Post by Gene on Jul 28, 2009 0:49:35 GMT -5
By JACK NOWLIN
Star-Tribune staff writer
Monday, July 27, 2009 2:07 AM MDT
For nearly 30 minutes, the Wyoming Cavalry had their first championship within reach.
But the Reading Express turned up the pressure on both sides of the ball and came away with a 65-42 victory in American Indoor Football Championship Bowl III on Sunday at the Casper Events Center.
Leading 34-23 following a 30-yard touchdown pass from Matt Strand to A.J. Street, the Cavs suffered a defensive breakdown and gave up a 22-yard touchdown pass that cut their lead to 34-30 heading into the locker room.
"They ran a good play for the coverage we were in and it worked out OK for them, I guess," Cavs safety Tanner Tetrault said. "We were prepared for what they did, [but] they just did a pretty good job of doing it."
Express coach Bernie Nowotarski felt like the last-second touchdown was just what his team needed.
"The feeling was that we had weathered the storm because we were only down four and we were getting the ball to start the second half," he said. "We knew what adjustments we wanted to make, and we made them.
"I didn't feel too bad being down only four in a hostile environment."
The Events Center didn't remain that way in the second half.
Flowers capped the Express's opening drive with a 7-yard scoring strike to Yardon Brantley, and when Erik Rockhold split the uprights on the ensuing kickoff they had the lead for good at 38-34.
It went downhill from there for the Cavalry.
James Everage was unable to control a short pass from Strand and the ball ended up in the hands of Reading defensive back JoJo Polk, who returned it nine yards for a touchdown.
Then, a drive that started at the Wyoming 20 ended nine plays later at the Wyoming 9, with the Cavs Zach Wheeler lining up for an unlikely field-goal attempt from the goal line.
Reading linebacker Matt Sola jumped over center to block the kick, and Tetrault fell on the ball in the end zone for a safety and a 47-34 Reading advantage.
"Offensively, we did some good things in the first half, but in the second half we just didn't play well," Cavs quarterback Matt Strand said. "It just came down to us not executing offensively and putting our defense in a bind. And when you're not getting many yards and giving the ball back to the offense, that's going to make it pretty easy for them."
The Express was more than happy to take advantage of everything the Cavalry gave them.
That included great field position, as Wyoming started three of its drives in the second half inside its 5-yard line. In addition, the Express defensive line managed to keep constant pressure on Strand.
Despite outgaining Reading 281-226 in total yards, the bad field position and continued long-yardage situations were more than the Wyoming offense could handle.
"We didn't do a good job dealing with adversity," Strand said. "When you're consistently facing third-and-long and fourth-and-long, that's not a good situation to be in, and in the second half that's where we were.
"And then when we started struggling, we had a little bit of panic set in."
Wyoming struck first with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Strand to Dante Dudley for an 8-0 lead. Following a Reading touchdown the Cavs responded with another scoring pass from Strand, this one a 13-yarder to A.J. Street.
The teams traded scores until Cavs linebacker Austin Bailey stepped in front of a Flowers pass and raced into the end zone from 25 yards out to give the Cavs a 28-16 lead late in the half.
In the end, though, Wyoming's high-powered offense wasn't able to match Flowers and the Reading offense.
And that left Cavalry coach Dan Maciejczak scratching his head as he tried to come up with an explanation.
"When your offense doesn't produce, it takes the wind out of your defense, too," he said. "You can't win a game if your offense can't score.
"I think it's on our offense and we didn't produce. And that's on me [because] I'm the offensive coordinator.
"You lose three in a row, it makes you wonder."
Contact sports reporter Jack Nowlin at (307) 266-0528 or jack.nowlin@trib.com.
Cavalry Tracker
SUNDAY: American Indoor Football Association Bowl III, Reading 65, Casper 42.
STILL SEARCHING: The loss was Wyoming's third in a row in an indoor football title game.
HE SAID IT: "I think it's on our offense and we didn't produce. And that's on me [because] I'm the offensive coordinator." n Cavalry coach Dan Maciejczak.
Express 65, Cavalry 42
Rea 16 14 24 11 n 65
Wyo 14 20 0 8 n 42
First Quarter
Wyoming n Dante Dudley 13 pass from Matt Strand (B.J. Charlton pass from Strand), 11:38.
