in Inverness, the Highland Wildcats hosted the first Junior tournament of the 2007 BYAFA season. Going in to their first ever tournament, the Fire Junior team were raw but ready to go. With a full day of games, a record of 1 win and 3 losses wasn't a bad start for the rookie team.

"Facing other teams that have been playing for a number of years was going to be a tough challenge", commented Fire Headcoach Mark Bramwell. "Each game we played, things started clicking in to place. The best way to learn is to get in there and play, and the guys gave it their all."

17th March 2007 - Falcons land in Fife

The new kids on the block had a tough lesson in football with the visiting Falcons today. The warm up scrimmage proved to be a real tester for the Fire's Junior team in preparation for next week's start to the season at Inverness.

"Today was more about letting our guys knock helmets and giving them the chance to compete against a team they have never seen before", commented Fire Headcoach Mark Bramwell. "We have come a long way, but today showed us we need to go that bit further. The Falcons are a well established team, and it showed today. We would always be playing catch up but the main thing is, we took that challenge and worked hard."

Fire & Falcons players
Photo c/o Clyde Valley Falcons

He continued, "There were a lot of good points today, along with TD runs from Joel Nwokoye and Michael MacDonald, who also tacked on a TD reception. Yes we made mistakes, but as I said to our young guys at the start, as long as we learn from them we will be a better team for it. That's what today was, a learning experience, and a chance to get some game practice before the season starts for real next weekend."

The team will now look forward to preparing for 24th March and taking what they have learned today north to Inverness.

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11th March 2007 - Fire to play host to Clyde Valley

The Fife Fire Junior team will kick off their season with a warm up game against visiting Clyde Valley Falcons on Sat 17th March. The Falcons will travel over to Kirkcaldy's Beveridge Park to try their might against this year's new comers. Action will start 12.30

The Fife Fire are delighted to announce that we have received confirmation that our membership of BYAFA has been approved, and we will be competing in the BYAFA Junior Scottish Conference for 2007.

The players and staff are delighted with the news and are looking forward to our first tournament in Inverness on the 24th of March.

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The programme focuses on the relationships between the team as they struggle to live up to the expectations of the town while also trying to live as normal teenagers. The fresh cast also includes Scott Porter as team captain and first-string quarterback Jason Street; Gaius Charles as feared running back Brian ‘Smash’ Williams; Taylor Kitsch as running back Tim Riggins; Connie Britton as Taylor’s supportive wife, Tami; Zach Gilford as third-string quarterback Matt Saracen; and Minka Kelly as Lyla Garrity, Panther cheerleader and Street’s girlfriend.

Friday Night Lights – brand new and exclusive to ITV4, Wednesdays from 21 February, 8pm

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7th February 2007 - Primary schools to contest for first championship trophy

Through the success of our partnership with Fife Council's Active Schools, we are delighted to announce that there are now two Primary School flag football teams. Torbain Primary and Valley Primary, both in Kirkcaldy, now have a regular after school club Flag Football team.

The teams, called the Torbain Tornados, and the Valley Vipers will be playing each other for the first time to win the Fife Fire Primary Schools Trophy. Both teams are practicing hard as they look forward to the encounter, which is taking place on Friday 16th February at the Templehall Community Centre in Kirkcaldy.

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4th February 2007 - Fife Fire take box office by storm

The players and cheerleaders of Fife Fire were on hand last night at the Odeon cinema in Dunfermline to help promote the new film "Gridiron Gang". Saturday evening's cinema go-ers were treated to dance routines from our cheerleaders, as well as getting to meet the players and find out more about the Fire.

Special thanks to John and the staff of the Dunfermline Odeon for making us welcome and allowing us to get involved.

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31st January 2007 - Gridiron Gang at a cinema near you!

The Fire will be taking part in our first promotional event of 2007, when we will be at the Odeon cinema in Dunfermline on Saturday 3rd Feb.

The team will be there to promote the new film "Gridiron Gang" in time for the Superbowl, and hope to use the opportunity to recruit young fans as well as spread the word about Fife's own American Football team.

Based on a true story, the film stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, along with rap star Xzibit, as a probation officer who sets up an American Football team at a maximum-security juvenile compound. Through trials and tribulations the youngsters learn self-belief. Learn more>

We will be there from 5pm so stop by and say hi!

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23rd January 2007 - Cheer we go for 2007

After successful auditions last Sunday, the Fife Fire Cheerleaders look set to ignite the sidelines of Scotland in 2007 as they support our football teams in the upcoming regular season.

Cheer coach Angela MacDonald was delighted "We had a very fun afternoon at the tryouts on Sunday. Good to see dance ability within the girls and those lovely smiley faces! The squad will now be hard at training in preparation to support Fife Fire at their games, both home and away....Well done girls! GO FIFE FIRE!"

Headcoach Mark Bramwell commented "It is great to welcome our new cheerleading squad to the Fire family, and we look forward to their support in our inaugural competitive year."

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