BOVEY Tracey AFC enjoyed ‘a fairytale year’ in 2025/26 that saw them romp to the SW Peninsula League Premier East title and also hoist the St Luke’s Challenge Cup aloft.

There were a few club stalwarts in the squad at the beginning of the season but beyond that, manager Ben Gerring had a “massive rebuild on his hands.”

The Moorlanders had a solid 2024/25 without pulling up any trees, finishing eighth in the Premier East.

Experienced striker Stuart Bowker was one of several to sign on at the Western Counties Roofing Ground and Josh Webber and David Rowe also arrived, all having previously played at higher levels.

Once the campaign was already underway, Bovey poached both Cieran Bridger and Owen Stockton from local rivals Buckland Athletic. The pair would go on to be key individuals at the spine of the team.

As is often the case in non-league football though, not all signings work out. Callum Noyce and Jordan Thomas were just two that swiftly departed Bovey and eventually returned to their previous clubs.

It wasn’t only the transfer business that paid dividends but also their demanding pre-season approach.

Gerring told the Mid-Devon Advertiser: “We set out a clear plan, not a long three-year plan but a solid 10-month one of how we wanted the season to look.

“Once we’d then brought the players back for pre-season, we took that to them and made it very clear from the start what our objectives were and the commitment needed to make it happen. By doing that, there were no grey areas and we hit the ground running.”

Ollie Aplin scored the only goal of the game as Bovey edged out Bishops Lydeard on the first day before they then drew 1-1 with Torridgeside AFC in their home opener.

Following those two outings, they never looked back, winning all 19 of their next games in all competitions (two were victories on penalties).

In that period, Gerring’s side won home and away against neighbours Newton Abbot Spurs, put eight past Torrington AFC and struck 10 against Launceston AFC in the WCP League Cup.

Alongside their league success, Bovey won four FA Vase games including a five-star display at Western League title hopefuls Torpoint Athletic not to mention a dramatic success over Buckland in the St Luke’s Challenge Cup.

This positive experience now sets the team up well for next year, as Gerring highlighted: “Anybody who watched the Torpoint game, we were phenomenal on the day and then the Buckland game had that competitive edge because it was a local derby.

“What we learned about our group is that no matter who we play, we’re a match for any Western League team and so I was immensely proud that we could demonstrate that.

“It enabled me to have a look at the level and we’re now ready to face these teams again next season.”

Bovey didn’t real show any signings of letting up after Christmas and only three times were they beaten in 90 minutes all season.

The most dramatic of those came in mid-February as Bridport FC, the closest challengers to their supremacy, visited the WCR Ground.

It was stunning really when Bovey were two down after just five minutes, trailing 4-1 in the first half and even 6-3 after the break. They fought right until the very end but the damage was done and their unbeaten league record gave way in a 7-6 thriller on an increasingly boggy pitch.

Just a few weeks later, they got their revenge by winning the reverse 5-2 in Dorset, before they went on a ridiculous little streak between March and April.

In three consecutive away games, Bovey won 8-1 at Okehampton Argyle, 9-1 at Stoke Gabriel & Torbay Police and then 10-1 at Honiton Town.

Levi Landricombe was the star of the show for this spell, scoring 12 of the 27 goals here and this spurred him on to win the golden boot for both the team and the league. Earlier in the year, he was third choice behind Aplin and Bowker with Gerring heaping the praise on him for the turnaround.

“His goalscoring career speaks for itself but Levi found himself at Bovey overweight and edging towards retirement.

“What speaks volumes of him though is that he didn’t moan or groan about being third-choice striker, instead he got super fit around Christmas time and once that opportunity came, which was late on in the season, he just looked the part.

“He was scoring goals that I’ve not seen anyone do at this level, all types of goals, he had it all. When you hit your 30s, you’ve got to look after yourself and so it’s a great credit to him the way he finished, that’s all on him.”

Landricombe himself highlighted that “To end the season really strong at my age is up there with one of my favourite personal achievements.”

He continued, “I was lucky enough to have a lot of very good players around me who were very attacking and created a lot of chances for me to be in the position I was.”

Meanwhile, the aforementioned gruelling schedule was confirmed by captain Cliff Walters after the final league game: “To be fair to Gez, he said at the start of the season, we’re going for the lot and all of the boys bought into it.

“Double sessions, intense pre-season, it all led to this point so I’m buzzing to finally get over the line.”

Walters, who retired at the end of the season and went out on a high after well over a decade with the club, called this “the perfect ending” and labelled it as “truly special.”

There were so many standout performers in the side that you could be here all day reeling them off. Walters for his leadership, Landricombe for his goals, Bowker for his clutch moments and the Moorlanders also had young Jack Brimming taking it up a notch on the wing, the always dependable Cal Leech in the middle of the field and Dom Aplin making superb stops in goal.

As if the league success wasn’t enough, Bovey Tracey had more silverware in their sights in April and May.

They’d suffered shootout heartbreak in March against Callington Town at the final hurdle of the league cup and the outcome was repeated in the champions bowl against Premier West title winners Liskeard Athletic.

Ben Sharpe’s goal for Holsworthy AFC after 15 minutes at Coach Road suggested a similar story may be coming Bovey’s way in the challenge cup but their squad depth eventually came up trumps, substitute Bowker notching a decisive hat-trick.

After that success, Bowker commented: “The double was the least we deserved for the year, we probably should have had three but we’ll take two” and this was a sentiment shared by Gerring, Landricombe and the rest of the group.

Bovey obviously recruited well and had the finances to go with it- their success could easily overshadow the fact that this was a first full season in management for Ben Gerring.

The former Torquay United defender first arrived in Bovey Tracey as a player but towards the end of last season, was given the chance to step up and had support from Leigh Robinson and Rob Farkins.

He was previously second-in-command to Robinson at step three and is “learning all the time” still with Bovey.

Gerring added, “On the recruitment side, I’ve always backed myself and to actually now have the hotseat and live and die by your decisions, build a team and a culture that Bovey now can hopefully take with us for the next 10 years, is truly special.

“I’m constantly learning, I’m like a sponge I always pick up the phone to managers that I’ve worked with and against in the past and just pick their brains, I do enjoy it and I’m looking forward to some more lessons next year.”

With 82 points from a possible 90 in the league, scoring 139 goals in the process and losing just thrice in all competitions (in 90mins), not to mention one cup final win and two near-misses on shootouts, it really was a season to remember that everyone at Bovey Tracey AFC is “super proud” of.