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Tuskers Get First Shot At New Look Hartford Colonials

October 4, 2010 - United Football League (UFL 1)
Florida Tuskers News Release


Game: 4

Orlando at Hartford

Rentschler Field Hartford, CT

Saturday, October 9

Kickoff: 3 p.m. (EDT)

TV: VERSUS

Radio: WYGM (740 AM)

2010 Tuskers Schedule

Date Opponent Time/Score

9/18 at Las Vegas W, 27-20

9/25 at Sacramento L, 20-24

9/30 LAS VEGAS L, 17-20

10/9 at Hartford 3 p.m.

10/21 SACRAMENTO 7 p.m.

11/5 OMAHA 8 p.m.

11/11 HARTFORD 7 p.m.

11/19 at Omaha 8:30 p.m.

2010 UFL Standings

Team W-L Pct.

Omaha 2-0 1.000

Las Vegas 1-1 .500

Hartford 1-1 .500

Florida 1-2 .333

Sacramento 1-2 .333

This Week's Games

Omaha at Las Vegas (10/8)

Florida at Hartford (10/9)

Sacramento, Bye

Last Week's Results

Las Vegas 20, Florida 17

Omaha 20, Sacramento 17

Florida Tuskers Public Relations

Dan Pearson, Director

407-791-4663

dan.pearson@ufl-football.com

Jason Lucas, Assistant Director

407-925-8610

jason.lucas@ufl-football.com

Neil Tredray

407-432-0679

neil.tredray@ufl-football.com

THE GAME

The Florida Tuskers (1-2) look to snap their first losing streak in franchise history when they travel to Hartford, CT this weekend to face the new-look Hartford Colonials (1-1). The Colonials played last season as the New York Sentinels, where they went 0-6 on the season. But a wealth of new talent under head coach Chris Palmer has made the Colonials a force to be reckoned with this season, as the team knocked off Sacramento 27-10 in the opening weekend before losing a last-minute 27-26 road decision to undefeated Omaha in Week 2. The Colonials will have the advantage of coming off a bye week, as they were idle this past weekend. The game can be seen on VERSUS Network and will also be broadcast live on WYGM (740 The Game) with Marc Daniels and Gary Parris on the call.

THE SERIES

As mentioned earlier, Hartford played as the New York Sentinels last year - where they met the Tuskers twice during the regular season. Florida won both meetings, taking a 35-13 decision in Orlando on Oct. 16; as well as a 24-6 win on Nov. 12. Ironically, the second contest was played at somewhat of a neutral site - Rentschler Stadium in Hartford, CT -- which would become the team's permanent home a year later.

LAST TIME THEY MET

A tough Florida Tuskers defense allowed just a pair of field goals in a 24-6 defeat of the New York Sentinels. Florida dominated almost all phases of the game, limiting the Sentinels to just 227 yards of total offense; while racking up 343 yards. Brooks Bollinger hit 19 of 27 passes (70.3%) for 215 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions before exiting in the fourth quarter. Tatum Bell (16-46) and Michael Pittman (8-40) led a ground game that saw the Tuskers pile up 119 rushing yards in the game. Defensively, the Tuskers forced four turnovers, including interceptions by Anthony Schlegel and Ricky Manning. The Sentinels only scoring came on 38 and 44 yard field goals by Piotr Czech.

THEY SAID IT

"We went 6-0 last year and all it got us was second place. Obviously we are frustrated with our two losses this year, but the fact remains we are not out of this thing by any stretch of the imagination. I told our players that I believe we have the ability and talent to finish 6-2 or 5-3 and that would get us back to the championship, but we have to step up the intensity level. This league is way too balanced and way too talented to think that you can just show up and win."

--Tuskers Head Coach Jay Gruden

LAST WEEK: TUSKERS FALL TO LOCOMOTIVES

When Parker Douglass drilled a 21-yard field goal as time expired last Thursday, it secured a 20-17 win for the Locomotives and gave the Tuskers its first losing streak in franchise history. Although the game was close throughout, many aspects of the loss were troubling, promising and explainable for the Tuskers. Among the interesting nuances:

*Orlando was playing short-handed as it was without the services of two key defenders. Starting linebacker Tim McGarigle and defensive end Patrick Chukwurah both missed the game with injuries.

*Still, the Tuskers held Las Vegas to just 20 points in the game.

*But Vegas dominated. The Locos piled up 485 yards of total offense in the game and ran for 174 yards. Orlando had only one possession in the first quarter and ran just 53 offensive plays in the game.

*For a second consecutive game, defensive breakdowns led to huge plays. Las Vegas had completions of 68 and 59 yards and De De Dorsey has a 47-yard run. All three plays led to points for the Locomotives.

*Still Florida battled back, erasing a 10-0 deficit and actually grabbed a 17-10 lead with just six minutes to go.

THE BOTTOM LINE ON LOSS

The schedule makers did the Tuskers no favors in the early part of the season. The 2010 UFL regular season stretches over eight games and 10 weeks (Sept. 17-Nov. 19). Still, Florida had to take back-to-back trips out West. Add a Thursday night game the following week, and the Tuskers have had to play 38% of their 2010 schedule in just 14 days. Thanks to Bye Weeks, both last week's opponent (Las Vegas) and this week's opponent (Hartford) had two weeks to prepare for the Tuskers.

