JUST CHAMPION!!!!!!!!!
CLANSMEN CLINCH SCOTTISH CONFERENCE
Caledonian Roughriders 0 Stirling Clansmen 30

OK no one ever had this down as a coupon buster!

So it was no surprise to see the Stirling Clansmen continue their dominance of the BUAFL Scottish Conference, wrapping up this year's title by clocking up 34 unanswered points against the Caledonian Roughriders.

A 34-0 score line would suggest an easy afternoon for the Clansmen, but in what turned out to be a tough defense battle, the visitors had to battle for everything they could get.

In the end it was down a powerhouse performance from Canadian Quarterback, Brandon Ulmer that proved to be the undoing of the Roughriders, scoring two touchdowns and setting up a virtuoso "display at bar" for Law Student James Stevenson, with a deadly double of his own.

And with the Clansmen set to round of their regular season against Glasgow Tigers next week and then the Napier Mavericks, it would be difficult to see anything getting in the way of the Gridiron Bravehearts going into the play offs with a perfect regular season.

The last time these two teams met, the Roughriders were on the receiving end of a 60-6 hammering but Cally had discovered a new lease of life during the past couple weeks with comfortable wins over Glasgow and Napier and were determined to keep the momentum going ahead of the play offs.

Despite the importance of today's game, the frailties of the new look college league was exposed with a lack of referee cover showing that were having the same problems as their predecessor.

Having official linesmen has always been a problem, with teams having to rely solely on volunteers.

Without them, there would be no game. So they have to be applauded for that.

What the league is doing about it remains to be seen.

The lack of officially qualified bodies can create problems, like two weeks ago, when the game ran longer than the recent Superbowl plus the half time entertainment.

And in tough battles such as today, stand in officials can sometimes be subject to unnecessary pressure from sidelines.

Who would want to be a Ref!

We may question their decisions; but you have to applaud their dedication and a big shout out to the official refs as well - there I done it! (Make the most of it).

As for the game itself, it was up in the air as how it was going to go. The Glasgow Tigers showed that it was possible to push teams like the Clansmen to the limit and was more than justified with only one touchdown separating the two teams.

After an ineffective opening drive, the Roughriders were determined to give the Clansmen little room for manoeuvre themselves, forcing them back towards their own endzone.

The visitors were soon under early pressure when a botched snap on the resulting punt attempted flew high over the punter and was downed at Stirling 's 24 yard line.

A tough defensive stand off meant that the drive stalled. Then the Roughriders defense handed their side another opportunity, forcing a fumble which was recovered and handed excellent field position for the home side, but once again could not capitalise on their advantage.

Stirling were not having a very productive start compared to previous games, but the offensive unit that had run over teams in previous contest soon started to make their mark on their next possession, when Ulmer used his strength to power through a gap in the Cally defense, bouncing off a couple of challenges for the opening touchdown, which was followed by him diving over the goal line for a successful two point conversion.

Stirling increased their lead early in the when Stevenson turned on the speed, doing just enough to get inside the endzone to make 14 unanswered points for the visitors.

And the Roughriders were caught off guard again when Ulmer under pressure managed to off load the ball to Stevenson in the far corner for another successful conversion.

With the possibility of the game running away from them, Cally dug deep into their reserves, pushing the Clansmen back towards their goal line, falling just two yards short.

But Stirling were handed a lucky break when the home side, trying one last push, lost the ball in the process and possession.

The turnover seemed to inject a boost into the Clansmen's play but the home side were determined to keep themselves in the hunt, battling for every ball, with no change in the scoring, going into the break.

However Stirling had the game wrapped up when what has become a trademark run from Ulmer, blasting through mass of bodies and sprinting home for his second score of the day, which was followed by another successful conversion attempt.

Then in the final period, Stirling finished the game in style when a completed pass to Stevenson, saw the receiver juggling with the ball before running 40 yards for a 30-0 score line.