Week 7 - Claymores 17 Admirals 13

WEEK 7 - CLAYMORES 17 ADMIRALS 13
	And so it was back to Hampden for another game in our suddenly impenetrable fortress - we had won 8 of the last 9 games here! Could we make it 9 of 10? P.S. Thanks to Ian for the sneakies. As we were not riding the bus this week we thought we might missout ...
	Help was on hand thanks to these goody bags carried by Sandra and Shuggie! What was in the bags? Read on ...
	But first the pre-game party, and a chance to check out the new helmet sported by Roy the Mad Hatter. It was a children's theme this week apparently so we'll let him off for the Galaxy teletubby (on the right)!
	Also a chance to see Scott Wilson's holiday snaps from his Amsterdam vacation!
	And also a chance to catch up with the road weary Trench Crew and another lover of the offensive line - Suz Stull! With Ian Allen back in the states we tried to get Suz to get Jim to suit up for the Claymores again, but for once - the Admirals were going to let him play today.
	Amsterdam were parading their ex Claymores again today. Here Kory Blackwell appears at first sight to be carrying both an Admiral and Claymore helmet as he can't decide who to play for! He is, we believe hugging Dondre Gilliam, which was a lot closer than he got 2 weeks ago in the ArenA!
	Claymores get fired up just before kickoff. Sitting at 3-3 this game would be pivotal to the rest of the season ...
	And the fans got loud to show how much we wanted this one! The sudden appearance of many Amsterdam Noise Makers helped. Preston's ear drums have only just stopped making the sound of the ocean, after sitting too close to Derek for 3 hours!
	But there's always one thing to ruin the party. No not the Lardy Boys, but the inept, incompetent, lazy, ignorant, don't give a toss organization that was Rock Steady last Sunday! Showing no inclination to check tickets, the resident Warriors of Lard were forced to move as some twats wouldn't budge from their seats. More on RS later ...
	The game of course saw the return of our 2000 starter at QB - Kevin Daft. He's had an OK year, but hasn't had the same supporting cast he had in Scotland. Here he spots some familiar faces in the crowd.

	Last but not least ex-Claymore and still fan favourite Jim Stull (#71). It was nice to see him get on the field today, after languishing on the bench much of the year. He even got called his name called out by Scott Wilson - alas for a clipping penalty!
	The Admirals kicking duo of Silvio "IR" Diliberto and Joe "Neil" O'Donnell. We still have #16 to thank for our winning streak, as his last second miss of a game winning 4 pointer in Amsterdam 2 weeks ago, started this whole thing off. He's actually had a decent year otherwise - and a 40 yard FG opened the scoring on the Admirals 1st drive. ADMIRALS 3-0
	With Ian Allen absent, big Andy Stensrud (#66) came in at right tackle and did a great job. Once again the O-line didn't concede a sack. In fact it is only given up 5 all year, which is pretty outstanding. However our O really struggled in the 1st half, netting only 54 yards.
	Daft's first gift of the day was a near TD ... for us! Backed up against their goal line, Flick gets a hand on his pass and the ball goes up in the air. Tony Ortiz grabs it for his 2nd pick of the year (both vs. the Admirals). Only an alert tackle by Rafael Cooper saved a TD. Our O had 3 cracks and failed to get in, so Rob Hart stepped up and kicked a 24 yard FG. CLAYMORES 3-3
	The exact moment THE DOCTOR realised the foolishness of missing the Frankfurt game this year - and ending his streak of having done every Claymore game!
	The great thing about eccentric headgear (ourselves included) is that you are always easy to spot no matter where you are!
	Fumble! With the Admirals threatening again, our D stepped up once more. Tom Tovo hit RB Rafael Cooper, who failed to protect the ball, and Tovo dove on it to complete another Houdini escape for the D!
	Coach Bart Andrus tries to comfort his star RB, but he would be at the center of a botched exchange in the 2nd half too. (Daft was credited with the fumble but it looked as much Cooper's fault as Kevin's).
	Cooper gets Isabelle rung here on a tough hit from #51!
	Just when Scott appeared to have turned the corner, his shaky 1st half showing left some doubts. With the half ticking down, this risky pass was almost picked off by the Admirals for what would have been a gift TD.
