CFL: The Tucson Toros

[Fonzie]

It's week 1, and that means it is time for some key divisional matchups. Here are some of the more interesting games from this week:

Honolulu (1-0) got off to a great start by dumping Arizona (0-1) 31-19. Kranz had a solid first game as a Bloodthirsty Beagle, but Honolulu may have been the beneficiaries of good timing. Outlaws QB Freddie Matthias missed the game due to an injury, and he is a difference maker...

Oregon's (1-0) QB Myron "Angie" Dickenson went berzerk in a 48-17 romp over Anchorage (0-1). "Angie" was 14 for 23 passing, for 436 yards and four TDs. That's not a typo - he averaged 18.9 yards per attempt. Wow.

Perennial league doormat Chicago (0-1) gave Detroit (1-0) a serious scare in taking a 31-20 lead into the 4th quarter at Detroit. QB Johnnie Titone pulled the Vampires' collective butts out of the fire by scoring 14 4th quarter points, including the game-winning field goal with 1:06 left.

League powerhouses Durham (0-1) and Charleston (1-0) hooked up in this tightly contested playoff preview. Durham took a nice 24-6 lead into the 4th quarter, but the allegedly nonexistent 4th-quarter comeback subroutine kicked in for the Monitors and allowed them to rally for exactly 18 points (2 TDs with 2-pt conversions and a safety) to send the game into OT. Of course, Charleston won with a TD.

El Paso (0-1) gave defending champions Denver (1-0) a run for their money, but came up on the short end of a 20-17 score. Denver had to rely on a punt return for a TD and 2 FGs to keep them in the game. But it was worth the wait for an offensive TD - a Garibaldi pass to Peace with :52 to go for the win.

Fargo (0-1) got a 380 yard passing day from Brett Hedges, but it wasn't enough to counter Tulsa's (1-0) 270 rushing yards. 220 of those yards came from Butch Fult...er, I mean rookie Marvin Raffo, who also scored two TDs. Not a bad debut. Tulsa 24, Fargo 23.

Boston (1-0) pulled off a stunner vs. Hartford (0-1), winning 29-26. Hartford had a 26-14 lead in the 4th quarter, when Dwayne Bridges remembered he was too good of a quarterback to take this shit. He finished 26 for 35 for 371 yds, 4 TDs and 1 INT.

[Doug5984]

Fargo (0-1) got a 380 yard passing day from Brett Hedges, but it wasn't enough to counter Tulsa's (1-0) 270 rushing yards. 220 of those yards came from Butch Fult...er, I mean rookie Marvin Raffo, who also scored two TDs. Not a bad debut. Tulsa 24, Fargo 23.


Marvin Raffo is the man! :p

[fantastic flying froggies]

Great week 1 writeup Fonz!

[flere-imsaho]

Yes, excellent write-up! :)

[Fonzie]

Thanks for the kind words gents.

As I noted when I cross-posted this at the CFL website, I'm hoping to make this a more regular feature in my dynasty. I tried doing so last season, but some real-life time pressures got in the way. I shouldn't have such RL time constraints for the next few months, but you never know.

[Fonzie]

Our next opponent is the very capable New York Knights squad. They've been suffering from "Toro Syndrome" in that they've finished 2nd in their division in four of the last five seasons (their lone division title was in 2006 - on a tiebreaker with Hartford). They're always in the mix at the end of the season, largely due to veteran QB Kim Pace. Kim had a career year in 2009, posting a QB Rating of 101.8 on 30 TDs and just 4 INTs. Stopping the Knights means stopping Kim Pace, so we'll have our work cut out for us there. But stopping Pace got a bit harder as of last year when RB Brooks Creel was added to the roster. He ran for over 1200 yards and caught 580 yards worth of passes. It is hard to know who to key on, but we'll try to stop 'em both.

We've played New York only once before, a 24-19 win in 2006 at home. Considering the roster turnover since then, we've basically never played this team. Let's see how we do:

Box Score: Tucson at New York
New York, NY.

Week 2, 2010

Attendance: 55,900 (62,500).


Weather: 83 degrees, rain.

1Q: 06:22 NYK - Tobias Paschal 46 field goal.
2Q: 14:08 NYK - Tobias Paschal 41 field goal.
3Q: 01:17 TUC - Drew Holliday 1 run.
3Q: 01:17 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
4Q: 03:04 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 1 run.
4Q: 03:04 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 4 Milan "Colonel" Hogan

Tucson 0 0 7 7 - 14
New York 3 3 0 0 - 6

Team Statistics TUC NYK

First Downs 14 11

Total Rushes 37 23
Rushing Yards 66 55
Yards Per Carry 1.7 2.3
Pass Attempts 27 30
Completions 20 14
Passing Yards 156 134
Yards Per Attempt 5.7 4.4
Sacked 2 5
Yards Lost 13 37
Interceptions 0 3
Fumbles/Lost 1/1 2/1

Total Plays 66 58
Total Yards 209 152
Yards Per Play 3.1 2.6

3rd Down Plays 8/18 5/14
Avg. YTG on 3rd 6.6 9.7
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 3 1
Penalty Yards 20 5

Avg. Drive Start OWN 32 OWN 30
Time Of Possession 34:18 25:42

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 28 56 2.0 12 1
22 Bradley 6 8 1.3 5 0
26 Jeffries 2 4 2.0 3 1
4 Hogan 1 -2 -2.0 -2 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
4 Hogan 27 20 156 5.7 18 0 0 2

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
26 Jeffries 5 33 6.6 30 10 0
22 Bradley 4 23 5.7 13 10 0
81 Hodges 4 35 8.7 4 9 0
89 Armitage 3 22 7.3 6 9 0
82 Torres 2 23 11.5 7 18 0
83 Chandler 2 20 10.0 10 13 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
22 Bradley 1 13 13.0 0
85 Garcia 1 2 2.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
37 Rosenberry 1 21 21.0 0
81 Hodges 1 20 20.0 0
85 Garcia 1 14 14.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 10 408 40.8 58 4

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
13 Castorena 0 0 0 2 2

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
55 Trujillo 5 0 1.5 0 0 0
52 Wash 5 1 1.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 5 0 0.0 1 6 0
37 Rosenberry 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 4 3 0.0 2 0 0
25 Minahan 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 3 2 0.5 0 0 0
33 Mirer 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 2 2 1.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 2 0 1.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
27 Ellsworth 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
63 Pitman 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
30 Robbins 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
60 Poplawski 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 0 1
26 Jeffries 0 1 0 0 2 0
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 1 1
53 Hart 0 0 1 0 0 0
93 King 0 1 0 0 0 0
22 Bradley 1 0 0 0 0 0
63 Pitman 0 0 0 0 1 0

That was one un-pretty game.

The teams combined to average less than 3 yards per play, and "featured" 17 combined punts. A sad day for offensive football, indeed. I don't know if the weather was a factor (83 degrees, rain), but nobody seemed to be able to do anything with the ball. Drew Holliday had one of his worst games as a pro, Hogan was efficient but otherwise invisible, Pace was terrible (and now has 5 INTs in two games - one more than he had all of last year), and both Creel (now OUT for 5 weeks) and Keith were similarly ineffective. Blech.

But the defenses deserve some of the credit here - we picked off three passes, pressured Pace five times, sacked him five times, and recovered one of Keith's two fumbles on the day. New York likewise held Holliday in check and recovered a Bradley punt return fumble (which would've given us our best starting field position of the day, dammit).

The play of the day may well have been this 4th quarter punt:

4-12-TUC38 (01:12) TUC 15 Winters punted 58 yards from the TUC38.
The ball was downed at the NYK04.

Forced to throw long passes with limited time, Pace chucked up his 3rd INT of the day two plays later. End of game.

We did suffer one more injury in this game, unfortunately to a key contributor: Demetrius Higginbotham, He Who Possesses The Most Awesome Name, strained his patellar tendon and will miss about 5 weeks. That sucks.

Our next game: vs. Sacramento.

[flere-imsaho]

Thanks for knocking Creel out. :)

[Fonzie]

Thanks for knocking Creel out. :)

No problemo. Video replays suggest that nickelback Jeremy "Cheap Shot" Rosenberry, the man responsible for ending Lenny Olsen's season, was involved on the play. League officials have declined to comment on what, if any, disciplinary action will be taken.

:)

[Fonzie]

Oh, I almost forgot: the 499 total yards we rolled up against Las Vegas established a new team record. Our previous record was 478 yards, also against Las Vegas, back in 2007.

[Fonzie]

There were several interesting games this week, and many of them were of the down-to-the-wire variety. In fact, half of this week's 16 games were decided by a TD or less. On to the action:

Anchorage (1-1) pulled off an OT win at Memphis (0-1-1) despite themselves. Yes, the CFL is now into the second week of the regular season, but it would seem that Anchorage's management is unaware of that fact. They continue to trot out their 2nd and 3rd string players, while allowing their stars to rot on the bench (most notably QB Lane Manuel). Despite this apparent advantage, and the fact that they had homefield, Memphis managed to find a way to lose. The two primary goats: Stephen Metz, who fumbled twice including at the Anchorage 3 yard line in overtime, and kicker Carson Blume, who missed two field goal attempts, including a 50 yarder that would have won it in OT. Truly one of the more astonishing losses in CFL history. Final score, Anchorage 19, Memphis 16.

Hartford (1-1) laid the wood to a Matthias-less Arizona (0-2)squad by the score of 40-3. This was the James Oberg show, as he went 28 for 32 for 353 yds and 2 TDs. Arizona's "offense" on the other hand only managed 162 total yards and was 1 for 10 on 3rd downs. Ugly.

In other RoF action, Honolulu (2-0) kept pace with Tucson for 1st place via a 24-14 win over Atlantic City. The big stories in this one were Honolulu's running game, which piled up 229 yards, and a Kranz-to-O'Neal TD pass of 97 yards (2nd longest in league history, behind Landon Hurst's 98 yarder in 2004).

The two-headed monster of Jeromy Donahue (12-73) and Toothpick Lang (12-79) combined with the usual excellence from Landon Hurst (19/28, 211 yds, 2 TDs), allowed Charleston (2-0) to come back against a plucky Long Beach (1-1) squad. Final score, 24-20.

To beat reigning league champ Denver (1-1), Detroit (2-0) would need a near-perfect effort, and they got just that. Johnnie Titone played a nearly flawless game and the Vampire's defense got key interceptions off of Garibaldi when they needed 'em in a 38-24 win.

San Antonio (2-0) pulled off an OT win at Boise, but that wasn't even the real story of this game. The real story was the early exit of Boise QB Branden Lin, who suffered a wrist sprain and may miss up to a month. Boise was a preseason favorite to claim at least a wildcard spot and possibly their division title, so an 0-2 start coupled with a loss of Lin puts their postseason hopes in serious jeopardy. Oh, and San Antonio played well and stuff.

That's it for the subjectively-determined "interesting" key games of the week. There were, of course, other close games this week, but these were the ones that most grabbed my attention.

[Fonzie]

Another note on the TUC-NYK game: by my count our defense held New York to just 35 total yards in the 2nd half. And we gained 158 of our total yards in the 2nd half.

Clutch.

[Raven Hawk]

I said it over on the CFL and I have to say it here:

Carson Blume is my new hero, even though he sucks donkey balls.

Memphis Sucks!

[Fonzie]

Much to my delight and surprise, Detroit released a very talented kicker and we were able to scoop him up. Hugo Eckard is a career 76.8% field goal kicker, which compares favorably with current kicker Rubin Castorena's 75.3%, but is far superior on kickoffs. Our scouts rate Eckard as 70/79 on distance and 59/67 on hang time, while Castorena only rates at 44/55 on distance and 13/13 on hang time. We've been giving up pretty bad field position on kickoffs for the past few seasons, so I'm delighted to see a quality kicker like Eckard become available. If I'd known he was available I would've considered trading a low round pick for him. To have him fall into our laps is a superb turn of luck.

For now, Castorena will handle field goals and Eckard will handle kickoffs. I've put Castorena on the market, but if there are no buyers we'll hang on to him until the offseason.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Eckard was my kicker mentor and it pained me to release him, but unfortunately, I had no roster space for him...

[Fonzie]

Eckard was my kicker mentor and it pained me to release him, but unfortunately, I had no roster space for him...

Thanks, fff!

[Fonzie]

We're 2-0 and are now facing a tough conference rival in Sacramento (1-1). We last faced them in week 8 of 2009 and won 14-6, upping our career record vs. them to 3-2. In that game we handcuffed their great QB Seymore Barre, resulting in a 16/35, 142 yd, 2 INT game for him. We got just enough offense to win that one, which helped to take some of the sting out of our 2008 playoff loss against them.

This time things are a bit different though, as Sacramento has supplanted Alexis Rounds with Butch Fulton. Butch, the source of some controversy this offseason, is a monster and our defense will have to be in tip top shape to handle both the Dragons' air and ground assault. We do have homefield in this one, so that'll help.

Bah, enough talking. On to the game!

Box Score: Sacramento at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 3, 2010

Attendance: 67,100 (69,800).


Weather: 70 degrees, fair.

1Q: 08:16 TUC - Rubin Castorena 33 field goal.
2Q: 14:55 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 7 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
2Q: 14:55 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
2Q: 08:11 TUC - Rubin Castorena 21 field goal.
2Q: 00:00 TUC - Rubin Castorena 35 field goal.
3Q: 08:27 TUC - Drew Holliday 5 run.
3Q: 08:27 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
3Q: 04:09 SAC - Mikel Rice 8 pass from Seymour Barre.
3Q: 04:09 SAC - Branden Eastman extra point.
4Q: 10:50 TUC - Anthony Torres 5 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
4Q: 10:50 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
4Q: 03:24 SAC - Branden Eastman 43 field goal.
4Q: 02:07 SAC - Paul Stith 85 interception return.
4Q: 02:07 SAC - Branden Eastman extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 4 Milan "Colonel" Hogan

Sacramento 0 0 7 10 - 17
Tucson 3 13 7 7 - 30

Team Statistics SAC TUC

First Downs 12 32

Total Rushes 26 44
Rushing Yards 142 251
Yards Per Carry 5.4 5.7
Pass Attempts 18 32
Completions 7 24
Passing Yards 58 252
Yards Per Attempt 3.2 7.8
Sacked 1 3
Yards Lost 4 20
Interceptions 0 1
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 1/0

Total Plays 45 79
Total Yards 196 483
Yards Per Play 4.3 6.1

3rd Down Plays 6/13 9/14
Avg. YTG on 3rd 6.7 6.2
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 9 7
Penalty Yards 60 40

Avg. Drive Start OWN 23 OWN 38
Time Of Possession 20:32 39:28


Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 27 165 6.1 26 1
22 Bradley 9 60 6.6 29 0
4 Hogan 2 -2 -1.0 -1 0
81 Hodges 2 10 5.0 7 0
89 Armitage 1 3 3.0 3 0
26 Jeffries 1 2 2.0 2 0
30 Robbins 1 5 5.0 5 0
85 Garcia 1 8 8.0 8 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
4 Hogan 32 24 252 7.8 24 2 1 3

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
26 Jeffries 8 62 7.7 42 16 1
82 Torres 5 59 11.8 8 18 1
89 Armitage 4 43 10.7 3 13 0
81 Hodges 3 43 14.3 5 19 0
22 Bradley 2 35 17.5 0 24 0
42 Holliday 1 3 3.0 0 3 0
83 Chandler 1 7 7.0 0 7 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
22 Bradley 2 8 4.0 0
85 Garcia 1 23 23.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
85 Garcia 1 18 18.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 1 39 39.0 39 0

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
13 Castorena 3 4 35 3 3

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
95 Stoltzfus 7 1 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 5 2 1.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 5 2 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
24 Sinclair 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
45 Bennett 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 0 2 0.0 0 0 0
73 Smith 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 5 2
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 7 0
63 Pitman 0 0 0 0 4 1
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 2 0
26 Jeffries 0 0 1 0 1 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 2 0
61 Eaddy 0 0 0 0 1 0
22 Bradley 1 0 0 0 0 0
83 Chandler 0 0 0 0 1 0


A 30-17 score doesn't exactly scream "blowout," but that's what this game was: a blowout. By every measure we outperformed Sacramento in this one, and it was only as close as 13 points because of some questionable 4th quarter playcalling:

1-10-SAC30 (02:30) TUC 30 Robbins ran around left end for 5 yards.
Tackled by SAC 73 Hiatt.
Key block delivered by TUC 61 Eaddy.
SAC called time out.

2-05-SAC25 (02:22) TUC 4 Hogan pass was dropped by 30 Robbins.

3-05-SAC25 (02:16) TUC 4 Hogan pass was intercepted by SAC 41 Stith at the SAC15.
The interception was returned 85 yards for a touchdown!
Extra point by SAC 1 Eastman was good.


Almost to the 2-minute warning, and we run the ball. Okay. 2nd and 5, with the clock stopped due to a SAC timeout, and what do we do? We pass it? Incomplete. OK, not so bright. Let's get the clock running again, shall we? No? We're throwing again?! Oh, and it is intercepted and returned 85 yards for a TD.

I'm pretty sure that wasn't in the gameplan.

Fortunately, that TD cost us nothing but a dent in Hogan's stats. His game was otherwise very efficient, and he now boasts a gaudy 75.2% completion percentage and a 103.0 QB Rating through 3 games. Holliday had another great game and now sits at 369 yards, good for 2nd in the league. The two of them helped us to control the ball for over 39 minutes. Oh, and the 251 rushing yards we collected is a new team record. And let's not overlook these stats:

1) we outgained Sacramento by nearly 300 yards;
2) we gained 20 more first downs;
3) we ran 34 more offensive plays.

Our offense was clicking, it appears.

As for our defense - what can I say? We held a good offensive team to under 200 total yards, and held Seymore Barre to just 45 yards on 5 of 14 passing (and held their team overall to just 58 total passing yards - a new franchise record). Butch Fulton had a decent game with 19 carries for 114 yards, but much of his damage came on a single 44 yard scamper - he was otherwise held reasonably in check.

New kickoff specialist Hugo Eckard appeared to do well, limiting Sacramento to an average starting position of their own 23. Most importantly, he didn't deliver any 55-yard kickoffs that gave the opponent a short field like Castorena was prone to do.

Oh, and no new injuries. A great all around game.

Next up: at Oregon.

[Fonzie]

A whopping nine games were decided by seven points or less this week. Five of those games featured scoring within the last two minutes, and three games were decided in overtime. An exciting week in the CFL!

A few select games worth some additional attention:

Anchorage (1-2) continued their rudderless decline in a losing effort to Santa Cruz (1-2) by a margin of 23-21. Considering that they're still not playing most of their starters, it is astonishing that Anchorage made this one close at all. They'd likely be 2-1 right now with Lane Manuel under center. But credit must be given to SC's QB Ian Levine, who took advantage of the situation (unlike Memphis last week) and pulled out a win.

'Twas a back-and-forth affair between Atlantic City (2-1) and Baltimore (1-2), featuring three lead changes in the 4th quarter. Two of those lead swaps happened during the last 87 seconds of the game, with the finishing score being a 32-yard John Snell FG with :19 left on the clock to provide the winning margin, 27-26 for Atlantic City. This outcome was a bit of a surprise, given that Baltimore dominated in most statistical categories, including Total Yards, Time of Possession, 3rd-down conversion, and the all-important turnover battle. Still, some key special teams plays helped Atlantic City get field position at crucial times, and Baltimore committed thrice the number of penalties as Atlantic City.

Denver (2-1) again needed to rely heavily on special teams play, most notably an 89-yd punt return by Curtis Plotkin, to stay alive in their battle with the Lin-less Boise Stampede (0-3). Denver actually got plenty of offense, with 443 total yards, but repeatedly shot themselves in the foot with 14 penalties for 128 yards. They were fortunate to be able to take the game into OT, where they eventually won on a 39-yd Gary Hutchins FG. Boise showed a bit more spunk than most expected after the loss of their leader, and Corey Durant filled in admirably under center. Boise, it should be noted, has now begun the season with three consecutive OT losses. That's probably a record, but I'm too lazy to look it up.

Durham (1-2), a preseason favorite to win their division, finally got rid of the goose egg in their "Win" column with a tight, OT win over conference rival Detroit (2-1) by the score of 20-17. Detroit got their first lead of the game with 2:09 left in the 4th quarter via a Titone-to-Sauceda 13 yd TD strike, putting them up 17-14. Durham would not be denied, however, and quickly moved down the field to score on a Victor Hoke 45-yd FG. Hoke would strike again in OT, this time from a much more comfortable 22-yd kick, to secure the win.

Fargo (2-1) knocked Seattle (2-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten by a 27-20 score at Seattle. Fargo QB Brett Hedges was a bit sharper today than all-world Seattle QB Charles Dever, racking up 342 passing yards and 2 TDs. Dever was in the process of leading Seattle on a 4th-quarter drive to tie the game when his 8 yd pass to FB Paris Kimmel turned into their only turnover of the day when Kimmel lost the ball, effectively ending the game. That was Kimmel's first fumble in over two seasons, but that's what you get when your name is "Paris."

The resurgent Honolulu Bloodthirsty Beatles (3-0) won yet again, this time knocking off the El Paso Rockets by a score of 35-26 at El Paso. Randolph Kranz has been absolutely on fire this season, and this game was no different as he tossed 5 TD passes to account for all of Honolulu's scoring. He was extraordinarily efficient in this game, as evidenced by his 19 for 24 passing, Honolulu's 10 of 12 performance on 3rd-down conversions, and this drive chart:

Honolulu Drive Chart
Quar Began Poss From Plays Yards Result
1 12:48 1:55 OWN 40 4 21 Punt
1 2:35 2:21 OWN 29 3 9 Punt
2 14:53 0:58 OPP 2 3 2 Touchdown
2 6:29 5:02 OWN 34 9 66 Touchdown
2 0:11 0:11 OWN 24 1 5 Half
3 15:00 6:31 OWN 20 13 80 Touchdown
3 3:29 5:07 OWN 36 10 64 Touchdown
4 10:54 6:05 OWN 20 10 80 Touchdown
4 0:14 0:14 OWN 11 1 -1 Game


So, from the 2nd quarter on Honolulu's possessions either resulted in the end of the half or a TD. Damn. Not bad for a team many picked to languish near the bottom of the RoF.

Most thought Arizona (1-2) had the win locked up over Long Beach (1-2) when they capped off their seven minute, 80-yd drive in the 4th quarter with a TD and left Long Beach with a 7-pt deficit and only :29 seconds on the clock. Buyt the allegedly nonexistent 4th-quarter comeback routine kicked in for Long Beach:

Possession to Long Beach.

1-10-LBE32 (00:29) LBE 4 McMillan pass completed to 89 Salzman for 49 yards.
Tackled by ARI 29 Bottoms.
LBE called time out.
--
1-10-ARI19 (00:22) LBE 4 McMillan pass completed to 89 Salzman for 17 yards.
Tackled by ARI 29 Bottoms, assisted by ARI 41 Clancy.
LBE called time out.
--
1-02-ARI02 (00:11) LBE 4 McMillan pass completed to 34 Terrell for 2 yards and a touchdown!
Penalty: ARI - Defensive Holding. Penalty was declined.
Extra point by LBE 8 Swallow was good.


The game thus went into OT and nearly resulted in a tie, but Freddie Matthias pulled this one out with a 25 yd TD strike to Rusty Connors with 1:58 left to play. Arizona 30, Long Beach 24.

WFC powerhouses New York (1-2) and Charleston (2-1) met in what turned out to be a rain-drenched, low-scoring affair at Charleston. The Knights pulled this one out 13-10 by virtue of a Tobias Paschal 42-yd FG with just :28 left in the 4th quarter. Kim Pace continues to have a bewilderingly tough year, with 0 TD passes vs. 6 INTs, but today he did enough to get the upset win.

Hartford (2-1) appears to be in mid-season form after dropping a shit-kicking on Shreveport (1-1-1) to the tune of a 42-7 romp. Most of Hartford's damage came from James Oberg, who threw for 353 yds and 5 TDs. Shreveport was down just 14-7 and driving when QB Douglas Hartman suffered a hyperextended knee and had to leave the game. And that is when the wheels flew off for Shreveport. Expect Hartman to miss the next two weeks or so.

Tampa Bay's (3-0) big offseason acquisition, QB Josh Urrutria, is paying big dividends so far as they've won their first three games, including this one vs. Albany (1-2). The 26-17 final score doesn't really do justice to the Torpedoes' dominance in this one, who may have matured as a team a bit faster than most expected.

[Fonzie]

Today we face the Oregon Ice (1-2), owned and operated by Grid Iron. We've only faced Oregon twice in our history, and not since 2007. We won both of those games, but that means little as our teams have both changed radically since our last contest. The Ice are led by QB Myron "Angie" Dickenson, a 2nd-year player whom you might remember from his extraordinary week 1 performance against Anchorage: 14 for 23, 436 yds, 4 TDs. Oregon loves to throw the deep ball, and it shows in Dickenson's 11+ yard per attempt average. His receivers are former Rocket and Flat Chris Chavez and two former Toros: Carl "Look Ma, No Hands!" Markey and Davis Hills. Hills and Chavez are in their first year with the Ice, but Carl joined them after the 2008 season and responded with 56 catches for a career-best 1304 yds and 12 TDs. If he'd performed like that for us we might not have let him leave via free agency. Anyway, Oregon's deep passing game gives me the willies - it will probably be the toughest test yet for our secondary.

Oregon has a very talented O-line who will be blocking for Toby Radke, a well-traveled running back for whom Oregon inexplicably traded a mint in the offseason. Radke has played for Hartford, Seattle, Cleveland, Fargo, and Chicago in his 8-year career, but has never gained more than 728 yards in a season (he started 16 games that year) and sports a career rushing average of 3.8 ypc. Despite this rather modest resume, GI obtained him from Chicago for the #9 overall pick in this year's draft (with which CHI selected super-safety Cornelius Drake), their 2nd rounder in 2012, and starting-quality WR Cornelius Webster. This trade sparked a bit of an uproar over at the CFL, with some players complaining about GI driving up the asking price for running backs, but GI remained confident that he didn't overpay for Radke and that his investment would pay off. So how has poor Toby fared? To date, he has run the ball 39 times for 195 yds and 1 TD. He has only one reception for 3 yds. A decent rushing average (5.0 ypc) for sure, but that's not much productivity for such an investment. The season's young though, so maybe he'll prove GI right yet.

Anyway, enough of my babbling. Let's get to the action:

Box Score: Tucson at Oregon
Oregon, OR.

Week 4, 2010

Attendance: 66,700 (73,300).


Weather: 77 degrees, rain.

