TIGERS AND TROJANS
SHARE THE SPOILS

Report by Glen Christie
Pics c/o www.maisielove.co.uk, and Jamie Marklow

The west coast weather refused to take part in the Independence Day festivities at Lochinch on Sunday as the Glasgow Tigers and West Coast Trojans tied 8-8.

The two previously sparkling offences were truly stumped by the horizontal rain, managing to come up with only one touchdown between them.

With no scoring and little action to write home about in the first half, it took an interception returned for a touchdown to break the deadlock, before the Tigers launched an impressive 89 yard drive to level the score in the final period.

RB Waddow fights for every inch

Coach Alan Wilson was optimistic despite the tie, noting, “it was the weather that won in the end.”

“I’m happy, overall. The guys were really up against it in the fourth quarter, and I was really proud of how they came back. We had a chance to win at the end but time wasn’t on our side either.”

The wind and wet wreaked havoc in the first quarter, and there were no yards to be had.

Both teams had four possessions, but only Glasgow managed a (solitary) first down. Gary McNey’s Trojan offense fumbled on their first two attempted drives, the ball clearly tough to keep a grip on. Paul Entrican recovered the first, but McNey managed to fall on the second, retaining possession.

RB Philips looking for an opening

With the wind blowing as hard as ever there were few pass attempts early on. Speedster WR Ruaraidh MacDonald’s absence meant Donald Jennow got his first start of the season, but the gales deprived him of a chance to shine.

Returning CB Donald Gray was called on to break up a nicely thrown Trojan deep ball, and the Glasgow secondary padded their résumé early in the second quarter when Stuart Lambert grabbed his second interception in as many games, the slippery turf preventing any chance at return yardage.

The home team sensed a little momentum growing, and managed three first downs and fifty yards before another fumble put the ball back in West Coast hands.

RB Kieran Phillips, 21 carries for 133 yards on the day, entered the game and racked up 14, 15, and 11 yard consecutive rushes, showing the speed and vision which decimated the Highland Wildcats last week.

But Tommy McGeorge was keen to show the visitors could run just as hard, and his 36-yard scamper put the Trojans in the red zone for the first time. Alex Paterson recovered another Jamie McCansh forced fumble, and the half fizzled out, or perhaps more accurately, was washed out.

RB MacMillan reels in a Beattie pass

Half time was extended a little due to an unfortunate injury to the Tigers’ 2010 sack leader Paul Turner, whose absence certainly stunted defensive pressure on the Trojans QB. West Coast started with the ball, and a repeat of the previous long running play picked up a first down and more.

A false start, fumbled hand off, and some tough tackling put the Trojans in a 3^rd and 22 hole, and a draw play for no gain forced the punting unit back on the field.

With a decent gap between downpours, Tigers QB Gregor Beattie looked to stretch the field and was unlucky not to sneak an early long touchdown. WR Ryan McCluskey had nothing but open field in front of him, but the pass was inches long, and McCluskey’s outstretched fingers couldn’t haul it in. Beattie hit David Fallon over the middle for ten yards on the following play, but an assisting the runner penalty stunted any progress.

After a quick Trojans 3 and out, the Tigers found themselves back in the redzone after some more solid Phillips running, but a costly facemask penalty forced a deep throw on 3^rd and 19.

The pass was a little too high for Fallon, and the ball landed in the hands of David Pasnik who danced between tackles upfield before a clever lateral opened a clear path to the endzone for Dougie Ritson. The successful two-point conversion put the visitors up 8-0, and all of a sudden the pressure was on Glasgow.

The fourth quarter started and the Tigers stuttered, another penalty costing the team possession. Thankfully the home defence never missed a beat and held the Trojans to zero yards.

A huge, wind-aided punt bounced perfectly for West Coast, pinning Glasgow on their own one.

With ten minutes remaining, a superhuman drive would be necessary to tie the score, and what followed was nothing short of that.

QB Gregor Beattie launches a deep pass

The ground game moved the chains and allowed Beattie some space to make his completions. Scott Watson (13 carries for 77 yards) and Philips made first down after first down, and Beattie kept picking on the middle of the Trojan defence with completions to Fallon and Rory McAlpine.

A perfectly timed draw gave Phillips 19 yards of space and the Tigers were within three. Another false start penalty panicked the sidelines, but the running game refused to be denied.

The defense bit hard on a faked handoff to Watson, and Phillips completed his outstanding performance with an 8-yard score.

To tie the game Glasgow went for the vital two-point conversion, and Beattie’s offensive line allowed him plenty of time to find McCluskey, again over the middle. 8-8. With four minutes remaining, an onside kick attempt failed, but the Tiger defense refused to budge.

A Glasgow three and out gave the Trojans a chance to execute a two minute drill for the win but after some initial passing success, Kev Connolly picked a McNey pass, returning the ball to halfway.

The pendulum swung and it was the Tigers who had the final shot at glory, but time was fast expiring. With only seconds left, Fallon couldn’t make it out of bounds after the catch, and the field goal unit couldn’t make it on the field in time.

Considering the conditions, and the hole they found themselves in, the Tigers shouldn’t be too disappointed with the tie.

However with a perfect defensive performance, and some decent offensive drives which came up short, they may feel a little short-changed leaving without a win.

Yet the costly penalties began to creep into the Glasgow game again, and continuing a theme, the first quarter was barren of offensive success.

RB Watson leaves a Trojan for dust

Offensive Co-ordinator Graeme Clee was a little disappointed, but again impressed by the team when firing on all cylinders. “The ground game was great again, Scott and Kieran were both fantastic, but I liked the balance we found in the second half, Gregor did well.”

Although the Trojans struggled for offensive consistency, their performance was no less impressive in the conditions. Their defence forced some turnovers, and capitalized when they needed to.

Next week they head to Meadowbank Stadium, to face the division leading Edinburgh Wolves, who extended their winning streak against the struggling Clyde Valley Blackhawks this weekend.

The Trojans will hope their offense is back on track, and the conditions are a little kinder, as the Wolves are proving to be the toughest of tests this season.

The tie leaves Glasgow just behind Edinburgh in the standings, with a few games in hand. But with a loss and a tie, the need for wins seems a little more pressing than it did. They now face a three-week break to rest and prepare for their hosting of the Blackhawks on 25 July, and the return trip to the Trojans the following week.

Two wins will return them to the top, but anything less may have serious consequences for the Tiger playoff hunt.

Despite the weather doing its best to try and hinder fundraising, the Tigers still managed to raise around £200 on the day, and have postponed some of the fundraising activities to Sunday 25 July, when the team takes on the Clyde Valley Blackhawks, in a DOUBLE HEADER MATCHUP following the youth team Lanarkshire Longhorns taking on the Lancashire Wolverines.