1997 Barcelona Dragons season

1997 Barcelona Dragons season
Head coach	Jack Bicknell
General manager	Jordi Vila-Puig
Home field	Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc
Results
Record	5–5
Division place	2nd
Playoff finish	World Bowl '97 champions

The 1997 Barcelona Dragons season was the fifth season for the franchise in the World League of American Football (WLAF). The team was led by head coach Jack Bicknell in his fifth year, and played its home games at Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. They finished the regular season in second place with a record of five wins and five losses. In World Bowl '97, Barcelona defeated the Rhein Fire 38–24. The victory marked the franchise's first World Bowl championship.

Offseason

World League draft

1997 Barcelona Dragons World League draft selections

Draft order		Player name	Position	College
Round	Choice
1	3	Oliver Barnett	DE	Kentucky
2	9	Corey Mayfield	DL	Oklahoma
3	16	P. J. Killian	LB	Virginia
4	21	Butler By'not'e	CB	Ohio State
5	28	Hugh Hunter	DE	Hampton
6	33	Carlos Yancy	CB	Georgia
7	40	Tristan Moss	CB	Western Michigan
8	45	Santo Stephens	LB	Temple
9	52	Tony Covington	CB	Virginia
10	57	Keith Conlin	OT	Penn State
11	64	Dante DePaola	CB	California
12	69	Henry Fields	RB	McNeese State
13	76	Jeff Wilner	TE	Wesleyan
14	81	Tyrone Rush	RB	North Alabama
15	88	Cornell Thomas	DE	West Georgia
16	93	Eric Carter	CB	Knoxville College
17	100	Vincent Landrum	LB	McNeese State
18	105	Ricky Blake	RB	Alabama A&M
19	112	Jason Pohopek	LB	Boston College
20	117	Vince Stewart	DT	Penn State
21	123	Robert Dougherty	QB	Boston University

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Personnel

Staff

1997 Barcelona Dragons staff
	Front office General Manager – Jordi Vila-Puig Deputy General Manager/Operations – Marco Fusté Head coaches Head Coach – Jack Bicknell Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers – Dick Curl National Coach/Running Backs – Juan Jiménez Offensive Line – Vince Martino			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Red Kelin Defensive Line – Sam Clancy Defensive Backs – Chip Beake

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Roster

1997 Barcelona Dragons roster
	Quarterbacks 15 Stoney Case 11 Robert Dougherty  7 Jon Kitna Running backs 22 Michael Hicks 28 Terry Wilburn Wide receivers 80 Alfonzo Browning 84 Tyree Davis 82 Sheddrick Wilson Tight ends 89 Bryce Burnett 85 Andy Fuller		Offensive linemen 70 Chris Banks G 72 Robert Couch T 68 Chris Dausin C 64 Everett Lindsay T 78 Emerson Martin C 62 Tom Robsock G 77 Deron Thorp T Defensive linemen 96 Oliver Barnett DT 93 Steve Brannon DE 97 Mike Foley DT 99 La'Roi Glover DT 92 Hugh Hunter DE 55 Ronnie Woolfork DE		Linebackers 56 Vincent Landrum ILB 59 Juan Long ILB 91 Eric Naposki OLB 52 Willie Smith OLB Defensive backs 30 Carlos Brooks S 24 Butler By'not'e CB 26 Rogerick Green S 29 Thomas McGaughey S 23 Don Robinson S 21 Mark Washington CB 20 Michael Wright CB Special teams 10 Jeff Beckley P		National players 86 Sami Alalampi WR 14 Jesús Angoy K  5 Maurizio Barbotti WR 75 Luca Bellora DT 66 Ivan Imbernon DE 36 Gregoire Malo S  1 Marco Martos WR Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Kickoff [n 1]	Opponent	Results		Game site	Attendance
				Final score	Team record
1	Saturday, April 12	7:00 p.m.	at Rhein Fire	W 27–12	1–0	Rheinstadion	17,150
2	Sunday, April 20	3:00 p.m.	at Scottish Claymores	W 20–7	2–0	Murrayfield Stadium	14,877
3	Saturday, April 26	7:30 p.m.	Frankfurt Galaxy	L 10–17	2–1	Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc	13,102
4	Sunday, May 4	3:00 p.m.	at London Monarchs	W 37–32	3–1	Stamford Bridge	10,110
5	Sunday, May 11	7:30 p.m.	Amsterdam Admirals	W 28–21	4–1	Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc	14,152
6	Saturday, May 17	7:30 p.m.	London Monarchs	L 7–9	4–2	Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc	13,514
7	Saturday, May 24	7:00 p.m.	at Amsterdam Admirals	L 21–26	4–3	Amsterdam ArenA	13,289
8	Saturday, May 31	7:30 p.m.	Rhein Fire	L 23–38	4–4	Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc	13,670
9	Saturday, June 7	7:00 p.m.	at Frankfurt Galaxy	L 17–29	4–5	Waldstadion	40,743
10	Saturday, June 14	7:30 p.m.	Scottish Claymores	W 46–18	5–5	Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc	10,523
World Bowl '97
11	Sunday, June 22	7:00 p.m.	Rhein Fire	W 38–24	6–5	Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc	31,100

