GO CAVS!!!

[cavfan]

One step down one more to go hope we can take this all the way next friday and finish this season with a championship GO CAVS!!!!



By DAVID BUCK
Star-Tribune staff writer
Saturday, July 19, 2008 11:17 AM MDT

Rapid City's loss is Wyoming's gain.

Wyoming Cavalry coach Dan Maciejczak was coaching the Rapid City (S.D.) Flying Aces of the National Indoor Football League when the team's owners left town in 2006 with the team's money. Local owners stepped up and the Flying Aces were able to finish the season. The local owners wanted to keep the team alive, but wanted a guarantee of 3,000 season tickets before the start of the next season.

With his job and team on the line, Maciejczak went door to door and business to business soliciting people to buy season tickets. Maciejczak, however, has proven to be a better coach than he was a salesman.

"We couldn't get tickets sold, and I was out of a job and didn't really know what I wanted to do," Maciejczak said. "The ownership kind of brought me in and said, 'Look, you should probably start looking at something else because they think we aren't going to get there.' And I called up Mike Layton because I've always enjoyed playing and coaching against Casper."

Layton, the Cavs general manager, was looking for a coach because Shannon Moore had recently left to be an assistant at South Dakota State. Maciejczak sent in his resume, interviewed with team owners, and was soon on the Wyoming sidelines.

Not long after, there was a migration of players from Rapid City. Former Flying Aces currently on the Cavs include wide receiver Dante Dudley; running back James Jones; defensive linemen Tomasi Kongaika, Tyrone Saterfield and Jon Smit; and defensive backs Stacey Edwards, Corey Roberson and Brian Anderson.

"Basically, everybody stuck together," Maciejczak said. "Once I landed in Casper, I called everybody up and everyone wanted to come to Casper, thought it would be a great town to be in, and that's kind of how we got the good group of guys from Rapid. (We) blended it in with the guys from Casper who were here and just kind of recruited around that."

The blending of teams worked.

The Cavs were 7-2 last year and were 12-3 this season going into Friday's American Indoor Football Association Western Conference championship against the Mississippi Mudcats. The Cavs' success can largely be attributed to the experience many players have of playing alongside each other the past few years.

"With Majic, a lot of guys just want to play for him, so he keeps a nucleus of veterans," Roberson said. "The more veterans you have, the better cohesiveness you have as a group. It goes a long ways. You don't have to worry about that selfishness. We need each other. One man ain't going to win us a championship."

Having veterans is key in Wyoming's system, according to Maciejczak, who said his experience as an offensive lineman helped him develop that philosophy. The coach even admits that what the team lacks in athletic ability, it makes up for in team chemistry.

"I firmly believe that when you play football, you are taking a chance of dying," Maciejczak said. "So if I'm going to lay it on the line and possibly die and give it 100 percent on the football field, I want to know the guy next to me is a friend and that he is willing to lay it on the line too. That is kind of our team motto, and what we kind of live and die by."

Maciejczak's understanding of players is one of the main reasons they want to play for him. Roberson said his coach knows players are not making NFL salaries or living in fancy apartments, but Maciejczak does what he can to make his players' lives better.

"He tries to make the situation the best for us as much as he can to the best of his ability, and I think that is one thing that stands out with him compared to other coaches," Roberson said. "It ain't about him. He makes it about us.

"From Day 1 he said, 'It's your team.' He's just here to guide us. We are going to go as far as we want to take us, he's just going to keep us on the right path."

Whether in Rapid City or Casper, Maciejczak has kept the team on the right path, and it's one that could lead the team to the league championship.

CAVALRY 54, MUDCATS 26: Wyoming accomplished its goal, now it's going for a title.

The Cavalry beat Mississippi 54-26 at the Casper Events Center on Friday in the American Indoor Football Association Western Conference championship.

Wyoming advances to the AIFA Bowl II with the win, where it will face the Florence Phantoms on Friday in Florence, S.C.

"Like we said at the beginning, man, our main goal was to get to the championship and we accomplished that with this victory, " Cavs defensive lineman Tyrone Saterfield said.

The Cavalry were able to withstand the Mudcats' speed and take advantage of Mississippi's errors.

Wyoming quarterback Matt Strand faced more pressure than he had all year, but was still able to throw six touchdowns. B.J. Charlton caught three touchdowns, Dante Dudley had two, and A.J. Street had the other.

"It means everything," Wyoming coach Dan Maciejczak said. "All I've heard all week is about their team speed and how we can't play football. We are not this, and we are not that.

"... Our guys worked hard, we played 15 straight weeks without a bye week. I'm just proud of these guys, and I'm proud of this community for sticking behind this team after last season's escapes."

The Cavalry jumped on the Mudcats early, building a 13-0 lead. Wyoming scored on first first possession then took advantage of a Mississippi interception on the Mudcats' second offensive play.

Wyoming never gave up the lead then took advantage of multiple personal fouls by Mississippi. The Mudcats were called for a personal foul after their first touchdown, which gave Wyoming a short field and the Cavs were able to score on the next play. Later in the half the Cavs had a fourth-and-10 and Mississippi was flagged for pass interference. Wyoming went on to score later in the drive.

Wyoming failed to score on just one possession.

The Cavs defense finished with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. The Mudcats finished with 11 penalties for 69 yards, while the Cavs had just three penalties for 14 yards.

Contact sports reporter David Buck at [phone] or [e-mail].

Cavs Tracker

FRIDAY: AIFA Western Conference championship, Wyoming 54, Mississippi 26

UP NEXT: The Cavalry play the Florence Phantoms in the AIFA Bowl II on July 25 in Florence, S.C.

MIGRATING WITH MAJIC: Eight current Cavalry players were on the Rapid City (S.D.) Flying Aces with coach Dan Maciejczak before the team folded in 2006.

HE SAID IT: "Basically, everybody stuck together. Once I landed in Casper, I called everybody up and everyone wanted to come to Casper, thought it would be a great town to be in, and that's kind of how we got the good group of guys from Rapid. (We) blended it in with the guys from Casper who were here and just kind of recruited around that." -- Maciejczak.