Post by Gene on Jul 28, 2009 0:39:53 GMT -5
By AUSTIN WARD
Star-Tribune staff writer
Monday, July 27, 2009 2:07 AM MDT
The switch on the high-powered offense was flipped off.
The composure on defense suddenly vanished when the holes in the secondary appeared.
The penalty flags never stopped piling up on either side of the ball -- and the coaching staff drew one as well.
Even the crowd collapsed in the second half of American Indoor Football Association Bowl III on Sunday at the Casper Events Center, turning from a vocal, impact player into a quiet group only recognized down the stretch for throwing a rock-filled bottle onto the field.
Maybe one or two of those problems could have been handled, but all of them helped decimate Wyoming's bid for a title in a 65-42 loss to Reading in a game the Cavalry seemed to have in hand for nearly a half.
"You know what? We were in control until we got to that point when there were five seconds left [in the first half] and we gave up that deep one for kind of a cheap touchdown there at the end," Cavs linebacker Austin Bailey said. "We were still up by four then, but that gave them a lot of momentum.
"I wouldn't say they were in control or anything after that, but it just gave them some life back in the game and it could have been the difference maybe. Penalties killed us [Sunday], too."
The buzzer-beating touchdown from Rob Flowers to Yardon Brantley clearly gave the Express a burst of energy heading to the locker room, but the Cavs still had the lead and a chance to regroup.
Instead, they came apart at the seams.
Matt Strand was visibly frustrated by Reading's aggressive pass rush, and the typically even-headed quarterback was hit with two penalties on the same play at one point.
After allowing the stunning score to end the second quarter, the Wyoming defense gave up another on the next drive to hand over the lead and never got any help from the offense as the championship slipped away.
The Cavs even had a couple breakdowns in special teams, giving up a safety on a blocked field goal and then having a player ejected after multiple penalties on an extra point attempt.
"We were getting penalties on stupid things," Wyoming coach Dan Maciejczak said. "One bad thing happened after another, and then you're second-guessing yourself as to what to call."
The Cavs didn't dial up much that worked after intermission, and it obviously didn't help when they kept shooting themselves in the foot.
Neither team played the cleanest game to end the season, but 18 accepted penalties for 137 yards certainly helped the Express keep it close before pulling away during Wyoming's 29-minute scoring drought in the second half.
"Everyone tried to shake it off and forget about [the touchdown before half], but it's still in the back of your head," Bailey said. "You try your best to forget about it and move on, especially because teams are going to hang up a lot of points in indoor ball. You've got to have a short memory. There's no excuses, we just didn't come out and play ball.
"The penalties just killed us. You're killing your drives, you're giving yardage away to them with every penalty, and the offense was working with a long field all day, and we didn't help. A lot of the personal fouls, that's just emotional stuff, and when you play in a championship game you're going to play emotional."
The only feeling left over at the end was disappointment.
Contact sports reporter Austin Ward at (307) 266-0634 or austin.ward@trib.com.
DIRTY LAUNDRY
FLAGS FLYING: Wyoming's run to an American Indoor Football Association championship ended in a pile of yellow at the Casper Events Center on Sunday. Neither the Cavs nor Reading turned in a clean performance, but Wyoming's 18 penalties for 137 yards helped turn the tide for the Express.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: The Cavs were hit with multiple false start penalties, but the most surprising penalties came against steady quarterback Matt Strand. He set the tone early with an intentional grounding flag, though he was able to overcome that with a game-opening touchdown. His two penalties on one play in the second half signaled the end for the Cavs though.
HEAT CHECK: Wyoming's composure slipped away right along with the game in the second half as the Cavs drew multiple personal fouls and flags for them in every phase of the game -- culminating in an ejection after an extra point attempt.
HE SAID IT: "We were getting penalties on stupid things." -- Wyoming coach Dan Maciejczak.
