TROJANS ROMP HOME
IN SEASON OPENER

West Coast Trojans 64 Staffordshire Surge 6

A standout performance from Dave Pasnik and the emergence of a new force in the backfields resulted in the West Coast Trojans get their 2008 campaign off to an emphatic start against an inept Staffordshire side.

On their last visit north of the border, the English side send up a scratch squad to face the Renfrew outfit and was hammered into submission 52-6.

And with reports of the Surge wanting to postpone this fixture due to they were not ready, the signs were there for the possibility of a similar scoreline.

But they were up against a Trojans side with personnel problems of their own, having lost Greig "Buzz" McIntyre due to a career ending leg break during preseason training.

Four days before their opening game, the Scots lost the services of quarterback Jim Adams having become a father and having not fully recovered from a shoulder injury.

The list continued with first choice running backs, Jordan Falconer unavailable through work commitments and Jon Sutherland playing in Spain.

So today was time for the Rookies and fringe players to shine - and shine they did.

Trojans' Player Head Coach, Gary McNey was set to take over the quarterback duties, but thanks to the wonders of the Scottish road system, he was unavoidably detained leaving Mark McLintock leading the home offfense.

And the Trojans could not have asked for a better start when two plays into the start of the game, Stephen O'Neil exposed a hole in the Staffordshire defense bigger than the Ozone layer, powering through for a 52 yard opening touchdown, with Iain Waterston diving over the line for the two point conversion.

Surge were in trouble again on their next series when quarterback Rich Large fired a long pass straight into the hands of Mark Rankin.

The home side were soon on the march again when McLintock picked off Pasnik for a first down at the Staffordshire 16 yard line.

2 plays later Mark Harkins weaved his way through for a well worked six points.

Then on the next drive, McNey was back at the offensive controls and linked up with his go to guy, Pasnik for a first down at the half way mark.

Then two players later after having narrowly escaped a fumble the Trojans Head Coach linked up with his American Receiver firing a long pass to his American receiver who squeezed through a gap down the far side to make it 20-0 for the Scots side.

Pasnik was firing on all cylinders at the start of the second quarter when he returned the kick off to the Surge 48 yard line.

And it was not long before he had the goal line in his sights once again when he was found wide open at the near side and romped home for an easy score.

The rout continued during the final minutes of the half when Iain Waterston ate up some more yardage, falling just short of the goal line, but made no mistake on the next play crossing the line to make it 32-0 with Pasnik adding another two point conversion catch.

It was more positive start for Surge in the third quarter, putting the Trojans on the back foot when (No 94) opened their account and came close on to adding to their score on the next drive when a long field goal from (No 85) cam crashing off the post.

But normal service was soon resumed with another big gain from Pasnik handing the Trojans excellent field position.

Minutes later, McNey hooked up with Pasnik to make it 40-6 for the home side, with Mick Rankin grabbing the two point conversion.

The rout continued with an unmarked Pasnik pulling in another easy touchdown, with O'Neil running in another two point conversion.

Even though Pasnik was running the show in terms of points scored, it was down to O'Neil, last season's back up running back, who turned in the best score of the day running more than half the length of the field with next to no resistance from the Surge rear guard for a touchdown.

Ronnie Wilson then grabbed another two point catch to make it 56-8 for the Trojans.

Then inside the final minutes of the match, the Trojans drove the final nail in the coffin, courtesy of who else but Mr Pasnik who turned in a text book punt return to make it a 64-6 final score line.