1Q: 11:12 TUC - Courtney Hodges 5 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
1Q: 11:12 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
1Q: 02:43 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 7 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
1Q: 02:43 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
2Q: 09:18 TUC - Rubin Castorena 24 field goal.
2Q: 05:37 TUC - Rubin Castorena 48 field goal.
2Q: 00:00 TUC - Rubin Castorena 48 field goal.
3Q: 02:59 TUC - Daryl Bradley 13 run.
3Q: 02:59 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
4Q: 10:03 TUC - Courtney Hodges 4 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
4Q: 10:03 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 4 Milan "Colonel" Hogan

Tucson 14 9 7 7 - 37
Oregon 0 0 0 0 - 0

Team Statistics TUC ORE

First Downs 25 10

Total Rushes 31 21
Rushing Yards 143 41
Yards Per Carry 4.6 1.9
Pass Attempts 33 24
Completions 29 14
Passing Yards 286 99
Yards Per Attempt 8.6 4.1
Sacked 0 2
Yards Lost 0 16
Interceptions 0 1
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 2/0

Total Plays 64 47
Total Yards 429 124
Yards Per Play 6.7 2.6

3rd Down Plays 8/13 4/12
Avg. YTG on 3rd 5.3 7.6
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/1

Penalties 8 3
Penalty Yards 48 23

Avg. Drive Start OWN 34 OWN 25
Time Of Possession 37:19 22:41

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 15 72 4.8 25 0
22 Bradley 8 41 5.1 13 1
26 Jeffries 5 30 6.0 13 0
30 Robbins 2 -1 -0.5 0 0
89 Armitage 1 1 1.0 1 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
4 Hogan 33 29 286 8.6 23 3 0 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
82 Torres 9 87 9.6 51 21 0
22 Bradley 5 44 8.8 33 17 0
89 Armitage 4 58 14.5 2 17 0
26 Jeffries 3 15 5.0 17 7 1
81 Hodges 3 20 6.6 0 11 2
42 Holliday 2 16 8.0 8 12 0
88 Ramirez 1 12 12.0 2 12 0
85 Garcia 1 23 23.0 4 23 0
83 Chandler 1 11 11.0 0 11 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
22 Bradley 1 15 15.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 3 112 37.3 45 2

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
13 Castorena 3 3 48 4 4

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
31 Enoch 6 6 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 4 1 0.5 0 0 0
40 Biggs 4 2 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 4 1 0.0 1 14 0
70 Neubauer 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 2 0 1.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 2 1 0.5 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
22 Bradley 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
73 Smith 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
24 Sinclair 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 4 0
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 3 0
63 Pitman 0 0 0 0 2 0
32 Hartung 0 1 0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 0 1 0 0 0 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 1 0
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 1 0


Oh my. I didn't see that type of game coming, not at all. I was really worried that "Angie" would torch us with the deep ball all day long, but our secondary played tough and limited him to just 7 of 15 passing for 43 yds and 1 INT. Former Toro Daniel Downs came in to mop up for Angie and did a decent job against our backups, but the way our secondary, and our entire defense overall, played today is insane. In fact, we set a new team record for fewest yards allowed in a game with 124. I hope we can save some of this for later in the season.

Oh, and you might be wondering how Toby Radke did. Seven carries for nine yards. One catch for six yards. One fumble.

Our 6th career shutout was heavily helped by Hogan's otherworldly performance: 29 of 33. That brings his season completion rate up to a ridiculous 78.5%, and his 3 passing TDs are his most since week 1 of 2009. He did all of this without one of his top receivers, Demetrius Higginbotham, who is still out injured. Our running game was also solid, but Holliday had a fairly quiet day.

The only imperfection in today's game is that we lost nickelback/reserve safety Waylon Ellsworth for a few weeks with a strained elbow. He hasn't done much for us so far, so his absence shouldn't be a big loss.

I couldn't be happier with the outcome of today's game, especially considering that Oregon is no pushover. Our next opponent, the Seattle Thunderbirds, may prove to be our toughest test yet of this new season, as they feature two of the top offensive players in the league: QB Charles Dever and RB Burt Liszkiewicz.

[Fonzie]

I mentioned above that Davis Hills and Carl Markey have both played for the Toros in the past. I neglected to mention that the Ice's backup TE, Ramon Sheehy, was our longtime starter at that position, and that their backup QB, Daniel Downs, was also an ex-Toro. This quartet likely represents the largest concentration of former Toro talent on an CFL team's offense., and so I thought it might be fun to check 'em out. They all saw game action, and here's how they did:

Hills: 3 catches/4 targets, 32 yds, 1 drop
Markey: 1 catch/3 targets, 10 yds
Sheehy: 1 catch/1 target, 6 yds
Downs: 7/9 passing, 56 yds

Not too bad, all things considered. Downs had an easier time of it than Dickenson, as he was facing our prevent package in the 4th quarter. Hills was OK, and Sheehy only saw spot action. The one guy who struggled a bit was Carl Markey, which especially pleased me. His inconsistency and dropsy-ways drove me nuts when he was on our team.

[Fonzie]

If the theme of the CFL's Week 3 was "nail-biting excitement!", then Week 4's theme must be "proper nail grooming boredom." Week 3 featured seven games decided by three points or less, while Week 4 featured six games decided by twenty-five points or more. Before we get tothe blowouts, let's review the closer games:

Arizona (2-2) pulled of the upset at Seattle (2-2) by a 21-17 score. One might have expected an upset by the Outlaws to be spearheaded by Freddie Matthias, but that was not the case today. Unheralded RB Randall Coleman was the hero with a 26-113-3TD game. Seattle's two-headed monster of Dever and Liszkiewicz was uncharacteristically off today, and much of the credit for that must go to the Outlaws' defense. They picked off two Dever passes, held him to nearly 50% passing, and kept Liczkiewicz to 3.7 ypc. Good effort.

Good teams are able to find ways to win even when they're outperformed by their opponents, and Tampa Bay (4-0) did exactly that in beating Memphis (0-3-1) 20-12. The Express outgained the Torpedoes 373-272, but the Torpedoes took advantage of good field position and a crucial fumble on the game's opening kickoff by Stephen "I Suck" Metz. Memphis should turn things around eventually, as their offense is quite good, but they've got to be frustrated with how their season has begun.

Oh, what could have been for Boston (3-1)! They came up a TD short in a 31-24 loss to Detroit (3-1) at home, but they have only themselves to blame in this one. Specifically, they can blame their head coach, who attempted to convert 4th downs in their own territory twice in the first quarter. Detroit, astonishingly, was unable to get points out of either failure, but the loss of field position undoubtedly hurt Boston over the course of the game. Titone did throw for 3 TDs in this one, including a 76 yarder to Roderick Parker in the second quarter.

Ten unanswered fourth quarter points are what provided the winning margin in Durham's (2-2) 27-17 win over San Antonio (3-1). Based on the stats, this game should've been a blowout, with the Bulldogs outgaining the Stingers 419-177, but the 'dogs kept finding ways to keep this one interesting. Edward Kimber had a solid day with 364 passing yards and 3 TDs, but his one interception was returned for a TD and helped keep the Stingers in the game. Penalties also short-circuited Durham's scoring drives, but in the end they pulled it out.

Now on to the blowouts:

With starting QB Douglas Hartman out for Shreveport (2-1-1), many thought this might be a good week for Baltimore (1-3) to pull off the upset. Unfortunately for them, Roman Grigg came on and had a career day for the Pride, going 24 of 36 for 288 yds and 2 TDs. Poor Phillip Barbieri has to be wondering when the Mack trucks are going to stop hitting him - this Bomber squad has enough talent on offense to put up some points, but they have collectively fallen flat this year. If the Bombers don't turn things around, one has to wonder if Barbieri will consider hanging it up next offseason.

Hartford (3-1) opponents often swear they can hear "Darth Vader's Theme" when the Attack take the field, and I'm sure Chicago (0-4) was no different today. In fact, after suffering a 35-10 defeat at the hands of Hartford, Chicago probably felt like Luke Skywalker's severed hand, falling and falling and falling into the inky depths of Bespin's Cloud City (did I take this analogy far enough? No? Well then how about...). James Oberg's 296 yard, 4 TD performance was almost as sexy as Leia Organa in her Jabba The Hutt slave costume...yowza!

Lane Manuel finally worked his way out of the Anchorage (1-3) doghouse, but he was clearly rusty in tossing four picks to Honolulu's (4-0) secondary in a 42-12 beat-down. Randolph Kranz tossed another 5 TDs today, and is tied for the league lead in TD passes at 14 with Oberg. Honolulu's early run has silenced their critics...for now.

In a battle of teams without their leaders, Boise (1-3) topped Las Vegas (0-4) by a score of 35-6. Boise's Corey Durant filled in admirably for Branden Lin and chucked three TD passes. Vegas' Luke Alston, on the other hand, finished a miserable 8 for 21 with three INTs. The win gets Boise's season back on track, and with Lin likely to return soon the Ring of Ice had better be on guard.

It was the Marcus Garibaldi show in Denver (3-1), as he threw for 3 TDs and ran in another in a 31-0 shutout of reeling Sacramento (1-3). Seymore Barre, on the other hand, can't seem to get it together this season. He has an ugly 2TD-5INT ratio and sports a Rating of 53.9. With this season apparently continuing his slump from last year (67.8 Rating), some league insiders are wondering if age is catching up to Barre. Oh, and Butch Fulton continues to underwhelm with a 14-41, one fumble day.

Other scores from Week 4:
Huntington Beach (3-1) 17, El Paso (1-3) 14
Fargo (3-1) 20, Long Beach (1-3) 9
Charleston (3-1) 24, New Orleans (1-3) 13
Albany (2-2) 17, New York (1-3) 9

[condors]

I think Honolulu and Tucson should now go into rebuilding mode!

nice writeup

[Fonzie]

I think Honolulu and Tucson should now go into rebuilding mode!

nice writeup

Thanks condors.

And you're only one Milan Hogan injury away from getting your wish! :)

[Fonzie]

Today we face an extraordinarily talented Seattle Thunderbirds team who, despite their talent, have managed to struggle throughout their history. Last year they finished 6-10, which is astounding considering that they have two of the top players in the league in QB Charles Dever (96/96) and RB Burt Liszkiewicz (79/80). Dever does it all - he's maxed out just about everywhere, and is a viciously dangerous scrambler. Seattle also has excellent talent at TE, WR, and all along their defensive front. In fact, I find it astounding that anybody ever beats this team, yet they have a career record of 44-73. I can only scratch my head and wonder why they've struggled so. We're 3-2 against them overall, and our last matchup was a 31-21 loss in 2009.

We need a win here if we hope to keep pace with the blistering hot Honolulu Blue Pacific.

Box Score: Tucson at Seattle
Seattle, WA.

Week 5, 2010

Attendance: 52,300 (65,700).


Weather: 70 degrees, fair.

1Q: 14:47 TUC - Courtney Hodges 99 kickoff return.
1Q: 14:47 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
1Q: 00:37 SEA - Darrell Styblo 37 field goal.
2Q: 12:51 SEA - Burt Liszkiewicz 19 run.
2Q: 12:51 SEA - Darrell Styblo extra point.
2Q: 05:24 SEA - Darrell Styblo 48 field goal.
3Q: 08:28 TUC - Drew Holliday 2 run.
3Q: 08:28 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
4Q: 01:29 SEA - Darrell Styblo 33 field goal.

Game MVP: SEA 8 Charles Dever

Tucson 7 0 7 0 - 14
Seattle 3 10 0 3 - 16

Team Statistics TUC SEA

First Downs 17 17

Total Rushes 27 23
Rushing Yards 95 129
Yards Per Carry 3.5 5.6
Pass Attempts 30 37
Completions 17 20
Passing Yards 178 199
Yards Per Attempt 5.9 5.3
Sacked 4 2
Yards Lost 32 32
Interceptions 2 0
Fumbles/Lost 3/0 0/0

Total Plays 61 62
Total Yards 241 296
Yards Per Play 3.9 4.7

3rd Down Plays 6/12 6/15
Avg. YTG on 3rd 10.6 8.6
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 5 5
Penalty Yards 40 35

Avg. Drive Start OWN 25 OWN 29
Time Of Possession 31:46 28:14

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 14 50 3.5 13 1
22 Bradley 9 31 3.4 8 0
26 Jeffries 3 8 2.6 4 0
89 Armitage 1 6 6.0 6 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
4 Hogan 30 17 178 5.9 17 0 2 4

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
82 Torres 7 74 10.5 24 17 0
89 Armitage 4 50 12.5 3 16 0
42 Holliday 2 17 8.5 16 12 0
26 Jeffries 2 12 6.0 4 9 0
81 Hodges 1 8 8.0 2 8 0
85 Garcia 1 17 17.0 0 17 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
22 Bradley 1 6 6.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 3 143 47.6 1
85 Garcia 1 22 22.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 4 180 45.0 54 2

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
13 Castorena 0 2 0 2 2

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
52 Wash 6 2 0.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 6 1 0.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 4 4 0.5 0 0 0
25 Minahan 4 3 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 3 0 1.5 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
33 Mirer 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
89 Armitage 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
22 Bradley 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
88 Ramirez 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
42 Holliday 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
60 Poplawski 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 3 1
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 3 2
26 Jeffries 0 0 0 0 1 1
4 Hogan 1 0 1 0 0 0
63 Pitman 0 0 0 0 2 0
82 Torres 1 0 1 0 0 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 2 0
42 Holliday 1 0 0 0 0 0
30 Robbins 0 0 1 0 0 0


Well, damn. We came mighty close in this one, holding the lead until 1:29 was left in the game, but in the end Dever performed his magic and snuck out the win. Dever was the difference in this one - we held both Seattle's running game (18 carries, 70 yards) and their passing game (20/37, 199 yds) in check. But Dever used his feet to devastating effect, scrambling 5 times for 60 yards to keep several drives alive. Hats off to Seattle.

We helped them out a bit with some sloppy play and questionable playcalling. Hogan's two INTs were very uncharacteristic, as he hasn't done that in exactly one year. Our O-line had trouble containing Seattle's impressive defensive front, allowing four sacks. We also fumbled the ball three times, but fortunately we managed to recover each of those. But what disturbed me most about this game was how little Drew Holliday was involved - just 14 carries, vs. his backup's 9 carries? That's messed up, and is one of the things that led me to fire my old coach. I've tried like hell to structure the depth charts in such a way as to maximize Holliday's carries, but every once in a while the coach seems to forget that Holliday exists. Truly bizarre, and that's especially bad because we stand a much better chance of winning if we can feed him the ball 25 or so times per game.

Also strange was Hogan's reliance on the really, really deep ball. His two INTs were on 40-50 yard bombs, and that's neither his M.O. nor consistent with our gameplan. Alas.

Despite these miscues, we still had a chance to win this game. Special teams both helped and killed us today. We were staked to an early lead by Hodges' 99 yard kickoff return to start the game. But then our stupid kicker missed two FGs. They were long attempts (48 and 54 yards), but that's why we keep his stupid ass around. He's got a strong leg and decent accuracy, so we expect him to hit at least 50% of those long shots. He failed on both tries today, and likely cost us the game. Prick.

Next up: vs. Anchorage.

[Fonzie]

Chicago (0-5) threatened to upset the balance of the cosmos when they took a 10-3 lead over Boston (4-1) in the 2nd quarter, but then the universe righted itself and Boston scored 20 unanswered points to win 23-10. Boston won with a balanced attack, but the 10 penalties have to be a concern for the coaching staff.

Roman Grigg's second start in place of Douglas Hartman came against much tougher competition in Charleston (4-1), who were ultimately too much for Grigg and Shreveport (2-2-1). Final score: Charleston 17, Shreveport 9. Shreveport led 3-0 for most of the 1st half, but Landon Hurst nailed a 6-yard TD pass with 1:00 left to take a lead that Charleston never relinquished. Charleston was fortunate that Shreveport's offense is in disarray, as that helped them to overcome three Toothpick Lang fumbles.

A preseason favorite to at least make the playoffs, Durham (2-2-1) was frustrated by an inferior opponent in Baltimore (1-3-1) and had to settle for a 17-all tie. Edward Kimber eliminated his turnover-proneness, but the passing game stalled for Durham and their pass D allowed Baltimore's Phillip Barbieri enough space to throw for 294 yards and a TD.

El Paso (2-3) made a statement with their 35-20 win over Tulsa (3-1). Dustin Hayes was an efficient 30 of 37 for 297 yardsa and 4 TDs, and Jeff Reid had his first career 100 yard rushing day. Tulsa, meanwhile, converted one of just three 3rd-down attempts (is that a record low for attempts?), and lost three turnovers to short-circuit their offense.

San Antonio (4-1) took a nifty 24-7 lead into the last of the 4th quarter, then had to hold on for dear life as Memphis' (0-4-1) Blaine Hoffman engineered two TD drives in the last 5 minutes. Memphis ultimately came up three points short in a 24-21 Stingers win. Carson Blume missed his only FG attempt for Memphis.

Randolph Kranz continued to set the WFC on fire with his 18 of 28, 260 yd, 4 TD performance, which led Honolulu (5-0) over Oregon (1-4). The final score was 38-13. Kranz now has 18 TDs vs. just 2 INTs. Despite the lopsided score, there was one bright spot for Oregon: their running game. They rushed 41 times for 187 yards on a Honolulu defense that can be soft against the run.

Tampa Bay (5-0) was able to remain one of two undefeated teams in the CFL, but just barely. They needed a 50-yd Felton Cooper FG with :06 left to pull out a 22-21 victory over the surprising New Orleans Raging Horde (1-4). Tampa's offense racked up plenty of yards (451), but they nearly killed themselves with a whopping 13 penalties for 104 yards. The coaches will have to clean up their play if they're to keep winning.

Elsewhere:

Atlantic City (3-1) 19, Cleveland (0-4) 14
Fargo (4-1) 22, Huntington Beach (3-2) 10
Arizona (3-2) 20, Las Vegas (0-5) 13
Sacramento (2-3) 13, Long Beach (1-4) 6
Detroit (4-1) 17, New York (1-4) 6
Denver (4-1) 20, Santa Cruz (1-3) 10

[JeeberD]

Rockets rule, Talons drool.

[Fonzie]

Anchorage (1-4) is a tough team to figure out. They have some real talent on offense, especially in QB Lane Manuel, who was apparently in the owner's doghouse early this year and didn't play (read: their owner was AWOL, didn't tell anybody, and left his preseason lineup in place). Manuel got his first start of the season against Honolulu two weeks ago and got clobbered. In part, that might have been because Manuel was the only regular starter in the lineup (most of the others were still inactive or on the bench, for whatever reason). That problem appears to have been corrected, as all of their starters were seen practicing this week (read: the lineups were reset at the midweek transaction). Wouldn't you know they got their act together just in time for our matchup?

So much the better. We'll see if we can do against their starters what everyone else has done against their backups.

Box Score: Anchorage at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 6, 2010

Attendance: 67,100 (69,800).


Weather: 63 degrees, fair.

1Q: 05:40 ANC - Bryce Goodwin 42 field goal.
1Q: 03:19 TUC - Anthony Torres 17 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
1Q: 03:19 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
2Q: 11:40 TUC - Rubin Castorena 36 field goal.
2Q: 06:25 ANC - Bryce Goodwin 27 field goal.
2Q: 00:00 TUC - Rubin Castorena 53 field goal.
3Q: 05:53 TUC - Rubin Castorena 28 field goal.
3Q: 00:39 TUC - Daryl Bradley 4 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
3Q: 00:39 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
4Q: 11:40 TUC - Rubin Castorena 30 field goal.
4Q: 07:13 ANC - Deron Moy 11 pass from Lane Manuel.
4Q: 07:13 ANC - Bryce Goodwin extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 4 Milan "Colonel" Hogan

Anchorage 3 3 0 7 - 13
Tucson 7 6 10 3 - 26

Team Statistics ANC TUC

First Downs 12 24

Total Rushes 12 41
Rushing Yards 48 185
Yards Per Carry 4.0 4.5
Pass Attempts 40 29
Completions 10 23
Passing Yards 165 272
Yards Per Attempt 4.1 9.3
Sacked 2 1
Yards Lost 8 6
Interceptions 2 1
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 3/1

Total Plays 54 71
Total Yards 205 451
Yards Per Play 3.7 6.3

3rd Down Plays 2/13 5/14
Avg. YTG on 3rd 8.6 8.0
4th Down Plays 2/2 0/0

Penalties 6 10
Penalty Yards 45 65

Avg. Drive Start OWN 28 OWN 29
Time Of Possession 21:41 38:19


Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 26 131 5.0 40 0
22 Bradley 7 24 3.4 5 0
26 Jeffries 4 20 5.0 8 0
4 Hogan 2 10 5.0 11 0
89 Armitage 1 4 4.0 4 0
81 Hodges 1 -4 -4.0 -4 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
4 Hogan 29 23 272 9.3 35 2 1 1

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
26 Jeffries 8 99 12.3 44 35 0
82 Torres 7 67 9.5 16 17 1
89 Armitage 2 27 13.5 0 16 0
88 Ramirez 2 22 11.0 6 12 0
81 Hodges 2 34 17.0 4 18 0
22 Bradley 1 4 4.0 0 4 1
85 Garcia 1 19 19.0 2 19 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
22 Bradley 2 11 5.5 0
85 Garcia 1 19 19.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 2 25 12.5 0
85 Garcia 1 26 26.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 3 138 46.0 51 1

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
13 Castorena 4 5 53 2 2

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
55 Trujillo 3 1 1.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 2 1 0.0 1 6 0
37 Rosenberry 2 0 0.0 1 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Torres 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
33 Mirer 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 1 0 1.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
89 Armitage 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
24 Sinclair 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
45 Bennett 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 3 0
63 Pitman 0 0 0 0 1 1
22 Bradley 1 0 1 0 0 0
42 Holliday 2 0 0 0 0 0
82 Torres 0 0 1 0 1 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 2 0
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 2 0
65 Lyle 0 0 0 0 1 0
59 Buckley 0 0 0 0 1 0


Our defense came to play today and gave poor Lane Manuel another stomping. The poor guy was just 9 of 39 passing for 148 yds, 1 TD, 2 INTs, 2 sacks, 11 hurries and 10 passes defensed. And when he wasn't getting crushed, his receivers were playing hot potato with his passes, dropping the ball 7 times. Not his day.

Our offense played decently, but we made too many mistakes that resulted in penalties (numerous O-holding and false start calls) and we were lucky to avoid losing just one of our three fumbles. Holliday has averaged just 5.3 fumbles per year for the last three seasons, but this year he's already up to 4. Nevertheless, Holliday's solid effort put him atop the league leaders in rushing with 622 yards. Hogan had another excellent outing, aside from his one interception. And FB Corwin Jeffries came out of nowhere to catch 8 passes for 99 yards, including a 35 yarder that he caught 30 yards downfield! I don't recall inserting any wrinkles into the game plan that required Jeffries to run a deep pattern, but whatever, it worked!

Our O-line troubles seemed to be restricted to the penalties, as we only allowed one sack and had a sufficient number of KRBs. The penalty problem was likely a result of resting LT Chris Frank, who has a strained tricep muscle. We started 4th-year pro Stan Lyle in his place, and he performed adequately (1 of 3 on KRBs, 0 sacks). He may get the nod again next week - we'll have to see how adventurous I'm feeling.

I can't say enough good things about our defense. They've been playing out of their minds all season long. The only downer about this game is that starting SS Mitchel Enoch, who had one of today's two interceptions, strained an abdominal muscle and is doubtful for next week's matchup with Honolulu. That's a bummer, but at least we'll have backup Waylon Ellsworth returning from his own injury to pick up the slack.

Next week: a battle for 1st place in the RoF at 6-0 Honolulu!

[Fonzie]

I've been away on a "family trip" (don't you dare call it a vacation - not with a 3 year-old in tow), and so I've got a few games to get caught up on here. This first one is a huge game and will likely go a long ways towards determining the ultimate RoF champion. Honolulu is 6-0 and riding Randolph Kranz's amazing start to the season. He has single-handedly lifted them up from likely 4th-place finish to division title favorites. If we're to win here, we'll have to contain him.

I quickly scanned the film from Honolulu's previous games, and it has become obvious that they like to throw on 1st downs. That will be the key to stopping them, methinks. Doing so will be quite a challenge for us, as we'll be playing without starting safety Mitchel Enoch, arguably our best player in the secondary. He's out with an abdominal strain. Wuss.

On to the action!

Box Score: Tucson at Honolulu
Honolulu, HI.

Week 7, 2010

Attendance: 65,100 (66,000).


Weather: 68 degrees, fair.

1Q: 07:16 HON - Ricardo Mendes 11 pass from Randolph Kranz.
1Q: 07:16 HON - Glenn Hale extra point.
1Q: 00:09 HON - Anton Ervin 3 run.
1Q: 00:09 HON - Glenn Hale extra point.
3Q: 09:11 HON - Randolph Kranz 7 run.
3Q: 09:11 HON - Glenn Hale extra point.
4Q: 08:20 HON - Frederick Abeyta 1 pass from Randolph Kranz.
4Q: 08:20 HON - Glenn Hale extra point.

Game MVP: HON 5 Randolph Kranz

Tucson 0 0 0 0 - 0
Honolulu 14 0 7 7 - 28

Team Statistics TUC HON

First Downs 12 26

Total Rushes 21 45
Rushing Yards 125 220
Yards Per Carry 5.9 4.8
Pass Attempts 24 23
Completions 11 16
Passing Yards 80 234
Yards Per Attempt 3.3 10.1
Sacked 2 1
Yards Lost 14 5
Interceptions 2 1
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 0/0

Total Plays 47 69
Total Yards 191 449
Yards Per Play 4.0 6.5

3rd Down Plays 3/10 11/15
Avg. YTG on 3rd 8.8 6.4
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 5 7
Penalty Yards 35 42

Avg. Drive Start OWN 31 OWN 21
Time Of Possession 22:31 37:29

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
22 Bradley 9 45 5.0 10 0
42 Holliday 7 66 9.4 21 0
26 Jeffries 3 13 4.3 9 0
4 Hogan 2 1 0.5 3 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
4 Hogan 19 8 59 3.1 13 0 2 2
19 Goodwin 5 3 21 4.2 11 0 0 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
26 Jeffries 3 23 7.6 11 11 0
22 Bradley 2 20 10.0 7 12 0
82 Torres 2 3 1.5 7 3 0
80 Higginbotham 1 13 13.0 4 13 0
89 Armitage 1 8 8.0 2 8 0
42 Holliday 1 3 3.0 0 3 0
81 Hodges 1 10 10.0 3 10 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
85 Garcia 2 28 14.0 0
37 Rosenberry 1 11 11.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 6 239 39.8 45 4

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
13 Castorena 0 1 0 0 0

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
32 Hartung 9 1 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 8 4 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 6 2 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 5 4 0.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 3 1 0.0 1 1 0
37 Rosenberry 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
27 Ellsworth 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 2 3 0.5 0 0 0
75 Grier 2 2 0.5 0 0 0
44 Blank 2 3 0.0 0 0 0
96 Stansell 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
24 Sinclair 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
53 Hart 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
89 Armitage 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
42 Holliday 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Torres 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 0 2 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 1 1
63 Pitman 0 0 0 0 3 1
59 Buckley 0 0 0 0 2 0
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 2 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 1 0


No comment.

[Fonzie]

Last week's drubbing at the hands of division-rival Honolulu was not only dispiriting, but it cost us the services of WR Demetrius Higginbotham (again), who hyperextended his knee late in the game (why was he even on the field during blowout time? grumble...grumble...). We need to rally, quickly, to keep this season from spiraling out of control. We started off magnificently, building a 4-0 record, but now find ourselves at 5-2 and two games behind Honolulu. A win at home against one of the league's best QBs would be just the medicine we need.

