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Week Ten: FINAL SCORE: CLAYMORES 34 FIRE 21 |
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CHEDDARHEAD CLOWN-O-METER FOR THE WEEKEND Once again Claymores fanclub FTP are awarding the points this week. To check last weeks adjudication please see last week |
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Preston: 16 points
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Shuggie: 18 points
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CHEDDAR CAM RECAPS THE WEEKEND! |
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Game Day morning and there is Preston Bus Rage. Not at our bus - but at a Lothian Bus that has blocked us in the road. Quote the driver - "I get off at 4pm and I'm not moving until then". That was 6 hours away! F'in asshole! So thought his passengers who left the bus too. Eventually we scraped out the mess and headed for Linvinston for the last time in 2001! |
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Miss Macaroni celebrates making her 10th game of the season and in doing so joins that exclusive club of "People with too much time and money"! Her FTP fanclub has grown so fast that they have now opened an international branch! |
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The disco mirror ball finally made it to Roy's helmet for this special weekend. Roy can now look forward to 10 months neck therapy to alleviate the numbness in his spine! |
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She says Ja! Fire fans Thomas and Linda tie the knot on stage thanks to the help of Scott Wilson. Congratulations guys! |
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The Lardy Boys inexplicability get some on stage cheerie action. Is that Steve R (centre) doing some smooching we wonder? |
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The 10-gamers for 2001 - Shuggie, Preston, Dom and Mark. This one was also Preston's 50th as well. |
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On the field pre-game and time to heckle the Fire! No way were they going to win on Scott's special day! |
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Not all the Fire though! Here Dom sneaks a kiss with ex-Claymore Joe Perez while Front Office clearly doesn't approve of this kind of playing with Fire! |
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Doctor shows off his kilt for this special occasion! We told you to expect The Thompson Twins' "Doctor Doctor" when he came on the field and twice it was played. Sadly the 2nd time saw OT John Jacobs tear his knee and end his chance of making the Chiefs this year. Get well soon John! |
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Moore Man and Willy Tate discuss disposable cameras. Ex Claymores greats Willy and Matt Finkes (background) both made the trip over (at their own expense) to help see off Scott on this special day. |
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Joe gets some more pre-game FTP action with the longest banner in Claymores history. It read - "Claymores FTP say you may take our PEREZ but you will never take our FONTANA!" |
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And if that's not a Kodak moment then we don't know what is! Joe obviously wasn't expecting much playing time if he took his camera with him on the field … |
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But then the pre-game festivities really began. Scott was surrounded by ex-team mates from the Glasgow Lions all way to the Claymores as Steve Livingstone conducted the ceremony at midfield. Scott got a chance to thanks the fans, and just about everybody - but sent a reminder that there were still 3 hours to go! |
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We were also treated to video highlights of Scott's career which included some of the worst end zones dances in pro football history! This one in Dusseldorf in 1997 helped beat the Fire - could it happen again? |
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Scott, in the right slot lines up for the 1st time on his final day. Could he get his 10th TD and his 1,000 career yards? |
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But the D would make the 1st score of the day. Jabbar Threats took a Phil Stambaugh fumble 26 yards to paydirt to end a defensive scoring drought. Not since Joey Eloms scored in Week 3 of the 1999 season has the D reached the end zone - and it was just the tonic to get a fast start in this game. CLAYMORES 7-0 |
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And there would be one more score this 1st quarter too … After Stevan Fontana recovered a fumbled kick return, and James Whalen rumbled to the 10 yard line - the Claymores lined up at the Fire 10 yard line with Scott split out left ... |
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Scott runs a precise 7 yard post, cutting inside Fire CB DeShon Mallard … |
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Stoerner lets the ball go, Mallard closes in on Scott - will it get there in time? |
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Yeah baby! Scott pulls it in as Mallard tries to knock it away. TOUCHDOWN CLAYMORES! (This is sweet revenge too - as Mallard was the player who got the key INT in WB2000 when Kevin Daft overthrew a wide open Scott) |
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The place goes nuts as Scott takes in the magnitude of what has happened. His 10th career TD and over 1000 career yards! |
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And then he is hugged by his teammates. First up were OL Eric King and Chris Watton. Most of the offense would then follow! |
