Stags off the mark in their final meeting of season

SCUNTHORPE STAGS 47 BUXTON HITMEN 43 (NATIONAL LEAGUE)

HENDERSON INSURANCE Scunthorpe Stags finished their season with a 47-43 win over the Buxton Hitmen at the Eddie Wright Raceway yesterday evening (Sunday)… the sole win of the campaign for the ever-improving youngsters.

Star of the show was Ellis Perks, son of former referee Robbie Perks, and currently over from Australia. With a number of other Stags running into machinery problems, Perks was given the full quota of seven rides, and but for a highly debatable exclusion from Heat 7, after a fall for Tom Woolley, he would have gone through the card.

But it was far from a one-man show. Sam Chapman (pictured) – buoyed by his performance for the Scorpions in the preceding Premier League meeting – scored a notable win over the hugely experienced Tony Atkin in Heat 1, and was only denied a maximum by a fall in Heat 13, just when he appeared to again have the better of Atkin in a battle for the lead.

Steve Jones scored double figures, with Arron Mogridge defeated at least one of the Hitmen in each of his races.

Perks clinched victory by heading home Ryan Blacklock, Atkin and Jones in a closely-contested Heat 15.

Buxton’s Stefan Farnaby crashed out of the meeting in Heat 2.

Stags’ team manager Richard Hollingsworth said: “It’s never really been about winning and losing for us. I guess it was nice for us to win this meeting, but it wasn’t the be-all and end-all for us.

“Ellis Perks was superb, and he’ll steal the headlines. But everyone chipped in with points at one point or other.

“Sam Chapman was a bit gutted when he crashed in Heat 13, because he wanted a maximum.

“Both sides played their part, and I encouraged by the way several of the Buxton riders have come on, as well as ours.”

SCUNTHORPE 47: Ellis Perks 18, Steve Jones 10, Sam Chapman 9, Arron Mogridge 5+1, Danno Verge 2+1, Reece Downes 2, Ryan MacDonald 1.
BUXTON 43: Tony Atkin 13+2, Ryan Blacklock 12, Tom Woolley 8, Paul Bowen 6+4, Adam Extance 4+1, Stefan Farnaby 0, Liam Carr r/r.