That, however, is going to be tough to pull off. We'll still be without S Mitchel Enoch, and now we're also without our nickel corner "Cheap Shot" Rosenberry, who appears to be suffering from a bad case of karma. Our secondary has been bolstered by some free agent acquisitions, but neither player has the talent or experience to truly make up for the loss of Enoch and Rosenberry. On the plus side, we'll be getting starting LT Chris Franck back.

A key to this game will be getting Drew Holliday considerably more than 7 carries (I still can't believe he only got 7 carries last game, while his backup got 9. His PT is set to 9, ferchrissakes!). He'll probably need at least 20 for us to have a chance in this one.

On to the action!

Box Score: Boise at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 8, 2010

Attendance: 67,100 (69,800).


Weather: 76 degrees, fair.

1Q: 07:56 BOI - Horace Blushman 1 run.
1Q: 07:56 BOI - Conrad Fisher extra point.
2Q: 11:42 BOI - Conrad Fisher 31 field goal.
2Q: 03:20 TUC - Anthony Torres 8 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
2Q: 03:20 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
2Q: 01:08 BOI - Cybersleuth Pritchett 12 pass from Branden Lin.
2Q: 01:08 BOI - Conrad Fisher extra point.
3Q: 09:11 BOI - Conrad Fisher 19 field goal.
3Q: 02:11 TUC - Sydney Armitage 7 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
3Q: 02:11 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
4Q: 13:05 BOI - Conrad Fisher 23 field goal.
4Q: 09:33 TUC - Rubin Castorena 29 field goal.
4Q: 03:11 BOI - Conrad Fisher 29 field goal.
4Q: 01:10 TUC - Sydney Armitage 25 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
4Q: 01:10 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.

Game MVP: BOI 19 Branden Lin

Boise 7 10 3 6 - 26
Tucson 0 7 7 10 - 24

Team Statistics BOI TUC

First Downs 26 22

Total Rushes 29 22
Rushing Yards 97 92
Yards Per Carry 3.3 4.1
Pass Attempts 45 37
Completions 24 25
Passing Yards 354 324
Yards Per Attempt 7.8 8.7
Sacked 1 4
Yards Lost 5 29
Interceptions 0 0
Fumbles/Lost 1/0 3/1

Total Plays 75 63
Total Yards 446 387
Yards Per Play 5.9 6.1

3rd Down Plays 8/16 3/9
Avg. YTG on 3rd 7.3 6.7
4th Down Plays 0/0 1/1

Penalties 6 2
Penalty Yards 40 20

Avg. Drive Start OWN 32 OWN 21
Time Of Possession 33:32 26:28


Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 16 69 4.3 16 0
22 Bradley 5 21 4.2 11 0
4 Hogan 1 2 2.0 2 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
4 Hogan 37 25 324 8.7 35 3 0 4

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
89 Armitage 7 121 17.2 7 35 2
82 Torres 7 85 12.1 19 18 1
26 Jeffries 4 36 9.0 20 10 0
22 Bradley 3 33 11.0 9 17 0
81 Hodges 2 30 15.0 0 18 0
88 Ramirez 1 16 16.0 0 16 0
42 Holliday 1 3 3.0 0 3 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 1 17 17.0 0
85 Garcia 1 27 27.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 4 147 36.7 44 0

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
13 Castorena 1 1 29 3 3

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
52 Wash 9 2 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 6 1 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 6 1 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 4 4 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 4 3 0.0 0 0 0
27 Ellsworth 4 2 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 3 0 1.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
44 Blank 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
73 Smith 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
33 Mirer 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 0 3 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
24 Sinclair 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 2 1
63 Pitman 0 0 0 0 1 2
71 Franck 0 0 1 0 3 1
54 Reeves 0 0 1 0 2 0
4 Hogan 2 0 0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 0 1 0 0 0 0
22 Bradley 1 0 0 0 0 0
59 Buckley 0 0 0 0 1 0


Well, damn. That wasn't quite what we were looking for.

A close loss to one of the top QBs in the league is certainly nothing to be ashamed of, but I'm very worried about our suddenly inept defense. Playing without two key contributors in the secondary is a big part of the problem, I'm sure, but it would be nice to see us at least slow somebody down a bit. Giving up 354 yards passing is simply unacceptable.

But perhaps I shouldn't be quite so hard on my defense. We just went through a stretch of playing against a "Who's Who" of quarterbacks in the CFL. We played against Charles Dever (96/96), Lane Manuel (81/83), Randolph Kranz (75/78) and Branden Lin (89/89). I guess I shouldn't be surprised that were only able to snatch one win out of those four games. That we were able to win one game, keep two games within two points, and only lose one blowout is probably a testament to our defense, rather than an indictment.

Sadly, it isn't going to get any easier for those poor guys: over the second half of the season we play Dwayne Bridges (83/83), James Oberg (86/86), Colin Sawyer (74/74), Marcus Garibaldi (69/69), Freddie Matthias (twice - 88/90) and Randolph Kranz (again). Our defense is certainly going to have its work cut out for it.

Back to the present game: I'm at a loss as to why our coach continues to underutilize Drew Holliday. 16 carries for 69 yards is not going to get it done. We were running effectively against Boise, and weren't down by such huge deficits that we'd need to completely abandon the running game, yet we did anyway. Frustrating.

The three bright spots in this game were "Colonel" Hogan's effectiveness through the air (25/37, 324 yds, 3 TDs), Sydney Armitage's 1st 100-yd game as a Toro (7-121-2 TDs), and the fact that we suffered no new significant injuries. Yippee.

Next up: at Las Vegas.

[Fonzie]

We've reached the halfway point of the 2010 CFL season, and so a little self-reflection is in order. The data:

Front Office Football 2004
2010 Summary for Tucson Toros

Record: 5-3
Winning Pct.: .625

Tucson Toros Team Rank
Rushes 264 4
Rushing Yards 1137 4
Yards Per Carry 4.30 9 (T)
Pass Attempts 246 13 (T)
Completions 175 1
Passing Yards 1873 12
Yards Per Attempt 7.61 11
3rd Down Conversions 46.5 14
Points Per Game 22.2 10
Turnovers 11 19 (T)
Turnover Margin -2 20 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 203 10
Rushing Yards 818 9
Yards Per Carry 4.02 14
Pass Attempts 252 25
Completions 122 3
Passing Yards 1450 5
Yards Per Attempt 5.75 2
3rd Down Conversions 41.8 8 (T)
Points Per Game 16.6 8
Turnovers 9 20

I'm relatively pleased with our team's overall statistical performance on both sides of the ball. Our offense has slowed down a bit over the last few games, but we're still in the top 10 in rushing ypc and rank 11th with 7.61 ypa (a number I'm more than happy with, given Hogan's limitations as a passer). Those are the two of the most important numbers in evaluating a team, in my view, and as such I'm pretty happy with what I've seen so far. One comment: a 7.61 ypa ranking just 11th in the league is pretty amazing. There are currently nine teams averaging 8.0 ypa or more this season. That's damned crazy.

The biggest concern I have on offense is how careless we've become with the ball. Eleven turnovers isn't awful, but Hogan's 7 INTs represent the most he's thrown in the last 2 seasons. He last threw more than 7 in 2007, when he offered up 13. In fact, he's on pace for 14 INTs, which would be the most he's thrown in any year since his inaugural year's performance (21 in 2003). He's gotta keep that ball under control if we're to have a chance. On the flip side, we've only forced nine turnovers, which isn't going to get it done. We've done pretty well in the "average" categories of ypc and ypa, but we need to force more turnovers, period. Our defense is too good to settle for just one turnover per game.

Now for the individual performances:

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
4 Hogan QB 241 172 1852 7.68 12 7
**Team --- 246 175 1873 7.61 12 7


The "Colonel's" 71.3% completion is tops in the league, and his 7.68 ypa is a career-high. However, his tendency to surrender the ball this year is worrisome, as he's really not the kind of QB who can be relied on to rally a team from a substantial deficit. Still, I can't really complain about his performance. He is, after all, rated in the bottom-third of starting QBs in the league, and to coax a 98.0 QB Rating (good for 6th in the league) out of a QB with such limited talent is satisfying.

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
42 Holliday RB 165 757 4.58 4
22 Bradley RB 62 262 4.22 2
26 Jeffries FB 18 77 4.27 1
**Team --- 264 1137 4.30 7

Drew Holliday is on track to have an average season (~330 carries and 1500+ yards). His TDs are down a bit this year, but hopefully that will get fixed over the 2nd half. I'd still prefer that he get more carries, but it seems that no matter what I do to my depth charts the coach wants to get backup Daryl Bradley 7-10 carries. Bradley's certainly a capable back, but I'd rather those carries be going to Holliday. Drew is currently ranked 4th in the league in rushing yards.

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
82 Torres TE 54 40 409 10.2 133 4
26 Jeffries FB 39 35 293 8.3 186 2
89 Armitage WR 47 31 415 13.3 36 2
22 Bradley RB 27 22 185 8.4 82 1
81 Hodges WR 28 18 211 11.7 21 2
42 Holliday RB 9 8 44 5.5 24 0
**Team --- 246 175 1873 10.7 525 12


TE Anthony Torres is having a breakout year, and is tied for 4th in the league in receptions. FB Corwin Jeffries is also on pace to shatter his personal best season of 49 catches for 373 yards. I'd be dissatisfied with our reliance on short-yardage passing to these targets, but they've both managed decent yards/catch averages. Sydney Armitage is on pace to have his best-ever season, and Daryl Bradley has done a decent job of filling in for the injured Higginbotham. Overall, a solid effort by our receiving corps. If we can get Higginbotham back to full health I think we'll improve our passing attack over the 2nd half of the season.

O-line Pos KRB/KRO Sacks Sack %
54 Reeves C 20/42 3 1.2
60 Poplawski LG 18/45 3 1.1
64 Connell RG 16/61 3 1.1
71 Franck LT 15/30 2 1.0
63 Pitman RT 16/39 5 1.9


Our starters have completed 39.1% of their KRB opportunities, a fairly solid number. But we've allowed Hogan to be sacked 17 times, which is a pace that would best his career record of 33 in 2003. Pitman, arguably our best lineman, has already allowed 5 sacks, which is more than he's allowed in any full season dating back to his first full year as a starter, in 2006 (when he allowed 10). He's got to tighten up his pass protection to keep old man Hogan upright.

I'm sure part of the pass-protection problems we're having stems from the fact that we have three relatively young players in our interior, including first-year starter Casey Reeves (whose performance I've been thrilled with). I think they'll all come around and should be together for a good long while, but in the meantime those sack percentages need to come down across the board.

Specialists Pos
15 Edward Winters P 35 punts, 40.8 avg, 14 in 20
13 Rubin Castorena K 13/18, Long of 53, 19/19 PATs

Winters is having a decent year, but I'd like to see an improvement in his average considering he has a strong leg (79 in kicking strength). He should also be doing better at nailing the coffin-corner kicks, as he's rated as 100 in directional punting. Still, 14 out of 35 ain't too bad.

Castorena has missed a few from 40+, but has also nailed a few from 50+. As always, he's a mixed bag.

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
52 Wash ILB 39 12 1.0 0 0 2
55 Trujillo OLB 31 11 2.5 1 1 5
40 Biggs CB 27 5 0.0 0 1 13
58 Watford OLB 27 13 3.0 0 0 2
70 Neubauer DT 24 10 0.5 8 0 0
25 Minahan CB 24 6 0.0 0 1 4
31 Enoch S 23 16 0.0 0 3 5
95 Stoltzfus DT 23 16 1.5 12 0 0
93 King OLB 22 2 2.0 1 0 0
37 Rosenberry CB 19 4 0.0 0 1 3
32 Hartung S 18 7 0.0 0 0 3
75 Grier DE 15 7 2.5 5 0 0
33 Mirer S 11 2 0.0 0 0 0
27 Ellsworth S 9 3 0.0 0 0 1
**Team --- 371 130 15.0 38 7 45

There haven't been any huge standout performers on the defensive side of the ball this year. Enoch was off to a great start, but has missed the last two games. Stoltzfus continues to get good pressure on the QB, but can't seem to get sacks. Biggs is again among the league leaders in passes defensed. For as well as our D has played this year, they're capable of being even better. It'll be tough to get a better performance out of them, though, considering the quality of QBs we'll be playing over the final 8 games of the season. Playing a 1st-place schedule is certainly taking its toll on us.

In sum, there's plenty of room for improvement with this team, but I'm not sure how much improvement we're likely to see with such a tough schedule ahead of us. Getting Enoch and Higginbotham back will help immensely, but we'll also need to keep everyone else healthy (which is not likely to happen).

At this point I'd be happy if we could finish 10-6 with a wild card berth. But with a very difficult schedule over the second half even that type of finish looks to be a bit out of our reach right now. We've got to improve, especially on defense, to have a chance at the playoffs.

[Fonzie]

In what can only be deemed a gift from the CFL gods, Honolulu QB Randolph Kranz was injured in their game with Arizona today and will be out for three weeks.

Some are wondering if the gods were displeased with the way SkyDog was disrespecting Ronnie Tu. I say they weren't - for if they were they would've taken Kranz out for the rest of the season.

Also, our next opponent, the Las Vegas Rounders, continued their amazing trend of losing starters for the season. This week they lost starting FS Don Grider for 10 weeks. That makes no less than six starters either on or headed for the IR (including, of course, QB Lenny Olsen). They have a total of 14 players on the injury report, the poor slobs.

[Fonzie]

Because I was out of town, I'm skipping the week 7 roundup (which is now ancient history). On to week 8 in the CFL:

Even though Atlantic City (5-2) dominated Albany (4-3) in terms of ToP (36:16-23:44), total yards (353-265) and won the turnover battle (1-0), they still needed QB Colin Sawyer to engineer a 96-yard TD drive in the last 2 minutes of the game to eek out a 22-21 win at home. Albany's RB Archie Chasser single-handedly kept this game close, with a gritty 24-122-2 TD performance.

Alan Spearman's 4-yd TD plunge in OT capped a 72-yard drive and secured a 23-17 win for Hartford (5-2) over division rival Boston (5-2). Hartford overcame three James Oberg INTs and 10 4th-quarter Boston points. The Yankee Division now features three 5-2 teams.

This week's edition of the Charleston (6-2) - Durham (3-4-1) rivalry was one for the record books, and will undoubtedly be the stuff of nightmares for their respective defensive coordinators. Durham pulled out a 47-36 win that saw the teams combine for over 900 total yards. Most of the damage came through the air, as both Hurst and Kimber went over 300 yards. Kimber, in particular, was on fire today, posting a nifty 15/26, 343, 4TD-1INT day.

Long Beach (2-5) built up an improbable 23-0 lead late in the 3rd quarter against Denver (5-2), and then withstood a furious Marcus Garibaldi comeback to win 23-17. Don Terrell's 34-162-1TD day fueled the Long Beach effort.

Honolulu (8-0) managed to pull off a 20-13 win over division rival Arizona (3-4) despite losing star QB Randolph Kranz late in the 2nd quarter. The score was tied at 10 when Kranz went down, and amazingly Arizona was unable to stop backup QB Carlos Burton, who threw for a TD and engineered another FG drive. Arizona's Freddie Matthias continues to perplex league experts, who think he has the talent to be one of the best QBs in the league. His 15/36, 126 yd, 1TD - 2INT performance today kept everyone scratching their heads, wondering when (or if?) he will finally realize his potential.

Butch Fulton and Seymore Barre appear to be finally hitting their strides for Sacramento (5-3), who beat division rival Huntington Beach (4-4) 31-21. Fulton's 35-134-1 TD day continues a streak of four straight games of solid efforts from him, including 487 rushing yards, 305 passing yards, and three total TDs. And Barre's sprained knee couldn't stop him from a 22/25, 236 yd, 3TD-1INT performance, easily his best game of the year.

San Antonio's (4-4) struggles continued today against Tampa Bay (6-2), with the latter beating the former 24-7. The Stingers appear to have trouble getting Ernest Lorenzo assimilated into the offense, as his 2 INTs and 8 sacks today would suggest. The score might've been respectable had Stinger's kicker Alvarado not missed all three FG attempts (from 36, 49 and 54). Tampa's defense deserves credit for taking advantage of San Antonio's weaknesses and making things relatively easy for their offense.

Seattle (4-3) barely survived a spirited effort from downtrodden Las Vegas (0-8), and needed two Darrell Styblo FGs in the last 96 seconds to secure a 16-13 win against the league's only winless team. Despite having offensive weapons Charles Dever and Burt Liszkiewicz at their disposal, Seattle couldn't score an offensive TD. Their only TD on the day was a 45-yd interception return by S Ernest Cobb.

Elsewhere this week:

Chicago (1-7) 31, New York (1-6) 30
Detroit (6-2) 31, Cleveland 13
Shreveport (4-2-1) 27, New Orleans (2-5) 7
Anchorage (3-4) 24, Oregon (2-6) 17
Tulsa (5-2) 30, Santa Cruz (1-5-1) 6

[Fonzie]

The first half of our season had its share of disappointments, but we look to get back on track versus a team that leads the league in disappointments. Las Vegas had dreams of a postseason berth before the season began, but the loss of their starting QB destroyed their season. They've piled up a variety of other injuries to key players and are but a shell of the team they'd be if healthy. Accordingly, they're the only winless team in the league (0-8). They've turned the reins over to rookie QB Roderick "Rosie" Palmer, who has looked decent in his first two starts.

Given our recent struggles, I'm looking for a strong showing against Vegas to restore my confidence in this team. We need a win to keep pace with Honolulu, and hopefully we can make up some ground on them as they'll be playing Boise without their star QB Randolph Kranz. Further, we need to beat this struggling Vegas squad by double-digits for me to feel like we have a solid team with a reasonable shot at the postseason. On to the action!

Box Score: Tucson at Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV.

Week 9, 2010

Attendance: 50,700 (68,000).


Weather: 60 degrees, fair.

1Q: 09:10 TUC - Drew Holliday 13 run.
1Q: 09:10 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
2Q: 12:35 TUC - Rubin Castorena 51 field goal.
2Q: 06:00 TUC - Drew Holliday 9 run.
2Q: 06:00 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
2Q: 02:50 LVS - Anthony Jennings 2 run.
2Q: 02:50 LVS - Felix Savoy extra point.
3Q: 06:50 TUC - Anthony Torres 6 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
3Q: 06:50 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
4Q: 14:53 TUC - Rubin Castorena 33 field goal.

Game MVP: TUC 4 Milan "Colonel" Hogan

Tucson 7 10 7 3 - 27
Las Vegas 0 7 0 0 - 7

Team Statistics TUC LVS

First Downs 24 14

Total Rushes 34 22
Rushing Yards 140 91
Yards Per Carry 4.1 4.1
Pass Attempts 32 39
Completions 21 15
Passing Yards 205 199
Yards Per Attempt 6.4 5.1
Sacked 3 5
Yards Lost 19 29
Interceptions 0 1
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 1/0

Total Plays 69 66
Total Yards 326 261
Yards Per Play 4.7 3.9

3rd Down Plays 5/14 3/15
Avg. YTG on 3rd 7.5 8.4
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/3

Penalties 7 6
Penalty Yards 42 45

Avg. Drive Start OWN 31 OWN 29
Time Of Possession 35:09 24:51

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 27 109 4.0 13 2
22 Bradley 4 20 5.0 17 0
26 Jeffries 2 8 4.0 6 0
43 Jenkins 1 3 3.0 3 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
4 Hogan 32 21 205 6.4 19 1 0 3

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
82 Torres 6 65 10.8 15 18 1
89 Armitage 4 47 11.7 6 18 0
26 Jeffries 4 24 6.0 12 9 0
42 Holliday 2 15 7.5 21 8 0
81 Hodges 2 19 9.5 0 11 0
85 Garcia 2 30 15.0 4 19 0
22 Bradley 1 5 5.0 2 5 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 1 15 15.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 6 274 45.6 55 1

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
13 Castorena 2 2 51 3 3

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
70 Neubauer 5 1 0.5 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 4 3 1.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 4 1 1.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 3 2 1.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 3 3 0.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
96 Stansell 2 0 0.5 0 0 0
97 Horn 2 0 0.5 0 0 0
27 Ellsworth 2 1 0.0 1 0 0
26 Jeffries 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
45 Bennett 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
73 Smith 1 1 0.5 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
53 Hart 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
43 Jenkins 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
60 Poplawski 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
24 Sinclair 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
33 Mirer 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
69 Puente 0 0 0 0 0 1
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 2 1
63 Pitman 0 0 0 0 3 0
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 1 1
82 Torres 0 0 0 0 2 0
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 2 0
25 Minahan 0 1 0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 0 0 0 0 1 0
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 1 0
59 Buckley 0 0 0 0 1 0

We weren't as dominant as the score might suggest, but I'll take a 27-7 win any day. Our offense did a good job of chewing up the clock, our defense tortured poor Roderick "Rosie" Palmer (13/35, 177 yds, 1 INT, 5 sacks) and made three 4th-down stops, and special teams did a good job of maintaining field position. I was disturbed to see that we didn't return any punts, but we were signaling for fair catches all the time because their punter only averaged 34.5 yds. Overall a solid, but not spectacular game.

The only new injury of note was to our best offensive lineman, RT Matthew Pitman. He suffered a sprained back and is Out for 5 weeks. That sucks, but at least we've got the bye week to help get him healthy. By the time we play our next game he should be the only starter we have unavailable. We'll need every warm body we can get, too, as when we return to action we'll play a divisional game against Arizona and then three straight games against playoff teams (Hartford, Boston, and defending champion Denver).

Next up: Bye week.

[Fonzie]

Seattle (5-3) retained sole possession of 1st place in the Ring of Ice division with a solid 24-10 win over Anchorage (3-5). Seattle's defense forced three turnovers and the Dever/Liszkiewicz tandem put forth their usual good efforts to secure the win. Poor Lane Manuel continues to look lost out there...

El Paso (4-3-1) reached up from the depths of 4th place (they are, by the way, clearly the best 4th place team in the league) and knocked defending champs Denver (5-3) from their 1st place tie with Tulsa by the score of 17-10. Dustin Hayes' 258 passing yards and 1 TD sparked the Rockets' offense, and the Rockets pass defense kept Marcus Garibaldi frustrated all day (18/37, 148 yds, 1 INT). The Rockets were also 10/17 on 3rd-down conversions. A nice win for them.

It appears that Santa Cruz (1-6-1) ate their Wheaties this morning and very nearly knocked off a superb Fargo (5-3) team. The Privateers led 10-6 entering the 4th quarter, and the heavily-favored Boxcars needed 17 4th quarter points to lock up a 23-17 win. The key play in this game was a 4th-quarter 75-yd catch-and-run TD pass from Hedges to Eklund (74 YAC!). Santa Cruz outgained Fargo 408-259, and Quentin Larrabee showed that he might just belong in this league with a 22/33, 273 yd, 2 TD performance. However, his 3 INTs contributed to a whopping 5 turnovers on the day for Santa Cruz, and spelled their doom. Credit goes to Fargo for pulling out a win when they weren't playing their best.

James Oberg threw for 3 more TDs in a 34-12 Hartford (6-2) romp over Albany (4-4). Alan Spearman chipped in 122 rushing yards. Albany picked up quite a few passing yards in garbage time to make this one look statistically closer than it was (396 yds for Hartford to 356 for Albany). The Norm Fisk Development Project continues though, and he looks to be ready for a breakout next year.

Boise (5-3) rolled to an easy 33-17 win over a Kranz-less Honolulu (8-1) squad. Without their star QB, Honolulu struggled to get just 223 yds of offense and was 10 of 29 passing with 3 INTs. Boise, on the other hand, gained 453 total yards, including 308 yds passing and 3 TDs from Branden Lin. Look for Kranz to miss at least one more game.

The down-and-out New York Knights (2-6) pulled off the upset of the week at Atlantic City (5-3) by the score of 19-7. New York won with a solid ground game (128 yards) and a stingy defense (201 yds allowed, 3 INTs, 1 INT returned for a TD). Colin Sawyer threw all 3 of his INTs in 4th quarter, and two were from deep in their own territory. Bad day for the Phantoms.

Durham's (3-5-1) struggles continued in a 31-16 loss at home against Shreveport (5-2-1). Edward Kimber was forced to sit this one out with a pulled groin, and his backup Kenneth Lester was not up to the task today. On their first drive of the day he fumbled the ball at their own 24, and then he threw two 2nd-quarter INTs from deep in Durham territory to give Shreverport excellent field position (avg. start: OWN 47). Shreveport took advantage of Lester's generosity and rolled up a 24-6 halftime lead.

Tampa Bay (7-2) started off their game with Baltimore (3-4-1) in style, with Josh Urrutria connecting with Trent Muir on a 79-yd TD on the first play from scrimmage. But Baltimore answered immediately and ultimately forced the game into OT. Baltimore won the coin toss, but Jonathan Sill fumbled away the ball on the first play of OT, at their 30. Tampa immediately scored on a 19-yd Artie Randle scamper. Final score: Tampa Bay 26, Baltimore 20.

The first half of the Tulsa (6-2) - Long Beach (2-6) game went according to script, with Tulsa holding a 14-3 halftime lead. Long Beach scored a FG and a TD + 2pt conversion in the second half while holding Tulsa scoreless to force OT. Tulsa nearly wrapped it up with :10 left in the 4th quarter, but K Schanding had a 27-yd FG attempt blocked. His teammates picked him up, though, by capping off a 71 yd drive with a 1-yd George Welton TD plunge for the win in OT.

Elsewhere in the CFL this week:
Oregon (3-6) 24, Arizona (3-5) 13
Boston (6-2) 28, Cleveland (1-7) 3
Charleston (7-2) 7, Memphis (1-6-1) 6
New Orleans (3-5) 27, San Antonio (4-5) 22

[Fonzie]

Ugh.

I've been sick as a dog these last several days, so I haven't written anything up of late. Couple that with the fact that tomorrow I'm heading out of town until next Tuesday, and it appears that there won't be a Week 10 roundup. Sorry.

The most important thing to know is that Honolulu and Las Vegas battled to a 3-3 tie last week. Fans of punting wept at the beautiful display.

[Fonzie]

I'm back from yet another "family trip" and have two weeks worth of exciting CFL action to catch up on here. So let's get right to it, shall we?

Arizona is struggling again this season and sits at 4-5, which puts them in 3rd place in the RoF. They are, however, still a very dangerous team, as demonstrated by their offensive explosion last week vs. Anchorage. They pulled out a 45-38 win, led by Freddie Matthias' career-high 479 passing yards and 5 TDs. Obviously, we'll need to prevent a repeat of that performance to beat the Outlaws.

We'll be without a key starter on the O-line, Matthew Pitman, who suffered a strained back against Vegas. We'll also be without "Cheap Shot" Rosenberry. But on the plus side we're getting Demetrius Higginbotham back, which should in theory help out our passing game a bit. On to the action!


Box Score: Arizona at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 11, 2010

Attendance: 67,100 (69,800).


Weather: 44 degrees, fair.

1Q: 08:47 TUC - Sydney Armitage 8 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
1Q: 08:47 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
1Q: 03:02 ARI - Paul Stephan 38 field goal.
1Q: 00:16 TUC - Ray Minahan 31 fumble return.
1Q: 00:16 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
3Q: 05:34 TUC - Rubin Castorena 44 field goal.