^{[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]}

Standings

World League of American Football
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	Home	Road	STK
Rhein Fire	7	3	0	.700	206	146	3–2	4–1	W3
Barcelona Dragons	5	5	0	.500	236	209	2–3	3–2	W1
Scottish Claymores	5	5	0	.500	134	154	2–3	3–2	L2
Amsterdam Admirals	5	5	0	.500	156	160	4–1	1–4	W1
Frankfurt Galaxy	4	6	0	.400	147	142	3–2	1–4	L1
London Monarchs	4	6	0	.400	116	184	2–3	2–3	L1

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Game summaries

Week 1: at Rhein Fire

Week One: Barcelona Dragons at Rhein Fire – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Barcelona	7	14	6	0	27
Rhein	3	3	3	3	12

at Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany

• Date: Saturday, April 12
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
• Game attendance: 17,150
• ^{[5] [6] [7]}

Week 3: vs Frankfurt Galaxy

Week Three: Frankfurt Galaxy at Barcelona Dragons – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Frankfurt	0	3	3	11	17
Barcelona	7	0	0	3	10

at Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain

• Date: Saturday, April 26
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. CEST
• Game attendance: 13,102
• Referee: Ron Winter
• ^[8]

Week 5: vs Amsterdam Admirals

Week Five: Amsterdam Admirals at Barcelona Dragons – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Amsterdam	0	0	14	7	21
Barcelona	14	7	0	7	28

at Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain

• Date: Sunday, May 11
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. CEST
• Game attendance: 14,152

Week 7: at Amsterdam Admirals

Week Seven: Barcelona Dragons at Amsterdam Admirals – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Barcelona	7	0	14	0	21
Amsterdam	0	17	0	9	26

at Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands

• Date: Saturday, May 24
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
• Game attendance: 13,289

Week 8: vs Rhein Fire

Week Eight: Rhein Fire at Barcelona Dragons – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rhein	7	14	7	10	38
Barcelona	0	9	7	7	23

at Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain

• Date: Saturday, May 31
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. CEST
• Game attendance: 13,670

Week 9: at Frankfurt Galaxy

Week Nine: Barcelona Dragons at Frankfurt Galaxy – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Barcelona	10	0	0	7	17
Frankfurt	0	21	2	6	29

at Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany

• Date: Saturday, June 7
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
• Game attendance: 40,743
• ^[9]

World Bowl '97

World Bowl '97: Rhein Fire vs Barcelona Dragons – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rhein	3	14	0	7	24
Barcelona	14	14	7	3	38

at Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain

• Date: Sunday, June 22
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
• Game attendance: 31,100
• Referee: Phil Luckett
• ^[4]

Notes

1. All times local to where the game was played.

References

1. "1997 World League draft". WorldLeague.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 1997. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
2. 1997 Barcelona Dragons Media Guide. pp. 18–37.
3. The Official 1997 World League of American Football Fact Book. pp. 20–29.
4. "1997 Season in Review". The Official 1998 NFL Europe League Fact Book. pp. 218–222.
5. Cubero, Cristina (April 12, 1997). "Los Dragons alzan el telón". El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish) (Barcelona, Spain). p. 43. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
6. Servicio Especial (April 13, 1997). "Contundente victoria de los Dragons". El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish) (Barcelona, Spain). p. 51. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
7. "Dragons 27, Fire 12". European Stars and Stripes (Darmstadt, Germany). April 14, 1997. p. 27. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
8. Associated Press (April 26, 1997). "Last minute touchdown gives Galaxy 10–17 victory over Dragons". APNewsArchive.com. Associated Press. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
9. Associated Press (June 7, 1997). "Galaxy 29, Dragons 17". APNewsArchive.com. Associated Press. Retrieved June 30, 2013.