Post by marinersmedia on May 31, 2010 12:09:30 GMT -5
Baltimore Wins League Record 10th Straight, Clinches Playoff Berth
BALTIMORE, MD (May 31, 2010) – The Baltimore Mariners knew heading into the 2010 season that they needed to improve their performance on the road if they wanted to win the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) championship. Saturday they gave a whole new meaning to the phrase “road warriors” as they defeated the Richmond Raiders 57-39 to run their record to 10-0 and clinch the team’s second straight playoff berth.
The Mariners left Baltimore around 10:00 AM Saturday morning for the scheduled two and a half hour ride to Richmond. Eight hours later they finally pulled into the Richmond Coliseum, after being delayed by continuous traffic jams, and to add insult to injury, they were sidelined on I-95 for four and a half hours when their bus broke down. As a result they were limited to a quick warm-up and the game start was moved back 45 minutes.
“The team did a great job with the situation. There were no complaints, they just kept their focus on the game and were ready to play when we finally arrived in Richmond,” stated Mariners Head Coach Chris Simpson.
The Mariners quickly showed they gathered no rust while sitting on the interstate as they quickly scored on their first drive with an E.J. Nemeth 6-yard touchdown pass to Scorpio Brown. Baltimore continued to dominate the first quarter as Nemeth hit Brown on another touchdown strike, a 25-yarder, and J.R. Cipra added a uno on the ensuring kickoff and later a 23-yard field goal to close the first period with an 18-0 lead.
Richmond, which entered the game on a three-game win streak to even their record at 5-5 quickly battled back and started the second period with two scores, including a 16-yard pass from Robbie Jenkins to Jay Jackson to cut the score to 18-13 following a failed extra point attempt.
In a pattern that would continue for most of the night, as soon as Richmond closed the Mariners lead, Baltimore scored to widen the gap. Mariners’ running back Isaiah Grier broke his own team record with his 21st rushing touchdown of the season on a 19-yard run and then added a 1-yard dash to increase the Mariners lead to 32-13.
Jenkins then connected with wide receiver Herb Jones on a 24-yard score and following another missed extra point attempt, the half ended with Baltimore leading 32-19.
Cipra started the second half scoring with a uno on the opening kickoff to increase Baltimore’s advantage to 33-19, but Richmond quickly cut the lead to 33-26 on another Jenkins to Jones scoring strike.
Baltimore again fought off the Richmond charge when Scorpio Brown hauled in his third score of the night to take a 40-26 lead. The Raiders then continued the scoring pattern as Jenkins threw his fourth score of the night and Richmond closed to within 40-33.
As has been the case for the Mariners all season, as their opponents appear to take control of the game, the Mariners quickly take charge for good. Cipra closed the third quarter with his second field goal of the game to increase Baltimore’s edge to 43-33 and then Nemeth struck twice in the fourth period hitting Armar Watson on a 40-yard scoring strike and then delivered Brown’s fourth touchdown of the night to widen the margin to 57-33.
Brown, who was an all-star high school performer in Newport News, Virginia and then played at nearby Hampton University, before transferring to Morehouse College in Atlanta, put on a show for many family and friends as he increased his team-leading total to 16 touchdown receptions.
Richmond closed the final gap to 57-39 as back-up quarterback Lamar Little hit Jay Jackson on a 49-yard score with less than a minute to play.
With the win the Mariners clinched their second straight playoff berth and also set an AIFA-record with their tenth straight win to open the season. Since May 23, 2009 they have won 15 of 16 regular season games and now have a 19-5 regular season record in the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
The Mariners can now clinch the regular season conference championship with a win over the Erie Storm this Saturday, June 5th at 7:00 PM at 1st Mariner Arena. With the regular season championship the Mariners will clinch a first round bye and guarantee the conference championship game will be played in Baltimore.
- John Wolfe
For more information about the Baltimore Mariners go to www.baltimoremariners.com.
BALTIMORE, MD (May 31, 2010) – The Baltimore Mariners knew heading into the 2010 season that they needed to improve their performance on the road if they wanted to win the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) championship. Saturday they gave a whole new meaning to the phrase “road warriors” as they defeated the Richmond Raiders 57-39 to run their record to 10-0 and clinch the team’s second straight playoff berth.
The Mariners left Baltimore around 10:00 AM Saturday morning for the scheduled two and a half hour ride to Richmond. Eight hours later they finally pulled into the Richmond Coliseum, after being delayed by continuous traffic jams, and to add insult to injury, they were sidelined on I-95 for four and a half hours when their bus broke down. As a result they were limited to a quick warm-up and the game start was moved back 45 minutes.
“The team did a great job with the situation. There were no complaints, they just kept their focus on the game and were ready to play when we finally arrived in Richmond,” stated Mariners Head Coach Chris Simpson.
The Mariners quickly showed they gathered no rust while sitting on the interstate as they quickly scored on their first drive with an E.J. Nemeth 6-yard touchdown pass to Scorpio Brown. Baltimore continued to dominate the first quarter as Nemeth hit Brown on another touchdown strike, a 25-yarder, and J.R. Cipra added a uno on the ensuring kickoff and later a 23-yard field goal to close the first period with an 18-0 lead.
Richmond, which entered the game on a three-game win streak to even their record at 5-5 quickly battled back and started the second period with two scores, including a 16-yard pass from Robbie Jenkins to Jay Jackson to cut the score to 18-13 following a failed extra point attempt.
In a pattern that would continue for most of the night, as soon as Richmond closed the Mariners lead, Baltimore scored to widen the gap. Mariners’ running back Isaiah Grier broke his own team record with his 21st rushing touchdown of the season on a 19-yard run and then added a 1-yard dash to increase the Mariners lead to 32-13.
Jenkins then connected with wide receiver Herb Jones on a 24-yard score and following another missed extra point attempt, the half ended with Baltimore leading 32-19.
Cipra started the second half scoring with a uno on the opening kickoff to increase Baltimore’s advantage to 33-19, but Richmond quickly cut the lead to 33-26 on another Jenkins to Jones scoring strike.
Baltimore again fought off the Richmond charge when Scorpio Brown hauled in his third score of the night to take a 40-26 lead. The Raiders then continued the scoring pattern as Jenkins threw his fourth score of the night and Richmond closed to within 40-33.
As has been the case for the Mariners all season, as their opponents appear to take control of the game, the Mariners quickly take charge for good. Cipra closed the third quarter with his second field goal of the game to increase Baltimore’s edge to 43-33 and then Nemeth struck twice in the fourth period hitting Armar Watson on a 40-yard scoring strike and then delivered Brown’s fourth touchdown of the night to widen the margin to 57-33.
Brown, who was an all-star high school performer in Newport News, Virginia and then played at nearby Hampton University, before transferring to Morehouse College in Atlanta, put on a show for many family and friends as he increased his team-leading total to 16 touchdown receptions.
Richmond closed the final gap to 57-39 as back-up quarterback Lamar Little hit Jay Jackson on a 49-yard score with less than a minute to play.
With the win the Mariners clinched their second straight playoff berth and also set an AIFA-record with their tenth straight win to open the season. Since May 23, 2009 they have won 15 of 16 regular season games and now have a 19-5 regular season record in the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
The Mariners can now clinch the regular season conference championship with a win over the Erie Storm this Saturday, June 5th at 7:00 PM at 1st Mariner Arena. With the regular season championship the Mariners will clinch a first round bye and guarantee the conference championship game will be played in Baltimore.
- John Wolfe
For more information about the Baltimore Mariners go to www.baltimoremariners.com.