Sunday 20 April, 1997
Final Score : Claymores 3 - 20 Dragons
A warm, sunny, lovely day at Murrayfield for the Claymores home-opener but the Scottish Claymores cannot take advantage instead allowing Dragons star QB John Kitna throw to the endzone twice.
Game Summary : The first quarter was all Dragons as kicker Joe Wood knocked over a 39 yard field goal. In the second quarter, it was more of the same with John Kitna throwing a 45 yards pass to a wide open receiver, Tyree Davis, a huge gain resulting in a touchdown.
A 27 yard Jesus Angoy field goal started the scoring in the fourth quarter, soon followed by a short TD pass from Kitna to Bryce Burnett. The Claymores got on the board thanks to a strange play involving three players. Backup QB Spence Fischer handed off to Ron Dickerson who appeared to fumble but scooped the ball up to the retreating Yo Murphy who ran the reverse aroung a stunned Barcelona defense for his first TD of the year. It was a rushing TD by a WR, 12 yards by the way.
Defense : A solid game by the D line and although only sacking Kitna once - Jason Simmons - held the running game but not with a few lapses. To give them credit, the Dragons have an outstanding running-back in Michael Hicks who is expert at lunging after the initial contact.
The secondary made some important stops but when they occasionally did leave a man open, QB Kitna punished with some huge receptions from Sheddrick Wilson and Alphonzo Browning.
Some careful thought is required in the secondary after too many holes in the coverage allowed the Dragons to put points on the board.
Offense : After last weeks shaky start, the Claymores offense started even more shakily and stayed that way until Dave Barr was substitued for Spence Fischer mid way through the fourth quarter. Barr struggled to get a pass off and was sacked many times by a rampant Dragons D. It seemed as if the running game had died as well, Ron Dickerson being frequently stopped in the backfield in the first half. He did, however, make some great runs as did Barr who's scrambling ability appears immense.
Fischer injected some new life into the offense in the fourth quarter and with the inclusion of fan favourite Siran Stacy the Claymores quickly moved up field thanks largely to a defensive pass interference call when Allan DeGraffenreid went up for a "hail mary". That gave way to Murphy's TD. Unfortunately on the next offensive series the Claymores could not move the ball.
A change of Quarterback may benefit the team against Rhein Fire next week, the receivers are capable but Dave Barr just spends too much time in the pocket.
Special Teams : Kicking was not a problem today as only the PAT was needed and Kari Gronroos had no trouble with that. The problem today lay with the punting unit. Spence Fischer is a QB and not a punter. He made numerous mistakes, balls off the field, touchbacks, kicks that did not get past the first down marker. With the amount of opportunities he got it is no wonder Jim Criner elected to put Gronroos in to punt.
Returning was not as good as last week but there is a talented returning coprs with Eric Smith and Yo Murphy who are very keen on laterals and fake laterals which did confuse the defense to a certain degree but wore a bit thin after the sixth attempt!
Punting is obviously the weak area on special teams and desperately needs to be improved.
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Claymores | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Dragons | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
1st quarter: BAR - FG, Joe Wood 39 yd, 8:25. Barcelona 3-0
2nd quarter: BAR - TD, Tyree Davis 45 yd pass from Jon Kitna (Jesus Angoy kick),
3rd quarter: BAR - FG, Jesus Angoy 27 yd, 3:52. Barcelona 13-0
4th quarter: BAR - FG, Jesus Angoy 27 yd, 3:52. Barcelona 13-0
| Scot | Barc | |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 13 | 16 |
| Rushes-yards | 17-48 | 31-125 |
| Passing yards | 113 | 242 |
| Punt returns | 3-16 | 3-2 |
| Kickoff returns | 6-124 | 1-17 |
| Interceptions ret. | 0-00 | 0-00 |
| Comp-att-int | 14-29-0 | 16-27-0 |
| Sacked-yards lost | 9-58 | 2-12 |
| Punts-avg. | 9-26.6 | 3-45 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-0 | 2-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 7-50 | 9-88 |
| Time of possession | 26:29 | 33:31 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Scotland - Dickerson 9-2, Barr 6-32, Kaaiohelo 1-2, Murphy 1-12
Barcelona - Wilburn 3-7, Hicks 19-76, Kitna 6-35, Presley 3-7
RECEIVING: Scotland - DeGraffenreid 3-96, Murphy 3-16, E. Smith 2-22, Kaaiohelo 1-4, Brady 1-13, Dickerson 1-14, Stacy 2-minus 4, Couper 1-10
Barcelona - Davis 4-91, Wilson 3-65, Burnett 5-44, Browning 2-38, Martos 1-7, Hicks 1-9
MISSED FIELD GOALS: