Blackhawks downed by Edinburgh Wolves

Jun 3 2009 by Andrew Weston, Wishaw Press

CLYDE Valley Blackhawks lost their latest BAFL Scottish Conference league match in a tight contest against Edinburgh Wolves last weekend.

Despite having the majority of play and territory the Wishaw-based side failed to get the break of the ball and suffered a blow when kicker David R. Orr was carried off with a suspected broken ankle.

Having lost to Glasgow Tigers recently, Clyde Valley were looking to get back to winning ways against Edinburgh Wolves.

However the Wolves, with a squad which outnumbered the Blackhawks almost two to one, had other ideas.

Clyde Valley received the ball from kick off and made positive yards through the air when QB Ryan Rogers found Gary Orr on a long pass.

But Edinburgh stalled the drive forcing the Blackhawks to punt away possession.

The defences of both squads became impenetrable before Blackhawk’s Craig MacMillan gave the home side something to cheer when he snatched a wayward pass to set up a long Clyde Valley drive.

Starting at their own 15-yard line behind some tackle-breaking runs from Graeme MacMillan and Philip McCabe and some impressive catches from Tam Chapman and Gary Orr, the Hawks ended up on the Wolves three-yard line.

But the scourge of the flag took them back and gave them too tall a task to complete.

The start of the second quarter saw the Blackhawk’s Andy Ferguson recovering a Wolves fumble but Edinburgh soon repaid the favour when the impressive Alex Theys made his presence felt when he intercepted the pass.

Clyde Valley’s defence dug in but could not stop Edinburgh at the next possession.

A perfectly weighted pass from Alan Price found Stuart Galloway who scampered forty yards up field to break the deadlock with Wolves only TD of the afternoon.

Billy Mitchell slotted the ball through the uprights for the extra point.

Although Blackhawks were marching upfield once again, time was their enemy and the clock ran out on them in the half. Edinburgh’s Ryan Venters then tried hard to break the Blackhawks with his power running but David Orr (senior) forced them to punt away possession.

Shortly after, Clyde Valley suffered the blow of losing Orr with his badly damaged ankle.

But the Blackhawks rallied and got in a great scoring position before a wayward pass was intercepted by Edinburgh, offering them excellent field position.

From there they capitalised when Billy Mitchell kicked the ball over for a field goal and three more points.

Blackhawks immediately responded however with a TD in their next position.

Ryan Rogers completed a pass to Gary Orr and then Philip McCabe barrelled 30 yards before a pass to Tam Chapman kept the drive alive.

McCabe completed the play when he dived in from one yard out.

Blackhawks, missing kicker Orr, were unable to secure the extra points.

From then on Wolves controlled the clock and stopped their opponents having any further possession to secure the win.

The Wishaw club are looking to get things back on track when they next take on Glasgow Tigers in an effort to gain revenge for their early season loss to the same opposition.

Meanwhile the Clyde Valley Falcons (14 to 16 kitted team ) went through to the Jack Kane centre in Edinburgh last weekend where the Wolves were hosting a four team tournament involving Inverclyde Nix and the Glasgow Tigers as well.

The Falcons have retained a lot of last year’s players and have also recruited some new talent as well.

In their first match they had too much experience for the Wolves and ran out comfortable winners by 44 points to nil.

Next it was the turn of the new side the Nix from Inverclyde to come up against the British Champions.

But despite showing promise for the future they were well beaten by the Falcons going down 51-12.

The much anticipated re-run of last year’s British final between Glasgow Tigers and the Falcons ended the tournament.

Falcons having the bigger squad crept slowly but steadily away from the Tigers finally taming them winning 40-18.

The game was played with great passion and lots of skill on display.

The next tournament will be on June 6 at Wishaw Sports Centre – the Falcons home tournament

Clyde Valley would like to thank their sponsors James Chapman Quality Butchers, Robert Weir De Niros, Red Line Cabs, Jack Daniels – Public House, Reflections Car Valeting, South Lanarkshire DIY and the chain crew who do a fantastic job.

If anyone is interested in joining the Clyde Valley club contact Colin on 07787785262.