	Just before the half Kevin and the Admirals showed some horrible clock management, failing to get any points out of a promising drive. It all ended with a Cedric Pittman sack n strip on 4th down as time ran out!
	Admirals OL Chase Raynoock (#74) thought he could rumble with the ball, but alas only the fumbling player can advance the ball in the last 2 minutes of the half. Still he showed some moves, should the injury plagued Admirals lose any more RB's! 3-3 HALFTIME
	With the score at 3-3, Kevin Daft delivered for us again, finding CB Hurley Tarver cutting in front of WR Marcus Knight. Tarver's nice return put the Scots back into Amsterdam territory. #40 has had a super year and has a great chance for all NFL Europe honours. He made some huge pass break ups later in this game too.
	Just when it looked like the Claymores offense was reverting to its mid-season slump Scott Dreisbach dialed #86 deep down the left sideline and once again Dondre Gilliam made a super play, reeling in a a perfect pass and holding on while his facemask appeared to get a wee tug. It was spectacular once more! CLAYMORES 10-3
	This is how some of Rock Steady earn their money then. They congregate at exits of empty sections of the stadium and discuss what's for dinner. Don't try to go to section 47 though - because if you don't have a ticket you might just not get let in!
	Special Teams Coach Jeff Rheinbold opened his box of tricks in the 3rd Q to get the Admirals back in the game. Up back David Dinkins rumbled 45 yards to Scotland 8 yard line (running through poor JJ Moses attempted tackle). However out D stiffened again and O'Donnell hit a 27 yard FG. CLAYMORES 10-6
	Daft started to find his rhythm in the 4th quarter and the Admirals kept threatening. Finally they broke through when on 3rd and 10 he hit the impressive Kenyon Hambrick (#2) for a 21 yard TD strike with 11 minutes left. ADMIRALS 13-10
	But the Bravehearts came back! Dondre went deep again, breaking free of a busted coverage and Dreisbach hit him streaking down the left sideline for his 4th TD of the year (3rd vs the Admirals). We were worried that this catch was too easy and unspectacular for him - but he held on, and then took a vicious belly flopping from Jason Byworth! CLAYMORES 17-13
	The Admirals had one final chance in the dying seconds but yet again Daft & the coaches showed why a clock should be on their Xmas list. Although out of time outs, they wasted time by being tackled in bounds and showed no interest in trying to manage a 4 pt FG again. With 0:05 left Daft then lobbed a little pass to Cooper down the middle ...
	who was eventually tackled in bounds and time expired! Claymores win! This clock cock up was vaguely familiar of Daft in Berlin in 2000, when we lost a game in similar circumstances and never got to try a throw into the end zone from in close. We like Kevin as a passer - but he needs to come through in the clutch like this if he's going to progress to the next level!
	FINAL CLAYMORES 17 ADMIRALS 13 Big Mac conducts his orchestra of fans once again!
	But then #72 gets carried away, and decides its time for a more personal meet and greet with his adoring faithful!
	But what's this? Big Mac gets his marching orders from the now Nazi like Rock Steady security crack team. Apparently the thought of a 300 pound man shaking hands with some children, could have started a riot and #72 is told in no uncertain terms where he should go. We
	And so the first Claymore to be ejected this year is Big Mac. When Preston asked why this happened the RS BS reply was "Only Gold ticket holders are allowed autographs". Bizarre, since they weren't checking any passes anyway! I guess they felt it was more important to deny some friendly kids some fun, than making sure the right people sit in the right sections. Very very poor!
	We had no such problems with the Admirals fans, but sadly they too had problems with Rock Steady. Hats off to the Ads fans though. They look like they are on their way to their 4th straight losing season, and have become the hard luck team of the league (injuries this year are killing them). But the fans remain faithful, and one day it will pay off!
	But back to the football ... Jim and Suz enjoy the penalty for a Claymores win - the traditional Cheddaring. It's OK to open your eyes now Suz!
	Toni D, or "Mrs. Coach" when she signs autographs, offers Shuggie a musical education in the laid back sounds of Jimmy Buffet, by giving us a CD. Apparently one of his songs, "Cheeseburgers in Paradise" reminds her of us! If we keep winning we'll certainly be in paradise!