GLIFL Week One Preview
Published on April 6, 2006 under Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) News Release
PORT HURON PIRATES @ BATTLE CREEK CRUNCH
Friday, April 7, 2006, 7:05 P.M.
Kellogg Arena, Battle Creek, MI
RADIO: Streamed online through battlecreekcrunch.com
TELEVISION: None.
COACHES: Port Huron, Brian Hug; Battle Creek, Bob Kubiak
RECORDS: Port Huron (0-0); Battle Creek (0-0)
KEY PLAYERS: Port Huron: QB Shane Franzer, RB Rayshawn Askew, LB/S Shawn Hackett, DE Eddie Bynes
Battle Creek: WR/DB Brian Dolph, WR/DB Chesaurae Rhodes, K Chuck Selinger
WEB SITES:
www.porthuronpirates.com - Port Huron
www.battlecreekcrunch.com - Battle Creek
www.glifl.com - GLIFL
PREVIOUS MEETINGS: None.
LAST MEETING: None.
PRE-GAME NOTES
I'VE SEEN YOU BEFORE: A rarity in a league playing its first year with teams all playing their first year, Port Huron comes in with four players with extensive indoor football playing time...all with one-another as teammates for at least a whole season. RB Rayshawn Askew, QB Shane Franzer, LB/S Shawn Hackett, and DE Eddie Bynes all played with the 2003 NIFL Indoor Bowl Champion Ohio Valley Greyhounds.
KICKING THEMSELVES? Port Huron comes into the game without a dedicated kicker on the roster, though a few of the team's players have proven their capabilities at kicking extra points and kickoffs. Battle Creek comes in with Chuck Selinger, who had a solid career at Central Michigan.
FAN EXCITEMENT: Although they've never played a game, let alone a home game, Port Huron is traveling three fan buses to Kellogg Arena totaling in excess of 160 fans. Each paid $45 to make the trip by charter bus.
SHOULD MAKE FOR AN INTERESTING THANKSGIVING DINNER: Crunch head coach Bob Kubiak has the hardest decision a head coach could ever make. The Crunch have two very capable quarterbacks where either would be fine under center, and Kubiak has had trouble finding which one will get the start. Quarterbacks Tim and Ken Kubiak are also his brothers.
PREVIEW: Port Huron has the "big name" experience. Six championship rings (three from Franzer) proves that. Battle Creek has more, with players like Dolph that have played in the AFL. Any predictions of a blowout are false, with the lack of experience elsewhere on the Pirates roster. The unique 7-on-7 GLIFL rules will also play a factor. The overall fan experience will be enhanced by the 160 excited Pirates fans invading 3300-seat Kellogg Arena. These teams meet again June 17 to end the season, at Port Huron's McMorran Place Arena.
NY/NJ REVOLUTION @ ROCHESTER RAIDERS
Friday, April 7, 2006, 7:05 P.M.
ESL Sports Centre, Rochester, NY.
RADIO: None.
TELEVISION: WBGT - UPN 18. Tape delay, April 8, 2006 at 8:00 P.M.
COACHES: NY/NJ, Al Alston; Rochester, Dennis Greco
RECORDS: NY/NJ (0-0); Rochester (0-0)
KEY PLAYERS: NY/NJ: WR Ron Mason, OL Ed Sanchez, LB Ed Chan, K Jerry Lakin
Rochester: QB Omar Baker, WR Maurice Jackson, DE Mark Tisdale
WEB SITES:
www.nynjrevolution.com - NY/NJ
www.rochesterraiders.com - Rochester
www.glifl.com - GLIFL
PREVIOUS MEETINGS: None.
LAST MEETING: None.
PRE-GAME NOTES
THAT'S PRETTY FAST: WR Maurice Jackson has been clocked in practices with a 4.3 - 40 time, giving Omar Baker a nice deep threat. Baker is a speedy runner in his own right, giving the Raiders plenty of offensive weapons.
EXPERIENCED DEFENSE: The Revolution may have all road games, but they have a well-tested defense. Charod Howard, Ed Chan, Varun Om, Wil Edwards, Karim McFarlane, and Mike Pielech all have experience playing on the 50-yard field, giving the team a huge advantage when playing the relatively inexperienced Pirates.
