Post by Free Agent Fan on Feb 28, 2007 19:59:44 GMT -5
Speed stampede
By Mark Stein
mstein@independenttribune.com
CONCORD - Having dropped two straight games after an impressive season-opening victory on the road, Carolina Speed head coach Michael Mink knew he had to do something - and quick - to get his team back on track.
“We changed our roster up this week,” Mink said. “We have nine new players on our roster. We wanted some faster, quicker athletes. We just tried to bump up our intensity level a little bit.”
So, did the changes work?
Well, the Speed charged to a 14-0 lead after one quarter, led by 35 at halftime and breezed through the final 30 minutes en route to a 48-16 drubbing of the Montgomery Bears in American Indoor Football League action Monday night at the Cabarrus Arena & Events Center.
“We didn’t want to embarass anybody,” Mink said. “We just wanted to come out in the second half and play good football. Our team is not about style points. We’re just out here to play football. We’re not here to score 100 points.
“We’re here to play the game.”
And that’s exactly what they did, dispatching the overmatched Bears with ease on both sides of the ball.
Quarterback Bradshaw Littlejohn tossed a 40-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Demarcus Fox on the Speed’s first play from scrimmage and they never looked back after that.
Littlejohn, a new addition to the team who played his college ball at Morgan State, was solid in his first start, completing 5 of 13 passes for 159 yards and four touchdowns.
He also ran for 20 yards on seven carries and ran in a pair of two-point conversions.
“We’ve been down,” Mink said. “What people don’t realize is that we had about nine or 10 injuries after that first game (a win at Huntington, W.Va.). We got beat up in that first game. We haven’t been able to recover since then. Tonight, we finally had some fresh legs and some new guys and you saw that we were a lot quicker ball club out there.”
Littlejohn’s strike to Fox was set up by an inteception by former Concord High and Catawba standout Jamel Jackson, a pick that ended an impressive Bears drive on the opening series of the game.
From there, it was all Carolina.
After stopping running back Charlie Rollins on fourth down on the Bears’ next drive, the Speed needed only four plays to make it 14-0.
Jimmy Bell punched it into the end zone on a 3-yard run.
Unfortunately for the Bears, things would only get worse in the second quarter.
After a Brian Bostic’s 21-yard field goal cut the deficit to 14-3, things unraveled quickly for the Bears, courtesy of the Speed’s defense.
Linebacker Emodi Ikechukwu played a key role in Carolina’s next two scores.
He returned an interception 10 yards for a touchdown and followed that up with a sack of Bears quarterback Tyvon Green in the end zone.
Green fumbled and defensive lineman Alfred Dubose pounded on the loose ball to widen the gap to 28-3 with 6:54 remaining before halftime.
Bostic added another field goal, but Carolina answered with two more touchdowns in the final minute to put it away.
Littlejohn connected with Bell on a perfectly-executed sideline route that covered 38 yards and Ikechukwu won a jumpball over a defender in the left corner of the end zone to close out the half.
“We had a good crowd out here for a Monday night,” Mink said. “The big plays excited the fans. Hey, you’ve got to make them. We dropped some big plays in the second half, but sometimes it’s hard when you get up by that much. You’re up by 40 and you know the players are looking in the stands. We have to learn to finish better, though.”
Brandon McDowell’s 42-yard touchdown catch midway through the third quarter capped the Speed’s scoring.
The Speed’s defense did the rest.
In a dominating performance, Carolina had three interceptions, forced two fumbles and recorded five sacks.
“We came in confident,” said Jackson, who had an interception for a touchdown negated by a penalty.
“That team wa spretty good, but we trusted in each other and came out with the victory.”
By Mark Stein
mstein@independenttribune.com
CONCORD - Having dropped two straight games after an impressive season-opening victory on the road, Carolina Speed head coach Michael Mink knew he had to do something - and quick - to get his team back on track.
“We changed our roster up this week,” Mink said. “We have nine new players on our roster. We wanted some faster, quicker athletes. We just tried to bump up our intensity level a little bit.”
So, did the changes work?
Well, the Speed charged to a 14-0 lead after one quarter, led by 35 at halftime and breezed through the final 30 minutes en route to a 48-16 drubbing of the Montgomery Bears in American Indoor Football League action Monday night at the Cabarrus Arena & Events Center.
“We didn’t want to embarass anybody,” Mink said. “We just wanted to come out in the second half and play good football. Our team is not about style points. We’re just out here to play football. We’re not here to score 100 points.
“We’re here to play the game.”
And that’s exactly what they did, dispatching the overmatched Bears with ease on both sides of the ball.
Quarterback Bradshaw Littlejohn tossed a 40-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Demarcus Fox on the Speed’s first play from scrimmage and they never looked back after that.
Littlejohn, a new addition to the team who played his college ball at Morgan State, was solid in his first start, completing 5 of 13 passes for 159 yards and four touchdowns.
He also ran for 20 yards on seven carries and ran in a pair of two-point conversions.
“We’ve been down,” Mink said. “What people don’t realize is that we had about nine or 10 injuries after that first game (a win at Huntington, W.Va.). We got beat up in that first game. We haven’t been able to recover since then. Tonight, we finally had some fresh legs and some new guys and you saw that we were a lot quicker ball club out there.”
Littlejohn’s strike to Fox was set up by an inteception by former Concord High and Catawba standout Jamel Jackson, a pick that ended an impressive Bears drive on the opening series of the game.
From there, it was all Carolina.
After stopping running back Charlie Rollins on fourth down on the Bears’ next drive, the Speed needed only four plays to make it 14-0.
Jimmy Bell punched it into the end zone on a 3-yard run.
Unfortunately for the Bears, things would only get worse in the second quarter.
After a Brian Bostic’s 21-yard field goal cut the deficit to 14-3, things unraveled quickly for the Bears, courtesy of the Speed’s defense.
Linebacker Emodi Ikechukwu played a key role in Carolina’s next two scores.
He returned an interception 10 yards for a touchdown and followed that up with a sack of Bears quarterback Tyvon Green in the end zone.
Green fumbled and defensive lineman Alfred Dubose pounded on the loose ball to widen the gap to 28-3 with 6:54 remaining before halftime.
Bostic added another field goal, but Carolina answered with two more touchdowns in the final minute to put it away.
Littlejohn connected with Bell on a perfectly-executed sideline route that covered 38 yards and Ikechukwu won a jumpball over a defender in the left corner of the end zone to close out the half.
“We had a good crowd out here for a Monday night,” Mink said. “The big plays excited the fans. Hey, you’ve got to make them. We dropped some big plays in the second half, but sometimes it’s hard when you get up by that much. You’re up by 40 and you know the players are looking in the stands. We have to learn to finish better, though.”
Brandon McDowell’s 42-yard touchdown catch midway through the third quarter capped the Speed’s scoring.
The Speed’s defense did the rest.
In a dominating performance, Carolina had three interceptions, forced two fumbles and recorded five sacks.
“We came in confident,” said Jackson, who had an interception for a touchdown negated by a penalty.
“That team wa spretty good, but we trusted in each other and came out with the victory.”