Post by rkozak201 on Jul 14, 2008 5:45:34 GMT -5
By Brian Rippey
Reading Eagle
Although the end of the line came too early, the Reading Express enjoyed another wild ride in 2008.
For all the obstacles the Express encountered during the 2008 season, it's amazing it rolled into its third straight conference championship.
Though the sting of Saturday's 52-37 loss to the Florence Phantoms will linger, Express players and coaches some day will toot their horns when reflecting on this year's accomplishments.
Shortly after suffering a 54-49 loss to Lakeland in last year's American Indoor Football Association championship game, the Express underwent somewhat of an overhaul.
Bernie Nowotarski, an assistant coach for the first two seasons and general manager for the second, was named the Express' third head coach in three years.
The Express also had to find a quarterback to replace Tom Stetzer, who had led the Express to division titles in its first two years. A quarterback battle between former Albright standout John Port and Muhlenberg and Kutztown University grad Rob Flowers carried over into the season.
Neither had played a down of indoor football.
Port was cut from the mold of a Stetzer, a pocket passer with a strong arm. Flowers was the more athletic quarterback, able to make plays with his arm and legs.
Flowers finally won the starting job a month into the season. But the Express had to change its offense somewhat to showcase Flowers' talents.
He finished the season with 59 touchdown passes and a franchise-record 24 more on the ground. However, he was somewhat erratic at times, especially on the road.
In Flowers' defense, his three starting wide receivers were unable to play together until the 10th game of the season because of a series of injuries.
First, three-year starter Carmelo Ocasio hobbled into the season with an ankle sprain. Yardon Brantley then suffered a separated shoulder in the second game. Each missed Games 3 through 6.
When Ocasio returned for a 66-30 win over the same Florence team that ended the Express' 19-game home winning streak, three-year starter Shawn Foxworth joined Brantley on the sideline for three weeks until all three were back on the field together.
But former Reading High standout and University of Pittsburgh graduate Sam Bryant wasn't as fortunate. Brought in to help the Express address a weakness in the defensive backfield, Bryant came up with an interception in each of the first two games.
But late in the second game, a lopsided loss at Carolina, Bryant tore an Achilles' tendon and couldn't return.
Whether Bryant will be on board with the Express next season is unknown. It's not certain which players will be back when Reading opens camp late next winter.
"We haven't had that conversation yet," Nowotarski said. "We'll start to do a little bit more of that this week. We'll talk about a couple things with players before they leave town."
Ocasio, who caught 98 touchdown passes in three years, and three-year starting offensive lineman Mark Stout had already said they will retire. The only certainty about the 2009 Reading Express team is that it will have a much different look than the first three seasons, when the franchisewon 41 of its 52 games.
•Contact Brian Rippey at 610-371-5070 or brippey@readingeagle.com.
Reading Eagle
Although the end of the line came too early, the Reading Express enjoyed another wild ride in 2008.
For all the obstacles the Express encountered during the 2008 season, it's amazing it rolled into its third straight conference championship.
Though the sting of Saturday's 52-37 loss to the Florence Phantoms will linger, Express players and coaches some day will toot their horns when reflecting on this year's accomplishments.
Shortly after suffering a 54-49 loss to Lakeland in last year's American Indoor Football Association championship game, the Express underwent somewhat of an overhaul.
Bernie Nowotarski, an assistant coach for the first two seasons and general manager for the second, was named the Express' third head coach in three years.
The Express also had to find a quarterback to replace Tom Stetzer, who had led the Express to division titles in its first two years. A quarterback battle between former Albright standout John Port and Muhlenberg and Kutztown University grad Rob Flowers carried over into the season.
Neither had played a down of indoor football.
Port was cut from the mold of a Stetzer, a pocket passer with a strong arm. Flowers was the more athletic quarterback, able to make plays with his arm and legs.
Flowers finally won the starting job a month into the season. But the Express had to change its offense somewhat to showcase Flowers' talents.
He finished the season with 59 touchdown passes and a franchise-record 24 more on the ground. However, he was somewhat erratic at times, especially on the road.
In Flowers' defense, his three starting wide receivers were unable to play together until the 10th game of the season because of a series of injuries.
First, three-year starter Carmelo Ocasio hobbled into the season with an ankle sprain. Yardon Brantley then suffered a separated shoulder in the second game. Each missed Games 3 through 6.
When Ocasio returned for a 66-30 win over the same Florence team that ended the Express' 19-game home winning streak, three-year starter Shawn Foxworth joined Brantley on the sideline for three weeks until all three were back on the field together.
But former Reading High standout and University of Pittsburgh graduate Sam Bryant wasn't as fortunate. Brought in to help the Express address a weakness in the defensive backfield, Bryant came up with an interception in each of the first two games.
But late in the second game, a lopsided loss at Carolina, Bryant tore an Achilles' tendon and couldn't return.
Whether Bryant will be on board with the Express next season is unknown. It's not certain which players will be back when Reading opens camp late next winter.
"We haven't had that conversation yet," Nowotarski said. "We'll start to do a little bit more of that this week. We'll talk about a couple things with players before they leave town."
Ocasio, who caught 98 touchdown passes in three years, and three-year starting offensive lineman Mark Stout had already said they will retire. The only certainty about the 2009 Reading Express team is that it will have a much different look than the first three seasons, when the franchisewon 41 of its 52 games.
•Contact Brian Rippey at 610-371-5070 or brippey@readingeagle.com.