American Football: Clyde Valley Falcons retain Scottish title

Sep 2 2009 by Andrew Weston, Wishaw Press

CLYDE VALLEY Falcons secured the Scottish title last weekend after winning the Inverclyde Bowl at a tournament held in Inverness.

The Wishaw-based junior American Football side only needed to win one of their three games to retain the title but took the championship in style by remaining unbeaten on the day.

Their first game was against the Inverness Wildcats and after securing a comfortable half-time lead they only just squeezed home in the end.

The Falcons went ahead with the first score from youngster Anthony McCallum but missed the resultant two-pointer .

The defence then stepped up and stopped Inverness with some strong tackling from Michael Orr and overall hard-hitting defending.

Next to score for the visitors was Craig Samuel with a great pass from Nick Farrell at QB but again the two-pointer was missed.

However, it was enough for the Falcons to go in 12 points to the good at the interval.

In the second half, Inverness put up a fight so the game was very much in the balance but further scores from Samuels and Filmer saw the Falcons home 25-22 – a victory that gave them the championship.

Next up was the host team Inverclyde Phoenix, a side who ran the Falcons close at the last tournament and who fancied upsetting their Wishaw rivals on this occasion.

In the end it was a 36-20 win for the Falcons, with scores from Filmer , Farrell, Samuel, Sinclair and Mulheron.

The defence yet again proved a major strength in this match, with Fallon and Orr making some great stops.

The Edinburgh Wolves were the final hurdle of the day for the Falcons and coaches Gillespie and Farrell elected to select a side that will make up the Falcons squad next season.

The youngsters took full advantage of their opportunity as Mark McCallum caught his first touchdown from a great pass from Sidey.

Wolves were not going to lie down and took the lead soon afterwards but touchdowns from Samuel, Filmer and A McCallum secured an encouraging 27-20 victory for the Falcons.

The Falcons’ Most Valuable Players on the day were Nicky Farrell for the defence and Anthony McCallum for the offence.

After securing their third win of the tournament, a delighted coach Gillespie said: “I would like to congratulate the players on winning the Scottish title. Now they need to focus on the British.”

Coach Farrell added: “I think we have a shot at the British final in six weeks. I would like to thank Inverness Phoenix, Vince and his staff for a great day and a well-contested tournament played in the backdrop of some fantastic scenery.

“I would also like to thank the parents who have followed the Falcons all year.”

l Anyone in the area wishing to play American Football should contact Colin Macmillan on 07787785262.