Post by marinersmedia on Jul 20, 2010 9:00:52 GMT -5
Strand-Led Cavalry Offense to Battle against Baltimore’s Ball Hawking Defense
BALTIMORE, MD (July 20, 2010) – When the Baltimore Mariners (15-0) host the Wyoming Cavalry (14-1) in the American Indoor Football Association’s (AIFA) national championship game, known as AIFA Bowl IV, on Sunday, July 25th at 4:00 PM at 1st Mariner Arena, it will feature a battle between the league’s most efficient passing team and the AIFA’s most proficient pass defense squad.
Founded in 2000 the Cavalry are now in their 11th season. They have built a reputation as one of the strongest indoor football teams in the country after winning 90 regular season games against only 58 losses, making the playoffs eight of 11 seasons, and this year’s championship game will be their fourth straight title game and fifth overall.
Despite all their success a championship trophy has eluded them and while Wyoming has racked up impressive regular season numbers, in the playoffs (including last weekend’s win in the Western Conference Championship over the San Jose Wolves) they are 6-7 and are 0-4 in league championship games.
Leading the way for Wyoming in their quest for an elusive championship is quarterback Matt Strand.
Now in his eighth season with the Cavalry, Strand led the AIFA in passing touchdowns (66) and passing efficiency (190.3) and ranked third in passing yards (2,607). As a unit Wyoming led the AIFA in passing efficiency with a rating of 187.6 largely due to Strand’s over 8 to 1 touchdown to interception ratio.
Mariners’ Head Coach Chris Simpson commented, “Wyoming's quarterback, Matt Strand, is a tremendous leader for the Calvary. He has been a fixture with the team for as long as I can remember. I coached against Matt back in my days with the San Angelo Stampede. To go with Strand, Wyoming has some very talented receivers. I believe all of them are in the top 10 of the league in regard to yardage and touchdowns.”
As Coach Simpson noted Strand has a solid group of receivers. Dante Dudley with 76 receptions and 886 receiving yards led the Cavalry in both those categories and also tallied 21 touchdown receptions. Jasonus Tillery led Wyoming with 22 touchdown receptions while pulling in 58 receptions for 857 yards. B.J. Charlton totaled 48 receptions for 572 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Largely a passing team, Wyoming’s leading rusher is Josh Schleusner who totaled 162 net yards on 38 carries (by comparison the Mariner’s leading rusher, Isaiah Grier, had 565 yards on 179 carries).
The last three seasons Wyoming’s year has ended with a loss in a championship game. In those games the Cavalry offense has had varying degrees of success.
In last season’s AIFA championship, a game the Cavalry lost 65-42 to the Reading Express at home in Wyoming, Strand completed 23 of 45 passes for 314 yards with five touchdowns and one interception against a Reading team that ranked 13th in the league in pass defense. He also suffered five sacks to an Express defense that ranked eighth in the AIFA with 20 sacks.
In 2008, playing on the road in South Carolina, the Cavalry faced a Florence Phantoms team with stats similar to the 2010 Mariners. The Phantoms led the league in scoring defense allowing 32.1 points per game and ranked second in pass defense efficiency (93.6). Wyoming lost 48-12 to the Phantoms as Strand struggled completing 13 of 32 passes for just 83 yards and one touchdown. He also tossed four interceptions and was sacked three times.
In 2007 Wyoming fell to the Fayetteville Guard 48-34 in North Carolina in the Budweiser Indoor Football Championship Bowl.
In this year’s national championship game Wyoming will face a Baltimore defense, which led the AIFA in pass defense efficiency (96.0), interceptions (44), and sacks with 45. The Mariners also ranked second in scoring defense allowing 27.9 points a game and posted the first shutout in league history in a 59-0 win over Fayetteville.
In addition to their high ratings as a team, many Mariners rank among the league’s leaders. Defensive back Jermaine Thaxton ranked seventh in the AIFA with 46.5 tackles and four Mariners are in the league’s top 21 in takedowns. Four Mariners also finished in the top seven in sacks with Melik Brown second (12.5), Adam Goloboski third (9.5), Daniel Orlebar fourth (9), and Fearon Wright tied for seventh with 7.5 sacks.
Three of that group (Brown, Goloboski, and Orlebar) also rank in the top eight in tackles for a loss. For the second year in a row Mariners’ defensive back Armar Watson led the AIFA in interceptions; this year with 13 and he also led the league in passes defended with 31.
There is no doubt that when the Cavalry and Mariners square off on Sunday, July 25th, when Wyoming has the ball, the two team’s will be matching strength against strength as the league’s most efficient passing team goes against the AIFA’s top pass defenders.
The Mariners offense and Wyoming’s defense may disagree with that assessment. In just a few days we will see why both of those units could debate why they are the team’s strength.
