Post by Gene on Jul 25, 2009 6:31:04 GMT -5
Two high-scoring offenses square off in league championship game
By Brian Rippey
Reading Eagle
When Wyoming was being settled in the 1800s, it was best known for its saloons and gunfights.
But the Wild West may not have seen a shootout like the one scheduled for Sunday in the Casper Events Center since Wyoming became a state in 1890.
Two of the highest-scoring offenses in the American Indoor Football Association will have a showdown at 7 p.m. EDT Sunday when the Reading Express and Wyoming Cavalry square off for the league championship.
Quarterbacks Rob Flowers of Reading and Matt Strand of Wyoming were the top gunslingers in the AIFA, combining for 142 touchdown passes during the regular season.
"They have the top offense; they have a quarterback that finished just behind Rob in stats," Express coach Bernie Nowotarski said. "If we fire on all cylinders, we're pretty tough, too."
The Express (13-3) has been as hot as a recently fired pistol during its ride to its second AIFA title game in three years. After averaging 48.9 points during the regular season, Reading rang up 50 in a win over Baltimore and 60 more in an Eastern Conference championship win over the Columbus Lions.
The Cavalry (13-2) led the league with 59.9 points per game and hit the 70 mark on four occasions, including a season-high 85 points in a win over New Mexico. Strand, a 6-5, 260-pounder, threw for 70 touchdowns and an average of 217.8 yards per game.
While those numbers could make some run for cover, not the Express.
Flowers threw for 72 touchdowns and a league-best 239.1 yards per game during the regular season. Including the two playoff games, the 6-1, 230-pound Flowers has thrown for 81 touchdowns and run for 18.
Flowers has tied the franchise record for TD passes in a season set by Tom Stetzer in 2007, when the Express reached the AIFA championship game and lost to the Lakeland Thunderbolts in Florence, S.C., on a neutral field. Last year the Cavalry ended its season with a 48-12 title loss in Florence to the home team.
Flowers also needs 184 passing yards to break the mark of 3,856 set by Stetzer two years ago. Flowers also is just 24 yards shy of the franchise record of 439 rushing yards he set last season.
Mobility is the major difference between the two quarterbacks. While Flowers is a dual threat, Strand prefers to stay in the pocket.
"He doesn't like to run," Nowotarski said about Strand. "If you can get pressure on him and make him move, that's obviously a plus because he's not used to doing it."
The Cavalry's running is handled by 5-5, 170-pounder James Jones, who ran for a league-best 23 touchdowns and finished second with 404 yards.
"The kid can run," Nowotarski said. "He's a scatback."
When the ball's in the air, Flowers and Strand have an impressive posse of receivers to catch it.
Reading's Carmelo Ocasio (1,281 yards) and Jeff Willis (1,101 yards) finished 1-2 in the league in receiving yards. Ocasio, who caught 108 passes, was the only player in the league with more than 100 receptions.
Wyoming's Dante Dudley led the AIFA with 34 TD receptions, catching 84 passes for 1,089 yards.
The biggest question mark is how good the Cavalry is. Wyoming has played only three teams - Utah Valley, New Mexico and Odgen - all season. Reading played all but one of the nine other teams in the Eastern Conference.
"You don't know how good they are," Nowotarski said. "They probably have a similar problem evaluating us. You can watch film all you want, but can you really tell how fast a guy is, how strong a guy is, how mobile they are?"
What Nowotarski does know is how hungry the Express players are to win a championship after coming close several times during the last four seasons while compiling a 55-14 record.
"I'm very impressed with the way we've played the last three or four weeks," Nowotarski said. "This group of guys is real, real focused. They understand what's going on here."
Contact Brian Rippey: 610-371-5070 or brippey@readingeagle.com.
Source: www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=149617