Reading n Rob Flowers 5 run (Erik Rockhold kick), 9:58.
Reading n Rockhold rouge, 9:36.
Wyoming n A.J. Street 13 pass from Strand (pass incomplete), 4:12.
Reading n Jeff Willis 17 pass from Flowers (Rockhold kick), 1:39.
Reading n Rockhold rouge, 1:01.
Second Quarter
Wyoming n James Everage 4 pass from Strand (Everage pass from Strand), 14:54.
Wyoming n Austin Bailey 25 interception return (incomplete), 1:22.
Reading n Carmelo Ocasio 5 pass from Flowers (Rockhold kick), :24.1
Wyoming n Street 30 pass from Strand (incomplete), :18.1.
Reading n Yardon Brantley 22 pass from Flowers (Rockhold kick), :1.7.
Third Quarter
Reading n Brantley 7 pass from Flowers (Rockhold kick), 11:39.
Reading n Rockhold rouge, 11:03.
Reading n JoJo Polk 9 interception return (Rockhold kick), 10:00.
Reading n James Bryant safety, 3:54.
Reading n Flowers 1 run (Rockhold kick), :1.7.
Fourth Quarter
Reading n Rockhold rouge, 15:00.
Reading n Rockhold 20 field goal, 1:34.
Wyoming n Dudley 12 pass from Strand (Dudley pass from Strand), :57.
Reading n Willis 3 pass from Flowers (Rockhold kick), :.53.
Individual Statistics
Passing n Reading, Rob Flowers 18-28-1--200. Wyoming, Matt Strand 23-45-1--314.
Rushing n Reading, Flowers 6-31, Jason Henley 1 (-3). Wyoming, James Jones 2-1.
Receiving n Reading, Carmelo Ocasio 6-81, Yardon Brantley 2-37, Jeff Willis 8-68, James Bryant 1-11, Jason Henley 1-3. Wyoming, Dante Dudley 9-132, James Everage 5-70, A.J. Street 2-42, B.J. Charlton 2-25, Jones 5-45.
Source: www.trib.com/articles/2009/07/27/sports/local/1f0c22f453aa64b0872576000018c5de.txt
Star-Tribune staff writer
Monday, July 27, 2009 2:07 AM MDT
For nearly 30 minutes, the Wyoming Cavalry had their first championship within reach.
But the Reading Express turned up the pressure on both sides of the ball and came away with a 65-42 victory in American Indoor Football Championship Bowl III on Sunday at the Casper Events Center.
Leading 34-23 following a 30-yard touchdown pass from Matt Strand to A.J. Street, the Cavs suffered a defensive breakdown and gave up a 22-yard touchdown pass that cut their lead to 34-30 heading into the locker room.
"They ran a good play for the coverage we were in and it worked out OK for them, I guess," Cavs safety Tanner Tetrault said. "We were prepared for what they did, [but] they just did a pretty good job of doing it."
Express coach Bernie Nowotarski felt like the last-second touchdown was just what his team needed.
"The feeling was that we had weathered the storm because we were only down four and we were getting the ball to start the second half," he said. "We knew what adjustments we wanted to make, and we made them.
"I didn't feel too bad being down only four in a hostile environment."
The Events Center didn't remain that way in the second half.
Flowers capped the Express's opening drive with a 7-yard scoring strike to Yardon Brantley, and when Erik Rockhold split the uprights on the ensuing kickoff they had the lead for good at 38-34.
It went downhill from there for the Cavalry.
James Everage was unable to control a short pass from Strand and the ball ended up in the hands of Reading defensive back JoJo Polk, who returned it nine yards for a touchdown.
Then, a drive that started at the Wyoming 20 ended nine plays later at the Wyoming 9, with the Cavs Zach Wheeler lining up for an unlikely field-goal attempt from the goal line.
Reading linebacker Matt Sola jumped over center to block the kick, and Tetrault fell on the ball in the end zone for a safety and a 47-34 Reading advantage.
"Offensively, we did some good things in the first half, but in the second half we just didn't play well," Cavs quarterback Matt Strand said. "It just came down to us not executing offensively and putting our defense in a bind. And when you're not getting many yards and giving the ball back to the offense, that's going to make it pretty easy for them."