- John Wolfe
For more information about the Baltimore Mariners go to www.baltimoremariners.com
BALTIMORE, MD (July 20, 2010) – When the Baltimore Mariners (15-0) host the Wyoming Cavalry (14-1) in the American Indoor Football Association’s (AIFA) national championship game, known as AIFA Bowl IV, on Sunday, July 25th at 4:00 PM at 1st Mariner Arena, it will feature a battle between the league’s most efficient passing team and the AIFA’s most proficient pass defense squad.
Founded in 2000 the Cavalry are now in their 11th season. They have built a reputation as one of the strongest indoor football teams in the country after winning 90 regular season games against only 58 losses, making the playoffs eight of 11 seasons, and this year’s championship game will be their fourth straight title game and fifth overall.
Despite all their success a championship trophy has eluded them and while Wyoming has racked up impressive regular season numbers, in the playoffs (including last weekend’s win in the Western Conference Championship over the San Jose Wolves) they are 6-7 and are 0-4 in league championship games.
Leading the way for Wyoming in their quest for an elusive championship is quarterback Matt Strand.
Now in his eighth season with the Cavalry, Strand led the AIFA in passing touchdowns (66) and passing efficiency (190.3) and ranked third in passing yards (2,607). As a unit Wyoming led the AIFA in passing efficiency with a rating of 187.6 largely due to Strand’s over 8 to 1 touchdown to interception ratio.
Mariners’ Head Coach Chris Simpson commented, “Wyoming's quarterback, Matt Strand, is a tremendous leader for the Calvary. He has been a fixture with the team for as long as I can remember. I coached against Matt back in my days with the San Angelo Stampede. To go with Strand, Wyoming has some very talented receivers. I believe all of them are in the top 10 of the league in regard to yardage and touchdowns.”
As Coach Simpson noted Strand has a solid group of receivers. Dante Dudley with 76 receptions and 886 receiving yards led the Cavalry in both those categories and also tallied 21 touchdown receptions. Jasonus Tillery led Wyoming with 22 touchdown receptions while pulling in 58 receptions for 857 yards. B.J. Charlton totaled 48 receptions for 572 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Largely a passing team, Wyoming’s leading rusher is Josh Schleusner who totaled 162 net yards on 38 carries (by comparison the Mariner’s leading rusher, Isaiah Grier, had 565 yards on 179 carries).
The last three seasons Wyoming’s year has ended with a loss in a championship game. In those games the Cavalry offense has had varying degrees of success.
In last season’s AIFA championship, a game the Cavalry lost 65-42 to the Reading Express at home in Wyoming, Strand completed 23 of 45 passes for 314 yards with five touchdowns and one interception against a Reading team that ranked 13th in the league in pass defense. He also suffered five sacks to an Express defense that ranked eighth in the AIFA with 20 sacks.
In 2008, playing on the road in South Carolina, the Cavalry faced a Florence Phantoms team with stats similar to the 2010 Mariners. The Phantoms led the league in scoring defense allowing 32.1 points per game and ranked second in pass defense efficiency (93.6). Wyoming lost 48-12 to the Phantoms as Strand struggled completing 13 of 32 passes for just 83 yards and one touchdown. He also tossed four interceptions and was sacked three times.
In 2007 Wyoming fell to the Fayetteville Guard 48-34 in North Carolina in the Budweiser Indoor Football Championship Bowl.
In this year’s national championship game Wyoming will face a Baltimore defense, which led the AIFA in pass defense efficiency (96.0), interceptions (44), and sacks with 45. The Mariners also ranked second in scoring defense allowing 27.9 points a game and posted the first shutout in league history in a 59-0 win over Fayetteville.
In addition to their high ratings as a team, many Mariners rank among the league’s leaders. Defensive back Jermaine Thaxton ranked seventh in the AIFA with 46.5 tackles and four Mariners are in the league’s top 21 in takedowns. Four Mariners also finished in the top seven in sacks with Melik Brown second (12.5), Adam Goloboski third (9.5), Daniel Orlebar fourth (9), and Fearon Wright tied for seventh with 7.5 sacks.
Three of that group (Brown, Goloboski, and Orlebar) also rank in the top eight in tackles for a loss. For the second year in a row Mariners’ defensive back Armar Watson led the AIFA in interceptions; this year with 13 and he also led the league in passes defended with 31.
There is no doubt that when the Cavalry and Mariners square off on Sunday, July 25th, when Wyoming has the ball, the two team’s will be matching strength against strength as the league’s most efficient passing team goes against the AIFA’s top pass defenders.
The Mariners offense and Wyoming’s defense may disagree with that assessment. In just a few days we will see why both of those units could debate why they are the team’s strength.
- John Wolfe
For more information about the Baltimore Mariners go to www.baltimoremariners.com