Game MVP: TUC 75 Howie Grier

Arizona 3 0 0 0 - 3
Tucson 14 0 3 0 - 17

Team Statistics ARI TUC

First Downs 13 14

Total Rushes 26 31
Rushing Yards 71 138
Yards Per Carry 2.7 4.4
Pass Attempts 37 26
Completions 19 15
Passing Yards 192 173
Yards Per Attempt 5.1 6.6
Sacked 4 1
Yards Lost 28 8
Interceptions 0 0
Fumbles/Lost 2/1 2/1

Total Plays 67 58
Total Yards 235 303
Yards Per Play 3.5 5.2

3rd Down Plays 4/17 3/13
Avg. YTG on 3rd 7.4 7.1
4th Down Plays 1/2 0/1

Penalties 4 2
Penalty Yards 35 15

Avg. Drive Start OWN 25 OWN 27
Time Of Possession 29:01 30:59


Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 18 66 3.6 20 0
22 Bradley 10 67 6.7 20 0
4 Hogan 2 2 1.0 4 0
26 Jeffries 1 3 3.0 3 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
4 Hogan 25 14 171 6.8 22 1 0 1
19 Goodwin 1 1 2 2.0 2 0 0 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
82 Torres 4 55 13.7 22 22 0
80 Higginbotham 3 35 11.6 7 17 0
89 Armitage 2 26 13.0 3 18 1
22 Bradley 2 14 7.0 7 9 0
42 Holliday 1 3 3.0 2 3 0
84 Joyner 1 20 20.0 22 20 0
81 Hodges 1 18 18.0 1 18 0
85 Garcia 1 2 2.0 0 2 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
22 Bradley 1 20 20.0 0
85 Garcia 1 -1 -1.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
24 Sinclair 1 17 17.0 0
81 Hodges 1 15 15.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 8 341 42.6 51 4

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
13 Castorena 1 1 44 2 2

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
95 Stoltzfus 6 3 0.5 0 0 0
52 Wash 5 2 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 4 2 2.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 4 3 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 3 1 1.5 0 0 0
40 Biggs 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
44 Blank 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
27 Ellsworth 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
60 Poplawski 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 1 2 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
73 Smith 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
71 Franck 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
65 Lyle 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
24 Sinclair 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 1 1
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 4 0
71 Franck 0 0 1 0 2 0
25 Minahan 0 0 1 1 0 0
65 Lyle 0 0 0 0 2 0
4 Hogan 1 0 0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 0 1 0 0 0 0
58 Watford 0 1 0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 0 0 0 0 1 0
84 Joyner 1 0 0 0 0 0
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 1 0


That was a very workmanlike performance, but I'll take it. Both offenses were off their games today, but we managed to get just enough out of ours to secure the win. "Colonel" Hogan was efficient in guiding the offense, but 3 for 13 on 3rd down conversions is not acceptable. And while our running game overall did well, I'm worried about Daryl Bradley getting 10 carries to Drew Holliday's 18. I'd much rather Drew get closer to 23 and Daryl 5. Long-time readers will note that this has periodically been a problem for me in managing this team, and I'm yet again stumped as to a solution. Holliday's PT is set to 9 and he has decent endurance (81/87), so I'm left scratching my head.

It was nice to get a defensive TD (our first of the season), our pass defense did a great job on Matthias (19/37, 192 yds), and our run D held them to just 2.7 ypc. An overall solid effort from the defense, though I would still like to see more than one turnover per game.

And for once we managed to get through a game relatively unscathed. No new injuries of significance. Happy happy.

So now we sit at 7-3, 1.5 games behind the 8-1-1 Honolulu Bloodthirsty Beagles, and facing a horrendous stretch of games: vs. Hartford (8-2), at Denver (7-3) and at Boston (7-3). We'll need to win at least two of those three to hang with Honolulu. If we come out of that sequence at 8-5 we're probably looking at a Wild Card berth (at best), and if we lose all three to fall to 7-6, we're probably done.

[Fonzie]

Hartford is one scary team. They sit atop their division at 8-2, with their two losses fairly close (by a total of 9 points). They are led by one of the league's best QBs in James Oberg, and feature one of the league's best running backs in Alan Spearman. They have a solid recieving corps, a good O-line, a great D-line, and a solid secondary. In short, this team has no holes.

I take that back - they do have one hole on their O-line. All-world center Leonel Lewis (77/77) has been out with a sprained ankle, and is replaced by second-year undrafted FA Jumbo Juedes (27/39). Getting pressure up the middle will thus be key to disrupting their offense, and Harold Stoltzfus is just the man for that job. I expect Harold to have a huge day, and we've geared our gameplan to maximize that likelihood.

Coming into this game our only injury of note is to RT Matthew Pitman, who remains sidelined with a strained something-or-other. He was replaced by Stan Lyle last week, who held up well (2/5 on KRB, 0 sacks). We'll need him to play well again. We are also getting "Cheap Shot" Rosenberry back to help out with our nickel packages, which we plan to utilize heavily to slow down Oberg and company.

On to the action!

Box Score: Hartford at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 12, 2010

Attendance: 67,100 (69,800).


Weather: 43 degrees, fair.

1Q: 08:56 TUC - Rubin Castorena 40 field goal.
1Q: 08:09 HAR - Alan Spearman 69 run.
1Q: 08:09 HAR - Rod Farmer extra point.
1Q: 04:54 HAR - Will Lincoln 3 pass from James Oberg.
1Q: 04:54 HAR - Rod Farmer extra point.
2Q: 11:36 HAR - Will Lincoln 2 run.
2Q: 11:36 HAR - Rod Farmer extra point.
2Q: 10:06 HAR - Edward Trail 8 pass from James Oberg.
2Q: 10:06 HAR - Rod Farmer extra point.
2Q: 01:04 HAR - Rod Farmer 31 field goal.
2Q: 00:03 HAR - Rod Farmer 42 field goal.
3Q: 05:06 TUC - Anthony Torres 38 fumble return.
3Q: 05:06 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
4Q: 13:20 HAR - Rod Farmer 35 field goal.

Game MVP: HAR 3 James Oberg

Hartford 14 20 0 3 - 37
Tucson 3 0 7 0 - 10

Team Statistics HAR TUC

First Downs 22 16

Total Rushes 27 27
Rushing Yards 153 134
Yards Per Carry 5.6 4.9
Pass Attempts 37 27
Completions 22 17
Passing Yards 251 154
Yards Per Attempt 6.7 5.7
Sacked 2 2
Yards Lost 10 14
Interceptions 0 1
Fumbles/Lost 2/0 3/1

Total Plays 66 56
Total Yards 394 274
Yards Per Play 5.9 4.8

3rd Down Plays 4/12 6/14
Avg. YTG on 3rd 7.0 7.0
4th Down Plays 2/2 0/0

Penalties 5 3
Penalty Yards 37 15

Avg. Drive Start OWN 41 OWN 20
Time Of Possession 31:29 28:31


Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 13 73 5.6 33 0
22 Bradley 12 61 5.0 14 0
26 Jeffries 2 0 0.0 1 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
4 Hogan 18 10 103 5.7 22 0 1 2
19 Goodwin 9 7 51 5.6 12 0 0 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
22 Bradley 3 14 4.6 8 7 0
26 Jeffries 3 15 5.0 9 9 0
85 Garcia 3 24 8.0 9 9 0
80 Higginbotham 2 19 9.5 9 12 0
89 Armitage 2 24 12.0 6 15 0
82 Torres 2 28 14.0 3 18 0
84 Joyner 1 22 22.0 0 22 0
81 Hodges 1 8 8.0 1 8 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 3 56 18.6 0
85 Garcia 2 37 18.5 0
24 Sinclair 1 12 12.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 5 207 41.4 52 0

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
13 Castorena 1 2 40 1 1

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
52 Wash 9 5 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 7 2 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 7 1 0.0 0 0 0
96 Stansell 4 0 1.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
44 Blank 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
27 Ellsworth 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 1 1.0 0 0 0
24 Sinclair 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
42 Holliday 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Torres 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
65 Lyle 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
54 Reeves 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
73 Smith 0 2 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 1 2
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 3 0
22 Bradley 2 0 0 0 0 0
82 Torres 0 0 1 1 0 0
65 Lyle 0 0 0 0 2 0
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 2 0
89 Armitage 0 0 1 0 0 0
52 Wash 0 1 0 0 0 0
93 King 0 1 0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 1 0 0 0 0 0


That wasn't very good.

The first Hartford drive of this game pretty much determined how this one would play out: on the 3rd play from scrimmage they knocked out Harold Stoltzfus. On the 4th play from scrimmage they knocked out Cheap Shot Rosenberry. In the blink of an eye our entire defensive gameplan was shredded, and I knew that we were gonna get blown out the moment I saw Stoltzfus go down.

While we were able to stop them on that drive, that would be the last time we'd do so until well into the 3rd quarter. I was actually somewhat pleased with our performance against Oberg, as his 22/37 for 251 yds and 2 TDs day was arguably his worst performance in over a month. If only we'd had our nickel back and best pass rusher available, we might have further disrupted their passing game. I also have to wonder if Alan Spearman would've been able to bust his 69-yd TD run with Stoltzfus in there (who is also our best run defender). Take away that scamper and Hartford's rushing day was just 26 carries for 84 yards. Alas, we cannot take away that scamper.

Hartford deserves credit for taking advantage of the holes in our defense, and for stifling Hogan's passing game. He was truly dreadful today, repeatedly throwing into double coverage or checking down to the fullback when we needed big yardage. Frustrating. But at least backup Kent Goodwin got some PT today, and looked reasonable.

As for our running game, I'm about to track down Jim Gindin and strangle him. Why, oh why, must it be so difficult to get a starting running back the bulk of the carries? Holliday, whose PT is set to 9, got 13 carries while backup Daryl Bradley got 12. One might be tempted to think that Bradley's carries primarily came during garbage time, but they did not. Four of his carries were in the 1st quarter, and his first carry of the second quarter looked like this:

Possession to Tucson.

1-10-TUC12 (11:10) TUC 22 Bradley ran around right end for 2 yards.
Tackled by HAR 27 Lee, assisted by HAR 97 Russel.
Ball was fumbled and recovered by HAR 27 Lee for 0 yards to the TUC14.


Thanks, Daryl. But on a happier note Drew Holliday went over the 1000 yard mark today for the fifth consecutive year. Congratulations, Drew!

But back to the negatives: adding injury to insult, we lost our second-best O-lineman today in LG Ross Poplawski (70/70), who will miss six weeks with a strained adductor muscle. He may well be done for the regular season. And to recap the injuries from today, Stoltzfus is out for 4 weeks, and Rosenberry for 2. Pitman is still questionable. From an injury perspective, things aren't looking so good for the good guys. Too many key contributors hurt.

In fact, I'm starting to think that this team just isn't as good as I was thinking it would be. We finished 12-4 last year and I thought that we improved our talent level in the offseason, but we've already notched as many losses this year as last. Some of this shabby performance can be chaulked up to random rolls of the dice, I'm sure, but I think it is telling that in our matchups against two of our toughest foes (Hartford and Honolulu) we got blown out in both. It appears that we'll have to adjust our expectations and set our sights on getting a Wild Card berth.

Next up: at Denver.

[flere-imsaho]

Hartford is so rough. I'm absolutely elated that I split with them this season.

[Fonzie]

Tulsa (6-5) was able to hang with Detroit (9-2) right up until the very end. With Detroit leading 21-16 and 2:00 left on the clock, Tulsa had to punt. Unfortunately for them, Earle Cabral's punt was blocked and recovered in the end zone to provide Detroit with their final TD. Final Score: Detroit 28, Tulsa 16. Johnnie Titone did his part to keep Tulsa in the game, completing just over half of his passes and throwing 3 INTs, but Tulsa was not able to capitalize on Titone's off-game. Detroit held them to just 254 total yards.

The allegedly non-existent 4th quarter comeback routine allowed Honolulu (9-1-1) to turn a 17-10 deficit against Boston (7-4) into a 20-17 win. A Kranz-to-Mendes 43 yd TD bomb with 87 seconds left provided the final margin of victory. Dwayne Bridges appeared to have Boston on the way to at least a tying field goal after a 33-yd completion to the Honolulu 29, but an illegal use of the hands penalty nullified that great play. Bridges then had to suffer through the indignity of three straight dropped passes by his receivers. Poor slob.

Charleston (9-2) had to work for it, but they were able to squeeze out a 14-10 win over up-and-coming Santa Cruz (2-8-1). The Privateers actually held a 10-7 4th quarter lead, but Landon Hurst engineered a beautiful 92 yd TD drive for the final score with 2:02 left in the game. Look out for Santa Cruz though - they've got some great young talent and will be a force to be reckoned with, perhaps as soon as next year.

The erstwhile leader of the Ring of Ice, Seattle (5-6) has now lost three in a row and sits a two full games behind Boise City. Their vanquisher this time was Shreveport (8-2-1) who used a 59-yd fumble recovery for a TD (courtesy of Burt Liszkiewicz) to take the lead in the 4th quarter. And so arrives Seattle's annual, inexplicable collapse. How a team with such talent can continue to elude playoff contention is one of the universe's great mysteries.

Tampa Bay (8-3) won every battle in their fight with Sacramento (8-3), except for the one that matters: the final score. The Torpedoes outgained the Dragons (439-347), won ToP (32:44-27:05), won the turnover battle (3-1), gained more first downs (26-20), and won field position (Own 32 - Own 25). Yet, they succumbed when Seymore Barre engineered a 55-yd TD drive with 1:02 left on the clock. Trent Muir dropped two key passes on the Torpedoes' final desperation drive. Final score: Sacramento 27, Tampa Bay 24.

Fargo (8-3) kept pace with division-leading Denver by blowing out the hapless Cleveland Flats (1-10) by the score of 30-0. This was the Fargo franchise's first-ever shutout. They're about as healthy as an owner could hope and are positioned perfectly, and so look for them to give Denver a serious challenge down the stretch.

Elsewhere in Week 12:
San Antonio (5-6) 27, Anchorage (4-7) 20
Arizona (5-6) 24, Atlantic City (5-6) 20
Denver (8-3) 26, Chicago (2-9) 13
Durham (4-6-1) 27, Huntington Beach (4-6-1) 24
Albany (6-5) 16, El Paso (4-6-1) 13
Long Beach (3-7-1) 16, Baltimore (4-6-1) 10
Boise City (7-4) 38, Memphis (2-8-1) 17
New York (4-7) 35, Las Vegas (0-10-1) 20
New Orleans (4-7) 24, Oregon (4-7) 6

[Fonzie]

So, coming into week 13 we sit at 7-4, good enough for 2nd place in the RoF. If the season ended today we'd be the #6 seed in the playoffs. For a team that had visions of a 2nd consecutive division championship, that's pretty pathetic. If we're to salvage this season we need to start a good run now, and make a statement against the defending champs. That'll be tough to pull off for two reasons: 1) we're on the road for this one; 2) we're a beat beaten up and they're relatively healthy. We'll be without our best player in Stoltzfus and two O-line starters (Poplawski and Pitman) today, and the latter absences concern me greatly. We've got some depth on the O-line, but I'm worried that the loss of cohesion could short-circuit our offense. Still, we need a win here. Hogan and Holliday will need to step up to overcome the O-line's problems.

On to the action!

Box Score: Tucson at Denver
Denver, CO.

Week 13, 2010

Attendance: 79,600 (80,100).


Weather: 34 degrees, fair.

1Q: 10:39 DEN - Gary Hutchins 38 field goal.
1Q: 04:43 TUC - Anthony Torres 11 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
1Q: 04:43 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
2Q: 14:09 DEN - Gary Hutchins 26 field goal.
2Q: 02:04 DEN - Caleb Calder 31 fumble return.
2Q: 02:04 DEN - Gary Hutchins extra point.
3Q: 08:49 DEN - Curtis Plotkin 40 pass from Marcus Garibaldi.
3Q: 08:49 DEN - Gary Hutchins extra point.
3Q: 03:37 DEN - Gary Hutchins 39 field goal.
4Q: 09:36 TUC - Rubin Castorena 40 field goal.
4Q: 00:52 DEN - Gary Hutchins 34 field goal.

Game MVP: DEN 95 Zachery Duggan

Tucson 7 0 0 3 - 10
Denver 3 10 10 3 - 26

Team Statistics TUC DEN

First Downs 13 20

Total Rushes 21 40
Rushing Yards 91 139
Yards Per Carry 4.3 3.4
Pass Attempts 25 29
Completions 14 19
Passing Yards 124 237
Yards Per Attempt 4.9 8.1
Sacked 4 2
Yards Lost 26 10
Interceptions 1 0
Fumbles/Lost 1/1 1/1

Total Plays 50 71
Total Yards 189 366
Yards Per Play 3.7 5.1

3rd Down Plays 5/12 10/17
Avg. YTG on 3rd 7.3 5.7
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 7 11
Penalty Yards 45 70

Avg. Drive Start OWN 22 OWN 30
Time Of Possession 23:17 36:43

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 14 66 4.7 21 0
22 Bradley 5 18 3.6 6 0
80 Higginbotham 1 3 3.0 3 0
26 Jeffries 1 4 4.0 4 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
4 Hogan 25 14 124 4.9 17 1 1 4

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
26 Jeffries 4 25 6.2 18 10 0
82 Torres 4 34 8.5 18 12 1
22 Bradley 2 14 7.0 13 9 0
80 Higginbotham 1 8 8.0 0 8 0
42 Holliday 1 17 17.0 4 17 0
81 Hodges 1 15 15.0 2 15 0
85 Garcia 1 11 11.0 1 11 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
22 Bradley 1 3 3.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 4 64 16.0 0
85 Garcia 1 22 22.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 6 242 40.3 47 1

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
13 Castorena 1 1 40 1 1

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
55 Trujillo 8 0 0.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 6 5 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 6 4 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 5 0 1.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 5 3 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 5 3 0.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 3 4 1.0 0 0 0
96 Stansell 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
27 Ellsworth 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
89 Armitage 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
73 Smith 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
43 Jenkins 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
54 Reeves 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
74 Cochrane 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
69 Puente 0 0 0 0 0 1
65 Lyle 0 0 0 0 0 1
61 Eaddy 0 0 0 0 3 2
40 Biggs 0 0 1 0 0 0
22 Bradley 1 0 0 0 0 0
97 Horn 0 1 0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 0 0 0 0 1 0
82 Torres 0 0 0 0 1 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 1 0


Puh. Theh. Tic.

We amazingly held the lead for most of the 1st half, but that lead evaporated with yet another Daryl Bradley fumble (this time on a punt return) that was returned for a TD. From there, we began a free fall the likes of which hasn't been seen since Art Garfunkel began his solo career. We've gone from 5-1 to 7-5, just like that.

As I feared (and I did honestly fear this before writing up the intro above), our O-line was our undoing today. We surrendered four sacks (along with several pressures), all of which were the fault of our replacements on the left side of the line. Our run blocking was decent, but because we were constantly in 3rd and long situations, with a deficit, we couldn't run as much as I'd like. And Hogan was again pathetic - this marks three straight weeks in which he failed to deliver.

The terrible passing game isn't all his fault, however. Our supposed #1 receiver, Sydney Armitage, has virtually disappeared. Over the last three weeks he has caught just 4 of 14 passes for 50 yds, including a nifty 0 for 6 today. He was double covered a lot today, but I still expect a double covered receiver to grab at least two of those passes. In fact, all of our receivers have been terrible of late - Higginbotham has only caught three passes for 27 yards in the last two games, and our #3 receiver, Hodges, has caught just 3 of 8 passes for 41 yards. And so Hogan continues to throw to our TE and backs, which won't get it done when we're behind. I don't know what happened to our passing game over the last month or so, and I'm at a loss as to how to fix it. I can only hope that getting our O-line healthy will help.

Speaking of which, T Matthew Pitman is now "probable" and may well be returned to the lineup. That would at least get us up to four regular starters on the line. In other injury news, the CFL gods must truly hate my poor Toros, as they refused to help Harold Stoltzfus or Cheap Shot Rosenberry heal at all this last week. Stoltzfus is still out for 4 weeks and Rosenberry for 2. In addition, the CFL gods have taken away starting safety Mitchel Enoch for 4 weeks. Mitch got hurt on Denver's final FG attempt, with :52 left in the game. Why, oh why, must starters play on special teams? So, our defense will now be without two key starters and our nickel back for at least two more games, and likely more.

We're not a very good team right now. A strong showing to end the year would be nice, but at this point we'll have to go 3-1 to feel confident about making the playoffs. With Boston and Honolulu on the schedule, I'm not optimistic about that. 9-7 is far more likely, or even 8-8.

*sigh*

Next up: at Boston.

[flere-imsaho]

Art Garfunkel. Heh. :)

[Fonzie]

A whopping eleven games were decided by six points or less this week. That means I'll have a tough time choosing which games to highlight for this week's roundup, so don't get mad at me if your game wasn't featured.

Archie Chasser legs are almost certainly worn down to bloody little nubs after carrying the ball 37 times and catching five passes in Albany's (7-5) 23-17 OT win over Memphis (2-9-1). He gained 135 yards on those carries, the last five of which went for the decisive TD. Albany dominated this one statistically, but ill-timed turnovers short-circuited their scoring opportunities.

Arizona (5-7) gave Fargo (9-3) all they could handle and actually led 34-31 until Fargo's Rickey Griffith nailed a 40-yd FG with :24 left to force OT. Griffith then came through again with a 50 yarder to win the game. Freddie Matthias had another nice game with 316 passing yards and 2 TDs, but Brett Hedges stole the show in this one: 381 yards and 4 TDs. Fargo remains preposterously healthy, with only one active "probable" player on the injury report, so look for them to be a force come postseason.

Boise (8-4) may get sent to detention after school for beating up Sacramento (8-4) and stealing their lunch money in a 30-3 rout. The Dragons' defense simply failed to show up against Brandon Lin, who threw 3 TD passes, and overall yielded 432 yards to Boise. Sacramento's offense, on the other hand, couldn't get anything going all game long. Boise's win came with a price though: starting safety Jeff Hulse broke his clavicle and will miss nearly two months.

Boston's (8-4) Isaiah Melo racked up 1.5 sacks and 4 hurries against Josh Urrutria and Tampa Bay (8-4), leading the defensive effort in a 13-10 win. Dwayne Bridges connected with Irv Schwartz on a 52-yd bomb for a TD to start the 1st quarter scoring, but Boston's offense then went silent until nailing two field goals in the last four minutes of the game. Boston's punter Al Golding did as much to keep them in the game as anyone, averaging 46.5 yards on six punts, dropping three of them inside the 20.

In what some would call the game of the week, Shreveport (9-2-1) bested Detroit (9-3) by the score of 26-24. The winning points came on a Brenden "Jim J" Bullock 18 yd FG with :43 left. Shreveport's balanced attack (231 passing yds, 165 rushing) and opportunistic defense (3 sacks, 2 INTs) held Detroit at bay. Johnnie Titone's interceptions were key in this one, as one came deep in Shreveport territory and another gave Shreveport great field position. Detroit's nine penalties didn't help their cause. Both teams lost some key starters in this one, but the injury overshadowing them all was Douglas Hartman's pulled groin, which has him listed as "doubtful" for next week.

Durham (5-7-1) has had some of the worst luck in the league this year (Las Vegas, of course, leads the league in that department), having now suffered five of their seven losses by a TD or less. Hartford (10-2) was this week's beneficiary with a 19-16 OT win. Speaking of luck, Hartford got a 4th quarter 82-yd kickoff return for a TD from Arlen Gallegos for their only TD of the day, and that was what they'd need to force OT. Both teams continued their offensive ineptitude in the extra period, with neither team scoring until Hartford's 33 yd FG with :47 left.

The league's best record continues to belong to Honolulu (10-1-1), who put a 27-3 thrashing on Santa Cruz (2-9-1). Honolulu's defense made QB Quentin Larrabee look every bit the rookie, forcing him into an embarrassing 8/23, 82 yd, 1 INT performance. Randolph Kranz was somewhat less spectacular today, going 16/31 for 204 yds and 2 TDs, but the Beagles didn't need him to be spectacular. The 16-year veteran also showed that his legs still work, scrambling 3 times for 28 yds and a TD.

Elsewhere in the CFL in week 13:

Baltimore (5-6-1) 17, Chicago (2-10) 14
Charleston (10-2) 24, Cleveland (1-11) 21
Anchorage (5-7) 30, El Paso (4-7-1) 28
Huntington Beach (5-6-1) 27, Las Vegas (0-11-1) 23
Atlantic City (6-6) 31, New Orleans (4-8) 27
Seattle (6-6) 20, Long Beach (3-8-1) 6
Tulsa (7-5) 17, Oregon (4-8) 16

[Fonzie]

We continue our unwelcome tour of games vs. the best quarterbacks in the league today with a match against Boston's Dwayne Bridges (83/83). Dwayne is the CFL's single-season record holder in several categories, including passing yards (5215), TD passes (47) and pass completions (442). These records were all set in his early years playing for a Fargo team that hardly ever ran the ball, but since coming to Boston two years ago he's been used in a somewhat more "normal" fashion. This change has been to his benefit, overall, as his QB Ratings have actually improved now that he's not throwing every single down. In fact, he's having the best Rating season of his career, hovering right around 100 on 21 TDs vs. 5 INTs.

Boston is a relatively healthy team - they've had a few injuries to their O-line, but they have some depth there and shouldn't be too worried. Otherwise, at 8-4 they're in good shape to continue their pursuit of Hartford (10-2) in the Yankee division.

We're getting RT Matthew Pitman back today - he's still "probable" with a strained back, but we're going to gamble and hope he gets through this one alright. That will get us back up to starting four of our regular five players on the O-line. It is my hope that doing so will revitalize our offense, which has sputtered badly over the last two games (20 total points - 6 of which came via the defense). Defensively we'll still be without the services of Harold Stoltzfus, Mitchel Enoch, and "Cheap Shot" Rosenberry. Against a QB like Bridges, those will be some tough absences to overcome.

On to the action!

Box Score: Tucson at Boston
Boston, MA.

Week 14, 2010

Attendance: 82,900 (99,900).


Weather: 38 degrees, rain.

1Q: 08:04 NED - Irv Schwartz 9 pass from Dwayne Bridges.
1Q: 08:04 NED - Bo Kitchings extra point.
2Q: 07:55 TUC - Rubin Castorena 42 field goal.
2Q: 00:19 NED - Bo Kitchings 29 field goal.
4Q: 10:31 TUC - Demetrius Higginbotham 12 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
4Q: 10:31 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
4Q: 00:00 TUC - Rubin Castorena 51 field goal.

