Saturday

Breaking with tradition, the Cheddarheads decided to tour Scotland this weekend. First off was a stop in Leuchars for a spot of well received home cooking from Shuggie's folks. Then it was onward and upward to quaint ole St. Andrews to err … de-quaint it!

Thanks to our Cheddar cousins Dom and Jackie, we were shown the drinking ropes of the town and tried to keep up the best we could. I think we did OK, because by 4am we were finishing up on the 18^th hole of the Old Course. Apparently Shuggie double bogeyed but nobody saw it …

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Cheddarheads hit St. Andrews!

St Andrews baby!

Photo courtesy of Jackie Mac

Sunday

Gameday!

Board the buses at Haymarket at 11am and guess what? Not get lost and get to Hampden on time! Incredible! This breaking with tradition would be followed in grand style by the Claymores later!

This was quite simply the worst face paint job in the history of professional sports.

It was so bad that it made Lorne's look like a Picasso!

Game Report ...

What a difference a week makes, as the Claymores posted the 2^nd shutout in franchise history to slay a dangerous Dragons team 28-0, and in the same time breaking the Hampden Hoodoo that has dogged the team for the last 3 seasons. The win puts the Claymores at 4-3, tied for 2^nd place with the Admirals, with a huge trip to Amsterdam looming next week.

Kevin Daft drops back to pass in the 1^st quarter

Dragons RB Jesse Haynes is welcomed back to Scotland by Ben Torrerio

But lets get back to that defense! Burned in the last couple of weeks, it played with a vengeance Sunday logging a franchise record 9 sacks, plus forcing 3 turnovers. The shutout was a huge psychological boost for its damaged ego, and the only time the Claymores posted a shut out was 1996 (20-0 at Frankfurt) - their World Bowl winning year.

Dragons QB Tony Graziani was not only harassed by the Scottish Hounds all day, but also a noisy Hampden crowd behind the team bench

The game started slowly however. Kevin Daft was under center for the 1^st quarter and although they moved the ball reasonably well, they stalled their first 3 drives on the Dragons 35, 34 and 37 yard line respectively and had to punt on each occasion. But with Jon Ballantyne helping to pin the Dragons deep in their territory each time, and the defense making sure Barcelona had to fight for every yard - the scoreboard wasn't troubled. The only decent drive the Dragons had was helped by 1^st quarter QB Cory Sauter scrambling out of trouble on several occasions. But that drive ended with a missed Jesus Angoy 48 yard FG and the game remained scoreless.

WR Sulecio Sanford makes a spectacular catch to put the Claymores 7-0 up

When Marcus Crandell came in at QB in the 2^nd quarter, the Claymores quickly moved the ball downfield and 7 plays later Crandell found WR Sulecio Sanford in the end zone for a spectacular 15 yard score. Defense again dominated the rest of the quarter as QB Tony Graziani now found the going tough against the unleashed Scottish hounds. With less than 2 minutes left in the 1^st half, Graziani made a fatal error that blew the close game wide open. His 1^st down pass was tipped and then intercepted by LB Jon "Hands" Hesse who returned the pick to the 11 yard line. On the very next play Crandell found Donnie Sellers for a TD strike over the middle and the score was suddenly14-0.

Donnie Sellers celebrates his 3^rd TD in 2 weeks while Jack Bicknell looks on

Needing a good drive to start the 2^nd half, the Dragons went in reverse with Cory Sauter getting decked again. In fact it looked like the Hounds had got 2 points when Sauter was sacked halfway in his end zone, but Claymores fans favourite referee Jeff Triplette ruled the ball was down on the one-inch line. If the Dragons dodged a bullet there, they weren't so lucky later in the quarter when the harassed Sauter fumbled after yet another sack, this time by Jermaine Benoit and the loose ball was recovered by Matt Finkes. 5 plays later Aaron Stecker charged into the end zone from 1 yard out for his 8^th TD of the year and the score was 21-0.