MAN OVERBOARD! Raiders owner Dave McCarthy has done a lot to create brand recognition, including having the team march in Rochester's St. Patrick's Day Parade, and a fairly extensive pre-game tailgate with two live bands. The 35-foot pirate ship inside the ESL Sports Centre, however, is the centerpiece to the Raiders experience. The ship, with live cannons (though no cannon balls) will fire after each and every Raiders touchdown. Will they call it a Pirate Ship, though, when Port Huron comes to town on June 10?
PREVIEW: All signs point to the team with a home beating the team without a home, without exception. However, NY/NJ is an exception. The team will field a 19-man roster where half the team is experienced, especially on defense. In order to win the game, Rochester must take over the game with their defense against the relatively inexperienced Revolution offense. The atmosphere will be electric at the Raiders game, which will propel both sides to an exciting indoor football game, Rochester's first on the 50-yard field since the Rochester Brigade played from 2001-2003. These teams play again at the ESL Sports Centre on June 17.
LEHIGH VALLEY OUTLAWZ @ MARION MAYHEM
Saturday, April 8, 2006, 7:05 P.M.
Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Marion, OH
RADIO: WDIF FM, 94.3 FM, Marion.
TELEVISION: None
COACHES: Lehigh Valley, Jim DePaul; Marion, Tracy Smith
RECORDS: Lehigh Valley (0-0); Marion (0-0)
KEY PLAYERS: Lehigh Valley: QB Chad Schwenk, WR/DB Merrill Chappell, DB/WR James Spence
Marion: DB Ali Grose, LB/RB Kevon Barbee, OLDL John Van Gundy
WEB SITES:
www.lv2006.com - Lehigh Valley
www.marionmayhem.com - Marion
www.glifl.com - GLIFL
PREVIOUS MEETINGS: None.
LAST MEETING: None.
PRE-GAME NOTES
RULES VIOLATION: A rule found in the fine print forced Lehigh Valley head coach Bob Kohler and volunteer assistant Al Forsythe to resign earlier this week, because high school and collegiate coaches are not permitted to coach on a professional staff in that area. Outlawz owner Jim DePaul, who was acting head coach before the Kohler hire, is back on the staff for at least one game. A new coaching search is on-going, and could result in one of the remaining assistants being hired for the head job.
LET THE MAYHEM BEGIN? The slogan of Mayhem co-owner Fred Horner may also come into play in the tiny confines of the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which is actually ten feet thinner than a regulation hockey rink (75 feet wide opposed to the normal 85). Add that to a set of fans rumored to be bringing every kind of safe noisemaker to the arena to sit and make noise in the closed end zone, and you may have the most raucous atmosphere in the GLIFL.
MR. & MRS. SMITH: Stealing the movie title, Mayhem head coach Tracy Smith has the best kind of support staff you could possibly ask for, with his wife, Jodi, working as the team's Dance Team Coordinator.
MY APOLOGIES: In the Lehigh Valley season preview, I falsely reported K Chris Reed as completely inexperienced, when he has played the 50-yard game before. He went 20/28 on PAT kicks and 7/19 on field goals (43 long) with the Sioux City (Iowa) Bandits of the National Indoor Football League in 2004.
QB CONTROVERSY? Mayhem head coach Tracy Smith has not been able to decide on a starting quarterback, with Ted Sauder and Bobby Coorlew fighting for the job. The winner will already be tested under fire, having to fight for the job for a month.
PREVIEW: The slight turmoil in the Lehigh Valley front office will not be a major distraction, as the players all tried out for DePaul before Coach Kohler was brought in. Only two of a fairly large staff had to resign, leaving mostly familiarity. Both teams are inexperienced, and the one to learn the indoor game quickest will have the upper hand. Lehigh Valley looks to shake off the rust before they play their first home game on April 22, which is also on tape-delay locally. These teams meet again on June 17 at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, PA.
Continental Indoor Football League Stories from April 6, 2006
- Outlawz to hold pep rally Friday - Lehigh Valley Outlawz
- GLIFL Week One Preview - CIFL
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