Game MVP: TUC 52 Grant Wash

Tucson 0 3 0 10 - 13
Boston 7 3 0 0 - 10

Team Statistics TUC NED

First Downs 12 14

Total Rushes 35 47
Rushing Yards 121 143
Yards Per Carry 3.4 3.0
Pass Attempts 20 16
Completions 8 14
Passing Yards 126 144
Yards Per Attempt 6.3 9.0
Sacked 4 0
Yards Lost 22 0
Interceptions 1 0
Fumbles/Lost 2/0 4/2

Total Plays 59 63
Total Yards 225 287
Yards Per Play 3.8 4.5

3rd Down Plays 3/13 8/17
Avg. YTG on 3rd 9.7 6.1
4th Down Plays 1/1 0/1

Penalties 6 6
Penalty Yards 30 39

Avg. Drive Start OWN 24 OWN 29
Time Of Possession 28:17 31:43

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 18 44 2.4 12 0
22 Bradley 8 33 4.1 8 0
26 Jeffries 6 41 6.8 24 0
85 Garcia 2 5 2.5 4 0
4 Hogan 1 -2 -2.0 -2 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
4 Hogan 20 8 126 6.3 34 1 1 4

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
80 Higginbotham 3 46 15.3 3 17 1
82 Torres 2 28 14.0 5 18 0
89 Armitage 1 34 34.0 0 34 0
26 Jeffries 1 10 10.0 7 10 0
85 Garcia 1 8 8.0 1 8 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
22 Bradley 4 11 2.7 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
85 Garcia 1 14 14.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 7 329 47.0 63 3

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
13 Castorena 2 2 51 1 1

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
52 Wash 12 6 0.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 8 2 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 8 0 0.0 0 0 0
96 Stansell 7 2 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 6 3 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 6 2 0.0 0 0 0
44 Blank 5 3 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
27 Ellsworth 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 4 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 1 2 0.0 0 0 0
43 Jenkins 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
24 Sinclair 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
33 Mirer 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
65 Lyle 0 0 1 0 2 1
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 4 1
61 Eaddy 0 0 0 0 1 2
58 Watford 0 2 1 0 0 0
52 Wash 0 1 1 0 0 0
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 2 0
4 Hogan 1 0 0 0 0 0
22 Bradley 1 0 0 0 0 0
75 Grier 0 1 0 0 0 0
96 Stansell 0 0 1 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 0 0 0 0 1 0
84 Joyner 0 0 0 0 1 0
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 1 0


Well I'll be damned. Rubin Castorena came through in the clutch (a rare thing these days) with a 51-yarder as time expired to give us a crucial road win! That was one lucky win, and it appeared that the weather had a great deal to do with our victory. The rain appeared to influence Boston's offensive playcalling, as they ran the ball 47 times and only passed 16. That decision limited Dwayne Bridges' influence on the game, which is always a benefit to Boston's opponents. Further, we were able to hold them to 3.0 ypc and forced four fumbles (two recovered), again likely due to the rain.

The rain similarly squashed our offense, but I continue to be disturbed by the poor performances turned in by Milan "Colonel" Hogan. Just 8 of 20 for 126 yds, 1 TD and 1 INT? That's his fourth straight subpar performances, and fifth in his last seven games. Is age starting to catch up with him? Or is he simply reflecting the quality of the blockers over the last two months? Our O-line has been ravaged by injury, which has to be taking a toll. Oh, and by the way, we lost both of our starting tackles today. Pitman succumbed to his back strain and will be out for 3 more weeks, and LT Chris Frank will be out for 6 weeks with a separated shoulder. Just what we needed. Add them to LG Poplawski who is out for another 4 weeks and we've got a genuine catastrophe on the offensive line. Our two remaining regular starters are still relatively young players, and our two backup tackles are very raw. Blech.

On the plus side no defensive players got hurt. So there's that.

So, we're now 8-5 and still in position to secure one of the two wildcard bids. We have to keep winning though, as Tulsa is also 8-5 and Seattle is right behind us at 7-6. The last three games of the year will be crucial - can we get this ship righted?

Next up: at Arizona.

[flere-imsaho]

Damn you. :p

[Fonzie]

Damn you. :p

Sorry 'bout that. You really should've won that game, but Gindin works in mysterious ways.

And by the way, did you really have to knock out our two tackles? I, you know, needed them for the rest of the season and stuff.

[Fonzie]

We're now 8-5 and need a win in this matchup with RoF foe Arizona (5-8) in order to keep pace in the Wild Card race. Arizona is relatively healthy, although they've suffered some knocks to their O-line and their all-world TE is "Doubtful" for the game. But QB Freddie Matthias is having a career year, and stopping him will be the key to winning this one.

Well, stopping him and somehow getting our own offense back on track will both be key to winning. Scoring points probably won't be easy, as we're still only fielding two of our regular starting offensive linemen. And defensively we'll still be shorthanded with Stoltzfus and Enoch still out of the lineup. Hmmm...things just aren't looking very good for us these days. We're 11-3-1 historically vs. Arizona - maybe a game against them is just what the doctor ordered?

Box Score: Tucson at Arizona
Arizona, AZ.

Week 15, 2010

Attendance: 42,300 (63,000).


Weather: 53 degrees, fair.

1Q: 08:06 ARI - Billie Latour 11 pass from Freddie Mathias.
1Q: 08:06 ARI - Paul Stephan extra point.
2Q: 08:10 TUC - Daryl Bradley 6 run.
2Q: 08:10 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
2Q: 04:25 ARI - Paul Stephan 26 field goal.
2Q: 01:11 ARI - Rusty Connors 16 pass from Freddie Mathias.
2Q: 01:11 ARI - Paul Stephan extra point.
3Q: 02:01 ARI - Paul Stephan 23 field goal.
4Q: 13:22 TUC - Rubin Castorena 56 field goal.
4Q: 11:02 ARI - Rusty Connors 13 pass from Freddie Mathias.
4Q: 11:02 ARI - Paul Stephan extra point.
4Q: 06:35 ARI - Paul Stephan 43 field goal.
4Q: 04:09 TUC - Rubin Castorena 34 field goal.

Game MVP: ARI 3 Freddie Mathias

Tucson 0 7 0 6 - 13
Arizona 7 10 3 10 - 30

Team Statistics TUC ARI

First Downs 24 25

Total Rushes 18 21
Rushing Yards 57 66
Yards Per Carry 3.1 3.1
Pass Attempts 44 41
Completions 29 29
Passing Yards 346 419
Yards Per Attempt 7.8 10.2
Sacked 3 3
Yards Lost 19 27
Interceptions 1 0
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 1/0

Total Plays 65 65
Total Yards 384 458
Yards Per Play 5.9 7.0

3rd Down Plays 3/11 4/12
Avg. YTG on 3rd 8.7 7.1
4th Down Plays 0/1 0/0

Penalties 9 3
Penalty Yards 56 15

Avg. Drive Start OWN 18 OWN 31
Time Of Possession 27:28 32:32

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 9 30 3.3 11 0
22 Bradley 5 21 4.2 7 1
26 Jeffries 3 3 1.0 3 0
4 Hogan 1 3 3.0 3 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
4 Hogan 44 29 346 7.8 37 0 1 3

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
85 Garcia 10 113 11.3 12 17 0
82 Torres 9 122 13.5 54 37 0
26 Jeffries 3 18 6.0 17 8 0
89 Armitage 2 36 18.0 10 27 0
22 Bradley 2 11 5.5 11 7 0
80 Higginbotham 1 16 16.0 0 16 0
42 Holliday 1 7 7.0 2 7 0
81 Hodges 1 23 23.0 2 23 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
22 Bradley 1 11 11.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 3 43 14.3 0
85 Garcia 2 41 20.5 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 4 163 40.7 54 0

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
13 Castorena 2 2 56 1 1

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
55 Trujillo 7 0 0.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 6 0 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 5 2 1.0 0 0 0
33 Mirer 5 2 0.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 3 2 0.5 0 0 0
96 Stansell 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 2 0 0.5 0 0 0
58 Watford 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
44 Blank 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
27 Ellsworth 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
73 Smith 1 0 0.5 0 0 0
93 King 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
88 Ramirez 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
85 Garcia 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
54 Reeves 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
45 Bennett 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
74 Cochrane 0 1 0.5 0 0 0
97 Horn 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
24 Sinclair 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
78 Poston 0 0 0 0 0 2
61 Eaddy 0 0 0 0 0 1
25 Minahan 0 1 0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 0 0 0 0 1 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 1 0
65 Lyle 0 0 0 0 1 0
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 1 0


Christ, what a mess.

I'm not even going to comment on this game beyond adding one note: we lost #1 WR Sydney Armitage for the regular season due to a strained something-or-other. Just what we needed.

[Fonzie]

The Atlantic City Phantoms are an EFC team with some up-and-coming stars in development. They aren't quite there yet, as their 7-7 record suggests, but they're getting close. We've only faced them once before, a 21-11 win in 2006. So, we're basically playing against a team we know nothing about. We do know that they're pretty healthy, and their young QB Colin Sawyer looks to be The Real Deal. Beating them will prove to be a tough test.

But this is a test we must pass, as we're neck-and-neck in the Wild Card race. As of right now we occupy a WC spot, but that could change in a hurry. Fargo is chasing Denver in their division, and at 10-4 have at least a WC locked up already. That leaves us (8-6), Tulsa (8-6), and Seattle (8-6) all battling for the last spot. We must win here to keep our playoff hopes alive.

And so we'll take another gamble on playing injured players. Stoltzfus (Questionable), Enoch (Questionable) and Rosenberry (Probable) are all suiting up for us today. Hopefully their return will rejuvinate a defense that was absolutely torched last week. We still don't have any of our injured O-line starters back, and we'll be without Sydney Armitage today. In his place we'll be giving former 1st round pick Brent Garcia his first career start. In replacement duty last week he caught 10 passes for 113 yards, and we're hoping he'll continue to be productive in Sydney's absence.

Enough talk. Now for action:

Box Score: Atlantic City at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 16, 2010

Attendance: 67,100 (69,800).


Weather: 70 degrees, fair.

1Q: 08:08 TUC - Anthony Torres 5 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
1Q: 08:08 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
1Q: 04:29 ACI - John Snell 35 field goal.
2Q: 10:29 TUC - Daryl Bradley 2 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
2Q: 10:29 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
2Q: 02:21 ACI - Lanny Hower 1 pass from Colin Sawyer.
2Q: 02:21 ACI - John Snell extra point.
3Q: 09:45 ACI - Rueben Albertson 7 pass from Colin Sawyer.
3Q: 09:45 ACI - John Snell extra point.
3Q: 00:32 TUC - Brent Garcia 7 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
3Q: 00:32 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
4Q: 11:46 TUC - Rubin Castorena 52 field goal.
4Q: 01:10 TUC - Rubin Castorena 29 field goal.

Game MVP: TUC 4 Milan "Colonel" Hogan

Atlantic City 3 7 7 0 - 17
Tucson 7 7 7 6 - 27

Team Statistics ACI TUC

First Downs 11 24

Total Rushes 16 40
Rushing Yards 52 116
Yards Per Carry 3.2 2.9
Pass Attempts 36 30
Completions 22 24
Passing Yards 153 264
Yards Per Attempt 4.2 8.8
Sacked 2 1
Yards Lost 13 5
Interceptions 2 0
Fumbles/Lost 3/1 2/1

Total Plays 54 71
Total Yards 192 375
Yards Per Play 3.5 5.2

3rd Down Plays 5/14 7/13
Avg. YTG on 3rd 6.1 6.6
4th Down Plays 2/2 0/0

Penalties 4 7
Penalty Yards 30 45

Avg. Drive Start OWN 31 OWN 35
Time Of Possession 24:07 35:53


Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 28 69 2.4 15 0
26 Jeffries 5 24 4.8 11 0
22 Bradley 4 17 4.2 6 0
4 Hogan 1 -2 -2.0 -2 0
80 Higginbotham 1 5 5.0 5 0
81 Hodges 1 3 3.0 3 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
4 Hogan 30 24 264 8.8 19 3 0 1

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
82 Torres 8 87 10.8 41 18 1
85 Garcia 6 61 10.1 5 14 1
81 Hodges 3 42 14.0 8 19 0
80 Higginbotham 2 21 10.5 1 13 0
22 Bradley 1 2 2.0 2 2 1
88 Ramirez 1 18 18.0 3 18 0
42 Holliday 1 11 11.0 2 11 0
26 Jeffries 1 4 4.0 4 4 0
83 Chandler 1 18 18.0 1 18 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 3 58 19.3 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 4 166 41.5 44 0

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
13 Castorena 2 3 52 3 3

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
52 Wash 7 0 0.0 1 8 0
55 Trujillo 6 0 0.0 1 11 0
31 Enoch 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 4 3 1.5 0 0 0
75 Grier 3 0 0.5 0 0 0
40 Biggs 3 3 0.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
88 Ramirez 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 1 2 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 1 2 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 2 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 7 1
4 Hogan 1 0 1 0 0 0
75 Grier 0 1 1 0 0 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 2 0
70 Neubauer 0 1 0 0 0 0
52 Wash 0 1 0 0 0 0
61 Eaddy 0 0 0 0 1 0
42 Holliday 1 0 0 0 0 0


Now that's what I'm talkin' about.

The score doesn't really do justice to this game, as we were just plain dominant. We outgained them by nearly 200 yards, held them under 200 total yards, won the turnover battle (3-1) and won the ToP battle handily. The only thing that didn't click well today was our running game, which is no surprise considering the continued upheaval on the line. I'll take it.

Brent Garcia acquitted himself well today with a 6-61-1 game. He'll probably get the nod again next week. But Milan "Colonel" Hogan was the real story here, as he played a nearly flawless game. Perhaps my rantings about his poor play of late motivated him?

Another bit of good news: we didn't lose our gambles with the injured players we ran out there today. Stoltzfus, Enoch, and Rosenberry came out of this game just fine. Our only new injury was a shoulder problem backup RB Daryl Bradley developed, but that shouldn't hinder his availability. Good stuff.

Unfortunately, developments elsewhere have hindered our Wild Card chances. Tulsa lost and Seattle won, which puts us in a tie with Seattle at 9-6. We have identical conference records, but Seattle beat us earlier this season and thus holds the tiebreaker. So, our destiny is out of our hands now. All we can do is win our finale vs. Honolulu and hope Seattle loses next week.

[Fonzie]

Our week 17 matchup with Honolulu (11-3-1) presents us with all kinds of motivation to win. First, we need a win to stay alive for the final Wild Card spot (we also need Settle to lose to Anchorage). Second, Honolulu thrashed us something fierce back in week 7 by the score of 28-0. We'd like to redeem ourselves by returning the favor. Third, this game is still meaningful to Honolulu, as a win here would keep them alive in the race for the #1 playoff seeding. If nothing else, it would be fun to play spoiler there. Fourth, SkyDog has promised to consider changing the "Bloodthirsty Beagles" name if Randolph Kranz does not set the league single-season record for QB Rating. Going into the game he is poised to do so, but two other QBs are right behind him and are also poised to set the record. Beating the snot out of Kranz would at least give the CFL the chance to rid itself of the worst team nickname in league history. And finally, this is a game against our longtime rival Honolulu, which is really all the motivation we need. The head-to-head tally currently stands 10-6 in their favor, but we've made great strides in the last several seasons (if I recall correctly we once had a 9-2 deficit against them).

We're optimistic about this game because some injured players are finally starting to come back. Our entire starting defense is now playable, and we'll only be missing one of our offensive linemen. Both of those are huge changes compared to our last few months of league play, in which we always seemed to be missing at least two (and often more) key contributors for each game. Today we will be without #1 WR Sydney Armitage, which will be a liability against a secondary as strong as Honolulu's, but Brent Garcia has been playing well in his stead and we're hopeful he'll continue to pick up the slack.

On to the game!

Box Score: Honolulu at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 17, 2010

Attendance: 67,100 (69,800).


Weather: 37 degrees, fair.

1Q: 09:21 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 8 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
1Q: 09:21 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
1Q: 01:03 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 6 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
1Q: 01:03 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
2Q: 14:14 HON - Glenn Hale 48 field goal.
2Q: 10:49 HON - Glenn Hale 45 field goal.
2Q: 02:54 TUC - Drew Holliday 13 run.
2Q: 02:54 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
2Q: 00:15 TUC - Rubin Castorena 39 field goal.
3Q: 12:13 HON - Jody Beech 31 pass from Randolph Kranz.
3Q: 12:13 HON - Patrick Benton run for conversion failed.
3Q: 10:56 TUC - Brent Garcia 11 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
3Q: 10:56 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
3Q: 09:43 TUC - Keven Biggs 67 interception return.
3Q: 09:43 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
3Q: 01:53 TUC - Rubin Castorena 31 field goal.
4Q: 00:12 TUC - Rubin Castorena 48 field goal.

Game MVP: TUC 4 Milan "Colonel" Hogan

Honolulu 0 6 6 0 - 12
Tucson 14 10 17 3 - 44

Team Statistics HON TUC

First Downs 15 29

Total Rushes 12 36
Rushing Yards 46 229
Yards Per Carry 3.8 6.3
Pass Attempts 39 33
Completions 14 25
Passing Yards 255 240
Yards Per Attempt 6.5 7.2
Sacked 4 2
Yards Lost 20 14
Interceptions 3 0
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 0/0

Total Plays 55 71
Total Yards 281 455
Yards Per Play 5.1 6.4

3rd Down Plays 4/12 5/12
Avg. YTG on 3rd 10.3 7.1
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 6 8
Penalty Yards 40 55

Avg. Drive Start OWN 26 OWN 31
Time Of Possession 22:46 37:14


Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 20 169 8.4 54 1
22 Bradley 12 36 3.0 6 0
4 Hogan 1 10 10.0 10 0
43 Jenkins 1 0 0.0 0 0
26 Jeffries 1 3 3.0 3 0
85 Garcia 1 11 11.0 11 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
4 Hogan 33 25 240 7.2 19 3 0 2

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
82 Torres 6 50 8.3 23 13 0
26 Jeffries 4 22 5.5 26 8 2
85 Garcia 4 48 12.0 18 19 1
80 Higginbotham 3 39 13.0 5 18 0
88 Ramirez 3 33 11.0 0 12 0
22 Bradley 2 10 5.0 5 7 0
81 Hodges 2 27 13.5 6 19 0
83 Chandler 1 11 11.0 1 11 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 1 8 8.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 2 32 16.0 0
85 Garcia 1 22 22.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 5 215 43.0 61 2

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
13 Castorena 3 3 48 5 5

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
70 Neubauer 5 1 1.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 3 0 0.0 1 67 1
31 Enoch 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 2 0 1.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 2 0 1.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 2 1 0.0 1 24 0
58 Watford 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 2 0 0.0 1 0 0
22 Bradley 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
24 Sinclair 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
45 Bennett 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 0 1.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
65 Lyle 0 0 0 0 5 1
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 3 0
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 3 0
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 2 0
43 Jenkins 0 0 0 0 0 1
63 Pitman 0 0 0 0 2 0
26 Jeffries 0 0 0 0 1 0
59 Buckley 0 0 0 0 1 0
83 Chandler 0 0 0 0 1 0


WOW.

That was exactly the kind of performance we needed. What a difference an offensive line makes! We only gave up two sacks and nailed 18 KRBs for Drew Holliday, who ran wild over Honolulu's suspect Run D. Hogan had plenty of time to throw against a superb Honolulu secondary, and was very unexpectedly able to pick them apart. And Brent Garcia had another solid game for us filling in for Armitage - in fact, his three game total filling in for Armitage (20 of 25 passes caught, 222 yds, 2 TDs) was better than any three consecutive game outputs by Armitage this year. Hmmm...

Our defense was terrific against Honolulu's dangerous passing game. Words really can't do their effort justice, but look at this drive chart:

Honolulu Drive Chart
Quar Began Poss From Plays Yards Result
1 9:21 3:56 OWN 24 8 51 Missed FG
1 1:03 1:49 OWN 33 5 36 Field Goal
2 12:14 1:25 OPP 35 3 7 Field Goal
2 7:25 1:39 OWN 27 3 -4 Punt
2 2:54 0:57 OWN 20 3 -4 Punt
2 0:15 0:15 OWN 20 1 -2 Half
3 15:00 2:47 OWN 28 5 72 Touchdown
3 10:56 1:13 OWN 32 2 16 Interception
3 9:43 0:43 OWN 20 2 10 Interception
3 7:07 2:19 OWN 9 5 20 Interception
3 1:53 1:41 OWN 30 4 35 Punt
4 13:55 2:45 OWN 20 10 41 Punt
4 7:58 1:42 OWN 23 3 3 Punt
4 0:12 0:12 OWN 17 1 0 Game

Just look at that beautiful third quarter. Kranz looked absolutely lost out there in what was easily his worst game of the year. He was 14 for 39 passing for 255 yds, 1 TD and 3 INTs, and that was enough to dislodge him from the top of the QB Rating standings. As I noted above, SkyDog indicated that he'd consider changing his team name to something less terrible than "Bloodthirsty Beagles" if that happened. And here is what he subsequently had to say on the subject of changing his team name:

OK. Thought about it.


No.

Alas.

[Fonzie]

Unfortunately, our dominant win over Honolulu wasn't enough to sneak us into the playoffs. Seattle managed to squeeze out a win in OT at Anchorage, 26-23. Anchorage held the lead at 23-20 with 2:00 left in the 4th quarter when the nonexistent 4th quarter comeback engine apparently kicked in:

Possession to Seattle.

1-10-SEA36 (02:00) SEA 8 Dever pass fell incomplete, intended for 85 Faison.
ANC 43 McGee defended the pass.

2-10-SEA36 (01:49) SEA 8 Dever pass completed to 85 Faison for 54 yards.
Tackled by ANC 45 Aleinkoff, assisted by ANC 39 Nichols.
--
1-10-ANC10 (01:27) SEA 28 Liszkiewicz ran inside the left guard for 0 yards.
Tackled by ANC 51 Washington.

2-10-ANC10 (01:09) SEA 28 Liszkiewicz ran a draw inside the left guard for 4 yards.
Tackled by ANC 54 Rea, assisted by ANC 98 Nobles.
SEA called time out.

3-06-ANC06 (01:00) SEA 28 Liszkiewicz ran inside the right guard for 1 yard.
Tackled by ANC 31 Garcia.
Penalty: SEA - Illegal Shift. Penalty was declined.

4-05-ANC05 (01:00) SEA 3 Styblo attempted a 22 yard field goal and succeeded.

Anchorage still had a chance to win this in regulation, but their drive stalled at the Seattle 45 (and, amazingly, they punted on 4th down at the 45 with :06 left in the 4th quarter instead of trying for a Hail Mary). Seattle won the toss in OT and marched right down the field for a 30 yd FG, aided significantly by an Anchorage Unnecessary Roughness call. Bummer, but that's what you get when you hand your destiny over to someone else.

So, our 10-6 record is only good enough to grant us the distinction of being the best team to not make the playoffs. Maybe next year!

[Fonzie]

The regular season is over. Let's see how everybody did:

Front Office Football 2004
2010 Regular Season Standings

EFC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Shreveport 10 5 1 .656 333 260 8-3-1 4-1-1
San Antonio 8 8 0 .500 291 338 5-7 3-3
New Orleans 5 11 0 .313 358 393 4-8 2-4
Memphis 4 11 1 .281 263 371 3-8-1 2-3-1

EFC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Detroit 12 4 0 .750 416 272 9-3 6-0
Albany (NY) 9 7 0 .563 319 296 7-5 4-2
Chicago 3 13 0 .188 283 385 3-9 2-4
Cleveland 1 15 0 .063 156 365 1-11 0-6

EFC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Charleston (SC) 12 4 0 .750 360 287 9-3 4-2
*Tampa Bay 11 5 0 .688 366 272 8-4 4-2
Baltimore 8 7 1 .531 326 320 6-5-1 2-3-1
Durham 5 10 1 .344 328 373 3-8-1 1-4-1

EFC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Hartford 14 2 0 .875 484 224 10-2 5-1
*Boston 10 6 0 .625 348 275 8-4 4-2
New York 7 9 0 .438 255 307 4-8 2-4
Atlantic City 7 9 0 .438 274 350 6-6 1-5

WFC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Sacramento 11 5 0 .688 288 272 8-4 5-1
Huntington Beach 8 7 1 .531 275 294 7-4-1 4-1-1
Long Beach 4 11 1 .281 242 289 2-9-1 1-4-1
Santa Cruz 2 13 1 .156 179 345 2-9-1 1-5

WFC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Boise 12 4 0 .750 425 274 9-3 4-2
*Seattle 10 6 0 .625 353 289 7-5 4-2
Anchorage 7 9 0 .438 354 421 4-8 2-4
Oregon 4 12 0 .250 253 390 4-8 2-4

WFC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Denver 12 4 0 .750 345 251 9-3 4-2
*Fargo (ND) 12 4 0 .750 340 266 9-3 4-2
Tulsa 9 7 0 .563 364 331 7-5 2-4
El Paso 6 9 1 .406 322 321 3-8-1 2-4

WFC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Honolulu 11 4 1 .719 382 275 9-2-1 4-1-1
Tucson 10 6 0 .625 339 275 7-5 4-2
Arizona 6 10 0 .375 342 411 5-7 2-4
Las Vegas 1 14 1 .094 251 422 1-10-1 1-4-1

It pains me to type this, but Honolulu has won yet another division title. This marks their fifth division championship, although it is the first under the new management of SkyDog (congratulations, SD!). Most of the preseason favorites lived up to their billings, with Honolulu, Tampa Bay, and perhaps Fargo being the biggest surprises in the league. Seattle, Fargo and Boston are making their first playoff appearances (a hearty congratulations to Aylmar, P.Luxx, and flere, respectively!).

Las Vegas was also a bit of a surprise, but their undoing had less to do with management and everything to do with an unparalleled rash of vicious, season-ending injuries. They did manage to avoid the first winless season in CFL history with week 17 win over Arizona, and in so doing cost themselves the #1 overall pick in next year's draft. Not that owner TurfToe is likely to care, as he traded that pick away to Detroit last year in exchange for the right to pick QB of the future (and present) Roderick "Rosie" Palmer during the 2010 draft.

A few regular season records were broken this year: not one, not two, but three QBs beat the previous league single season record for QB Rating, which was set by Seattle QB Charles Dever in 2006 (103.2). Boise's Branden Lin set the new record at 109.7, with Hartford's James Oberg following at 108.5 and Honolulu's Randolph Kranz at 105.6. Boston's Dwayne Bridges gets an honorable mention for his 102. Oh, and at #5 in the league was none other than Milan "Colonel" Hogan, at 94.9. That is nothing short of amazing, considering how aggravated I was with many of his performances this year.

The single-season YPC record was also broken this year, with Honolulu's unheralded and generally untalented Patrick Benton averaging a brisk 5.8 ypc on 125 carries. I would like to see Tucson get an assist on this record, as we helped him considerably by somehow allowing him to run for 96 yards on 7 carries back in week 7.

Seattle's Darrell Stybo nailed a league-record 40 field goals this year, the last two of which doomed our playoff hopes. Thanks, Darrell.

Baltimore's RG Kevin Levine set the record for most KRBs with 59.

No single-game, team single-game, or team single-season records were set this year.