Source: www.trib.com/articles/2009/07/27/sports/local/e795fa542216c187872576000016006c.txt
Star-Tribune staff writer
Monday, July 27, 2009 2:07 AM MDT
The switch on the high-powered offense was flipped off.
The composure on defense suddenly vanished when the holes in the secondary appeared.
The penalty flags never stopped piling up on either side of the ball -- and the coaching staff drew one as well.
Even the crowd collapsed in the second half of American Indoor Football Association Bowl III on Sunday at the Casper Events Center, turning from a vocal, impact player into a quiet group only recognized down the stretch for throwing a rock-filled bottle onto the field.
Maybe one or two of those problems could have been handled, but all of them helped decimate Wyoming's bid for a title in a 65-42 loss to Reading in a game the Cavalry seemed to have in hand for nearly a half.
"You know what? We were in control until we got to that point when there were five seconds left [in the first half] and we gave up that deep one for kind of a cheap touchdown there at the end," Cavs linebacker Austin Bailey said. "We were still up by four then, but that gave them a lot of momentum.
"I wouldn't say they were in control or anything after that, but it just gave them some life back in the game and it could have been the difference maybe. Penalties killed us [Sunday], too."
The buzzer-beating touchdown from Rob Flowers to Yardon Brantley clearly gave the Express a burst of energy heading to the locker room, but the Cavs still had the lead and a chance to regroup.
Instead, they came apart at the seams.
Matt Strand was visibly frustrated by Reading's aggressive pass rush, and the typically even-headed quarterback was hit with two penalties on the same play at one point.
After allowing the stunning score to end the second quarter, the Wyoming defense gave up another on the next drive to hand over the lead and never got any help from the offense as the championship slipped away.
The Cavs even had a couple breakdowns in special teams, giving up a safety on a blocked field goal and then having a player ejected after multiple penalties on an extra point attempt.
"We were getting penalties on stupid things," Wyoming coach Dan Maciejczak said. "One bad thing happened after another, and then you're second-guessing yourself as to what to call."
The Cavs didn't dial up much that worked after intermission, and it obviously didn't help when they kept shooting themselves in the foot.
Neither team played the cleanest game to end the season, but 18 accepted penalties for 137 yards certainly helped the Express keep it close before pulling away during Wyoming's 29-minute scoring drought in the second half.
"Everyone tried to shake it off and forget about [the touchdown before half], but it's still in the back of your head," Bailey said. "You try your best to forget about it and move on, especially because teams are going to hang up a lot of points in indoor ball. You've got to have a short memory. There's no excuses, we just didn't come out and play ball.
"The penalties just killed us. You're killing your drives, you're giving yardage away to them with every penalty, and the offense was working with a long field all day, and we didn't help. A lot of the personal fouls, that's just emotional stuff, and when you play in a championship game you're going to play emotional."
The only feeling left over at the end was disappointment.
Contact sports reporter Austin Ward at (307) 266-0634 or austin.ward@trib.com.
DIRTY LAUNDRY
FLAGS FLYING: Wyoming's run to an American Indoor Football Association championship ended in a pile of yellow at the Casper Events Center on Sunday. Neither the Cavs nor Reading turned in a clean performance, but Wyoming's 18 penalties for 137 yards helped turn the tide for the Express.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: The Cavs were hit with multiple false start penalties, but the most surprising penalties came against steady quarterback Matt Strand. He set the tone early with an intentional grounding flag, though he was able to overcome that with a game-opening touchdown. His two penalties on one play in the second half signaled the end for the Cavs though.
HEAT CHECK: Wyoming's composure slipped away right along with the game in the second half as the Cavs drew multiple personal fouls and flags for them in every phase of the game -- culminating in an ejection after an extra point attempt.
HE SAID IT: "We were getting penalties on stupid things." -- Wyoming coach Dan Maciejczak.
Source: www.trib.com/articles/2009/07/27/sports/local/e795fa542216c187872576000016006c.txt
