Maulers Recap Last Half of Season
July 19, 2005 - National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
Montgomery Bears News Release
Montgomery, AL - The Montgomery Maulers Indoor Football team takes a look back at the last half of their inaugural season. The Maulers ended the season as the Division Champions of the Central Division with a record of 9-7.
The Maulers second playoff game did not go as well as the first as the Maulers fell to the Rome Renegades 47-31. On paper Montgomery should have won the game but turnovers gave Rome the advantage and allowed them to pull away early. Montgomery ran out of time as they tried to stage a comeback.
On July 9th, Montgomery tasted victory as they beat the Miami Morays in the first round of the National Indoor Football League playoffs. Montgomery showed the league that they were a team to be reckoned with as they beat the Morays by a score of 63-35. The team recorded a season high seven receiving touchdowns and 227 passing yards.
Montgomery clinched the division title on June 25 against the Lubbock Gunslingers 53-48. Lubbock attempted a late fourth quarter comeback but were stopped short at the goal line as Montgomery's defense stepped up to the plate and came up with the stop. Montgomery recorded 186 yards receiving and four touchdowns.
The Maulers ended their four-game win streak on June 17 as they fell 55-39 to the Beaumont Drillers at Beaumont. The defense took a blow in the second quarter as Andre Reed was hurt and out for the game. The offense continued to make plays but mentally the defense could not overcome the loss of Reed and the Drillers took advantage to win the game.
Montgomery defeated the Lakeland Thunderbolts in back to back weeks. The Maulers first won in Montgomery by a score of 36-16 and then again at Lakeland with a score of 50-39. In each game the Maulers dominated on offense and the defense made big plays to help Montgomery maintain the lead.
Montgomery played at home the month of May winning two of three. Montgomery lost to the Dayton Warbirds on May 7 and would not lose again until they traveled to Beaumont on June 17. Montgomery defeated the Rome Renegades on May 14, 54-37 in a game that the defense played a huge role. On May 22, the Maulers beat the Drillers 53-46 and quarterback J.R. Richardson found his groove on the field throwing three touchdowns and recording 162 yards in the air.
The Maulers split with the Fayetteville Guard playing in back to back weeks. First Montgomery won at home by a score of 35-20 with each team's defense making big stops. Then the following week Montgomery lost at Fayetteville 64-21. In that game Montgomery was unable to produce on offense and the Guard took advantage of Montgomery's inabilities.
Now the season is over for the Maulers with the exception of one player, David Philyaw. Philyaw will appear in the All Star Game on August 5-6 in Odessa, Texas.
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National Indoor Football League Stories from July 19, 2005
- Here We Grow Again - West Texas Roughnecks
- Maulers Recap Last Half of Season - Montgomery Bears
- Fayetteville Guard 2005 Season Wrap-Up - Fayetteville Guard
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