Aaron Stecker leaps in to make it 21-0

The Dragons were forced to go for it on 4^th down next time they got the ball, but Graziani's pass was incomplete. The Claymores then iced the game by driving 64 yards for the final score of the game - a 9 yard strike from Marcus Crandell to hometown hero Scott Couper who made a nice leaping catch. The final minutes of the game saw the proud defense, fired by a rabid crowd, keep the sheet clean by first intercepting Graziani again (this time by Kory Blackwell) and then holding on 4^th down to complete a memorable shutout.

"OK Tony - it's my turn to get sacked now!"

DE Chris Ward didn't get a sack - but 9 others were logged on Sunday

So 4 and 3 and back on course, but a large obstacle looms - the 4-3 Amsterdam Admirals who logged an impressive 11 sacks this week behind an equally impressive defense. Victory in Amsterdam would give the Claymores the crucial sweep they need in tiebreakers as well as a top2 spot. Defeat, while no catastrophic, would send them back to the pack. It should be a hard fought contest!

Siran Stacy gets inducted into the Claymores Hall of Fame at halftime

Marcus Crandell drops back to pass in the 4^th quarter looking for Dr. Scoops!

Who leaps to makes his 2^nd Hampden TD in 2 years!

And gets a victory ride for his effort!

And a some kind of 'hand' gesture from Graeme Reith!

 LB Jon Hesse - Unlucky not to be Defensive Player of the Week with his 8 tackle 2 sack 1 INT performance. All over the field.

 LB Matt Finkes - Just as impressive with 7 tackles, 1 pass defense and 1 fumble recovery. Helped hold the Dragons RB's to 28 yards rushing.

 LB Jermaine Benoit - Best game of the season with 2 tackles and 2 sacks.

 LB Phil Glover - 5 tackles and 1 sack. The quiet stud of this defense.

 WR Don Sellers - Another awesome performance from a guy who is just about over his jet lag - 8 grabs for 94 yards and another TD!

 QB Marcus Crandell - Marcus finally hit the mark in the red zone, passing for 3 TD passes on 13 of 18 passes for 134 yards.

 OL Scott Curry, Ben Cavil, Mike Newell, Jason Gamble and Cornell Green - Maybe their best all round day of the season. Only 102 yards rushing, but more importantly great pass protection with only 1 sack conceded.

 WR Scott Couper - Scoops does it at Hampden again - but this time can celebrate a victory. 3 grabs for 44 yards and 1 TD.

  DL Jabbar Threats - Really coming on now - with 3 tackles and 1 sack.

  DL Tom Tovo - Ditto for #91 who laid the hit of the day on Cory Sauter in the 1^st quarter.

  DL Noel Scarlett - 2 tackles and a sack for the noisiest dawg of them all.

 CB Duane Hawthorne - 4 tackles and 4 passes defensed.

CB Duane Hawthorne

 CB Kory Blackwell - 1^st INT of the season - and made up for breakdowns of the previous weeks.

Maybe the Claymores were inspired by the return of the original #27. Shuggie finally got his 97 Stacy shirt signed. Little did he know Siran would be needing it next week!

Some clown with a blue face, Siran and Shuggie!

Some clown with a blue face, Kory and Shuggie!

Shuggie, Mike Newell, and some clown with a blue face!

Shuggie, The Curry Man and some clown with a blue face!

Some clown with a blue face, Coach Tomsula and Shuggie!

St. Andrews Posse! L to R: Murray, Dom, Jackie and then Shuggie and then some clown with a blue face!

Then after the threat of a one-way Taxi ride to Parkhead, Preston finally cleaned up his visage. And then it was on to Glasgow and Bar Yello for some more partying …

MAC Boys United! Preston (Ohio), Duane (Northern Illinois) and Shuggie (Ohio). Apparently the Bobcats beat Northern Illinois when Duane was there. Gee, Northern Illinois must be really bad!

And then to complete the tour of Scotland we crashed in Falkirk on Sunday night! Not bad!

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