Express ready for some Legendary revenge in.....

[Gene]

Express ready for some Legendary revenge in ‘The Rematch’

By Brian Rippey
Reading Eagle

The final seconds hadn’t even ticked off the Sovereign Center clock Saturday night when the first announcement of “The Rematch” was made to fans.

But thoughts about a second straight Northern Conference championship game against the Canton Legends probably had been on more than a few of the Reading Express players’ minds well before that.

How else could you explain the Express falling behind by 11 points in the first quarter in what eventually became a 42-24 semifinal win over a Pittsburgh team that entered the American Indoor Football Association playoffs with a .500 record?

It’s understandable that the Express may have been caught looking ahead to Saturday’s third game of the season with the Legends.

It’s the match-up that pulled many of the Express players back to Reading this year and even forced a few, including wide receiver Shawn Foxworth, to delay retirement.

Foxworth announced last year that he would retire at the end of the season after presumably helping the Express win the league championship in its inaugural season.

But those plans changed when the Express was derailed in a 44-24 loss to the Legends in the Sovereign Center and ended up one win short of the league championship game.

So when the defending league champion Legends disposed of Huntington 76-43 Thursday in their semifinal, Express players knew Canton would be coming to town if Reading took care of the RiverRats for the third time this season.

But after a sluggish first quarter, doubts about surviving the conference semifinal surfaced. RiverRats receivers ran wide open for two easy touchdowns, and Express quarterback Tom Stetzer had an interception returned for a score to give Pittsburgh a quick 18-7 lead.

That’s when the Express defense — led by linemen Adam Vogel, Brett Kolk and Mike Schwebel — starting putting pressure on Pittsburgh quarterback David Dinkins. That’s when defensive backs Marcus Sargeant, Armar Watson and Anthony Jackson began sticking to RiverRats receivers.

The reality that the Express wasn’t guaranteed a shot to avenge last year’s loss to Canton slapped a wakeup call on every Reading player’s face.

The Express dominated the rest of the game the way a top-seeded playoff team should. Reading rolled up 35 straight points before Pittsburgh scored a touchdown in the final minute.

While it was a valuable lesson about not taking any opponent for granted, it is one the Express didn’t need to learn for this week’s game. There’s no chance the Express (15-2) will look past the Legends (11-4) to the AIFA championship game Saturday, June 23, in Florence, S.C.

The “unfinished business” Express players talked about from the first day of training camp didn’t just mean winning a league title. It had as much, if not more, to do with settling a score with the Legends.

The Express exacted a measure of revenge by sweeping the season series with the Legends, winning 50-18 on the road against a banged-up Canton team before winning 63-56 at home in the most exciting game in the Express’ brief history.

But those two wins that helped Reading win its second straight regular season Northern Conference title will mean nothing if the Express doesn’t finish the job in “The Rematch.”

There will be no excuse for the Express not to go full steam ahead from the opening kickoff in this one.

•Contact Brian Rippey at 610-371-5070 or [e-mail].

[Canton Cougar Fan]

GO

[Gridiron Battle Sports]

Should be a good close game.

[thor!CRAZIES]

go express

[Canton Cougar Fan]

We haven't forgot about Lakeland.

Nothing would give us greater pleasure than beating you for the championship.

First, though, we need to focus on Reading. Then, we'll worry about y'all.

[expresszac]

Hey Myth also the Bolts have to worry about Miss before they worry about taking Reading on.

[Canton Cougar Fan]

Hey Zac,

Whomever wins in our epic matchup Saturday will beat the bolts for the championship.

By the way, Borecrazies, you realize that everyone from the north will be cheering for the North representatives whether that be Canton or Reading. Prepare yourselves, the south will lose again.

1) Civil War - south lost
2) 2006 Championship game - south lost
3) 2007 Championship game - south will lose again.

[titansdk]

You forgot to mention the Buckeyes and Gators. Oh was that the South? Basketball and Football! And by the way, Tallahassee was the only Southern state capital not capture by the North during the Civil War. Even though we are sitting at home we still have the peace of mind that we beat the #1 seed from the North. We too will be pulling for the southern team. In all honesty, I don't think any team from the North has the athleticism to beat Mississippi or Lakeland. I predict the Mudcats will win the championship over Reading.

[Canton Cougar Fan]

titansdk said:

You forgot to mention the Buckeyes and Gators. Oh was that the South? Basketball and Football! And by the way, Tallahassee was the only Southern state capital not capture by the North during the Civil War. Even though we are sitting at home we still have the peace of mind that we beat the #1 seed from the North. We too will be pulling for the southern team. In all honesty, I don't think any team from the North has the athleticism to beat Mississippi or Lakeland. I predict the Mudcats will win the championship over Reading.

Florida is only the south geographically. You go to Florida, no one has a southern drawl and it looks like a territory of Cuba. The only reason the north didn't take Tallahassee is because no one wants a state that's official bird is the mosquito.

In just about a week, we'll see what's what. I'll take Reading or Canton against either of your representatives.

[expressfan01]

titansdk said:

You forgot to mention the Buckeyes and Gators. Oh was that the South? Basketball and Football! And by the way, Tallahassee was the only Southern state capital not capture by the North during the Civil War. Even though we are sitting at home we still have the peace of mind that we beat the #1 seed from the North. We too will be pulling for the southern team. In all honesty, I don't think any team from the North has the athleticism to beat Mississippi or Lakeland. I predict the Mudcats will win the championship over Reading.

ou beat us at home, if the games wa in Reading the Titans would have got trashed. Guess the league will just have to send them to Reading next year.

[titansdk]

Come on now. Every body knows the Mosquito wasn’t named the state bird until after the Civil War. And Cuba doesn’t start until you get to Orlando. North Florida still has some southern hospitality. As far as the game goes, I’ve seen all remaining teams play except for Canton. Reading is the most fundamentally sound team we faced all year. Lakeland is tough on defense and Mississippi is probably the most talented team in the league. Either match up should make a great championship game.