CLOSE GAMES THE NORM

Don't be surprised if the participants in this year's UFL championship are determined by multiple tie-breakers as parity appears to be king this season. Looking for evidence? Take note of the following:

*Both games this past weekend were determined by a field goal and identical 20-17 scores.

*Five of the first six games this season have been determined by four points or less.

*On three occasions this season, the winning team scored the go-ahead points on their final drive.

TUSKERS MAKE ROSTER MOVES

The Tuskers made several roster moves on Monday. The team placed lineman Chris Harrington (torn ACL/MCL) on IR and released DB David Irons. Florida then added DL Eric Moore (Florida State) and DB DeJaun Tribble (Boston College).

IT'S A FIRST

According to league officials, Parker Douglass' game-winning field goal against the Tuskers marked the first time in the regular season that a UFL game has been decided with points on the final play of the game.

GRUDEN LOOKING FOR CONSISTENCY ON OFFENSE

Tuskers head coach Jay Gruden lamented his team's lack of consistency on offense in its 20-17 loss to the Locomotives. The Tuskers only had one drive of 10 or more plays in the game and failed to score at least 20 points for the first time in a regular season game. "Getting one or two first downs isn't going to cut it, we need to develop some consistency," Gruden said. "Right now we are not clicking on offense and its showing on our point production."

PARRISH GETTING IT DONE

Florida continues to get solid work from punter Ken Parrish, who has shown the ability to get both distance - and when neededheight on his kicks. The first-year UFL player from East Stroudsburg averaged 41.7 yards on six punts with three of the six being downed inside the 20-yard line. For the season, Parrish is averaging 43.8 yards per punt on 15 attempts with seven of his 15 efforts being killed inside the opponent's 20-yard line.

SPREADING IT AROUND

Although Tuskers QB Brooks Bollinger failed to throw for 200 or more yards for the first time in 10 UFL starts, he did manage to spread the ball around against the Locomotives. Ten different players, led by WR Maurice Price (4-26) and TE Jason Pociask (3-46) managed to catch at least one pass in the game.

RUNAWAY TRAIN

How bad did the Tuskers miss defensive end Patrick Chukwurah and middle linebacker Tim McGarigle last week? Consider the following In nine previous UFL games (including last year's championship), the Tuskers allowed an average of 89.1 yards rushing per game. Last week, the Locomotives gained 174 yards rushing on 36 carries - averaging more than 4.8 yards per tote. The 174 yards rushing was the second highest allowed in Tuskers history. In last season's 27-24 win over Las Vegas (10/30), the Locomotives gained 182 yards on 26 carries - averaging 7.0 yards per carry.

THURMAN BUSY ON DEFENSE

Linebacker Odell Thurman was more than a little busy on defense against the Locomotives last week - compiling a game-high 11 total tackles (10 solo, two assists) to go with a quarterback sack. The 11 total tackles were the most ever by a Tuskers player and was also the first time a Tuskers player reach double-figure tackles in a single game. It's also interesting to note that on the Tuskers all-time single game tackle list, three of the four top games came last week against the Locomotives.

Most Single Game Tackles in Tuskers History

Name Opponent Date S-A-Total

Odell Thurman Las Vegas 9/30/2010 10-2-11.0

Anthony Schlegel Las Vegas 9/30/2010 8-1-8.5

Odell Thurman Las Vegas 10/14/2009 6-4-8.0

Jerome Carter Las Vegas 9/30/2010 7-0-7

CLERMOND LEADS TUSKERS IN SACKS

Defensive End Joe Clermond has had at least a quarterback sack in each of the Tuskers three games this season and currently leads the team with 2.5 sacks on the season. A former Big East selection at Pittsburgh, Clermond has 17.5 career sacks for the Panthers in 43 career games.

SOMEONE ELSE PLEASE

Count Tuskers quarterback Brooks Bollinger as one of the Florida players who is sick of seeing the Las Vegas Locomotives. The Tuskers have played Las Vegas five times in their last 10 games. "I know we only had four teams last year and because we met in the title game, it was somewhat unavoidable, but it seems like we have played them every week for the last two years," Bollinger said. "At least if we meet them again this year, it will be in the championship game." After meeting three times last season, the Tuskers have faced Las Vegas two times in the first three weeks of the 2010 season.

CASON'S RETURN

One of the reasons the Tuskers were able to erase a 10-point deficit last week was the 47-yard punt return by Aveion Cason during the second quarter. With the Tuskers trailing 10-3, Danny Baugher's 51-yard punt was gathered in by Cason at the Florida 39 and returned all the way back to the Las Vegas 14. From there, Dominic Rhodes broke loose on a 14-yard run to tie the game at 10-10 with 1:24 remaining in the quarter. It was the second longest punt return in Tuskers history. Willie Andrews had a 68-yard punt return against the California Redwoods last season.

INSIDE THE HUDDLE, JAY GRUDEN SHOW AND TUSKERS REWIND THIS WEEK

In addition to Saturday's game on VERSUS, the Florida Tuskers will be prominently featured this week on radio and television. The Jay Gruden Show will air live at 8 p.m. tonight on WYGM 740 The Game. Outside the Huddle, the Tuskers critically acclaimed magazine show will air on Bright House Sports Network at 10 p.m. on Tuesday with a replay at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday and Florida Tuskers Rewind, a one-hour condensed replay of the Las Vegas game will also air on Bright House Sports Network at 12 midnight on Wednesday, with a replay slated for 10:30 a.m. Thursday.



United Football League Stories from October 4, 2010


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.

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