 Kevin Daft prepares to throw. Photo: Iain Carey |
After both teams came up blank on their opening possesion, the Claymores were the first to strike when Aaron Stecker just refused to be tackled, avoiding defenders before winning a footrace to the endzone. The result was a 59 yard score, the longest run in Claymores history. Rob Hart's extra point gave the Claymores an early 7-0 lead.
It didn't last long though as early in the second quarter Danny Wuerffel lobbed a pass to the back of the endzone that Cowboys allocate Jeff Ogden latched onto for a 30 yard score. The extra point was set up for a kick, but either in a planned move or a botched snap, it wasn't clear, holder Rodney Williams picked up the ball and just made the right corner of the endzone for the 2 point conversion. 8-7 Rhein at halftime and it was a score that demoralised the Claymores.
| CLAYMORESPOLL |
Scotland clawed back the deficit when Rob Hart added a 29 yard field goal after a promising drive was halted for a 15-10 scoreline.
Kevin Drake put the game beyond doubt with a 55 yard touchdown catch, again from Wueffel.
The Scots did not give up until the bitter end, with QB Marcus Crandell fighting to keep the drive moving with just 3 minutes on the clock. Crandell dumped the ball off to Aaron Stecker who made one tackle miss but was then his awkwardly and the ball popped loose allowing the Fire to recover and effectively run out the clock.
The Claymores had a few shots at the endzone late on for a consolation score but it never quite happened. 22-10 the final score.
Comments
 CB Kory Blackwell calls for help. Photo: Iain Carey |
On defense, Jon Hesse and Marcus Ray both had two excellent chances each to pick the ball off. Hesse does still have a cast on his hand but should still have made the pick. Had they made, two or three of the picks which were right in their hands the Claymores would have had the momentum swing in their favour.
The secondary had an uncharacteristic poor performance allowing the Fire passing game to really move the ball. Duane Howthorne looked as if he might have been injured but returned to the game but the rest of the secondary looked ordinary at best and was held without a pick for the first time since week 1.
The D line was also strangely sombre this week allowing a number of good runs past the line of scrimmage and most worryingly, through the middle of the line. The Fire rushed for 151 yards through the D which is almost as much as in the previous four games combined.
Moving to offense and Kevin Daft did not seem to be able to find his receivers. Scott Couper was shown to be wide open on a number of plays but was ignored while Daft tried to force the ball into triple coverage. Daft was erratic and does not appear to have a good enough arm. His long passes rarely hit the target either being underthrown or sailing way over the receivers head. The result was that Daft finished 7 of 14 for 45 yards before being yanked for Marcus Crandell.
Both Daft and Crandell did aim at the nationals Scott Couper and Rowelle Blenman a lot and they responded by making some good catches although Couper had a couple that got away from him.
Crandell appears to have a lot of talent but is still a little raw as proved by his two interceptions. He has the arm strength and began to find receivers later in the game. This will present Coach Criner a dilema over who to give more playing time.
 Marcus Crandell warms up on the sidelines Photo: Iain Carey |
The offensive line opened enough holes in the first quarter for Stecker but became a little porous later in the game. Kevin Daft was given a good amount of time to get rid of the ball but repeatedly held on - the line cannot be expected to hold the defense indefinitely. Daft needs to learn to make decisions quicker.
Both punters should get paid overtime this week as they combined for 15 punts as the defenses repeatedly held. Rob Hart did all that was asked of him, converting the field goal the only time the Claymores got into range and is probably the best kicker the Claymores have had from inside 40 yards.
It seems this team needs the defense to force turnovers in order to win. The offense does not seem able to put together a sustained drive from within their own 20 and the field position gained from turnovers appears crucial.
Next week sees the Frankfurt Galaxy make the return journey to Murrayfield. The 1-4 Galaxy should not be underestimated as in this league, anything can happen.
FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
CLAYMORES 7 0 3 0 10
RHEIN 0 8 7 7 22 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: SCO - TD, AARON STECKER 59 YD RUN (ROB HART KICK), 3:15.
CLAYMORES 7-0
2ND QUARTER: RHE - TD, JEFF OGDEN 30 YD PASS FROM DANNY WUERFFEL
(RODNEY WILLIAMS RUN FOR TWO-POINT CONVERSION),
13:33. RHEIN 8-7
3RD QUARTER: RHE - TD, KEVIN DRAKE 8 YD PASS FROM DANNY WUERFFEL
(MANFRED BURGSMULLER KICK), 3:48. RHEIN 15-7
SCO - FG, ROB HART 29 YD, 8:09. RHEIN 15-10
4TH QUARTER: RHE - TD, KEVIN DRAKE 55 YD PASS FROM DANNY WUERFFEL
(MANFRED BURGSMULLER KICK), 3:51. RHEIN 22-10
TEAM STATISTICS
SCO RHE
-------- --------
FIRST DOWNS 19 15
Rushing 7 5
Passing 10 9
Penalty 2 1
3RD-DOWN EFFICIENCY 6-17 3-12
4TH-DOWN EFFICIENCY 1-1 0-0
TOTAL NET YARDS 292 352
Total plays 69 54
Average gain 4.2 6.5
NET YARDS RUSHING 142 151
Rushes 28 25
Average per rush 5.1 6.0
NET YARDS PASSING 150 201
Completed-attempted 21-37 12-27
Yards per pass 3.7 6.9
Sacked-yards lost 4-26 2-23
Had intercepted 2 0
PUNTS-AVERAGE 7-39.1 8-42.9
RETURN YARDAGE 116 48
Punts-returns 3-8 1-3
Kickoffs-returns 4-108 2-40
Interceptions-returns 0-0 2-5
PENALTIES-YARDS 4-30 10-110
FUMBLES-LOST 2-0 1-0
TIME OF POSSESSION 30:45 29:15
PLAYER STATISTICS
Missed field goals: Rhein (Rodney Williams 45).
Claymores rushing: Aaron Stecker 20-110, Kevin Daft 7-26, Marcus
Crandell 1-6.
Rhein rushing: Pepe Pearson 9-86, Ontiwaun Carter 14-66, Danny
Wuerffel 2-minus 1.
Claymores passing: Marcus Crandell 14-23 for 131 yards, 2 INT, 0
TD, Kevin Daft 7-14 for 45 yards, 0 INT, 0 TD.
Rhein passing: Danny Wuerffel 12-24 for 224 yards, 0 INT, 3 TD, Matt
Lytle 0-3 for 0 yards, 0 INT, 0 TD.
Claymores receiving: Aaron Stecker 8-44, Sulecio Sanford 5-55,
Scott Couper 3-27, Damon Gibson 2-30, Willy Tate 2-16, Rowelle
Blenman 1-4.
Rhein receiving: Kevin Drake 3-98, Jeff Ogden 3-61, Ryan Neufeld
2-23, A Johnson 2-9, Lawrence Hart 1-21, Kai-erick Lyck 1-12.
Attendance: 30,537.