Offense edges defense in Thunder Blue/White Scrimmage
Published on February 24, 2008 under Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL)
Muskegon Thunder News Release
MUSKEGON - The Muskegon Thunder of the Continental Indoor Football League held its annual Blue/White scrimmage on Sunday, Feb. 24th at Shoreline Soccer Club, 6875 Norton Pines Drive in Spring Lake. The White team edged the Blue squad, 27-25 in a spirited battle that featured the first full contact of training camp.
The players were divided into offense (White) and defense (Blue) with four eight-minute quarters as about 100 curious spectators looked on. The offense used traditional scoring, tallying six points for a touchdown and one for each successful point after kick while the defense was awarded points for turnovers (7), series stops (3) and safeties (2).
Thunder quarterback Ryan Ferguson (6-0, 200) and receiver Nathan Wruble (6-7, 240) were in perfect sync during the opening series as the two hooked up four times, moving the White team to the five yard line. From there, newcomer Ryan Moore (5-6, 170) took a handoff and scampered across the goal line for the day's opening score. Mike Brennan (6-2, 185) sliced the P.A.T. just wide, leaving the score 6-0.
"I was impressed that this early in the preseason they could find a groove and a rhythm," said second-year head coach Shane Fairfield of the offense. "The receivers were able to make big catches on big downs."
Fairfield also liked the way the defense rose to the occasion.
"I liked the way they responded to the receivers and kept the yards after catch down," he noted. "It was good to see us make some open field tackles."
The Blue team got on the board when linebacker Eric Malloy (6-3, 260) chased quarterback Dan Richard (6-3, 215) out of the end zone for a safety. The defense earned two more points when defensive lineman Ernest Bentz (6-5, 270) pressured Richard into a sack behind the goal line, narrowing the gap to 6-4 early in the second quarter. Just before halftime the Blue took its first lead after a nifty interception from defensive back Corey Sullivan (5-11, 200), who used perfect positioning to steal the ball from taller receiver Richard Gills (6-4, 225) at the goal line to post an 11-6 lead at the intermission.
The White team struck back as Ferguson again found Wruble open for a quick score on the first series of the second half. With Brennan's conversion, the White had regained a slim 13-11 advantage. Bentz then continued his strong play with yet another safety, momentarily knotting the score at 13-13.
The teams continued trading scores the rest of the way as the Blue got a trio of stops while the White countered with a Richard to Tony Terrell long-distance strike that left the scoreboard reading Blue 22, White 20 with just over a minute remaining.
Ferguson then ran the one-minute, hurry-up offense to near perfection, guiding his troops down the field and into the end zone on a beautiful touch pass to Wruble, who fought through two would-be tacklers near the goal line for the touchdown with 48 seconds remaining. Brennan's third consecutive successful try pushed the White team on top 27-22. The Blue team then made one final stop to earn three points as the clock expired but it wasn't enough as the offense prevailed.
"I thought we did pretty well," said offensive coordinator Brent White, who, appropriately coached the White squad. "Right now we're working on consistency. We're great in flashes."
Wruble's three scores were flashes of last season when the former basketball standout at Ferris State, who only switched back to football during his senior year, came on to establish himself as a consistent offensive threat at wideout. Getting the ball in the hands of his big playmaker showed that Ferguson, the team's backup in 2007, looks ready to be the man in 2008.
"Ryan looked very good at this point," continued White, one of the CIFL's brightest young offensive minds at the tender age of 23. "He's managing the offense and that is all I ask of my QB."
Richard hopes to follow the mold established by Ferguson, transitioning from a very successful outdoor quarterback at the semi-pro level to a top-notch indoor signal caller.
"Dan had a good day," assessed White of Richard. "He's still trying to overcome that language barrier (of the offensive play calling) and learning curve. That's my responsibility. After that, he'll be ready to compete right away."
Equally impressed with his team's effort was defensive coordinator Ryan Hodges, brought in by Fairfield to help solidify a defensive backfield that gave up too many big plays last season. The first look at the new and hopefully improved unit got high marks from their leader.
"I thought we did a good job of banging and hitting," said Hodges, who sweats more than most of the players on the field while racing in and out of the defensive huddles with instructions. "We have guys that like to compete. When you leave it all on the field, you can't lose."
Like Coach White, Hodges acknowledged he needs to help his secondary, especially young guns like Tim Gough (23 years old) and Dominic Thocher (24) improve their teamwork.
"They need to get a little better at communication," said Hodges of the group that also includes veterans like Maurice Simpson (30), Jason Pierce (30) and Sullivan (29). "There are some things that I need to do to clean that up."
Hodges,28, also learned a thing or two about the motivation to win from his younger counterpart.
"I'm disappointed we lost," conceded Hodges. "Because now I've got to buy the wings (lunch for the offensive coaches)."
Fairfield, however, was not disappointed at the progress he's witnessed so far.
We're definitely two weeks away from being ready for the first game," stated Fairfield of Muskegon's 2008 CIFL opener at home against Marion on March 8th. "Compared to last year, we are way ahead of schedule."
We're Talking About Practice?!
The Thunder will continue with scheduled practices at Lakeshore Sports Centre, 4470 Airline Road in Muskegon this week. Workouts, open to the public, take place on Monday and Tuesday from 7:30-9:30 p.m. and Friday from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Sign of the Times
Local media and fans will get to meet the Boys in Blue as the Thunder will officially announce their 25-man roster for the 2008 season at a contract signing party hosted by Buffalo Wild Wings, 5638 South Harvey in Muskegon, on Wednesday, Feb. 27th at 7:00 p.m.
Continental Indoor Football League Stories from February 24, 2008
- Offense edges defense in Thunder Blue/White Scrimmage - Muskegon Thunder
- Xplosion Scrimmage Sting in Kalamazoo - OSC Original by Randy Snow
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