| Box Score |
Saturday 21 June, 1997
Montjuic Stadium, Barcelona
Final Score : Fire 24 - 38 Dragons
It was billed as the battle of the leagues two outstanding quarterbacks. For Barcelona was Jon Kitna, a man who had rewritten the Dragons record book and shown courage, spirit and leadership that was apparent to all on and around the field. Rhein started TJ Rubley, the league's Offensive MVP, who had quietly and effectively led the Fire to the first winning record in team history behind perhaps the best offensive line in league history which yielded just one sack all season.
It was the Fire through the boot of Manfred Burgsmuller that put the first points on the board, a 31 yard field goal just under 5 minutes into the game.
Barcelona replied soon after with a four play, 80 yard drive which culminated in running back Terry Wilburn's 13 yard run to the endzone.
Later in the first quarter, with Rhein starting deep in their own territory trying to establish a solid offensive footing, Rubley threw a uncharacteristic interception. Rhein safety Carlos Brooks returned the pick 16 yards for the score which, with the extra point from Jesus Angoy, made the score 14-3.
The Fire got their offense moving to start the second quarter after being given a short field to work with. Starting at the Dragons 39 yard line, the Fire moved 36 yards in 6 plays before Rubley went in on a 3 yard keeper to narrow the lead to 4.
Less than two minutes later, Kitna finally found his form finding Mexican receiver Marco Martos for a 66 yard score. The Dragons added to their lead when later in the second quarter, Kitna found a streaking Alfonzo Browning for a 40 yard score to give the Dragons 28-10 lead with 5 minutes left in the half.
However, the Fire were not out of it yet. They drove 56 yards in 9 plays capped by a second Rubley touchdown run, this time from one yard out, to cut the deficit to 11 to remain within striking distance at the half.
The third quarter remained scoreless until the Dragons impressive 90 yard drive which Terry Wilburn finished off with his second touchdown of the day, a 4 yard run to the endzone to make the score 35-17 with little over a quarter of football to play.
Still, the Fire would not give up as they mounted a 71 yard drive of their own which Rubley connected with Sean Foster for a 22 yard score on the eighth play. With 13 minutes left, the lead was just 11 and memories of the Dragons slide during the regular season - they fell from 4-1 to 5-5 - were beginning to come to mind.
Barcelona killed off the Fire momentum when kicker Jesus Angoy finally put the game away five minutes later with a 34 yard field goal. The Fire were broken and unable to seriously threaten the Dragons defense as Barcelona ran out the clock for coach 'Cowboy' Jack Bicknell's WLAF first title.
Kitna finished with 402 yards passing, a league mark for passing yards in the Bowl game and was voted the games MVP.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | ||
| Rhein | 3 | 14 | 0 | 7 | -- | 24 |
| Barcelona | 14 | 14 | 7 | 3 | -- | 38 |
| Scoring Summary | |||||
| Team | Quarter | Elapsed Time |
Scoring Play | Drive | Score |
| Rhe | 1 | 4:47 | FG Burgsmuller 31 | 9-46 | 3-0 |
| Bar | 1 | 6:34 | TD Wilburn 13 run (Angoy kick) | 4-80 | 3-7 |
| Bar | 1 | 11:05 | TD Brooks 16 interception return (Angoy kick) | 3-14 | |
| Rhe | 2 | 0:58 | TD Rubley 3 run (Burgsmuller kick) | 7-39 | 10-14 |
| Bar | 2 | 2:59 | TD M.Martos 66 pass from Kitna (Angoy kick) | 4-79 | 10-21 |
| Bar | 2 | 9:01 | TD Browning 40 pass from Kitna (Angoy kick) | 5-80 | 10-28 |
| Rhe | 2 | 13:13 | TD Rubley 1 run (Burgsmuller kick) | 9-56 | 17-28 |
| Bar | 3 | 12:54 | TD Wilburn 4 run (Angoy kick) | 8-90 | 17-35 |
| Rhe | 4 | 1:29 | TD Foster 22 pass from Rubley (Burgsmuller kick) | 8-71 | 24-35 |
| Bar | 4 | 6:11 | FG Angoy 34 | 7-59 | 24-38 |
| Team Statistics | |||
| Rhein | Barcelona | ||
| First Downs | 21 | 27 | |
| Rushes - Yards | 29-148 | 29-119 | |
| Passing - Yards | 139 | 394 | |
| Comp-Att-Int | 11-30-2 | 23-31-1 | |
| Return Yards | 26 | 31 | |
| Punts | 5-38.8 | 2-34 | |
| Sacked - Yards Lost | 1-18 | 1-7 | |
| Fumbles Lost | 0-0 | 2-1 | |
| Penalty - Yards | 8-71 | 10-55 | |
| Time of Possession | 29:01 | 30:59 | |
| Individual Statistics | ||
| Passing | Rhein | Rubley 30-11-157-1TD |
| Barcelona | Kitna 31-23-401-2TD | |
| Receiving | Rhein | Foster 4-57-1TD; Schroeder 2-36; Ofodile 1-24; Bailey 1-11; Clark 1-11; Dritlein 1-11; Rhodes 1-7 |
| Barcelona | Wilburn 5-77; Davis 4-96; Martos 4-83-1TD; Browning 4-76-1TD; Wilson 2-46; Burnett 2-21; Hicks 2-2, | |
| Rushing | Rhein | Clark 11-54; Rubley 6-41-2TD; Carter 9-35; Powers 3-18 |
| Barcelona | Hicks 15-68; Wilburn 10-44-2TD; Kitna 4-7 | |