[Fonzie]

Time for a bit of reflection:

2010 Summary for Tucson Toros

Record: 10-6
Winning Pct.: .625

Tucson Toros Team Rank
Rushes 506 8
Rushing Yards 2163 7
Yards Per Carry 4.27 6
Pass Attempts 483 25 (T)
Completions 328 12
Passing Yards 3505 19
Yards Per Attempt 7.25 11
3rd Down Conversions 41.3 20
Points Per Game 21.1 15
Turnovers 19 12
Turnover Margin +1 13

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 414 6
Rushing Yards 1579 5
Yards Per Carry 3.81 7
Pass Attempts 526 16 (T)
Completions 276 3
Passing Yards 3300 6
Yards Per Attempt 6.27 5
3rd Down Conversions 38.9 5
Points Per Game 17.1 8 (T)
Turnovers 20 21 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 33 LVS 27
2 14 at NYK 6
3 30 SAC 17
4 37 at ORE 0
5 14 at SEA 16
6 26 ANC 13
7 0 at HON 28
8 24 BOI 26
9 27 at LVS 7
11 17 ARI 3
12 10 HAR 37
13 10 at DEN 26
14 13 at BOS 10
15 13 at ARI 30
16 27 ACI 17
17 44 HON 12

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
4 Hogan QB 468 317 3431 7.33 22 11
**Team --- 483 328 3505 7.25 22 11

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
42 Holliday RB 312 1383 4.43 7
22 Bradley RB 122 535 4.38 3
26 Jeffries FB 39 163 4.17 1
**Team --- 506 2163 4.27 11

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
82 Torres TE 111 81 878 10.8 314 7
26 Jeffries FB 72 55 411 7.4 279 4
89 Armitage WR 75 42 582 13.8 61 3
22 Bradley RB 45 35 255 7.2 130 2
85 Garcia WR 49 32 368 11.5 58 2
81 Hodges WR 47 29 363 12.5 41 2
80 Higginbotham WR 37 22 322 14.6 35 2
**Team --- 483 328 3505 10.6 1025 22

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
52 Wash ILB 87 33 2.0 1 2 4
55 Trujillo OLB 71 16 2.5 5 3 8
58 Watford OLB 57 23 3.0 0 0 12
40 Biggs CB 52 11 0.0 0 2 20
70 Neubauer DT 51 25 5.0 18 0 0
32 Hartung S 48 20 0.0 0 0 9
31 Enoch S 47 24 0.0 0 3 10
25 Minahan CB 44 12 1.0 0 1 11
75 Grier DE 38 15 6.0 11 0 0
95 Stoltzfus DT 36 24 4.0 15 0 0
93 King OLB 34 7 2.0 1 0 0
27 Ellsworth S 22 4 0.0 0 1 4
37 Rosenberry CB 21 7 0.0 0 1 4
96 Stansell DT 21 6 1.5 3 0 0
97 Horn DE 19 4 5.0 13 0 1
44 Blank S 17 7 0.0 0 0 4
33 Mirer S 17 5 0.0 0 0 0
**Team --- 784 266 37.0 76 13 89

First, the offense. We were extremely inconsistent with the ball, and our ability to score varied almost perfectly with the number of offensive linemen we had on the shelf. Unfortunately, we were often without two or three regular starters, and it showed in our mid-season slump. The O-line shuffling led to our team-record 37 sacks allowed, and had a clear affect on Drew Holliday's overall numbers. He set career-lows in attempts and TDs, largely due to the fact that we were often ineffective on offense and playing catch-up. And Hogan was just so-so at being able to play catch-up. His overall numbers were very good, but he had some absolutely dreadful games mixed in there. I'm hoping we can squeeze one more productive year out of him and then turn the reins over to Kent Goodwin.

Still, Drew had a fine season all things considered. He managed to pick up one more rushing yard than he gained last year, but did so on 39 fewer carries. His 1383 rushing yards put him at 6th in the league, and his career total of 7189 puts him 11th all-time (despite being in the league for just 5 years!). He's finishing his last year on his current contract, and we'll be extending him shortly. Daryl Bradley continues to be a great (if overused, for my tastes) Secret Weapon. How can you not love having a backup RB who can average 4.4 ypc, catch a ton of passes out of the backfield, and return punts?

And while we're talking about the running back corps, FB Corwin Jeffries deserves a special thumbs-up forhis performance this year. He served as our 3rd-down, short-yardage back and posted a career-high 4.2 ypc on 39 rushes. He also caught a career-high 55 passes for 411 yds and 4 TDs, and nailed 12 KRBs in 30 attempts allowing just one sack. He's also a special teams monster, picking up 13 ST tackles and forcing a fumble. Great year for him.

Our leading receiver was blossoming TE Anthony Torres. He set our team single-season TD receptions record with 7 this year, and was just one reception away from tying our team record. Our wideouts were a bit banged up this year, and none of them were huge contributors in the passing game.

Our O-line, as mentioned, was a bit of a mess this year. Only C Casey Reeves and RG Kelvin Connell started all 16 games. LT Chris Frank missed five games, RT Matthew Pitman missed five, and LG Ross Poplawski missed four. And even when they played, those injured guys weren't always healthy. Depth on the O-line is going to have to be an offseason priority (as it has been for the last couple of years).

Our defense, overall, was excellent. We led the league in yards allowed with 289.2 per game, and our "yards per" stats were very good. What we didn't do well was force turnovers, and there were some games in which our defense absolutely disappeared. Still, it is hard to be too upset with these guys. They held up their end of the bargain, for the most part. It was the offense that let us down.

DE Howie Grier led the team with 6 sacks and had another outstanding season for us. He's primarily a run stuffer, so when he gets a decent number of sacks/hurries I'm thrilled. Our platoon at the other DE position was also very effective, with Albert Horn and Ted Bernard combining for 34 tackles, 16 assists, 8.5 sacks, 7 blocked passes, and 18 hurries. DT Kenneth Neubauer finally earned that contract I gave him two years ago, racking up 76 total tackles with 5 sacks and a team-high 18 hurries. DT Harold Stoltzfus was also solid, especially considered that he played hurt for part of the season.

Our linebacking crew was outstanding again, and our starters were healthy all season long. They were surprisingly effective defending the pass. Our three starters combined for 5 INTs and 24 passes defensed. Not too shabby.

Our secondary was also on-again, off-again this year. Our best player back there is S Mitchel Enoch, who missed 5 games but was effective when he could play. When he couldn't play it seemed as though our entire secondary fell apart. Everbody else was pretty "meh," although Keven Biggs should be singled our for at least being above average.

So there you have it, our season in a nutshell. Some good, some bad, more good than bad, but not enough good to get to the Land of Ultimate Goodness (The Playoffs). With the veterans we have on this team I think we have a window of a couple more years to be competitive (but that will depend a bit on retirements, of course). All we really need is some help for the O-line and I think we'll be in pretty good shape for next year.

Ah, next year. You can't get here soon enough.

[flere-imsaho]

Seattle, Fargo and Boston are making their first playoff appearances (a hearty congratulations to Aylmar, P.Luxx, and flere, respectively!).

Thanks for the props, Fonzie! Hopefully we can win a game or two in the playoffs. :)

[Masked]

Thanks for the props, Fonzie! Hopefully we can win a game or two in the playoffs. :)

You got your one game - you can't have two. ;)

[Fonzie]

Wild Card Playoff Round<table border="1" bordercolor="#c0c0c0" width="80%"><tbody><tr bgcolor="#e8ebf0"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet16.jpgTampa Bay Torpedoes 27
<small>J.Urrutia 22-34-234, V.McKnight 27-88, T.Muir 5-62</small></td><td align="center">at</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet06.jpgShreveport Pride 17
<small>D.Hartman 14-27-212, W.Rayburn 16-111, M.Athey 5-105</small></td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d0d7e1"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet21.jpgFargo Boxcars 9
<small>B.Hedges 17-26-192, E.Alvey 14-49, G.Wold 4-77</small></td><td align="center">at</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet10.jpgSacramento Dragons 34
<small>S.Barre 22-33-207, B.Fulton 33-113, J.Stearns 5-55</small></td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e8ebf0"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet23.jpgBoston Panthers 27
<small>D.Bridges 22-30-226, B.Pressley 16-72, Z.Spates 7-88</small></td><td align="center">at</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet19.jpgCharleston (SC) Monitors 23
<small>L.Hurst 19-31-261, T.Lang 21-91, R.Hagar 4-77</small></td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d0d7e1"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet27.jpgSeattle Thunderbirds 35
<small>C.Dever 25-42-240, B.Liszkiewicz 15-64, C.Faison 4-79</small></td><td align="center">at</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet26.jpgHonolulu Bloodthirsty Beagles 25
<small>R.Kranz 16-37-181, P.Benton 23-92, L.O'Neal 4-59</small></td></tr></tbody></table>

Congratulations to wademoore (owner of Tampa Bay), George W Bush/Joe (Sacramento), flere (Boston) and Aylmar (Seattle) on their victories today!

[Fonzie]

<table border="1" bordercolor="#c0c0c0" width="80%"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#c0c0c0"><td colspan="3" align="center">Divisional Playoff Round</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e8ebf0"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet10.jpgSacramento Dragons 27
<small>S.Barre 26-32-312, B.Fulton 18-71, J.Stearns 7-136</small> </td><td align="center">at</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet01.jpgBoise Stampede 34
<small>B.Lin 27-34-399, C.Washington 17-43, R.Vankirk 9-173</small> </td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d0d7e1"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet16.jpgTampa Bay Torpedoes 21
<small>J.Urrutia 20-37-236, V.McKnight 20-63, T.Muir 6-97</small> </td><td align="center">at</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet31.jpgDetroit Vampires 16
<small>J.Titone 19-42-268, M.Boyd 18-84, M.Boyd 5-64</small> </td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e8ebf0"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet23.jpgBoston Panthers 21
<small>D.Bridges 14-22-170, B.Pressley 21-148, Z.Spates 5-74</small> </td><td align="center">at</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet08.jpgHartford Attack 26
<small>J.Oberg 18-34-246, A.Spearman 22-142, C.Cassady 4-58</small> </td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d0d7e1"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet27.jpgSeattle Thunderbirds 17
<small>C.Dever 17-29-138, B.Liszkiewicz 20-93, B.Liszkiewicz 6-46</small> </td><td align="center">at</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet29.jpgDenver Dynomite 12
<small>M.Garibaldi 17-29-160, J.Lubin 17-35, L.Peace 7-74</small> </td></tr></tbody> </table>
Congratulations to timmynausea (owner of Boise City) wade moore (TB), Masked (Hartford), and Aylmar (Seattle)!

[Fonzie]

Oh, and it should be noted that last year's champion is officially out: Denver fell to Seattle. And the only other team with CFL Bowl expeirence, Detroit, is also out. Thus, one of these final four contestants is going to get lucky in their first trip to the big dance!

[wade moore]

In fact two of the teams are some of the most inexperienced playoff teams in the league..

My team (Tampa) made it to the conference finals in 2004 and hasn't been to the playoffs since. Seattle was never in the playoffs before this year.

[Fonzie]

<table border="1" bordercolor="#c0c0c0" width="80%"><tbody><tr bgcolor="#c0c0c0"><td colspan="3" align="center">Conference Championship Round</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e8ebf0"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet16.jpgTampa Bay Torpedoes 16
V.McKnight 25-92, D.Tabb 8-107</small></td><td align="center">at</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet08.jpgHartford Attack 35
<small>J.Oberg 15-24-221, A.Spearman 18-147, A.Spearman 3-51</small></td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#d0d7e1"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet27.jpgSeattle Thunderbirds 23
<small>C.Dever 25-41-326, B.Liszkiewicz 12-21, C.Faison 8-115</small></td><td align="center">at</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet01.jpgBoise Stampede 38
<small>B.Lin 27-34-310, C.Washington 17-42, C.Pritchett 8-132</small></td></tr></tbody></table>

Congratulations to Masked and timmynausea! The two top offenses in the league will meet in CFL Bowl VIII tonight at 8pm ET. This promises to be an excellent matchup. Be there or be square!

[Fonzie]

Hartford!

<table border="1" bordercolor="#c0c0c0" width="80%"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#c0c0c0"><td colspan="3" align="center">Front Office Bowl</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#e8ebf0"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet01.jpgBoise Stampede 13
<small>B.Lin 17-35-251, B.Lin 6-50, C.Pritchett 4-98</small> </td><td align="center">vs</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet08.jpgHartford Attack 23
<small>J.Oberg 19-36-200, A.Spearman 22-119, C.Coley 4-46</small> </td></tr></tbody> </table>
CFL Bowl VIII wasn't quite the shootout most were expecting, as both defenses were able to disrupt the others' passing attacks fairly effectively. But Hartford won the ground battle and came away with the win. A well fought match, and congratulations are in order for both timmynausea and Masked.

Hartford was my preseason pick to win it all (and has been for a few years), as they are the most talented team in the league. Now that they've won it all I'm hoping they'll stop competing and allow somebody else *cough* to win their first championship.

Next stop: All-League awards.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Spearman should have gotten Bowl MVP. :(

[Fonzie]

Spearman should have gotten Bowl MVP. :(

Agreed. For those who aren't aware, James Oberg won the award for turning in a 19/36, 200 yds, 1 TD performance. Jim Gindin's QB-centric worldview has struck yet again.

[Masked]

Spearman should have gotten Bowl MVP. :(

Oberg had a fine game but nothing spectacular. I think Spearman (119 yards, TD), CB Colston (2 interceptions, 1.0 sack, 6 tackles), and DE Paige (2.5 sacks and a hurry on every other play) were all more deserving. During the chat it seemed the key to the game was how much pressure Lin was under throughout the game, and thus Paige just edges out Spearman for MVP in my opinion.

Of course Oberg clearly should have been the 2010 league MVP, and Spearman had the best playoffs run of anyone.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Yes, I could also agree with Paige or Colston.

I would take all 3 before Oberg in that particular game...

[Fonzie]

This year's award winners are:


Front Office Football 2004
2010 Awards List

Award Player Team
Player of the Year Butch Fulton SAC
Front Office Bowl MVP James Oberg HAR
Coach of the Year Jose Perryman DEN
Legend of the Game Zachery Aaron LVS
Offensive Player of the Year Butch Fulton SAC
Defensive Player of the Year Kris Ober CLE
Offensive Rookie of the Year Muddy Waters Raffo TUL
Defensive Rookie of the Year Jeffrey Whitfield SCU
All-League First Team Quarterback James Oberg HAR
All-League First Team Running Back Butch Fulton SAC
All-League First Team Fullback George Welton TUL
All-League First Team Tight End Brian Manos DET
All-League First Team Wide Receiver Michael Browning DUR
All-League First Team Wide Receiver Abe Muncy BOI
All-League First Team Center Jason Noyeaux BOS
All-League First Team Offensive Guard Kevin Levine BAL
All-League First Team Offensive Guard Judson Broadnax ALB
All-League First Team Offensive Tackle J.R. Franz HON
All-League First Team Offensive Tackle Joel Cheeks HBE
All-League First Team Punter Gus Rivers SCU
All-League First Team Kicker Darrell Styblo SEA
All-League First Team Defensive End Buster Hall SEA
All-League First Team Defensive End Roger Heflin SEA
All-League First Team Defensive Tackle Mario Ah Yat LVS
All-League First Team Defensive Tackle Larry Ellis ARI
All-League First Team Inside Linebacker Kris Ober CLE
All-League First Team Outside Linebacker Tommy Eby DUR
All-League First Team Outside Linebacker Jerrod Spalding LVS
All-League First Team Cornerback Chris Groom SHR
All-League First Team Cornerback Nathan Unknow HBE
All-League First Team Safety John Murguia HON
All-League First Team Safety Alvin McCloskey CLE
All-League Second Team Quarterback Charles Dever SEA
All-League Second Team Running Back Archie Chasser ALB
All-League Second Team Fullback Anton Ervin HON
**All-League Second Team Tight End Anthony Torres TUC
All-League Second Team Wide Receiver Rueben Albertson ACI
All-League Second Team Wide Receiver Kelley McCaleb ANC
All-League Second Team Center Gary Wales TUL
All-League Second Team Offensive Guard Kelvin Battle CHT
All-League Second Team Offensive Guard Marlon Fitzgerald HAR
All-League Second Team Offensive Tackle Chad Oroumieh HAR
All-League Second Team Offensive Tackle Craig VanEck ACI
All-League Second Team Punter Brock Lightfoot LBE
All-League Second Team Kicker Felton Cooper TBY
All-League Second Team Defensive End Pierre Hinson ALB
All-League Second Team Defensive End Andrew Russel HAR
All-League Second Team Defensive Tackle Kendrick Gunn ALB
All-League Second Team Defensive Tackle Dominic Shumpert SEA
All-League Second Team Inside Linebacker Tim Atkins SCU
All-League Second Team Outside Linebacker Victor Ginn TUL
All-League Second Team Outside Linebacker Hassan Rea ANC
All-League Second Team Cornerback Willie Golalic ACI
All-League Second Team Cornerback Genaro Burke HON
All-League Second Team Safety Calvin Bush ELP
All-League Second Team Safety David Pitman SCU
League's Fastest Man Gregory Rice BAL
League's Strongest Man Cristobal Farias NOS
A few comments:

We only had (and deserved) one all-league recognition this year, for up-and-coming TE Anthony Torres. He led the team with 81 receptions for 878 yds and 7 TDs.

Butch Fulton was a somewhat controversial choice for POY and OPOY. He gained 1652 rushing yards, but needed 427 carries to do it. That translates into a very unimpressive 3.86 ypc. He also only rushed for 4 TDs. Where he really stood out was in Sacramento's passing game, catching 89 passes for 832 yds and another 4 TDs. He did drop 7 passes, though, and fumbled 9 times. In all, he had just under 2500 total yards, which is very good. However, his poor TD output and pedestrian ypc doesn't do it for me.

I thought Hartford QB James Oberg would've been a better choice. The best player on the best team in the league put together a fantastic season, posting a QB Rating of 108.5 (2nd best in league history, behind this year's edition of Branden Lin [109.7]), completing 66% of his passes for 4513 yds, 33 TDs, and just 5 INTs. He also fumbled just once all year. Hard to top that, in my opinion. He did warrant 1st -team QB honors and the aforementioned undeserved CFL Bowl MVP. So there's some consolation for poor James.

My only other quibble is one I have seemingly every year: the DPOY. This award seems to invariably go to a linebacker on the worst team in the league. All you need to do is rack up a ton of tackles to get this award it seems. Pfffft.

Up next: offseason retirements and staff turnover.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Nice 2nd best award for your TE there, Fonz.

Of course, we all know who the best TE in the league is... :p

[Fonzie]

"Next year" is finally here! And I am pleased to report that our only retirement was backup safety Tony Blank. No loss there. The biggest non-story was that Milan Hogan returned for his 13th season. I wasn't all that worried that he'd retire, but if he had we'd have been in a heap of trouble.

I'm also very happy to report that our entire staff is still under contract, so I don't have to wade into the mess that is the "Staff Hiring Period." Whew.

I have tagged DT Harold Stoltzfus, and his automatic $6.29m tender created a bit of a cap deficit for us. After considerable renegotiations we stand have about $3 million in cap space to spend, seven draft picks (all between the 4th and 7th rounds), and 48 players on the roster. Here's how our roster looks on the eve of free agency:


Front Office Football 2004
Tucson Toros Roster, Scout Overview

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Hogan, Milan "Colonel" 4 QB 13 65 69 2 yrs
Paz, Vince 10 QB 9 28 36 ---
Weinke, Artie 9 QB 5 28 53 3 yrs
Goodwin, Kent 19 QB 2 35 64 3 yrs
Bradley, Daryl 22 RB 8 55 55 3 yrs
Holliday, Drew 42 RB 6 61 65 4 yrs
Robbins, Grant 30 RB 4 31 42 3 yrs
Jenkins, O.J. 43 FB 6 32 36 ---
Jeffries, Corwin 26 FB 6 53 53 4 yrs
Torres, Anthony 82 TE 5 73 73 1 yr.
Joyner, Marlon 84 TE 5 53 55 3 yrs
Chandler, Colin 83 TE 2 34 50 2 yrs
Armitage, Sydney 89 FL 11 58 64 1 yr.
Hodges, Courtney 81 FL 4 33 43 2 yrs
Garcia, Brent 85 FL 4 42 46 2 yrs
Higginbotham, Demetrius 80 SE 9 44 44 5 yrs
Ramirez, Mack 88 SE 7 33 40 3 yrs
Hart, Kenneth 53 C 10 38 38 ---
Reeves, Casey 54 C 4 58 61 3 yrs
Buckley, Luther 59 C 4 42 49 2 yrs
Poplawski, Ross 60 LG 4 69 69 2 yrs
Eaddy, Richard 61 RG 11 46 47 ---
Connell, Kelvin 64 RG 5 60 61 1 yr.
DeVries, Joel 77 RG 2 22 45 2 yrs
Franck, Chris 71 LT 15 47 49 ---
Lyle, Stan 65 LT 5 42 44 2 yrs
Puente, Rob 69 LT 3 31 42 1 yr.
Stott, Clement 67 RT 12 16 21 1 yr.
Pitman, Matthew 63 RT 7 65 70 4 yrs
Poston, Horace 78 RT 6 33 35 ---
Winters, Edward 15 P 4 68 68 4 yrs
Eckard, Hugo 12 K 10 61 69 ---
Castorena, Rubin 13 K 10 67 67 2 yrs
Smith, Carl 73 LDE 10 48 49 1 yr.
Grier, Howie 75 LDE 8 55 59 1 yr.
Bernard, Ted 72 RDE 7 38 38 3 yrs
Talley, Ryan 79 RDE 7 26 34 1 yr.
Horn, Albert 97 RDE 7 46 48 1 yr.
Stansell, Henry 96 LDT 8 47 50 3 yrs
Cochrane, Bennie 74 LDT 3 33 45 2 yrs
Neubauer, Kenneth 70 RDT 9 55 59 3 yrs
Stoltzfus, Harold 95 RDT 9 92 93 1 yr.
Wash, Grant 52 MLB 14 63 63 2 yrs
Jarrard, Josh 90 MLB 9 45 50 3 yrs
Trujillo, Buster 55 SLB 10 62 66 2 yrs
King, Jerry 93 SLB 11 54 61 2 yrs
Watford, Joseph 58 SLB 11 67 72 3 yrs
Biggs, Keven 40 LCB 11 66 74 1 yr.
Sinclair, Ted 24 LCB 5 26 38 3 yrs
Rosenberry, Cheap Shot 37 RCB 11 45 52 1 yr.
Minahan, Ray 25 RCB 7 57 57 1 yr.
Enoch, Mitchel 31 SS 11 76 83 2 yrs
Ellsworth, Waylon 27 SS 15 41 41 2 yrs
Hartung, Kenneth 32 FS 11 55 55 2 yrs
Mirer, Mike 33 FS 3 38 65 2 yrs

$$ - player is in starting lineup, ## - player is inactive.

Players Under Contract: 48
Inactive: 0
On Active Roster: 48

Salary Cap: $112,200,000
Cap Room: $5,320,000
Maximum for New Player: $3,080,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $670,000

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $84,090,000

The great news is that QB of The Future Kent Goodwin continues to improve - he got a nifty +2/+2 bump in the offseason. Add to that the fact that our other young backup QB, Artie Weinke, became a QB mentor in just his fifth season in the league, and I'm a happy guy. Nice.

Most of the other ratings changes were of the +1/-1 variety, which I never make too much of. I'm generally pleased to be bringing back almost our entire roster from last year - we were a pretty talented team that suffered some bad injury luck toward the middle of last season. We were this close to being a playoff team, and with a little luck we might've won our division. With a key addition or two in the offseason we should be in good shape to challenge for the division title again.

[Fonzie]

Your beloved Toros have seen relatively little action in the free agent and trade markets. I've dangled several important players out as trade bait, namely Bradley, Stoltzfus, Armitage, and Mirer. While I've gotten some interest in them, nobody has jumped in with an offer that would make me part with any of these guys. In truth, I'm not really looking to unload any of them, but if I could get the right value for them I would. So no disappointments there.

Free agency has been a bit more of a mixed bag. I'm a bit limited in the cap space department, and most of the impact free agents have been demanding more than I have available. And that's OK, as I don't think this team needs any huge additions to be competitive. We simply need to resign our own players and maybe bring in some depth here and there.

Given that as our goal, I'm happy to report that we've resigned K Hugo Eckard, FB OJ Jenkins, and LT Chris Franck. Eckard was brought back because his kickoffs are better than Castorena's, and his leg is almost as powerful. I cannot justify carrying two kickers again this year, which means that I've decided to cut loose the CFL's career leader in FGs.

Bye, Rubin. Best wishes.

Jenkins was brought back for two reasons: he's an affinity guy, and for a FB he has great hole recognition (85) and 3rd down running ability (69). He can't block worth a damn, though, so his usefulness will be limited. Nice backup, though.

The most important resigning was LT Chris Franck. Franck is THE original Toro, as he was my 1st round pick in the 2003 distribution draft. He started off his career at RT, but injuries and the emergence of RT Pitman forced me to move him to LT. Much to my surprise he played very well there, and three seasons ago I officially changed his position to LT. He suffered a 10% hit to his ratings, but his performance didn't change one bit. Since his move to LT he's completed 35.9% of his KBOs and allowed a SPct of just 0.9%. Those numbers compare favorably to his career averages of 36.4% and 0.9%. He's now a 15-year vet, and I didn't try to resign him last year as I was afraid he might retire and gobble up that bonus money. Unfortunately, that meant that he was able to coax a bit more out of me once he hit the market, as a couple of other teams got in the bidding for his services (including the dreaded Honolulu franchise - probably just to drive his price up). In the end, though, his 100% loyalty came through for me and he returned for another go-round.

Our only new signing in free agency has been backup CB Chris McGarrity. He's a former #1 pick of Fargo's, and he busted a bit. But he still has the skills I look for in a CB - good man coverage, decent potential to play the run, and some ability to get a pick. He should be a useful dimeback.

I have a few other possible trades/moves in the works, but if none of them come to fruition I'm content with where this team is at heading into the draft (which, by the way, looks to have some great upper 1st-round talent).

[Fonzie]

One of the best talents to hit free agency this year was 6th-year CB Derrick Bottoms, a former 6th overall pick of Arizona's. He is one of the best corners in the league, and he got paid like it when Cleveland offered him a 6-year, $70 million deal that included a $20 million bonus. Oof. Many league insiders are still questioning Arizona's decision to let him hit the market. Regardless, I'm glad to see him not only leave the division but go to the other conference.

Another big payday was in store for former Memphis Express LT Lance Lukas, who signed a $28 million, 3-year deal with Fargo. He got an $11 million bonus. Lance's performance has been good, but his career 31.5% KRB conversion is just so-so. He's excelled in pass protection though, with a SPct of just 0.7%. He was also the very first player chosen in the inaugural distribution draft, making him the original CFL player.

Honolulu was able to make a splash in the market by signing 15-year DE Jerrold Moton from New York. They gave him a $15.5 million deal over 2 years, including a whopping $10 million in bonus money. Moton plays the run very well and can get some good pressure on the QB, so he instantly upgrades Honolulu's defensive line.

Speaking of DEs, another big-name DE, Boston's Ralph Crank, signed
with Tulsa for a $6 million bonus and $4 million in salaries over 2 years. The 14-year vet is second on the CFL's all-time sack leaders list with 74. Good signing.

Moving on in our AARP-edition of free agent musical chairs, we see that 14-year veteran LB Hollis Beardsley got a 2-year, $16 million deal from El Paso, with $9 million in bonus money. Beardsley played on the weak side for Long Beach. He'll be El Paso's defensive front leader an provide some mentorship.

But El Paso wasn't done shoppping. They signed another big name in 17-year veteran CB Nathan Unknow from Huntington Beach. Nathan has long been revered by scouts, but his performance on the field has been somewhat underwhelming. He has just 15 career interceptions and a PDPct of just 20.0. He did, however, nab 6 of those picks last year (in his contract year...who knew?).