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And then Scott runs back to the bench triumphantly holding the ball aloft to the adoring fans! What a moment! CLAYMORES 14-0 |
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Pepe Pearson signals TD but there would be repeat of his WB2000 heroics as the Claymores D completely shut him and the Fire down through the 1st half. Under 40 yards offense and only 1 completion - not bad! |
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Gus was on in the 2nd quarter too - but the coaching staff gave him the shaft by twice calling for handoffs on 3rd and long! Here Gus executes one of his perfect handoffs! HALFTIME CLAYMORES 20-0 |
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The scoring fest continued in the 3rd quarter as James Whalen pulled in this TD from Clint. James had another super day, confirming his status as Iron Man of the Year, with over 8 catches for over 100 yards. His 66 total catches set a new Claymores season record and led the league! CLAYMORES 27-0 |
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And we thought we had another when Dante took a punt return to the house - setting off the fireworks. But sadly Doug Miller committed yet another penalty and it had to come back … But Vaughn Sanders would score a TD later and the rout was on! CLAYMORES 34-0 |
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And then the Fire lost their composure when OL Michael Early started swinging at everyone on the extra point and had to leave early! He was ejected but returned to the bench - so that provided ample opportunity for some serious heckling! Eventually the officials had him escorted from the field … |
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Not even the return of WB98 hero Jim Arellanes could save the Fire on this day. At least Jim looked liked he wanted to throw the ball unlike Stambaugh was Hound Bait all day. Who knows how far the Fire could have gone if Jim had been invited over sooner … |
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In the 4th quarter the Fire scored some cheap TD's. First S Eric Riley went for Clown of the Year - by trying lateral in his own end zone (Fire TD), misplaying a deep pass by knocking over his own man (Fire TD). Then a Hutch fumble was returned for a TD by Kelly Gragg to make it 34-21 - but the outcome was never in doubt … |
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The Fire fans though kept singing and dancing until the end, even though their World Bowl dreams would be shattered on this day. Most of them had come though to Edinburgh by boat for 2 days hard partying and the result did nothing to stop this! CLAYMORES 34-21 FINAL |
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And then it was time to salute and say farewell to a Scottish hero. Watton and King hoist Scott on their shoulders and carry him over the fans! |
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And then Scott starts to strip down. First the gloves … |
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Then the shirt! Eventually the boots and game pants would go too - as Scott left the field in only his jock strap! It was a fond farewell on a special day - and a credit to all the players for rising to the occasion and winning one for #81! |
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Kudos to Clint for having maybe his best game of the year. Clint is a winner despite what some of our more over reactive fans think and he deserved to finish on a high too. His TD strike to Scott was a thing of beauty. Good luck in Dallas! |
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And kudos to Clarky too. We didn't make the World Bowl but this was a hugely successful season off the field. We bettered attendance by an average of 5,000 a game and are now #3 in the league behind Rhein and Frankfurt. The front office backed up their promises with the full move to Glasgow and it paid off in 2001! |
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A long overdue wash for The Lardy Boys was given by the Fire Equipment Boys! |
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Cheer up Gus! Joe and Gus share a quiet moment post game. These were 2 of the top guys we've come across in all the years following this league and we're really pulling for you both in Kansas City boys!
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At the post game party in Hampden Scott was treated to a special song for him and was asked to sing along as well as lead a Flower of Scotland. Let's just say singing will not be his next career move! Thanks for all the great memories #81, both home and away - we'll miss you!!! |
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We had our own party to get back to in Edinburgh which was rocking as per usual. Here special guest star OL Jim Stull is flanked by the Fire Pl@net (Thomas and Ralph). Jim was just awesome with the fans this year and a NFL team should pick him up soon. Maybe a NFL team should pick up the Pl@net too as they are the kings of fan organization in this league! |
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Crazy party! The music shuts down at 1am - but then for 30 minutes the fans keep singing. For 5 minutes there is constant screaming of "FIRE" by the Scots and "CLAYMORES" by the Germans that reached fever pitch! Great to see all these guys again and hope you had a great weekend! |
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Impersonating a member of the FTP by holding the FTP banner at the start of the game +2 points
