TURF LUCK FOR CLANSMEN
STIRLING CLANSMEN 0 NOTTINGHAM OUTLAWS 12

Having lit up the BUAFL Scottish Conference this season, Stirling Clansmen quest for the College Bowl ended with a damp squib in the not so familiar home surroundings at Stirling University Campus, losing 12-0 to Nottingham Outlaws.

After having battled hard to end the regular season undefeated and gain a home berth in the play offs, this was nothing like home advantage for the newly crowned Scottish champions.

Forget the picturesque settings of their regular base at Airthey Castle Playing Fields,

Call it internal politics or a breakdown in communication, the Clansmen found themselves playing their biggest game of the season in one of the spare university astro turf pitches, in between two junior soccer games next door.

And the fact that they had only got one training session on the new surface did not fare well for the Clansmen's chances.

It showed how we still have a long way to go in developing the game in this country and certainly indicated how much Stirling University value their gridiron side, who not so long ago were Kings of the College League.

But let that not be used as an excuse!

This was nothing like the kind of regal performance we have grown to expect from the Clansmen who delivered one of their most disappointing offensive displays of the season.

The English gave the Scots a lesson on how to block for your rushers, protect your receivers and quarterback.

However, thanks to some tough performances from the home defense during the early stages, Nottingham had to wait till midway through the second quarter when Marc Herman opening the scoring.

And with Stirling 's confidence slowly ebbing away, the Scots were hoodwinked by a piece of special team's trickery at the end of the third period when a fake punt saw Thomas Barker run in the second score of the day.

Having scraped through against Glasgow Tigers the week before, the Scottish Champions had to step up a gear if they were to have any chance of continuing their journey towards this years College Bowl.

Despite their behind the scene problems with the pitch, hopes were high that they could maintain their 100% record in this years contest.

And the fact that they were stuck in amongst heavy populated sports fields nearby, they did manage to attract some curious bystanders who decided to stuck around for the duration, now was the time to turn on a show.

Having shut the visitors down on their first possession, things looked positive for the Clansmen at the start of a long first drive, taking the ball up to half way, but when Quarterback Brandon Ulmer decided to try and increase the yardage powering through the middle only for the ball to fly out is his grip and be recovered by the Outlaws.

As the first period progressed, the English were starting pose a serious threat to the Clansmen endzone when Dave Fairhurst fired a long pass to 81 (name to be confirmed) which was caught at the Scots 11 yard line.

But the moment turned dramatically in Stirling 's favour when Fairhust was picked off by No 22 (name to be confirmed).

The turnover seemed to inject some life into the Clansmen attack going into the second quarter, but as UImer struggled to stay upright on the astro turf, the drive stalled with the Scots turning over possession.

However the Clansmen soon found themselves in trouble when after conceding 30 yards in penalties in one drive, were soon finding themselves defending their goal line, but could not contain the power of Herman, who blasted through from a few yards out for the opening score.

Stirling battled to mount a reply, but due to the lack of protection, the receivers had to work much harder than they needed to and not surprisingly with very little gain.

As the game moved towards half time, Nottingham continued to pose the great offensive threat, with Stirling struggling to get outside their half during open play.

But thanks to the performance of the defense, the home side were still very much in the game with no change in the scoring at the end of the second quarter.

Stirling were still missing their killer instinct at the start of the third quarter, where as Nottingham 's confidence continued to rise.

However with no change in the scoring there appeared to be some light at the end of the tunnel when Ulmer completed his first long pass of the day to James Stevenson, who was unlucky not to get a clear run to the endzone.

This was the opportunity that the Clansmen had been waiting for. If they were able to end this drive with a tying score, then it could possibly be a turning point in the game.

Unfortunately they found themselves in difficulty again on a fourth down attempt when another long Ulmer pass bounced off Stevenson's fingers.

Then in the dying embers of the third quarter, the Scots were dealt a shattering blow to their confidence when they were hoodwinked with a fake punt attempt, where the ball was snapped back to Barker who sprinted straight through for another moral boosting 6 points, which in the end killed the game off for the Clansmen.