Claymores................7 Barcelona...............20
the Scottish Claymores, the reigning World Bowl champions, realised their vulnerability at Murrayfield yesterday when they were beaten by the visiting Barcelona Dragons.
The pivotal score came at the start of the second quarter, when, under pressure from Dragons quarterback Jon Kitna, the Scots opted for a blitz play, sending eight defenders after the passer - and lost.
Kitna beat the blitz, completing a quick pass to Tyree Davis which the wide receiver turned into a 45-yard touchdown score .
The Dragons defensive line never allowed the Claymores running game to make any considerable gain, limiting it to just 48 yards, despite the late return of Siran Stacy in the third quarter for the Scots.
That line also took a page from the Claymores' playbook to limit Scot's quarterback Dave Barr to just seven completions and, with two field goals and a two-yard touchdown pass from Kitna to tight-end Bryce Burnett sealing the win in the fourth quarter, the Spanish side handed Jim Criner's champions their first home defeat since June, 1995.
Criner made no excuse for the loss. ''I don't think we were ready to play,'' he said. ''Offensively we never got going. This was a good football team we were playing but I never thought we'd get whipped as badly up front.''
The Dragons moved into scoring range on their second possession when Kitna connected with wide receiver Sheddrick Wilson for a 44-yard gain. However, defensive coordinator Jimmy Carr's unit held firm and Barcelona had to settle for a 38 yard field goal from Joe Wood.
On their next drive, the Dragons moved the ball to the Claymores 17, with Kitna hitting Alfonzo Browning and Michael Hicks for big gains. But Kitna was denied the touchdown when his end-zone pass to Browning looked to be intercepted by cornerback Charles Swann. However, the officials ruled the ball dead.
Spanish kicker Jesus Angoy then attempted a 36-yard field goal but pulled it right.
Kitna was given time to hit Davis for a 16-yard gain at the start of the second quarter before Carr decided to gamble with the safety blitz. Dragons quarterback read it well and hit Davis in the flats. The wide receiver cut passed two defenders and down the sideline 45 yards for the opening touchdown. Angoy made good the conversion and the Dragons led 10-0.
In the second-half, Barcelona reverted to running time off the clock, handing the ball to Hicks who pounded out the yards to end the third quarter. The Dragons rusher continued to make gains at the start of the fourth, putting the team in scoring range on a 20 yard run.
However, Kitna was once again thwarted on an 11-yard pass attempt to Browning, corner back Swann again breaking up the pass. The Dragons had to settle for another three points from Angoy, who converted a 28 yard field goal to make it 13-0.
In an attempt to get his offence moving, Criner resorted to soccer's equivalent of bringing all his substitutes on - and Stacy took the field for the first time since his World League suspension was lifted, alongside back up quarterback Spence Fisher.
Again the Scots were foiled, and the Dragons took over moving the ball down to the Claymores 11 on a time-wasting drive.
Kitna then scrambled to the Claymores one-yard line before rolling right to fire a one-yard touchdown pass to Burnett. Angoy converted to make it 20-0.
The Claymores mounted a last desperate drive to salvage the match, and with less than three minutes remaining, Fisher launched a deep pass to Allen DeGraffenreid who caught it at the Dragons 12.
Yo Murphy then took a reverse pitch from Ron Dickerson and ran 12 yards before diving into the end zone for a long awaited consolation score for the Scots. Kicker Cari Gronroos converted the extra point to make it 20-7 but it was too late for any Claymores comeback.
Dragons head coach Jack Bicknell said: ''We saw what the Claymores did to Amsterdam with their blitz, and we were determined they would not do that to us.'' while Barcelona quarterback Kitna added: ''This game was anything but easy. The Claymores obviously saw a lot of film on us and knew what we were doing..''
In other weekend World League action, Frankfurt Galaxy beat Amsterdam Admirals 19-10, while London Monarchs lost 28-6 to Rhein Fire.
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