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World Bowl 2000
Sunday 25 June 2000
Waldstadion, Frankfurt
Final Score: Scottish Claymores 10 - 13 Rhein Fire

So it wasn't to be. The Scottish Claymores come away second best in the 2000 World Bowl losing in the final seconds to a Pepe Pearson touchdown run from 1 yard.

Rhein opened the scoring after 5 minutes with a 21 yard Manny Burgsmuller field goal after the Scottish defense held tight at the 4 yard line.

The Claymores marched straight back up the field on their next drive which saw Aaron Stecker run right for 9 yards, Kevin Daft hit H-back Willy Tate for 30 yards and Stecker finish the drive off with a 36 yard run - the second longest run in World Bowl history. Rob Hart kicked the 3 play, 75 yard drive with the PAT to give the Claymores a 7-3 lead.

Scotland extended their lead with a 32 yard field goal mid way through the second quarter following Peter Elezovic's missed field goal attempt from 43 yards which fell short. Burgsmuller redeemed himself by hitting a 23 yarder later in the second quarter to make the halftime score 10-6


Willy Tate tries to console kicker Rob Hart after his 40 yard field goal attempt sailed wide left
Photo: Dave McRitchie
The third quarter went scoreless as both defenses excelled holding the opposing offenses to very little positive gain.

In the fourth quarter the tension increased as the end of the game approached with less than a touchdown between the sides. Again and again, Rhein pounded on the door and again the Claymores D held tight. Inside the two minute warning Fire drove deep into the Claymores 10 on a drive which RB Pepe Pearson finished off with a 1 yard plunge. Burgsmuller added the PAT for a 3 point Fire lead.

Scotland came right back with Daft hitting Stecker for 9 yards, Sellers for 13 and again for 12 and Sanford for 17 to setup a field goal attempt with just 8 seconds remaining.

On comes Rob Hart to take a kick no one wants to go near. The snap comes back, the kick is up but sails wide left leaving the Fire to celebrate their second World Bowl victory.

Comments

This game should never have come down to Rob Hart's kicking. Rob is a good kicker and all credit to him, it was a horrible situation to be put in. If he had made it he would have been a hero, if, as it turns out he missed he becomes the villain. This is not just, it was not Rob's fault the Claymores lost - Fact.

The defense played the game of it's life. Duane Hawthorne had a stunning game against Ogden and Drake who were boht effectively eliminated from the game. His coverage was perfect all night. McElmurry too had a good game as did the secondary unit as a whole.


Pepe Pearson scores on a 1 yard plunge on what turned out to be the gamewinning score
Photo: Iain Carey
The line got a lot of pressure on Danny Wuerffel but was unable to pull him to the turf more than once. After laying hands on him many times, he proved too elusive to sack.

The problems lay on offense. The defense gave them three turnovers to capitalise on and they made little if anything from them. Stecker was effective early on as in previous games against Rhein but as ever, the Rhein D shut him down later in the game.

Daft lost a little of his poise and made a couple of quite frankly horrible throws. However, he got credited with a fumble which was clearly, to everyone except the referee, was an incomplete pass. That bad luck killed a promising drive and scuppered any momentum gained.

There isn't an awful lot else to say. I'm still depressed about the game and this could be lack of sleep talking but I'm lost for words right now about how to comprehend what happened in the final minutes.

The Claymores can take heart in the fact that, for perhaps the first time, they played as a team this season. There were clear leaders on both offense and defense and the team spirit was impressive. That is of no consolation to the players who are now on their way home to the USA and other countries but no one can take away the memory of being a proper team. We can only hope that the 2001 Claymores have the same team spirit.

        FINAL             1ST  2ND  3RD  4TH     TOTAL
                          ---  ---  ---  ---     -----
        RHEIN               7    3    0    0      10
        SCOTLAND            3    3    0    7      13  

SCORING SUMMARY

    1ST QUARTER: RHE - FG, MANFRED BURGSMULLER 21 YD, 9:48. RHEIN 3-0
                 SCO - TD, AARON STECKER 36 YD RUN (ROB HART KICK),
				           0:50. RHEIN 3, SCOTLAND 7
    2ND QUARTER: SCO - FG, ROB HART 32 YD, 9:03. RHEIN 3, SCOTLAND 10
	             RHE - FG, MANFRED BURGSMULLER 23 YD, 4:59. RHEIN 6,
				           SCOTLAND 10
    3RD QUARTER: 
    4TH QUARTER: RHE - TD, PEPE PEARSON 1 YD RUN (MANFRED BURGSMULLER
	                       KICK), 1:12. RHEIN 13, SCOTLAND 10

PLAYER STATISTICS

Rhein Rushing: Pearson 14-61, Carter 10-56, Wuerffel 4-18

Scotland Rushing: Stecker 13-92, Snell 6-9, Daft 1-8

Rhein Passing: Wuerffel 12-30-90-0-2, Lytle 3-7-32-0-0

Scotland Passing: Daft 16-29-177-0-1

Rhein Receiving: Ogden 3-26, Nord 3-17, Pearson 2-28, Johnson 2-26,
Drake 2-17, Carter 2-3, Neufeld 1-5

Scotland Receiving: Sellers 4-56, Brady 4-36, Stecker 4-21, Sanford 3-34,
Tate 1-30