roozy
09-22-2010, 06:21 PM
The Wyoming Cavalry will have a different look next year.
After announcing earlier this month that the Cavalry was leaving the American Indoor Football Association to join the Indoor Football League, Cavs’ management and coach Dan Maciejczak met with the media and fans for the first time Tuesday.
Maciejczak drew the biggest round of applause when he announced that the team would hold open tryouts for a kicker, a position the Cavs have left unfilled for years.
“We’re going to carry a kicker this year,” Maciejczak said, “so you can stop sending me hate mail.
“We’re going to hold a one-day tryout at some point and find the best kicker we can.”
Maciejczak was criticized after the Cavs lost AIFA Bowl IV to Baltimore, in part because without a kicker Wyoming always had to go for fourth-down conversions rather than attempting field goals.
Maciejczak said with the changes in defense employed by the IFL – which, among other things, allows teams to play four defensive backs – it becomes tougher for offenses to score once they reach the red zone.
But that wasn’t the only change Cavs fans will notice next season.
n While conference alignment and team schedules won’t be released until next month, the Cavs will play in the Midwest Division of the Eastern Conference. Other teams in the division include the Sioux City (Iowa) Bandits, the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Storm, the Omaha (Neb.) Beef, and an expansion team in Grand Island (Neb.).
“We aren’t in the same division as either [two-time defending IFL champion] Billings or [Fort Collins-Loveland],” Cavalry Director of Business Operations Argeri Layton said, “but we will still play those teams three times during the regular season. We’re hoping to develop an I-25 rivalry.”
n The postseason, which usually involved just the conference championship followed by the league title game in the AIFA, will consist of 12 teams playing over four weeks.
n The season will begin the last week of February, with the championship game taking place in mid-July.
That means the Cavs’ annual Fourth of July home game, which usually drew the largest attendance of the season to the Casper Events Center, will likely become a thing of the past.
n Maciejczak said leading receivers Dante Dudley and Jasonus Tillery and veteran defensive lineman Tomasi Kongaika have already signed up to return to the Cavs, but long-time quarterback Matt Strand remains undecided.
“We’re still talking with Matt,” Maciejczak said. “We don’t really have a timeline right now [for his decision] … It’s kind of a Brett Favre situation.
“I wouldn’t be surprised either way with what he decides to do.”
Regardless of Strand’s decision, Maciejczak expects to once again field a competitive team. And he wants to make sure the fans will be there to experience the fun.
“We’re going to have another good football team,” Maciejczak said. “So let’s get back to having 5,000-6,000 screaming fans in the Events Center.”
Contact sports reporter Jack Nowlin at (307) 266-0528 or jack.nowlin@trib.com. Check out his blog at tribtown.trib.com/JackNowlin/blog
http://trib.com/sports/pro/article_96f87e63-551a-53f9-bbf2-42ef3cb8da1d.html
After announcing earlier this month that the Cavalry was leaving the American Indoor Football Association to join the Indoor Football League, Cavs’ management and coach Dan Maciejczak met with the media and fans for the first time Tuesday.
Maciejczak drew the biggest round of applause when he announced that the team would hold open tryouts for a kicker, a position the Cavs have left unfilled for years.
“We’re going to carry a kicker this year,” Maciejczak said, “so you can stop sending me hate mail.
“We’re going to hold a one-day tryout at some point and find the best kicker we can.”
Maciejczak was criticized after the Cavs lost AIFA Bowl IV to Baltimore, in part because without a kicker Wyoming always had to go for fourth-down conversions rather than attempting field goals.
Maciejczak said with the changes in defense employed by the IFL – which, among other things, allows teams to play four defensive backs – it becomes tougher for offenses to score once they reach the red zone.
But that wasn’t the only change Cavs fans will notice next season.
n While conference alignment and team schedules won’t be released until next month, the Cavs will play in the Midwest Division of the Eastern Conference. Other teams in the division include the Sioux City (Iowa) Bandits, the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Storm, the Omaha (Neb.) Beef, and an expansion team in Grand Island (Neb.).
“We aren’t in the same division as either [two-time defending IFL champion] Billings or [Fort Collins-Loveland],” Cavalry Director of Business Operations Argeri Layton said, “but we will still play those teams three times during the regular season. We’re hoping to develop an I-25 rivalry.”
n The postseason, which usually involved just the conference championship followed by the league title game in the AIFA, will consist of 12 teams playing over four weeks.
n The season will begin the last week of February, with the championship game taking place in mid-July.
That means the Cavs’ annual Fourth of July home game, which usually drew the largest attendance of the season to the Casper Events Center, will likely become a thing of the past.
n Maciejczak said leading receivers Dante Dudley and Jasonus Tillery and veteran defensive lineman Tomasi Kongaika have already signed up to return to the Cavs, but long-time quarterback Matt Strand remains undecided.
“We’re still talking with Matt,” Maciejczak said. “We don’t really have a timeline right now [for his decision] … It’s kind of a Brett Favre situation.
“I wouldn’t be surprised either way with what he decides to do.”
Regardless of Strand’s decision, Maciejczak expects to once again field a competitive team. And he wants to make sure the fans will be there to experience the fun.
“We’re going to have another good football team,” Maciejczak said. “So let’s get back to having 5,000-6,000 screaming fans in the Events Center.”
Contact sports reporter Jack Nowlin at (307) 266-0528 or jack.nowlin@trib.com. Check out his blog at tribtown.trib.com/JackNowlin/blog
http://trib.com/sports/pro/article_96f87e63-551a-53f9-bbf2-42ef3cb8da1d.html