Post by azadrenalinejunkie on Apr 25, 2008 0:05:27 GMT -5
Thursday, April 24, 2008
PRESCOTT VALLEY - The New Mexico Wildcats are hoping that the third time's a charm when they entertain the Adrenaline Saturday night in Rio Rancho, N.M.
If it is, they could have as many as 5,000 fans to celebrate with.
That's the latest figure the Wildcats are looking to draw when they play the first indoor football game in the history of the Santa Ana Star Center against an Adrenaline team that has beaten them twice in Prescott Valley by an aggregate score of 145-64.
"We're just excited about playing a home game," New Mexico coach Floyd Johnson said. "Playing on the road four straight weeks can wear you down. We're looking forward to playing in front of our home fans."
Just as New Mexico will get to look at a new venue, Johnson says his team will have a new-look secondary.
The Adrenaline have torched New Mexico through the air in both meetings, with quarterback Chad DeGrenier throwing 12 TD passes along the way, eight of them covering 22 yards or more.
"Big plays is what concerns you about Arizona," Johnson said. "If we can control that and put them in some third-down situations I think we have a pretty good chance of winning the game. Our secondary has killed us all year, but we've addressed that."
Meanwhile, Adrenaline head coach Andrew Moore has spent much of the week addressing his team's problems with penalties. The Adrenaline are by far the most penalized team in the AIFA, but are also the league's second highest scoring team at 67.5 points per game.
"I'm looking at this game as if it was as important as Wyoming," Moore said. "New Mexico has improved dramatically, but the key is we have to stop with the mental errors, penalties and missed assignments. It's imperative that we clean that up. When we play Wyoming, New Mexico and in the playoffs it won't be 95-21. It will be 46-45. Those things can cost you a game."
Adrenaline players noted the improvement from the first time they played New Mexico to the second, and expect more of the same the third time around.
"We know that they're getting better each time, so we have to get better, too," said defensive lineman Josh Duran, who scored on a fumble recovery in last week's 95-21 rout of Utah. "Seeing them for the third time is an advantage because you get to know some of their tendencies, but they can say the same thing about us. We just have to be ready, and I'm sure we will."
Following Saturday's game, the Adrenaline are back on the road for a Tuesday night game at Utah on May 6 before the Mother's Day showdown with unbeaten Wyoming May 11 at Tim's Toyota Center.
"I guess it's in the back of our minds a little bit," defensive end Fernandez Shaw said of a Wyoming matchup that could be for first place. "But we have to take care of other business first. New Mexico is going to come out with a lot of intensity in their first home game. We have to match it."
• Adrenaline (3-1), at New Mexico (1-3), • Saturday, 6 p.m.
• Radio: KDDL, 94.3 FM
PRESCOTT VALLEY - The New Mexico Wildcats are hoping that the third time's a charm when they entertain the Adrenaline Saturday night in Rio Rancho, N.M.
If it is, they could have as many as 5,000 fans to celebrate with.
That's the latest figure the Wildcats are looking to draw when they play the first indoor football game in the history of the Santa Ana Star Center against an Adrenaline team that has beaten them twice in Prescott Valley by an aggregate score of 145-64.
"We're just excited about playing a home game," New Mexico coach Floyd Johnson said. "Playing on the road four straight weeks can wear you down. We're looking forward to playing in front of our home fans."
Just as New Mexico will get to look at a new venue, Johnson says his team will have a new-look secondary.
The Adrenaline have torched New Mexico through the air in both meetings, with quarterback Chad DeGrenier throwing 12 TD passes along the way, eight of them covering 22 yards or more.
"Big plays is what concerns you about Arizona," Johnson said. "If we can control that and put them in some third-down situations I think we have a pretty good chance of winning the game. Our secondary has killed us all year, but we've addressed that."
Meanwhile, Adrenaline head coach Andrew Moore has spent much of the week addressing his team's problems with penalties. The Adrenaline are by far the most penalized team in the AIFA, but are also the league's second highest scoring team at 67.5 points per game.
"I'm looking at this game as if it was as important as Wyoming," Moore said. "New Mexico has improved dramatically, but the key is we have to stop with the mental errors, penalties and missed assignments. It's imperative that we clean that up. When we play Wyoming, New Mexico and in the playoffs it won't be 95-21. It will be 46-45. Those things can cost you a game."
Adrenaline players noted the improvement from the first time they played New Mexico to the second, and expect more of the same the third time around.
"We know that they're getting better each time, so we have to get better, too," said defensive lineman Josh Duran, who scored on a fumble recovery in last week's 95-21 rout of Utah. "Seeing them for the third time is an advantage because you get to know some of their tendencies, but they can say the same thing about us. We just have to be ready, and I'm sure we will."
Following Saturday's game, the Adrenaline are back on the road for a Tuesday night game at Utah on May 6 before the Mother's Day showdown with unbeaten Wyoming May 11 at Tim's Toyota Center.
"I guess it's in the back of our minds a little bit," defensive end Fernandez Shaw said of a Wyoming matchup that could be for first place. "But we have to take care of other business first. New Mexico is going to come out with a lot of intensity in their first home game. We have to match it."
• Adrenaline (3-1), at New Mexico (1-3), • Saturday, 6 p.m.
• Radio: KDDL, 94.3 FM