There are a few other big names floating around out there yet, and I'll update when I can. A few huge trades have been made this offseason as well, and I'll get to those soon.

[fantastic flying froggies]

One of the best talents to hit free agency this year was 6th-year CB Derrick Bottoms, a former 6th overall pick of Arizona's. He is one of the best corners in the league, and he got paid like it when Cleveland offered him a 6-year, $70 million deal that included a $20 million bonus. Oof. Many league insiders are still questioning Arizona's decision to let him hit the market. Regardless, I'm glad to see him not only leave the division but go to the other conference.

Where I, on the other hand, am very pissed at seing him come to the Great Lakes division! :mad:

Good job on the updates, Fonz!

[Fonzie]

Thanks fff. More to come shortly!

[Fonzie]

Today DE Horace Williams left the Memphis Express for the Atlantic City Phantoms. The 12-year vet, who had played his entire career for Memphis after being their 3rd overall pick in the distribution draft, got an $11.5 million bonus on his three-year, $23 million deal. He's a good player, but is somewhat injury-prone. He'll still provide an instant upgrade for the Phantoms' d-line. In fact, he'll probably be the second-most important defender on their team after CB Willie Golalic.

Another DE, 6th-year man Floyd Weatherby of Oregon, signed a curiously hefty contract offer from New Orleans to the tune of $15 million over three years, including a $5 million bonus. Weatherby is viewed by most as being a pass rusher, and the former 4th-round pick started the last two years and posted decent numbers (12 sacks, 16 blocks, 31 hurries, 3 forced fumbles). Four teams appeared to be very interested in him, which is somewhat surprising, but hey, he got his money. Good for him.

New Orleans wasn't done there - oh no, they signed ILB James Crist away from Seattle witha $13.5 million/3 year deal. Crist is a good player and will help to solidify New Orleans' sagging defense, but he has some injury issues and with 10 years in the league he's no spring chicken.

Those are the biggest deals of late. Now on to the trades!

[Fonzie]

Several huge deals have been made this offseason, but I'll only be reviewing the big trades that include players. It is too hard to express the value of the pick-for-pick trades (some of which have been huge) to those without direct CFL experience, so I'll pass on that. On to the trades:

Albany sends

RB Archie Chasser
7.19

Charleston sends

1.27
2012 6th
2013 1st
2013 2nd
2013 3rd
2013 4th
Archie Chasser was a 3rd round pick of Albany's a few years ago who boomed into a top-tier talent. He ran up 2950 rushing yards and 24 TDs in two seasons with Albany, but his rookie contract is up this year and he wanted huge money ($80 million over 5 years, IIRC). Albany already had some cap issues, so they decided to trade him away for a huge bundle of picks from Charleston. Charleston appears set on trying to make at least one last run with Landon Hurst still in his prime, so this deal makes some sense for them. They, too, have some cap issues and it'll be interesting to see what they do from here on out. Oh, and Charleston also already has RB Toothpick Lang on the roster, so if they keep both players they'll have a terriffic one-two punch out of the backfield to go along with one of the best QBs in the game. I'm glad I'm not in their division.

----------------------

Fargo gets:
RB Rob West
Cleveland's 1.20 2011 pick
Cleveland's 2012 3rd round pick

Cleveland gets:
WR Ernie Coolie

----

Cleveland receives:
RB Brooks Creel

New York receives:
MLB Kris Ober
Pick 3.1
Pick 5.1


Rob West is a journeyman running back who is talented but not exactly a world-beater. The 6th-year pro will be a good bang-for-the-buck acquisition for Fargo. But Cleveland's acquisition of Cooley is a big one. Cooley is a 4th-year pro just coming into his prime as one of the best wideouts in the league. This is the kind of player that good offenses add to become elite offenses and make a run at a division title. However, Cleveland (1-15 last year) does not have a "good" offense. It will be improved with Cooley and 9th-year RB Brooks Creel (who has 6858 career rushing yards - he's a bona fide starter), but they still do not have a QB, which would seem central to any effort to making a title run. At the very least these aggressive moves by Cleveland will leave them positioned to perhaps make a run next year.

---------------------


Tucson gets:
LT Kudrow

Fargo gets:
RB Daryl Bradley
2013 2nd round pick

Not the hugest of deals here, but a pretty important one for both teams. Fargo gets a centerpiece back who can catch out of the backfield (important for their pass-first offense) and who will probably be able to top 1000 rushing yards in limited carries. I get a LT of the future in 3rd-year man Kudrow, who is built to be a stud of a run-blocker with average pass blocking potential. The former 8th overall pick will have to battle with veteran LT Chris Franck to earn the starting position for us, but with Franck being so old Kudrow will probably get to start next year at the latest.

[Fonzie]

We picked up another piece of the puzzle today when 14-year veteran safety Carl Stine signed on the dotted line for us. Carl had spent his entire career with Sacramento, and has missed a grand total of just 3 games. He has 27 career interceptions, a career PDPct of 20.4, and 15 forced fumbles. He'll battle Kenneth Hartung for the free safety spot this year and will almost certainly win it. His 2-year, $5 million deal wasn't a backbreaker, either.

He may well be the last piece of our offseason puzzle. I've been disappointed in Hartung's production the last few years, and Stine will almost certainly do better.

With the additions of Kudrow and Stine I think we've really helped the roster. We lost Daryl Bradley, but I'm hopeful we can pick up a decent, long-term project for a backup in the draft. If not, we'll have to hope that Holliday can go yet another year without getting hurt.

I still have a few more possible moves in the works, but they may not come to pass. If they don't I'm pretty happy with this roster as is.

[Fonzie]

We were able to re-sign G Richard Eaddy, a mentor, to a reasonable 2-year deal. He'll provide some badly needed depth on the O-line.

We were also able to reacquire former 7th round pick WLB Bob Crane in free agency. He's a decent backup who is average against the run with good (for a linebacker) cover skills. Cheap, useful spare part who is also an affinity guy.

I was quite disappointed to lose out on the bidding for the services of WR Chris Rodham. Rodham was an undrafted free agent who started his career with New York but never got a ton of playing time. He was particularly underutilized last year in Durham, but he's a great 3rd-down receiver and a big play specialist. He will, unfortunately, add considerable depth to the already dangerous Honolulu passing game, as they were somehow able to secure him with an offer featuring less bonus money and a lower salary. Alas.

This brings our current roster to 52 players. We still have seven draft picks between rounds 4 and 7, so expect more wheeling and dealing.

[Fonzie]

Heading into the 2011 CFL Draft Your Beloved Toros held the following draft picks:

4.20
5.3
5.20
5.30
6.1
6.20
7.20

With such low picks I'm not expecting to get many players who can contribute this year, but perhaps I'll be able to snag a boom player. More than likely I won't, but it is always fun to dream about the boom lottery.

Given that I'm not all that thrilled with these picks, or the bottom-end depth of the draft, I set about trying to move some of them. I had some luck in moving 5.20 (to New Orleans for their 2012 5th rounder) and 7.20 (to Durham for backup RB Kenny Hodges).

With my remaining picks I chose:

RB Cornell Pukenas (4.20) - Cornell "Yes, I'll soon have a vomit-based nickname" Pukenas is a longshot RB who has some skills I like. He's got decent hole recognition and elusiveness, but doesn't have much in the way of pass receiving ability. Rated 25/39.

CB Roderick Schechter (5.3) - Roderick has good man-to-man ability and is a ballhawk. He can't play the run worth a damn, but should make a servicable nickelback in time. Rated 15/47.

SLB Deion Woodard (5.30) - Deion has good potential as a run stopper, has good pass rush technique, and should be excellent in coverage. Not a hard hitter, and won't help much with special teams. Rated 12/45.

LDT Gary Van Brocklin (6.1) - Gary's primary strength is in getting pressure on the QB with his good pass rush technique. He doesn't do what I like most of my tackles to do, which is stop the run. Still, he could become a good passing-down tackle. Rated 27/37.

SE Jake Emerson (6.20) - As a receiver, Jake's best skill is in "getting downfield", but he can't run routes very well and doesn't have the best hands. His strengths lie in what he brings to our special teams, as he'll probably be our top kickoff return man and may get in the mix for punt returns. Based on combine scores, he's also our most likely breakout candidate (but I'm not holding my breath for any of these guys).

That's it for the Toros' 2011 draft. Not much to write home about, but we weren't looking to add much talent via the draft. In fact, there's a good chance several of these guys won't make the final roster. But that's OK, we've got a pretty good roster as-is.

[Fonzie]

We found a buyer for former 1st round pick Mike Mirer. Mike looked to be a very talented replacement for Kenneth Hartung at FS when we drafted him, but upon closer inspection his coverage skills were in areas we weren't expecting (or hoping for). Thus, Mike became expendable and we found him a new home in Long Beach. In exchange we received future 2nd , 4th, and 5th round picks. A fair trade, methinks.

[Fonzie]

We've completed the draft and moved into late free agency, allowing us to get a closer look at our draft picks. Here's how they look:

RB Cornell Pukenas (4.20) - Pre-draft: rated 25/39. Post-draft: 23/35. Suboptimal, but he still appears to have some good potential as a runner. We'll have to see how he does in camp - if he continues to disappoint he probably won't make the roster.

CB Roderick Schechter (5.3) - Pre-draft: 15/47. Post-draft: 14/41. Also disappointing, but he still has good potential in his primary skills. A drop like that in future potential often indicates a bust-in-progress player. Very much on the bubble.

SLB Deion Woodard (5.30) - Pre-draft: 12/45. Post-draft: 12/42. Not much to say here.

LDT Gary Van Brocklin (6.1) - Pre-draft: 27/37. Post-draft: 26/37. No significant change.

SE Jake Emerson (6.20) - Pre-draft: 17/35. Post-draft: 21/42. As I noted earlier, this was the guy who seemed most likely to improve and sure enough he did. +4/+7 bodes well for his future - we can only hope that he continues to improve a lot, as most of his abilities are in special teams areas. It would be nice to see him become a legitimate receiver, but for now I can't complain at all.

In conclusion, our draft class is comprised of low-round picks who appear to be somewhat disappointing (as low round picks are wont to do). We do have some hope for the very bottom end of our draft class, though. Emerson, in particular, may have a future in this league.

[Fonzie]

The arrival of late free agency (and the presumed minicamps that occur after the draft) gave us another opportunity to gauge the progress of our veteran players. What we saw was somewhat worrisome, as many of our vets lost 2-3 points in both current and future ratings (including important players like Milan Hogan, Drew Holliday, and Grant Wash). I've seen dips like these before after the draft, and they sometimes correct themselves after training camp. We'll have to hope that's the case this time around.

Oh, and TE Anthony Torres is holding out for a new contract. He's in the last year of his current deal and seems to think he should be getting paid more. I agree and was planning to extend him anyway, so this isn't a huge issue.

[Fonzie]

With all of our draft picks signed and TE Anthony Torres happy with a fat new contract, we head to camp with 70 warm bodies (I signed a bunch of longshot UFAs in late free agency). I fiddled only slightly with the camp settings, with the only change being to get my QBs some extra film time in an effort to learn new formations (at the expense of "Team Activities").

The results: not much has changed, most of our draft picks look like duds, and nearly all of our UFA longshots look to be flipping burgers come roster cutdown day.

The big camp winners are:

QB Kent Goodwin - +4/+0 in camp - up to 39/65 with 14 formations known. I kinda wish Hogan had deteriorated more in the offseason, because I'm dying to make this kid my long-term starter.

C Casey Reeves - +3/+1 in camp - up to 62/62. Looking better and better as our long-term solution at C. We traded a 2nd rounder for him last year. Well worth it.

LG Ross Poplawski - +3/+3 in camp - up to 73/73. Ross looks like a monster, but has had some injury troubles. If we can keep him on the field he'll be a tremendous asset.

LT Shane Kudrow - +4/+0 in camp - up to 63/67. Will be battling with entrenched veteran Chris Frank in camp.

WLB Bob Crane - +4/+0 in camp - up to 39/45. Good backup.


Not everyone did as well as the guys listed above, most notably our draft picks. The camp losers:

RB Cornell Pukenas - the 4th round pick was +0/-2 in camp, making him a 23/33 player. He still has some decent running skills, and may yet make the roster. Still, a disappointment.

SLB Deion Woodard - 5th round pick was +1/-4 in camp. 13/38 overall. Probably getting a pink slip soon.

RCB Roderick Schechter - 5th round pick was +1/-7 in camp. He's a disaster and will be shown the door.

A few other players deteriorated, but most of the veterans who deteriorated did so during the minicamps right after the draft and were unchanged during camp. The major players who dropped were:

QB Milan Hogan - Now rated a 61/66 player (a -4/-3 drop from last season).
RB Drew Holliday - Now rated 59/63 (-2/-2).
MLB Grant Wash - Now rated 59/59 (-4/-4).
DT Henry Stansell - Now rated 41/45 (-6/-5).
CB Jeremy "Cheap Shot" Rosenberry - now rated 39/47 (-6/-5).

So, we've aged a bit and much of our draft class didn't pan out, but we've still got a very talented team with some promising early-career players. We even got a little bit more talented right after camp with a trade to be detailed in my next post.

[Fonzie]

We made a move to shore up our secondary by sending a 2014 2nd round pick to Albany in exchange for 2nd-year CB Bobby Giles (47/54). Bobby should be a significant contributor for years to come, as he has everything I look for in a corner. He's good in man coverage (82/100), an excellent ballhawk (100 in INTs), is reasonably bright (45/60 in play diagnosis) and can help out on special teams (100 in kick returns, 60/75 in ST).

I love this deal.

[Fonzie]

We finished in 2nd place in the division last year, and as such we don't get much of a break with our schedule this season. Here's how it looks:

Week 1 ARIZONA OUTLAWS (6-10 in 2010)
Week 2 at San Antonio Stingers (8-8)
Week 3 at Seattle Thunderbirds (10-6)
Week 4 at Honolulu Blue Pacific (11-5-1)
Week 5 DENVER DYNOMITE (12-4)
Week 6 OPEN
Week 7 at El Paso Rockets (6-9-1)
Week 8 LAS VEGAS ROUNDERS (1-14-1)
Week 9 TULSA TALONS (9-7)
Week 10 at Fargo (ND) Boxcars (12-4)
Week 11 at Arizona Outlaws (6-10)
Week 12 NEW ORLEANS RAGING HORDE (5-11)
Week 13 HUNTINGTON BEACH CAPITALISTS (8-7-1)
Week 14 SHREVEPORT PRIDE (10-5-1)
Week 15 HONOLULU BLUE PACIFIC (11-4-1)
Week 16 at Memphis Express (4-11-1)
Week 17 at Las Vegas Rounders (1-14-1)

Total opponent record in 2010: 120-129-8.

At first glance this appears to be a pretty favorable slate, but I view it as anything but. The worst teams on this list have all been substantially improved in the offseason, led by the inevitable turnaround of the worst team on this list, Las Vegas. Their 1-14-1 record last year was not reflective of their talent level, but was driven entirely by a devastating series of injuries that would have driven a lesser GM to heroin abuse. They will have most of their injured players back at 100% this year, including starting QB Lenny Olsen. That instantly makes them a team likely to have a winning record. So, subtract the 2-28-2 from that 120-129-8, and you have at worst an opponent record of 118-101-6.

Other significantly improved teams on our schedule include San Antonio, El Paso (who was a lot better than their record would indicate anyways), New Orleans, and, sadly, Honolulu. We're looking at a tough schedule, here.

Final cutdowns are this Wednesday, and the season begins Thursday evening. Thank heavens!

[Fonzie]

Your beloved Toros start the season with a home game against the Arizona Outlaws. We hold a sizable advantage over them historically (11-4-1 all time), and hope to continue our good fortune against them here. It is hard to convincingly say that the first game of the season is a "must-win," but I consider it to be a must-win. Our next three games are all on the road against very tough teams, and I can easily see us being 0-4 if we don't win this one. An 0-4 start would, of course, essentially kill our season. So, we need to win.

I have also made a decision sure to send shock waves through the league: I'm starting 2nd-year phenom Kent Goodwin at QB. Milan "Colonel" Hogan will be on the bench today, despite posting the 8th-best winning percentage of active QBs (83-48-1). Why would I do that? Well, in this game at least I think Goodwin gives us a better chance to win (for reasons that I will keep to myself, thankyouverymuch). Plus, the kid needs to get experience as he will at the very latest be taking over for us full-time next year. So, I'm not promising that the starting job is his for the year, and I intend to start whichever QB I think gives us the best chance to win that week.

But who knows? If Goodwin lights the league on fire maybe I'll have to keep him in the lineup. Or, if he stinks up the joint this little experiment may end immediately. We'll see:

Box Score: Arizona at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 1, 2011

Attendance: 68,400 (69,800).


Weather: 103 degrees, fair.

1Q: 07:39 ARI - O.J. James -1 fumble return.
1Q: 07:39 ARI - Paul Stephan extra point.
1Q: 06:32 TUC - Brent Garcia 31 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 06:32 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 13:22 ARI - Paul Stephan 32 field goal.
2Q: 02:28 TUC - Anthony Torres 1 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 02:28 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 00:36 TUC - Hugo Eckard 53 field goal.
3Q: 01:44 TUC - Courtney Hodges 3 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 01:44 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 03:44 TUC - Hugo Eckard 35 field goal.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Arizona 7 3 0 0 - 10
Tucson 7 10 7 3 - 27

Team Statistics ARI TUC

First Downs 17 15

Total Rushes 29 32
Rushing Yards 95 138
Yards Per Carry 3.2 4.3
Pass Attempts 36 23
Completions 17 15
Passing Yards 185 187
Yards Per Attempt 5.1 8.1
Sacked 2 1
Yards Lost 10 7
Interceptions 3 1
Fumbles/Lost 2/1 2/1

Total Plays 67 56
Total Yards 270 318
Yards Per Play 4.0 5.6

3rd Down Plays 5/15 3/12
Avg. YTG on 3rd 6.4 5.9
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 1 5
Penalty Yards 5 30

Avg. Drive Start OWN 17 OWN 40
Time Of Possession 29:46 30:14

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 21 108 5.1 20 0
26 Jeffries 8 26 3.2 7 0
4 Hogan 1 -2 -2.0 -2 0
89 Armitage 1 2 2.0 2 0
19 Goodwin 1 4 4.0 4 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 23 15 187 8.1 34 3 1 1

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
89 Armitage 5 87 17.4 20 34 0
26 Jeffries 3 12 4.0 16 5 0
85 Garcia 3 80 26.6 3 32 1
82 Torres 2 4 2.0 4 3 1
42 Holliday 1 1 1.0 1 1 0
81 Hodges 1 3 3.0 0 3 1

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 3 41 13.6 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 1 29 29.0 0
35 Giles 1 28 28.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 7 286 40.8 48 6

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 2 2 53 3 3

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
31 Enoch 11 4 0.0 1 20 0
40 Biggs 5 1 0.0 1 18 0
52 Wash 5 2 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 4 0 1.0 0 0 0
45 Stine 3 0 1.0 1 12 0
25 Minahan 3 3 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 3 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
73 Smith 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
47 Hodges 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Torres 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
84 Joyner 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

CFL, please meet Mr. Goodwin! The kid had a great day, tossing 3 TD passes and averaging 8.1 ypa. His only mistake was one ill-advised interception, but even that was thrown immediately after a Freddie Matthias INT, and the two plays effectively cancelled one another out. Yessir, the kid can play.

I couldn't be happier with the result, as we got a convincing win and proved that Goodwin can win games even though he's still very green. The key seems to be getting him to stay out of Drew Holliday's way. Of course, that's essentially what we always asked Hogan to do, so no big surprise there. But who will start next week? Hmmm...

As always, though, the key to our success depends on the defense, and boy howdy did they come to play today. They held Arizona to just 270 yards of total offense, forced four turnovers, and held Matthias to just 17 of 36 passing for 185 yards, 0 TDs and 3 INTs. In fact, Arizona's only TD came on a fumble recovery at our 1. It was very weirdly reported in the game log as:

2-10-TUC01 (07:49) TUC 42 Holliday ran inside the right tackle for 0 yards.
Tackled by ARI 53 Farley.
Ball was fumbled and recovered by ARI 99 James for -1 yards and a touchdown!
Extra point by ARI 14 Stephan was good.


Recovered for -1 yards and a TD? Huh? I can only guess the ball came out at the 1 yd line and bounced backwards at least 2 yds deep into the endzone. James recovered it for a loss of a yard from the position where he got the ball (which shouldn't be possible, but whatever).

Otherwise, our D was solid. I love this drive chart for Arizona:

Arizona Drive Chart
Quar Began Poss From Plays Yards Result
1 12:16 3:50 OWN 9 9 50 Punt
1 6:32 8:10 OWN 16 14 69 Field Goal
2 9:58 2:43 OWN 29 5 24 Punt
2 2:28 1:09 OWN 14 2 -11 Interception
2 0:36 0:36 OWN 27 2 16 Half
3 15:00 1:28 OWN 14 3 8 Punt
3 12:14 1:26 OWN 6 3 6 Punt
3 9:03 1:08 OWN 15 3 9 Punt
3 6:28 1:32 OWN 20 3 7 Punt
3 1:44 3:26 OWN 26 6 10 Punt
4 9:51 2:11 OWN 5 5 18 Punt
4 3:44 1:55 OWN 21 6 19 Interception
4 1:40 1:32 OWN 29 6 45 Interception


Good game, boys!

Oh, and the unexpected big bonus in today's game: no injuries at all.

Next week: at San Antonio.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Bold move on your part in starting Goodwin, and it paid off! Congrats!

It sure is nice to have 2 good QBs to choose from... :rolleyes:

[Fonzie]

Bold move on your part in starting Goodwin, and it paid off! Congrats!

It sure is nice to have 2 good QBs to choose from... :rolleyes:

I was sorry to see Titone go down. Hopefully he'll come back without any serious skill erosion - he's one of the bright lights of the league. It'd be a shame if he flamed out so young.

[Fonzie]

This week we pay a visit to a team we've only faced twice before: the San Antonio Stingers. We've split those two games, the last of which was a 24-17 Tucson win in Week 3 of 2007. We're not very familiar with them, of course, but they've got good talent all along their roster. QB Ernest Lorenzo is talented but hasn't had much success (52-67-1 career record), and he's paired with recently-acquired RB Toothpick Lang, another talented but well-travelled player (5 teams in the last 5 years). They also have an elite TE in Ricky Horowitz, and good talent along their O-line. But arguably their best player is 3rd-year DE J.J. Houston, who had a breakout game last week with 2.5 sacks, 1 blocked pass and 3 hurries, 6 total tackles, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovered for a TD. We will clearly have to keep him tied up on the O-line to have any hope of moving the ball today.

We're starting QB Kent Goodwin again today - the kid earned it after his respectable performance last week. Hopefully he can repeat that effort today, as another win would help to cushion us against a tough schedule over the next month (at Seattle, at Honolulu, and vs. Denver).

Box Score: Tucson at San Antonio
San Antonio, TX.

Week 2, 2011

Attendance: 59,000 (73,200).


Weather: 94 degrees, stormy.

1Q: 12:10 TUC - Hugo Eckard 46 field goal.
1Q: 05:57 SAO - Percy Alvarado 45 field goal.
1Q: 04:07 TUC - Brent Garcia 52 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 04:07 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 12:51 TUC - Hugo Eckard 45 field goal.
2Q: 05:40 SAO - Alec Johnson 21 pass from Ernest Lorenzo.
2Q: 05:40 SAO - Percy Alvarado extra point.
4Q: 09:55 TUC - Demetrius Higginbotham 30 pass from Kent Goodwin.
4Q: 09:55 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Tucson 10 3 0 7 - 20
San Antonio 3 7 0 0 - 10

Team Statistics TUC SAO

First Downs 15 22

Total Rushes 26 29
Rushing Yards 101 95
Yards Per Carry 3.8 3.2
Pass Attempts 23 40
Completions 11 21
Passing Yards 213 273
Yards Per Attempt 9.2 6.8
Sacked 0 4
Yards Lost 0 26
Interceptions 0 0
Fumbles/Lost 1/0 2/0

Total Plays 49 73
Total Yards 314 342
Yards Per Play 6.4 4.6

3rd Down Plays 1/8 8/18
Avg. YTG on 3rd 9.5 8.9
4th Down Plays 0/0 1/1

Penalties 8 11
Penalty Yards 64 80

Avg. Drive Start OWN 27 OWN 23
Time Of Possession 25:06 34:55

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 21 95 4.5 17 0
26 Jeffries 5 6 1.2 6 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 23 11 213 9.2 52 2 0 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
80 Higginbotham 7 129 18.4 11 33 1
89 Armitage 2 24 12.0 1 15 0
26 Jeffries 1 8 8.0 0 8 0
85 Garcia 1 52 52.0 11 52 1

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
85 Garcia 2 9 4.5 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
35 Giles 2 72 36.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 4 168 42.0 54 0

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 2 3 46 2 2

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
55 Trujillo 14 1 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 7 3 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 6 2 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 4 1 1.5 0 0 0
58 Watford 4 1 1.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 4 3 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 4 2 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
45 Stine 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 2 1 0.5 0 0 0
97 Horn 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
94 Van Brocklin 1 0 1.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 1 0 0.0 0 0 0


Not a dominating win, but a win nonetheless. I think San Antonio generally outplayed us, but after scoring 10 pts in the first 18 minutes they weren't able to put together any more scoring drives. At all. Look at this beautiful drive chart:


2 2:27 1:18 OWN 23 3 0 Punt
3 15:00 2:45 OWN 29 6 17 Punt
3 10:24 1:52 OWN 28 3 5 Punt
3 7:09 3:26 OWN 12 6 21 Punt
3 2:33 2:33 OWN 37 4 16 Punt
4 9:55 4:31 OWN 14 10 38 Punt
4 2:10 2:10 OWN 32 11 54 Game


Our defense bent and gave up yardage, but never broke. They did well today.

The offense was adequate, but our lousy 3rd-down performance is becoming worrisome. We were 1 out of 8 today after converting just 3 out of 12 last week. Clearly Goodwin still needs some work, but he was efficient enough to put 20 points on the board. But will that be enough to convince the coach to give him the full-time starting job? Or will he be forced to return to veteran Hogan against a tough Seattle squad next week?

Drew Holliday keeps on chugging along, though I'm a bit puzzled as to why he has yet to break through for a TD. Just two games, I suppose, but he's definitely behind his usual pace.

Another beautiful bonus from this game: no injuries. How long can that kind of luck continue?

Next week: at Seattle.

[Fonzie]

This week we pay a visit to Seattle, a team we've played an awful lot considering that they aren't in our division. Our head-to-head record is even at 3-3, and we've drawn them on our schedule for five years running now (this being the fifth). In the last four years they've won three of our contests, so we'll have something to prove here. Oh, and they went to the conference championshiop game last year. They're a tough team.

Seattle still boasts the league's most talented QB in Charles Dever (95/95, according to my scout). Dever can beat you with both his arm and his legs - in fact, he routinely beats me with his legs. It seems like every time we do a good job containing Seattle's stud RB Burt Liskiewicz, Dever logs a 5 carry for 70 yards day. Seattle truly is a "pick your poison" type of team.

