Post by marinersmedia on Feb 19, 2010 15:44:16 GMT -5
2009 Playoff Team Looks to Improve in 2010; Bring Championship to Baltimore
BALTIMORE, MD (February 19, 2010) – It was a bittersweet end to the 2009 season for the Baltimore Mariners. The team took great pride in their 9-5 record, earning the first playoff berth in the team’s history, and defeating the eventual American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) champions, the Reading Express, twice during the regular season. However, losing to Reading, 50-20 in the first round of the AIFA playoffs on July 2nd left the team with unfinished business. Now after over seven months of preparation they are set to open camp and “Set Sail for the Ring in 2010,” which has become the team’s battle call for this season.
“I'm ready to get the 2010 season going and I believe the players and the staff feel that itch as well. We'll have a pretty good idea of who has come to compete in the first weekend of training camp. We have some unfinished business left over from last season,” stated Mariners Head Coach Chris Simpson.
As the team prepares to open up camp this weekend, the indoor football team, which calls 1st Mariner Arena home, announced its 40-man training camp roster; 40 men, which will battle for spots on the Mariners’ 20-man active roster and eight to ten practice squad positions.
Included on the training camp roster are a core group of 18 players from Baltimore’s 2009 playoff squad. On the offensive side of the ball returnees include starting quarterback E.J. Nemeth, running back Isaiah Grier, who led the AIFA in rushing in 2009, and the Mariners top three receivers from last season Scorpio Brown, Jamaal Stokes, and Aaron Yarbough, who combined for 156 receptions and 32 touchdowns. Linemen Gus Kosmakos and Jeff Tyler, both standouts for the Towson Tigers are also back to fortify the offensive line. Baltimore kicker J.R. Cipra, who led all AIFA kickers with 191 points last season, returns for his second season with the Mariners.
On the other side of the ball the Mariners are fully loaded with nine returnees from a defensive attack that led the AIFA with 42 interceptions and totaled 52 takeaways. Leading the pack is former Minnesota Viking and Mariners linebacker Fearon Wright who topped the Mariners with 6.5 sacks, and defensive back Armar Watson who led Baltimore with 43.5 tackles and the entire league with 17 interceptions. Defensive back Richard Johnson, who topped the Mariners with 37 solo tackles and linebacker Adam Goloboski, who tallied 30.5 stops, in just eight games, are also returning.
Top newcomers include two defensive backs with impressive resumes, former West Virginia Mountaineer Jermaine Thaxton and seven-year arena football veteran Desmond Maul. On the offensive side of the ball, Mark Stout, a 6’7”, 330 pound lineman with seven arena seasons under his belt, looks to anchor the O-line and wide receiver De’yon Williams, an All-ACC selection for the Virginia Cavaliers, and Washington Redskin free agent signee, hopes to break into the Mariners already potent receiving corps.
The Mariners open the 2010 campaign at the Harrisburg Stampede on Saturday, March 6th at 7:30 PM and their home opener is slated for Sunday, March 14th at 4:00 PM against the New Jersey Revolution at 1st Mariner Arena.
BALTIMORE, MD (February 19, 2010) – It was a bittersweet end to the 2009 season for the Baltimore Mariners. The team took great pride in their 9-5 record, earning the first playoff berth in the team’s history, and defeating the eventual American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) champions, the Reading Express, twice during the regular season. However, losing to Reading, 50-20 in the first round of the AIFA playoffs on July 2nd left the team with unfinished business. Now after over seven months of preparation they are set to open camp and “Set Sail for the Ring in 2010,” which has become the team’s battle call for this season.
“I'm ready to get the 2010 season going and I believe the players and the staff feel that itch as well. We'll have a pretty good idea of who has come to compete in the first weekend of training camp. We have some unfinished business left over from last season,” stated Mariners Head Coach Chris Simpson.
As the team prepares to open up camp this weekend, the indoor football team, which calls 1st Mariner Arena home, announced its 40-man training camp roster; 40 men, which will battle for spots on the Mariners’ 20-man active roster and eight to ten practice squad positions.
Included on the training camp roster are a core group of 18 players from Baltimore’s 2009 playoff squad. On the offensive side of the ball returnees include starting quarterback E.J. Nemeth, running back Isaiah Grier, who led the AIFA in rushing in 2009, and the Mariners top three receivers from last season Scorpio Brown, Jamaal Stokes, and Aaron Yarbough, who combined for 156 receptions and 32 touchdowns. Linemen Gus Kosmakos and Jeff Tyler, both standouts for the Towson Tigers are also back to fortify the offensive line. Baltimore kicker J.R. Cipra, who led all AIFA kickers with 191 points last season, returns for his second season with the Mariners.
On the other side of the ball the Mariners are fully loaded with nine returnees from a defensive attack that led the AIFA with 42 interceptions and totaled 52 takeaways. Leading the pack is former Minnesota Viking and Mariners linebacker Fearon Wright who topped the Mariners with 6.5 sacks, and defensive back Armar Watson who led Baltimore with 43.5 tackles and the entire league with 17 interceptions. Defensive back Richard Johnson, who topped the Mariners with 37 solo tackles and linebacker Adam Goloboski, who tallied 30.5 stops, in just eight games, are also returning.
Top newcomers include two defensive backs with impressive resumes, former West Virginia Mountaineer Jermaine Thaxton and seven-year arena football veteran Desmond Maul. On the offensive side of the ball, Mark Stout, a 6’7”, 330 pound lineman with seven arena seasons under his belt, looks to anchor the O-line and wide receiver De’yon Williams, an All-ACC selection for the Virginia Cavaliers, and Washington Redskin free agent signee, hopes to break into the Mariners already potent receiving corps.
The Mariners open the 2010 campaign at the Harrisburg Stampede on Saturday, March 6th at 7:30 PM and their home opener is slated for Sunday, March 14th at 4:00 PM against the New Jersey Revolution at 1st Mariner Arena.