Scottish Claymores - American Football in Scotland

Claymores fall to the Centurions

Scottish Claymores 3
Cologne Centurions 17

VAE Victus - suffering to the conquered. That was the outcome in Cologne for
the Claymores as the Scots dropped to the bottom of the NFL Europe League
standings after falling to the Centurions 17-3 in Germany, in a
less-than-epic encounter on Saturday night.

 
Ahmaad Galloway fights for yardage
Two first-half touchdown strikes from New York Giants allocated quarterback Ryan Van Dyke to Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Todd Devoe proved the difference between the teams as the NFL Europe League's newest recruits recorded their first victory at home in front of 8,781 fans in the impressive RheinEnergieStadion in Koln and dropped the 10th season Claymores to further misery, equaling the Scots worst start to a season since 1998 and their second 0-4 standing in club history.

The Claymores came, saw but could not conquer as once again, the offense found it impossible to string together a cohesive assault on their opponents during their third visit to Gemany in four games. Head coach Jack Bicknell must now rally his troops for a desperate regroup against Rhein Fire at Hampden this Sunday.

After the game, the head coach, said: "Obviously, we are very frustrated and just haven't been able to make things happen on the offensive side of the ball. I have to congratulate Cologne - they were in the same boat as us coming in but did what they had to. They have some talent on both sides of the ball and have a talented running back in Cobourne.

"I'm frustrated for our guys though. They have put forth the effort, but we just haven't got the results. I know we are working our butts off but are not making plays - we haven't made plays.

"We work in practice but on gameday you have to make plays. If you are not making them, then you are going to lose. We have got a lot of work ahead of us. I talk to my players every single day - they are frustrated - and I have to tell them to hang in there. Our players are not down there smiling or talking in the locker room - they are frustrated. I've got to keep my team focused on next week. When you are 0-4, it's not a very good place to be."

 
Marcus Helfman breaks free
The head coach added: "It's hard to point any fingers. You have to make plays. We're not making plays on offense and we're being swallowed up a little bit. We haven't been able to break open and make the plays. It's not easy for us right now for us. We have a lot of options about what we can do, but basically we have to start to execute on offense."

The Claymores offense did come out firing at the start of the game, with quarterback Nate Hybl connecting on two big gains to favourite wide receiver Scott McCready (13 and 26 yards) to get the Scots into scoring range. Kicker Rob Hart got the Claymores on to the scoreboard hitting a 26-yard field goal to give the Claymores a 3-0 lead with five minutes gone.

Cologne didn't waste any time getting back into the game with Giants allocate Van Dyke moving his team downfield with help from two costly penalties assessed on the Claymores defense. Van Dyke took full advantage rifling a 15-yard scoring strike to Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Todd Devoe at the back of the Scots end zone to open the Centurions account. Swedish kicker Ola Kimrin nailed the extra point and Cologne took a 7-3 lead nine minutes into the game.

The Claymores were forced to punt on their next possession allowing Van Dyke to lead his team back into scoring range at the start of the second quarter. The Giants passer was deadly accurate again, this time from 33 yards when he found Devoe on a 33-yard post play to split the Scots defense. Kimrin was also good again and Cologne took control 14-3 in front five minutes into the second quarter.

The Scots battled back with Detroit Lions' allocated quarterback Curt Anes moving the offense with big strikes to Scott Couper (15 yards) McCready and San Francisco 49ers allocate Marcus Helfman (28 yards) but couldn't register any points after running back Ahmaad Galloway was stuffed by the Centurions defense on a big fourth down with one minute left in the half.

 
Scott McCready tries to stop progress
Van Dyke took his team downfield again as the half drew to a close, but this time had to settle for a 46-yard field goal from Derek Schorejs after failing to complete his pass in bounds to Minnesota Vikings allocated wide out Ben Nelson. The Scots couldn't get back on the scoreboard before the end of the half and Cologne went into the locker room 17-3 in front.

The teams traded possessions and no scores were added in the third quarter as the Claymores offense tried to find a way back into the game while the defense stepped up to keep the Scots competitive with big play from linebacker Ryan Myers and safety Gerald Dixon and a sack from Damian Gregory.

Still, offensively, the Claymores could not find any cohesiveness to their attack, allowing Cologne to take possession and run out the clock on the ground in the fourth quarter.

The defense struggled to cage Detroit Lions allocated running back Avon Cobourne who combined with fellow rusher Antown McCray to punish the Claymores. Cobourne finished the game with 116 yards on 18 carries while McCray added 32 yards on 12 carries and a further 29 yards on three catches, compounding the Scots misery and allow Cologne to run out the clock 17-3 victors.

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