The Express was more than happy to take advantage of everything the Cavalry gave them.
That included great field position, as Wyoming started three of its drives in the second half inside its 5-yard line. In addition, the Express defensive line managed to keep constant pressure on Strand.
Despite outgaining Reading 281-226 in total yards, the bad field position and continued long-yardage situations were more than the Wyoming offense could handle.
"We didn't do a good job dealing with adversity," Strand said. "When you're consistently facing third-and-long and fourth-and-long, that's not a good situation to be in, and in the second half that's where we were.
"And then when we started struggling, we had a little bit of panic set in."
Wyoming struck first with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Strand to Dante Dudley for an 8-0 lead. Following a Reading touchdown the Cavs responded with another scoring pass from Strand, this one a 13-yarder to A.J. Street.
The teams traded scores until Cavs linebacker Austin Bailey stepped in front of a Flowers pass and raced into the end zone from 25 yards out to give the Cavs a 28-16 lead late in the half.
In the end, though, Wyoming's high-powered offense wasn't able to match Flowers and the Reading offense.
And that left Cavalry coach Dan Maciejczak scratching his head as he tried to come up with an explanation.
"When your offense doesn't produce, it takes the wind out of your defense, too," he said. "You can't win a game if your offense can't score.
"I think it's on our offense and we didn't produce. And that's on me [because] I'm the offensive coordinator.
"You lose three in a row, it makes you wonder."
Contact sports reporter Jack Nowlin at (307) 266-0528 or jack.nowlin@trib.com.
Cavalry Tracker
SUNDAY: American Indoor Football Association Bowl III, Reading 65, Casper 42.
STILL SEARCHING: The loss was Wyoming's third in a row in an indoor football title game.
HE SAID IT: "I think it's on our offense and we didn't produce. And that's on me [because] I'm the offensive coordinator." n Cavalry coach Dan Maciejczak.
Express 65, Cavalry 42
Rea 16 14 24 11 n 65
Wyo 14 20 0 8 n 42
First Quarter
Wyoming n Dante Dudley 13 pass from Matt Strand (B.J. Charlton pass from Strand), 11:38.
Reading n Rob Flowers 5 run (Erik Rockhold kick), 9:58.
Reading n Rockhold rouge, 9:36.
Wyoming n A.J. Street 13 pass from Strand (pass incomplete), 4:12.
Reading n Jeff Willis 17 pass from Flowers (Rockhold kick), 1:39.
Reading n Rockhold rouge, 1:01.
Second Quarter
Wyoming n James Everage 4 pass from Strand (Everage pass from Strand), 14:54.
Wyoming n Austin Bailey 25 interception return (incomplete), 1:22.
Reading n Carmelo Ocasio 5 pass from Flowers (Rockhold kick), :24.1
Wyoming n Street 30 pass from Strand (incomplete), :18.1.
Reading n Yardon Brantley 22 pass from Flowers (Rockhold kick), :1.7.
Third Quarter
Reading n Brantley 7 pass from Flowers (Rockhold kick), 11:39.
Reading n Rockhold rouge, 11:03.
Reading n JoJo Polk 9 interception return (Rockhold kick), 10:00.
Reading n James Bryant safety, 3:54.
Reading n Flowers 1 run (Rockhold kick), :1.7.
Fourth Quarter
Reading n Rockhold rouge, 15:00.
Reading n Rockhold 20 field goal, 1:34.
Wyoming n Dudley 12 pass from Strand (Dudley pass from Strand), :57.
Reading n Willis 3 pass from Flowers (Rockhold kick), :.53.
Individual Statistics
Passing n Reading, Rob Flowers 18-28-1--200. Wyoming, Matt Strand 23-45-1--314.
Rushing n Reading, Flowers 6-31, Jason Henley 1 (-3). Wyoming, James Jones 2-1.
Receiving n Reading, Carmelo Ocasio 6-81, Yardon Brantley 2-37, Jeff Willis 8-68, James Bryant 1-11, Jason Henley 1-3. Wyoming, Dante Dudley 9-132, James Everage 5-70, A.J. Street 2-42, B.J. Charlton 2-25, Jones 5-45.
Source: www.trib.com/articles/2009/07/27/sports/local/1f0c22f453aa64b0872576000018c5de.txt