Heroes Prepare for Big Week

February 13, 2007 - American Indoor Football Association (AIFA)
Huntington Heroes News Release


The Heroes return to the field this week after posting it's first win of the season, a road victory over the Johnstown Riverhawks. In the Johnstown game the defense came to life, applying pressure to the QB and making big plays. The Heroes now shift their focus to the defending AIFL champs and undefeated Canton Legends, who visit Big Sandy Superstore Arena this Saturday. Coach McPeek spoke to us about the Johnstown game and the big game this weekend.

Last week the Heroes placed emphasis on correcting the problems from week one on the defensive side of the ball, and coach McPeek feels they got the job done, "The defense played really well all night," said McPeek, "the mixture of Jamaal Wyche, Marcus Hairson, Jamus Martin, Greg Barnum along with Linebacker Tynes and Owens kept pressure on their QB all night. The secondary was solid all night also."

Coach McPeek attributes much of the success in week 2 to his secondary, where it was a new look against Johnstown, "The first mistake I made of the 2007 season was not playing DB Connie Brown, he is a big physical player that has tons of experience in the indoor game. Desmond Maul was a great addition along with the solid play two weeks in a row from Chisholm." The Heroes added Maul last week to shore up the secondary, and his extensive experience has paid off, "Desmond played in this league last year along with some AF2 experience. His knowledge of the game is excellent," said McPeek.

On the offensive side of the ball the Heroes didn't put up 57 points like they did in the season opener, but that's not a concern to coach McPeek. Holding onto the ball and playing smash mouth football was the name of the game last week, "When your defense is playing that well, I'm from the old school on not turning the ball over and not taking many chances. Plus Donte Newsome carried the ball 13 solid times. I felt our running game was strong so we just kept pounding it. We stayed up two scores most of the game, the bottom line is all about the W, and I felt that we had a good team win. We will take a win on the road any day of the week."

The focus this weeks now shifts to the Canton Legends. With the Legends being the defending league champs and sitting at 2-0 this season, the Heroes will have to bring their A game according to McPeek, "Canton has a great team that is coached very well. They have no weaknesses. They do not beat themselves so it is very important that we play our very best to have a chance."

The Legends are led by their quarterback, Kevin Mason, who can beat you with both his arm and his legs. Mason, who was added mid season to the Canton roster last season, was the catalyst to their championship run in 2006. "Mason is a very experienced player that can do some great things," says McPeek, "He was the spark that got ignited in the first game against us last year. We have alot of respect for Kevin and the abilities that he has."

Despite being an early season matchup this game has first place on the line for both teams. A Heroes win means that there will be a tie for first place, but coach McPeek says that is not on the minds of the Heroes this week, "The main thing that is on all of our minds is to come out and have a great week of practice. Prepare ourselves to the best of our abilities and be able to control the variables that we can control. We must first do our best before we can be in first place" Coach McPeek does recognize though that this is a big game and encourages everyone to be there Saturday night, "Bring a friend to the game, if we do this the attendance doubles. We need the 9th man this week!"

Kickoff is set for 7:00pm at Big Sandy Superstore Arena this Saturday. Tickets are on sale at the Arena box office or by calling 304-696-4400. College students can get in for $8.00 with a college ID and as always kids tickets are half price.



American Indoor Football Association Stories from February 13, 2007


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