Napier University 32 Paisley Pyros 0

Paisley once again fell victim to the numbers game going down to a 32 point whitewash against Napier University in the BCAFL Battle of Rookies.

Despite making a good start in the first quarter, the Pyros, despite putting up some stiff resistance had now answer to the Napier Offfensive Unit, led by Quarterback Danny Guy, who set up two touchdowns as well as scoring three of his own.

Even though the Napier Quarterback grabbed the headlines, a delighted Head Coach Dave Glendinning insisted that the victory was due to an all round team performance.

He said" Things really came together for us today. From our seasoned vets to rookies playing positions for the first time, everybody played their part."

Added Defensive Coordinator Mark Bramwell: "The defense really clicked today,with players playing out of position and standout defense from some new faces."

Even though they have around 20 players on their books, only 12 Pyro’s players including two first time starters made the trip to Edinburgh and it looked as if they would be up against from the start against a much larger and more powerful Napier squad.

However any thoughts of this being a walk in the park for the East Coast outfit were quickly dismissed when the visitors forced a turnover, two plays into the opening drive of the game.

Things continued to look promising for the Pyros when Quarterback Euan Bennet handed the ball off to James Mitchell who took the ball to just short of the first down marker.

The Pyros then decided took an early gamble on fourth down, which almost paid off when Ben Alkureishi made an impressive run down the near side, stopping just short of the goal line.

But his efforts were for nothing as the play was called back for a holding penalty which eventually led to a turnover in downs.

Both teams continued to struggle to get their offensive machine in gear till the final minutes of the first quarter when Guy fired a long pass to receiver Ryan Wheatley who showed his marker a clean pair of heels all the way to the endzone for the opening six points for Napier.

The Edinburgh side stretched their lead at the start of the second when Guy returned a Pyros punt back 41 yards with little opposition for another six points.

The home side continued to step up the pressure midway through the second quarter when Runningback Sebastian Ossowa powered through the Paisley rear guard only to run out of steam two yards from the goal line.

Then on the next play, Guys weaved his way through for his second touchdown of the day.

Napier’s confidence continued to build where as the brave Pyros resistance appeared to be crumbling as Guy decided to take off on another long run into the endzone to give the Edinburgh outfit a commanding 24-0 lead.

Napier then looked as if they had blasted a hole in the Paisley defenses once again when Ryan Johnstone turned on the speed from the half way line down the far side into the endzone.

But the score was agonisingly chalked back for a holding penalty.

Despite being greatly outnumbered, the Pyros refused to run up the white flag and continued to hold Napier at bay for the rest of the third quarter.

During the final period, the Pyros continued to show no slacking in their work rate, but were soon in trouble again when Ossowa made another impressive gain for the Edinburgh side, all the way to the Paisley 20 yard line.

Then Guy set up Napier’s final touchdown of the day with another completion to Receiver, Alex Theys for another six points with the Quarterback running in the only two point conversion of the afternoon