Post by Gene on Mar 22, 2010 9:09:20 GMT -5
By Brian Rippey
Reading Eagle
The Reading Express celebrated like champions prior to Sunday's home opener in the Sovereign Center.
It played like anything but against the Harrisburg Stampede.
Harrisburg returned two of Reading's four turnovers for touchdowns en route to a 55-42 win, handing the Express just its second regular season home loss in the last four seasons.
Quarterback Rob Flowers, last year's American Indoor Football Association Most Valuable Player, lost two fumbles and threw two interceptions.
"When the quarterback's turning the ball over you're shooting your team in the foot," Flowers said. "You can't win that way. In order for us to win, I must play better."
Express coach/general manager Bernie Nowotarski wasn't placing the blame at Flowers' feet. The Express (1-2) was flagged for eight penalties for 71 yards and was inconsistent on offense against the Stampede (2-1).
"We'll win as a team, we'll lose as a team," Nowotarski said. "There's no one person responsible."
The Express had trouble getting untracked in the first half but stayed in it thanks to a safety and field goals of 53 and 48 yards by Erik Rockhold.
When Jeff Willis hauled in his second touchdown catch, in the final minute of the first half, Reading took a 21-14 halftime lead.
Harrisburg tied it just two plays into the second half when Flowers fumbled and William Himes scooped up the ball and ran 7 yards for a touchdown.
Reading struck back one play after the kickoff. Flowers lofted a long pass that Carmelo Ocasio juggled while falling down in the end zone, kicked it up in the air and caught it for a 30-yard touchdown.
Ocasio, who had nine receptions for 122 yards, caught another touchdown pass minutes later to give Reading a 35-21 lead midway through the third quarter.
Harrisburg battled back with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Kelvin Robinson to Eugene Goodman and a 40-yard touchdown run by Robinson to tie it at 35-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
Reading had a chance to go ahead, but Flowers fumbled inside the Harrisburg 5. After the recovery, Harrisburg drove 49 yards to take the lead on a 7-yard pass from Robinson to Shayn Milligan.
The Stampede made it 28 straight points when Jeremy Gray returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown with 2:38 left.
"We as the offense cannot allow for a team to score two defensive touchdowns," Flowers said.
The Express nearly pulled off a miracle comeback.
Flowers threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Tim Smith with more than a minute left and Ocasio appeared to recover the ensuing onside kick. But it was ruled he touched the ball before it went the necessary 10 yards.
"That was a tough break," Ocasio said. "We just couldn't catch a break there at the end at all."
One person who left the Sovereign Center happy was former Express defensive back Marcus Sargent, in his second year with the Stampede.
"I was very emotional," Sargent said. "We just came here and beat the champs. I'm going to enjoy this one."
Contact Brian Rippey: 610-371-5070 or brippey@readingeagle.com.
Source: readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=207200
Reading Eagle
The Reading Express celebrated like champions prior to Sunday's home opener in the Sovereign Center.
It played like anything but against the Harrisburg Stampede.
Harrisburg returned two of Reading's four turnovers for touchdowns en route to a 55-42 win, handing the Express just its second regular season home loss in the last four seasons.
Quarterback Rob Flowers, last year's American Indoor Football Association Most Valuable Player, lost two fumbles and threw two interceptions.
"When the quarterback's turning the ball over you're shooting your team in the foot," Flowers said. "You can't win that way. In order for us to win, I must play better."
Express coach/general manager Bernie Nowotarski wasn't placing the blame at Flowers' feet. The Express (1-2) was flagged for eight penalties for 71 yards and was inconsistent on offense against the Stampede (2-1).
"We'll win as a team, we'll lose as a team," Nowotarski said. "There's no one person responsible."
The Express had trouble getting untracked in the first half but stayed in it thanks to a safety and field goals of 53 and 48 yards by Erik Rockhold.
When Jeff Willis hauled in his second touchdown catch, in the final minute of the first half, Reading took a 21-14 halftime lead.
Harrisburg tied it just two plays into the second half when Flowers fumbled and William Himes scooped up the ball and ran 7 yards for a touchdown.
Reading struck back one play after the kickoff. Flowers lofted a long pass that Carmelo Ocasio juggled while falling down in the end zone, kicked it up in the air and caught it for a 30-yard touchdown.
Ocasio, who had nine receptions for 122 yards, caught another touchdown pass minutes later to give Reading a 35-21 lead midway through the third quarter.
Harrisburg battled back with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Kelvin Robinson to Eugene Goodman and a 40-yard touchdown run by Robinson to tie it at 35-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
Reading had a chance to go ahead, but Flowers fumbled inside the Harrisburg 5. After the recovery, Harrisburg drove 49 yards to take the lead on a 7-yard pass from Robinson to Shayn Milligan.
The Stampede made it 28 straight points when Jeremy Gray returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown with 2:38 left.
"We as the offense cannot allow for a team to score two defensive touchdowns," Flowers said.
The Express nearly pulled off a miracle comeback.
Flowers threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Tim Smith with more than a minute left and Ocasio appeared to recover the ensuing onside kick. But it was ruled he touched the ball before it went the necessary 10 yards.
"That was a tough break," Ocasio said. "We just couldn't catch a break there at the end at all."
One person who left the Sovereign Center happy was former Express defensive back Marcus Sargent, in his second year with the Stampede.
"I was very emotional," Sargent said. "We just came here and beat the champs. I'm going to enjoy this one."
Contact Brian Rippey: 610-371-5070 or brippey@readingeagle.com.
Source: readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=207200
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