Post by Free Agent Fan on Feb 11, 2007 20:16:47 GMT -5
Unfinished business' motivates Express
Still disgruntled over last year's conference championship defeat, Reading's indoor football team sets its sights on winning the whole thing.
By Brian Rippey
Reading Eagle
Nearly eight months have passed since their inaugural season ended in disappointment, but Reading Express players still can't get that bitter taste out of their mouths.
That's why most of the Express' key players are back and ready to contend for the 2007 American Indoor Football Association championship starting next Sunday in Pittsburgh.
“I think all of us had a bad taste in our mouth after last year the way the season ended,” said starting quarterback Tom Stetzer. “I knew if I was going to be playing, this would definitely be where I wanted to be.”
Stetzer was the trigger man of the Express' potent offense that reeled off 12 straight wins during a 13-3 expansion season. But the game that serves as a motivator for many of the returning players is a 44-24 loss to the Canton Legends in the Northern Conference championship game on June 22 in the Sovereign Center.
“We have unfinished business and a lot of things to take care of,” said linebacker Matt Sola, a Central Catholic and Kutztown University grad. “It's more of an unspoken thing. We all remember that taste in our mouth after that last game. That's partially the reason why some guys did come back.”
The Express' opening-day roster looks much like last year's team that won the Northern Conference regular season title. The biggest change is the head coach, as Ollie Guidry has moved on to the Austin Wranglers of the Arena Football League and has been replaced by Kelly Logan, last year's defensive coordinator.
Other key players returning are Armar Watson, last year's Defensive Player of the Year; Adam Vogel, Defensive Lineman of the Year; kicker Erik Rockhold, Special Teams Player of the Year; and wide receiver Carmelo Ocasio, a Reading High grad who was voted Offensive Player of the Year.
Ocasio returns along with former high school teammate Ian Cooper and former Millersville star Shawn Foxworth to give Stetzer one of the most talented receiving corps in the league.
“That was a long offseason coming off that tough loss,” Cooper said. “We're ready to come back and redeem ourselves.”
Even Foxworth, who last season was talking about retiring to concentrate on his career as an environmental engineer, couldn't walk away.
After mulling over the loss to Canton for about a month, the 28-year-old Foxworth decided to give it one more shot even though it means an nearly 90-minute commute from his home in Delaware to Reading three or four times a week.
“I just assumed that we were going to win the championship,” Foxworth said. “Unfortunately, that didn't happen so the retirement was only about a month. I thought we were good enough.”
As good as the Express was last season, the players expect to be better this year, especially at the beginning of the season. Reading lost two of its first three games last year as many of the players adjusted to the indoor game and playing with each other for the first time.
“In my opinion it took us three weeks last year to get together,” Sola said. “We had a shaky start. This year we're trying to pick up from the end of the regular season last year.”
Once the Express started to roll, the team seemed almost unbeatable. This season, the players won't settle for almost.
“I think this year the expectations are higher,” Foxworth said. “We did a great job last year as a team. We have to win the championship this year. That's the focus going in.”
Still disgruntled over last year's conference championship defeat, Reading's indoor football team sets its sights on winning the whole thing.
By Brian Rippey
Reading Eagle
Nearly eight months have passed since their inaugural season ended in disappointment, but Reading Express players still can't get that bitter taste out of their mouths.
That's why most of the Express' key players are back and ready to contend for the 2007 American Indoor Football Association championship starting next Sunday in Pittsburgh.
“I think all of us had a bad taste in our mouth after last year the way the season ended,” said starting quarterback Tom Stetzer. “I knew if I was going to be playing, this would definitely be where I wanted to be.”
Stetzer was the trigger man of the Express' potent offense that reeled off 12 straight wins during a 13-3 expansion season. But the game that serves as a motivator for many of the returning players is a 44-24 loss to the Canton Legends in the Northern Conference championship game on June 22 in the Sovereign Center.
“We have unfinished business and a lot of things to take care of,” said linebacker Matt Sola, a Central Catholic and Kutztown University grad. “It's more of an unspoken thing. We all remember that taste in our mouth after that last game. That's partially the reason why some guys did come back.”
The Express' opening-day roster looks much like last year's team that won the Northern Conference regular season title. The biggest change is the head coach, as Ollie Guidry has moved on to the Austin Wranglers of the Arena Football League and has been replaced by Kelly Logan, last year's defensive coordinator.
Other key players returning are Armar Watson, last year's Defensive Player of the Year; Adam Vogel, Defensive Lineman of the Year; kicker Erik Rockhold, Special Teams Player of the Year; and wide receiver Carmelo Ocasio, a Reading High grad who was voted Offensive Player of the Year.
Ocasio returns along with former high school teammate Ian Cooper and former Millersville star Shawn Foxworth to give Stetzer one of the most talented receiving corps in the league.
“That was a long offseason coming off that tough loss,” Cooper said. “We're ready to come back and redeem ourselves.”
Even Foxworth, who last season was talking about retiring to concentrate on his career as an environmental engineer, couldn't walk away.
After mulling over the loss to Canton for about a month, the 28-year-old Foxworth decided to give it one more shot even though it means an nearly 90-minute commute from his home in Delaware to Reading three or four times a week.
“I just assumed that we were going to win the championship,” Foxworth said. “Unfortunately, that didn't happen so the retirement was only about a month. I thought we were good enough.”
As good as the Express was last season, the players expect to be better this year, especially at the beginning of the season. Reading lost two of its first three games last year as many of the players adjusted to the indoor game and playing with each other for the first time.
“In my opinion it took us three weeks last year to get together,” Sola said. “We had a shaky start. This year we're trying to pick up from the end of the regular season last year.”
Once the Express started to roll, the team seemed almost unbeatable. This season, the players won't settle for almost.
“I think this year the expectations are higher,” Foxworth said. “We did a great job last year as a team. We have to win the championship this year. That's the focus going in.”
that's what happens when you choke
