Post by marinersmedia on Apr 18, 2010 13:44:29 GMT -5
Sorry for the delay. I got a quick recap out last night, but couldn't get a solid connection from the hotel this morning, so had to wait until I got back to Baltimore.
Baltimore Continues Perfect Season, Defeats Defending Champs on the Road
READING, PA (March 17, 2010) – Heading into their match-up with the Reading Express the Baltimore Mariners had redemption on their minds. In their final game of the 2009 season, Baltimore was stymied by Reading 50-20 in the first round of the playoffs to ruin an otherwise bright season.
Saturday night Baltimore received their redemption; and then some, as the Mariners ripped Reading 51-27 pulling three games ahead of the defending American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) champions and running their record to 6-0.
After Reading completed a 30-yard, 8-play touchdown drive to open the game and the Express defense held the Mariners to two J.R. Cipra field goals in Baltimore’s first two drives; it looked like the Mariners’ season opening win streak could be in jeopardy as Reading held a 7-6 lead.
Reading’s David Smith then returned Cipra’s kickoff 38 yards to the Baltimore 20 and the momentum continued to shift the Express’ way. Just two plays later Mariners linebacker Brian Bradford read a Flowers’ pass perfectly, picked off the ball, and rambled toward the end zone. The ball was stripped from Bradford, but he hustled to recover his own fumble in the back of the end zone to stake the Mariners to a 13-7 lead, which seemed to secure the game’s momentum for the Mariners.
Baltimore Defensive Coordinator Steve Gaunt’s “Hit Squad,” came up big again on the next drive as Jermaine Thaxton intercepted a Flowers pass and returned it to the Reading 12 to set up a Mariners’ drive, which ended with Cipra’s third field goal of the day.
On the subsequent Reading drive, the Express fell short on a fourth and eight. Just one play later Mariners’ quarterback E.J. Nemeth hit rookie Damon Harrison with a 25-yard scoring strike to expand the Mariners’ margin to 23-7.
The teams exchanged scores as Flowers hit receiver Jeff Willis on a 30-yard touchdown pass and Mariners running back Isaiah Grier capped a 7-play, 30-yard drive with a two-yard scoring run and the East Conference rivals headed to halftime with Baltimore leading 30-14.
In the third quarter the two teams notched two scores each as Grier took off on a 10-yard run for his second touchdown of the day and Nemeth hit Aaron Yarbough for a 13-yard score, while Flowers connected twice with Dan Kelly, ending the third period of play with the Mariners holding a substantial 44-27 margin.
Reading’s first drive of the fourth quarter ended with a Richard Johnson interception, providing Baltimore with the ball and its league leading 18th pickoff of the season. Grier then scored his AIFA-best 13th rushing and 18th total touchdown to increase the final scoring gap to 51-27 and give Baltimore its sixth straight win to start the 2010 season.
On the night, Grier tallied 63 rushing yards and three scores. Jamaal Stokes led all Mariners receivers with six receptions for 38 yards, while Aaron Yarbough (5 receptions for 58 yards) and Damon Harrison (1 reception for 25 yards) each added touchdown scores. Nemeth completed 12 of 25 attempts for 121 yards and had the two TD passes to Yarbough and Harrison.
On the defensive side of the ball in addition to the interceptions by Bradford, Johnson, and Thaxton, Adam Goloboski (.5) and Melik Brown (1.5) added sacks and Daniel Orlebar applied constant pressure on Flowers. Bradford led the Mariners with four tackles.
With the Harrisburg Stampede perched just 1.5 games behind the Mariners, Head Coach Chris Simpson’s squad faces another crucial test as they complete a three-game road trip in Fayetteville, North Carolina on Saturday, April 24th at 7:00 PM as they will take on the Guard and seek to run their record to 7-0.
For more information about the Baltimore Mariners go to www.baltimoremariners.com.
Baltimore Continues Perfect Season, Defeats Defending Champs on the Road
READING, PA (March 17, 2010) – Heading into their match-up with the Reading Express the Baltimore Mariners had redemption on their minds. In their final game of the 2009 season, Baltimore was stymied by Reading 50-20 in the first round of the playoffs to ruin an otherwise bright season.
Saturday night Baltimore received their redemption; and then some, as the Mariners ripped Reading 51-27 pulling three games ahead of the defending American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) champions and running their record to 6-0.
After Reading completed a 30-yard, 8-play touchdown drive to open the game and the Express defense held the Mariners to two J.R. Cipra field goals in Baltimore’s first two drives; it looked like the Mariners’ season opening win streak could be in jeopardy as Reading held a 7-6 lead.
Reading’s David Smith then returned Cipra’s kickoff 38 yards to the Baltimore 20 and the momentum continued to shift the Express’ way. Just two plays later Mariners linebacker Brian Bradford read a Flowers’ pass perfectly, picked off the ball, and rambled toward the end zone. The ball was stripped from Bradford, but he hustled to recover his own fumble in the back of the end zone to stake the Mariners to a 13-7 lead, which seemed to secure the game’s momentum for the Mariners.
Baltimore Defensive Coordinator Steve Gaunt’s “Hit Squad,” came up big again on the next drive as Jermaine Thaxton intercepted a Flowers pass and returned it to the Reading 12 to set up a Mariners’ drive, which ended with Cipra’s third field goal of the day.
On the subsequent Reading drive, the Express fell short on a fourth and eight. Just one play later Mariners’ quarterback E.J. Nemeth hit rookie Damon Harrison with a 25-yard scoring strike to expand the Mariners’ margin to 23-7.
The teams exchanged scores as Flowers hit receiver Jeff Willis on a 30-yard touchdown pass and Mariners running back Isaiah Grier capped a 7-play, 30-yard drive with a two-yard scoring run and the East Conference rivals headed to halftime with Baltimore leading 30-14.
In the third quarter the two teams notched two scores each as Grier took off on a 10-yard run for his second touchdown of the day and Nemeth hit Aaron Yarbough for a 13-yard score, while Flowers connected twice with Dan Kelly, ending the third period of play with the Mariners holding a substantial 44-27 margin.
Reading’s first drive of the fourth quarter ended with a Richard Johnson interception, providing Baltimore with the ball and its league leading 18th pickoff of the season. Grier then scored his AIFA-best 13th rushing and 18th total touchdown to increase the final scoring gap to 51-27 and give Baltimore its sixth straight win to start the 2010 season.
On the night, Grier tallied 63 rushing yards and three scores. Jamaal Stokes led all Mariners receivers with six receptions for 38 yards, while Aaron Yarbough (5 receptions for 58 yards) and Damon Harrison (1 reception for 25 yards) each added touchdown scores. Nemeth completed 12 of 25 attempts for 121 yards and had the two TD passes to Yarbough and Harrison.
On the defensive side of the ball in addition to the interceptions by Bradford, Johnson, and Thaxton, Adam Goloboski (.5) and Melik Brown (1.5) added sacks and Daniel Orlebar applied constant pressure on Flowers. Bradford led the Mariners with four tackles.
With the Harrisburg Stampede perched just 1.5 games behind the Mariners, Head Coach Chris Simpson’s squad faces another crucial test as they complete a three-game road trip in Fayetteville, North Carolina on Saturday, April 24th at 7:00 PM as they will take on the Guard and seek to run their record to 7-0.
For more information about the Baltimore Mariners go to www.baltimoremariners.com.