Today I've decided to give Milan Hogan the chance to win his job back. I think he matches up better with Seattle's defense, so Goodwin will go back to wearing a visor today. In truth, though, I'm not very optimistic about this game regardless of who plays under center. Seattle is a damned tough team, and beating them at home will be a tall order.

Box Score: Tucson at Seattle
Seattle, WA.

Week 3, 2011

Attendance: 54,600 (65,700).


Weather: 46 degrees, fair.

1Q: 07:56 TUC - Drew Holliday 1 run.
1Q: 07:56 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 14:23 SEA - Darrell Styblo 45 field goal.
2Q: 11:24 SEA - Darrell Styblo 42 field goal.
2Q: 06:50 SEA - Charles Dever 7 run.
2Q: 06:50 SEA - Darrell Styblo extra point.
2Q: 02:39 TUC - Demetrius Higginbotham 8 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 02:39 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 00:58 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 2 run.
2Q: 00:58 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 10:41 SEA - Paris Kimmel 5 pass from Charles Dever.
3Q: 10:41 SEA - Charles Dever pass to Burt Liszkiewicz for conversion
4Q: 08:28 TUC - Hugo Eckard 34 field goal.
4Q: 02:21 TUC - Sydney Armitage 5 pass from Kent Goodwin.
4Q: 02:21 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Tucson 7 14 0 10 - 31
Seattle 0 13 8 0 - 21

Team Statistics TUC SEA

First Downs 26 18

Total Rushes 33 28
Rushing Yards 154 105
Yards Per Carry 4.6 3.7
Pass Attempts 24 32
Completions 14 18
Passing Yards 212 229
Yards Per Attempt 8.8 7.1
Sacked 1 6
Yards Lost 6 36
Interceptions 0 1
Fumbles/Lost 1/1 1/1

Total Plays 58 66
Total Yards 360 298
Yards Per Play 6.2 4.5

3rd Down Plays 3/9 5/13
Avg. YTG on 3rd 11.2 10.8
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/2

Penalties 7 12
Penalty Yards 55 57

Avg. Drive Start OWN 36 OWN 28
Time Of Possession 28:17 31:44

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 24 109 4.5 14 1
26 Jeffries 6 31 5.1 8 1
19 Goodwin 2 4 2.0 6 0
80 Higginbotham 1 10 10.0 10 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 15 11 142 9.4 17 2 0 0
4 Hogan 9 3 70 7.7 36 0 0 1

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
89 Armitage 5 70 14.0 10 17 1
82 Torres 4 53 13.2 7 17 0
80 Higginbotham 3 61 20.3 31 36 1
81 Hodges 1 17 17.0 3 17 0
85 Garcia 1 11 11.0 0 11 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 2 0 0.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 4 88 22.0 0
35 Giles 1 14 14.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 4 135 33.7 48 0

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 1 2 34 4 4

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
52 Wash 8 1 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 6 0 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 5 2 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 4 2 2.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 4 0 1.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 3 0 1.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 2 1 1.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 2 1 0.5 0 0 0
35 Giles 2 2 0.0 1 33 0
45 Stine 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 1 1 0.5 0 0 0
93 King 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
94 Van Brocklin 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
21 Stallings 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 0 1 0.0 0 0 0


Evidently Goodwin wasn't content to sit on the bench after all! Poor Milan "Colonel" Hogan was knocked out of the game in the 2nd quarter with torn cartilage in his knee and will miss the next six weeks. So in came Goodwin, and boy did he deliver. 11 for 15 for 142 yards and 2 TDs is impressive, especially considering that he was operating under a gameplan designed for Hogan. The kid can play, it seems.

But perhaps the most important thing he did was stay out of the running game's way. Holliday had another of his usual games, and the other ballcarriers chipped in nicely for 33 total carries and 154 yards.

Perhaps the most impressive part of our performance today was the defense - they did a good job of limiting both Dever and Liskewicz. Both of them turned the ball over, and neither was able to do much. Dever was limited to 229 yards on 18 of 32 passing, with a TD and an INT. He was sacked six times, but managed to scramble three times for 26 yards and a TD. Liskewicz had a miserable day, carrying 18 times for just 56 yards and catching 3 passes for 10 yards. He wasn't able to do much in the return game either, which is a huge bonus. This certainly wasn't our defense's most dominant performance, but considering the competition and location I'd say this ranks up there as one of their more impressive performances. Holding an offense like Seattle's to under 300 yards is an enormous accomplishment. Good job, gents.

This win puts us at 3-0, which is about two games better than I was expecting to be at this point. I'm thrilled that we won back-to-back road games against tough opponents, as that now puts us in a decent position to absorb potential losses in our next two tough games: at Honolulu and vs. Denver. We have a bye week after those two games, and I was afraid we'd be entering the bye at 2-3 or 1-4. Now, at worst, we'll hit the bye at 3-2. I'd love to win these next two games, but that's probably not realistic. If we can split those two games I'll be wildly excited.

[Fonzie]

This is the game we circle on our calendars every virtual January - the road game at divisional foe Honolulu. This is the divisional game we least expect to win (along with the trip to Vegas), so pulling off an upset win here would be a huge feather in our cap. It would also be...an upset, and not very likely to happen. The two big reasons why I'm skeptical about our prospects in this game: 1) SkyDog's penchant for maximizing gameplan output (he's gotten very good results from a team with limited talent); and 2) what little talent he has is concentrated in the QB position. Indeed, he has two franchise-quality quarterbacks at his disposal, and this season has taken to splitting their playing time down the middle. Thus, two great QBs will both be playing in this game for Honolulu, complicating defensive gameplanning. Of course, I'm not sure that defensive gameplanning matters all that much against Honolulu, as I had my gameplan geared almost perfectly to match their offense the last time we played in Honolulu and all I got for my efforts was a 28-0 stomping. So we'll set some numbers and see if we can do any better this time.

A win here would truly be beautiful - that would put us at 4-0 and 2 games ahead of Honolulu in the division. I'd feel a lot better about our prospects if we can pull this one off, but I'm pretty much resigned to logging a loss here. Road wins are tough to begin with, but getting them against a team with a great gameplanning owner and great QBs? That's damned tough.

Making things even worse for the Good Guys is the fact that "Colonel" Hogan is out for this one - I snuck in a couple of starts for Goodwin just to get him some experience at the outset, but I fully intended to turn things over to Hogan starting with the Seattle game. He's not in the picture anymore, so I now must turn the reins over to Kent "That's A" Goodwin on a full-time basis. But throwing him out there against Honolulu's talented secondary scares the crap out of me, so we'll be focusing on the running game today. Drew Holliday better bring his "A" game, 'cuz we're gonna need it.

Box Score: Tucson at Honolulu
Honolulu, HI.

Week 4, 2011

Attendance: 59,800 (66,000).


Weather: 68 degrees, fair.

1Q: 03:02 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 9 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 03:02 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 11:14 TUC - Courtney Hodges 9 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 11:14 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 00:35 TUC - Drew Holliday 9 run.
2Q: 00:35 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 05:15 TUC - Brent Garcia 5 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 05:15 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 02:04 HON - Frederic Swallow 29 field goal.
4Q: 09:45 HON - Chris Rodham 43 pass from Ronnie Tu.
4Q: 09:45 HON - Frederic Swallow extra point.
4Q: 00:00 HON - Chris Rodham 35 pass from Ronnie Tu.
4Q: 00:00 HON - Ronnie Tu pass to Jody Beech for conversion

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Tucson 7 14 7 0 - 28
Honolulu 0 0 3 15 - 18

Team Statistics TUC HON

First Downs 24 13

Total Rushes 49 11
Rushing Yards 170 31
Yards Per Carry 3.4 2.8
Pass Attempts 23 39
Completions 19 13
Passing Yards 167 261
Yards Per Attempt 7.2 6.6
Sacked 0 6
Yards Lost 0 41
Interceptions 1 0
Fumbles/Lost 1/0 1/0

Total Plays 72 56
Total Yards 337 251
Yards Per Play 4.6 4.4

3rd Down Plays 13/18 4/14
Avg. YTG on 3rd 5.3 11.5
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 4 8
Penalty Yards 30 57

Avg. Drive Start OWN 33 OWN 23
Time Of Possession 39:05 20:55

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 41 153 3.7 32 1
26 Jeffries 8 17 2.1 12 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 23 19 167 7.2 18 3 1 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
82 Torres 4 36 9.0 2 11 0
85 Garcia 4 38 9.5 1 16 1
89 Armitage 3 40 13.3 7 18 0
26 Jeffries 3 19 6.3 6 9 1
81 Hodges 2 14 7.0 4 9 1
80 Higginbotham 1 7 7.0 0 7 0
42 Holliday 1 6 6.0 0 6 0
87 Emerson 1 7 7.0 1 7 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 2 23 11.5 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 2 51 25.5 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 5 183 36.6 48 3

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 0 0 0 4 4

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
31 Enoch 4 3 0.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 3 0 1.5 0 0 0
45 Stine 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 2 1 2.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 2 0 1.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
73 Smith 1 1 0.5 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
68 Kudrow 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
87 Emerson 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 0 2 1.0 0 0 0


Well, DAMN! I didn't see that kind of performance coming. We jumped out to a nifty 28-0 lead and held Honolulu to just a couple of garbage time TDs in a 28-18 win that was more of a rout than the score would suggest. Holding Ronnie Tu and Randolph Kranz to just 13 of 39 passing for 261 yards is an insane accomplishment - and the defense's performance doesn't stop there. We harrassed both QBs with 12 hurries, 6 sacks, 2 blocked passes and 8 passes defensed. Oh, and we also shut down their run game.

Wow.

Offensively, Holliday did what we asked him to do and he ground out 41 carries for 153 yards - providing us with a beautiful 2-1 time of possession advantage. Surprisingly, Kent Goodwin got much more into the act than I intended him to, and even more surprisingly he played well. He wasn't supposed to put the ball up 23 times, but he did and only threw one bad pass the whole game (the INT). His other three incompletions were the result of two hurries and one pass defensed. Excellent game for him - and to top it all off he improved two points in current rating to put him at 46/65.

The only downer about this game was an injury to starting corner Keven Biggs, who is doubtful with an abdominal injury. He might be OK to play in a couple weeks.

Huge win. HUGE. I cannot believe we're sitting at 4-0 - our early season schedule was the part I was dreading the most, but here we are with more wins in our first four games than I thought we'd have in our first half of the season. Go Toros!

Next week: vs. 2-time CFL champion Denver.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Outstanding game for you Fonz! Congrats!

[MrBug708]

Meh

[Fonzie]

Thanks to both of you for your positive comments! (yes, MrBug's "meh" constitutes a positive comment from him).

And for the exclamation point, I'd like to add that Las Vegas and Arizona also lost this week. This was a good week to be a Toros fan!

[Raven Hawk]

Yes, it was a very Good-win for you.

Yuk, yuk.

[Fonzie]

This week we face another tough test in the Denver Dynamite, 2-time CFL champions. QB Marcus Garibaldi guided them to the Big Dance in 2007, 2008 and 2009 (winning in '07 and '09), and they posted a 12-4 record last year before being bounced in the first round of the playoffs. They're off to yet another good start at 3-1 but only one of those wins was convincing. I'm sure they'd like to regain a bit of their championship swagger. They must be licking their chops at the prospect of playing us, as they own a 5-1 lifetime record against Your Beloved Toros (that's the worst record we have against any team we've played more than twice).

But things are different now - we've got a new sherriff in town in Kent "That's A" Goodwin, who has inexplicably shot to the top of the stat sheets with a 122 QB Rating. I doubt that lofty number will last, as it is driven largely by his refusal to throw interceptions - and I suspect a 3-4 INT day (or two) is in the young QB's future. The real question is: against whom will he have those rotten performances? Will it be this week?

Box Score: Denver at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 5, 2011

Attendance: 68,400 (69,800).


Weather: 91 degrees, fair.

1Q: 03:27 TUC - Drew Holliday 1 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 03:27 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 12:59 DEN - John Lubin 2 run.
2Q: 12:59 DEN - Gary Hutchins extra point.
2Q: 01:06 DEN - John Lubin 6 run.
2Q: 01:06 DEN - Gary Hutchins extra point.
3Q: 06:10 TUC - Sydney Armitage 34 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 06:10 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 13:34 TUC - Hugo Eckard 39 field goal.
4Q: 09:35 TUC - Hugo Eckard 31 field goal.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Denver 0 14 0 0 - 14
Tucson 7 0 7 6 - 20

Team Statistics DEN TUC

First Downs 14 20

Total Rushes 28 34
Rushing Yards 91 108
Yards Per Carry 3.2 3.1
Pass Attempts 23 29
Completions 13 18
Passing Yards 167 196
Yards Per Attempt 7.2 6.7
Sacked 4 1
Yards Lost 25 5
Interceptions 2 0
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 2/0

Total Plays 55 64
Total Yards 233 299
Yards Per Play 4.2 4.6

3rd Down Plays 5/12 5/14
Avg. YTG on 3rd 7.8 8.1
4th Down Plays 0/1 0/1

Penalties 5 7
Penalty Yards 38 43

Avg. Drive Start OWN 22 OWN 37
Time Of Possession 25:25 34:35

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 22 64 2.9 13 0
26 Jeffries 9 37 4.1 8 0
19 Goodwin 3 7 2.3 9 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 29 18 196 6.7 34 2 0 1

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
89 Armitage 5 107 21.4 12 34 1
26 Jeffries 3 19 6.3 11 11 0
82 Torres 3 18 6.0 5 9 0
81 Hodges 3 27 9.0 5 12 0
80 Higginbotham 2 21 10.5 1 11 0
42 Holliday 1 1 1.0 1 1 1
21 Stallings 1 3 3.0 3 3 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 2 4 2.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 1 25 25.0 0
35 Giles 1 33 33.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 5 189 37.8 51 4

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 2 3 39 2 2

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
31 Enoch 9 3 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 9 0 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 5 4 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 4 0 1.5 0 0 0
45 Stine 4 0 0.0 1 0 0
25 Minahan 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 3 1 1.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 3 1 1.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 1 0 0.0 1 29 0
73 Smith 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
60 Poplawski 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
21 Stallings 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
74 Cochrane 0 1 0.5 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 0 3 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 0 2 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 0 1 0.0 0 0 0


Nope. It didn't happen this week. In fact, Goodwin performed quite well considering that his running game was stagnant. We had to rely on him more than I wanted to, but he was able to pick up just enough of the slack to secure the win. He was, of course, aided considerably by our strong defense. Holding a Garibaldi-led offense to just 235 total yards is a pretty impressive feat. Denver fought a tough game, but our defense carried the day.

This win had a price tag, though: Harold Stoltzfus is out for 3 weeks with a strained achilles tendon. It could've been worse, I suppose, given his penchant for getting nicked up. And there's a chance he'll be ready to play in our next game if he can use the bye week to get well.

Oh, and this forced a chuckle out of me:

4-12-TUC30 (00:02) TUC 19 Goodwin dropped to one knee for -1 yards.
.
Goodwin looked a little sluggish on this cold day.
The ball goes over on downs.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin


"Looked sluggish" on a kneel down? Ninety-one degrees is a "cold day?" Heh.

Next up: the dreaded bye week.

[bbgunn]

Oh, and this forced a chuckle out of me:

4-12-TUC30 (00:02) TUC 19 Goodwin dropped to one knee for -1 yards.
.
Goodwin looked a little sluggish on this cold day.
The ball goes over on downs.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin


"Looked sluggish" on a kneel down? Ninety-one degrees is a "cold day?" Heh.

Next up: the dreaded bye week.

Hilarious.

[Fonzie]

We're on a bye this week, but nevertheless we got some good news today. Both Honolulu (3-3) and Arizona (2-4) lost their games. Honolulu gave Denver a good scare, but the Dynamite pulled out a 20-17 win with 10 4th-quarter points. This game was also noteworthy in that for the first time all year Honolulu started and ended the game with the same QB: Ronnie Tu has evidently won the QB job. For now, at least.

On the injury front we also were pleased to hear that DT Harold Stoltzfus has been upgraded to "Questionable" for our next game at El Paso. That's huge, as he's the lynchpin to our defense. Now I have to decide if I want to risk further injury by starting him. Hmm...

And on a completely unrelated topic, I'd like to memorialize Kent Goodwin's amazing start to his career by posting his stats through 5 games:

GP GS Att Comp Pct Yds Avg Lg TD INT Sk SkYds QBRating
5 4 113 74 65.4 905 8.00 52 12 2 2 12 118.0

I wanted to take note of his performance to date for two reasons: 1) he's awesome; and 2) he's got a few 3-INT days coming yet this season, and I wanted to preserve his pristine start for the sake of posterity. I'm sure CFL historians will find this information useful.

You're welcome.

[3ric]

On the injury front we also were pleased to hear that DT Harold Stoltzfus has been upgraded to "Questionable" for our next game at El Paso. That's huge, as he's the lynchpin to our defense. Now I have to decide if I want to risk further injury by starting him. Hmm...

He's risking injury while brushing his teeth in the morning...

<table border="1" bordercolor="#764b00" cellpadding="4"><tbody><tr><td class="MenuTitle">Player
</td><td class="MenuTitle">Injury
</td><td class="MenuTitle">_Status
</td><td class="MenuTitle">Expected_return
</td><td class="MenuTitle">Team
</td><td class="MenuTitle">Week
</td><td class="MenuTitle">Season
</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Severe Wrist Sprain</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Doubtful</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2 Weeks</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Santa Cruz Privateers (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Santa+Cruz+Privateers)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Week 7</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2003</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Knee Tendinitis</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Probable</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">5 Weeks</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Santa Cruz Privateers (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Santa+Cruz+Privateers)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Week 13</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2003</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Strained Calf Muscle</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Out</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">5 Weeks</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Santa Cruz Privateers (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Santa+Cruz+Privateers)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Week 2</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2004</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Knee Tendinitis</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Probable</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">5 Weeks</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Santa Cruz Privateers (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Santa+Cruz+Privateers)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Preseason week 4</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2004</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Separated Shoulder</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Out</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">4 Weeks</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Santa Cruz Privateers (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Santa+Cruz+Privateers)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Week 12</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2005</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Strained Patellar Tendon</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Out</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">3 Weeks</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Santa Cruz Privateers (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Santa+Cruz+Privateers)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Preseason week 4</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2005</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Hyperextended Elbow</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Out</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">3 Weeks</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Santa Cruz Privateers (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Santa+Cruz+Privateers)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Week 17</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2005</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Hyperextended Knee</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Out</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">4 Weeks</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Santa Cruz Privateers (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Santa+Cruz+Privateers)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Week 4</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2005</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Bruised Ribcage</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Probable</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">3 Weeks</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Santa Cruz Privateers (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Santa+Cruz+Privateers)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Week 1</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2006</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Bruised Shoulder</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Probable</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">1 Week</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Santa Cruz Privateers (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Santa+Cruz+Privateers)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Week 4</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2006</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Knee Bursitis</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Probable</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">1 Week</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Santa Cruz Privateers (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Santa+Cruz+Privateers)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Week 15</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2006</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Strained Rotator Cuff</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Probable</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">3 Weeks</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Santa Cruz Privateers (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Santa+Cruz+Privateers)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Week 9</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2007</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Broken Finger</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Probable</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2 Weeks</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Santa Cruz Privateers (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Santa+Cruz+Privateers)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Week 17</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2007</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Strained Deltoid Muscle</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Out</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">1 Week</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Tucson Toros (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Tucson+Toros)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Conference semis</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2009</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Elbow Contusion</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Probable</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">1 Week</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Cleveland Flats (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Cleveland+Flats)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Week 1</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2009</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Broken Toe</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Probable</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2 Weeks</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Tucson Toros (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Tucson+Toros)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Week 8</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2010</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Separated Shoulder</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Out</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">4 Weeks</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Tucson Toros (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Tucson+Toros)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Week 12</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2010</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Knee Contusion</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Probable</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">1 Week</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Tucson Toros (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Tucson+Toros)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Week 5</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2010</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Strained Adductor Muscle</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Out</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">3 Weeks</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Tucson Toros (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Tucson+Toros)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Week 5</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2011</td></tr><tr><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Harold Stoltzfus</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Sprained Ankle</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Probable</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">1 Week</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Tucson Toros (http://cfl.fof2k4utilities.net/roster.asp?team=Tucson+Toros)</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">Week 3</td><td class="text" bgcolor="#e7e7de">2011</td></tr></tbody></table>

[Fonzie]

He's risking injury while brushing his teeth in the morning...

Ha! You got that right. :D

What's amazing is that despite his extensive injury history he hasn't missed much game time. His injuries have largely been minor and required little recovery time. Out of 133 possible career games (though last week), he has missed just 13. He missed 1 game in 2004, 9 games in 2005 and 3 games in 2010.

Of course, highlighting this fact almost guarantees that he'll suffer a career-ending injury during his next game. The CFL Gods will see to that.

[JeeberD]

Jeff Reid will break Stoltzfus...

[Fonzie]

Jeff Reid will break Stoltzfus...

Jeff "Tara" Reid will, at most, break the strap on his dress and reveal a sagging tit to the CFL world.

SAGGING TIT, BABY!

[Fonzie]

Today we play El Paso, which marks our fourth road game in our first six contests. We're off to a great 5-0 start, and are matched up against a team we've experience some success against. We're 4-1 against them all-time, with our last contest resulting in a 31-14 Toro win at El Paso in 2008. Can we keep that magic alive?

If we do, we'll have to do it without the services of our best defender, Harold Stoltzfus. I decided to rest him for at least one more week to minimize the possibility of aggravating his injury. Plus, resting him today ensures he'll be ready to go next week when we lock horns with rival Las Vegas. Keeping him out will give Jeff "Tara" Reid the chance to run roughshod over us, but we'll just have to live with that possibility.

Our depth at DT is poor and very green, so in order to compensate for Stoltzfus' absence we'll try something new: a 3-4 defense. I'm fairly certain that Your Beloved Toros have never before used the 3-4, but we've got the linebacking depth to justify giving it a whirl. We'll be risking playing some LBs out of position (SLB at WILB, for example), but I don't see any more attractive options. We'll have to cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Box Score: Tucson at El Paso
El Paso, TX.

Week 7, 2011

Attendance: 55,800 (65,700).


Weather: 59 degrees, fair.

2Q: 13:47 TUC - Hugo Eckard 29 field goal.
2Q: 01:12 ELP - Jeff Reid 9 run.
2Q: 01:12 ELP - B.J. Sutton extra point.
3Q: 08:49 ELP - B.J. Sutton 32 field goal.
3Q: 03:05 TUC - Drew Holliday 5 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 03:05 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 03:41 TUC - Drew Holliday 16 run.
4Q: 03:41 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 01:55 ELP - Darrell Kubis 5 pass from Dustin Hayes.
4Q: 01:55 ELP - B.J. Sutton extra point failed.
4Q: 00:50 TUC - Kent Goodwin 6 run.
4Q: 00:50 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Tucson 0 3 7 14 - 24
El Paso 0 7 3 6 - 16

Team Statistics TUC ELP

First Downs 21 21

Total Rushes 30 43
Rushing Yards 174 157
Yards Per Carry 5.8 3.6
Pass Attempts 28 28
Completions 14 15
Passing Yards 166 184
Yards Per Attempt 5.9 6.5
Sacked 1 1
Yards Lost 5 5
Interceptions 1 0
Fumbles/Lost 1/1 0/0

Total Plays 59 72
Total Yards 335 336
Yards Per Play 5.6 4.6

3rd Down Plays 6/13 9/18
Avg. YTG on 3rd 6.6 5.7
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/1

Penalties 3 2
Penalty Yards 14 16

Avg. Drive Start OWN 37 OWN 28
Time Of Possession 26:38 33:22

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 21 132 6.2 42 1
26 Jeffries 5 22 4.4 10 0
19 Goodwin 4 20 5.0 10 1

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 28 14 166 5.9 20 1 1 1

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
89 Armitage 5 68 13.6 6 20 0
82 Torres 3 45 15.0 6 19 0
80 Higginbotham 2 26 13.0 0 17 0
42 Holliday 1 5 5.0 0 5 1
84 Joyner 1 8 8.0 2 8 0
85 Garcia 1 7 7.0 2 7 0
83 Chandler 1 7 7.0 0 7 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 2 46 23.0 0
35 Giles 1 26 26.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 4 153 38.2 45 2

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 1 2 29 3 3

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
93 King 10 0 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 9 1 0.0 0 0 0
45 Stine 6 3 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 5 4 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 5 3 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 4 0 1.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 4 2 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 3 4 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 3 3 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Torres 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
89 Armitage 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 0 5 0.0 0 0 0


We'll take it! As I feared, Reid was able to get his yards today, 126 of them to be exact. But it took him 36 carries to do so. I'll happily take a defensive effort that yields just 3.6 ypc to the opponent any day. And Dustin Hayes didn't fare much better either, completing just 15 of 28 passes for 184 yads and 1 TD. He was especially ineffective at the end of the game, when El Paso got the ball back at their 5 following our final TD (they had a holding on the kick return call). He threw four straight incompletions to effectively end the game.

So our defense deserves some credit here - an untested 3-4 formation worked OK for us, and we were able to overcome the continued absenses of two of our best defenders in Stoltzfus and Keven Biggs, who is still out with an abdominal strain. Good job, gentlemen.

Offensively we did enough to scrape by, but I was disappointed in our ability to translate good field position into points. Take these three straight possessions for example:


1 3:51 5:04 OWN 45 10 43 Field Goal
2 12:24 1:47 OWN 41 4 14 Punt
2 8:55 0:53 OWN 49 3 1 Punt

We only got 3 points out of those 3 possessions that averaged a starting point of our Own 45. That's not good. But, Goodwin was later able to engineer longer drives to put some points on the board, so it isn't all bad. Holliday keeps chugging along, and our O-line deserves some mention as well. We've only surrendered 3 sacks all year and as a group the starters are averaging a 34% KB rate. Not too bad for such a young group.

We sustained a couple of minor injuries this week to FL Sydney Armitage and TE Anthony Torres, but both should be available next week. Torres, I should point out, sprained his thumb in the 3rd quarter and then went into a berserker rage:

3-06-TUC31 (06:59) TUC 19 Goodwin ran a draw for 10 yards.
Tackled by ELP 20 Bush.
TUC 82 Torres was injured on the play.
He should be able to remain in the game
--
1-10-TUC41 (06:23) TUC 19 Goodwin pass completed to 82 Torres for 19 yards.
Tackled by ELP 52 Beardsley.
--
1-10-ELP40 (05:51) TUC 19 Goodwin pass completed to 82 Torres for 13 yards.
Tackled by ELP 45 Dresslar.
--
1-10-ELP27 (05:05) TUC 19 Goodwin pass completed to 82 Torres for 13 yards (OOB).
Tackled by ELP 32 Bennet, assisted by ELP 57 Keane.


He then caught his only three passes of the day on consecutive plays to set up a Drew Holliday TD run. You should get hurt more often, Anthony!

Next week: a big showdown with division rival Las Vegas.

[Fonzie]

Honolulu was off this weekend, but Arizona managed to snag a win at Las Vegas! That's great news for The Good Guys, as it now means we have a three game lead in the division. We're 6-0, with Honolulu and Vegas at 3-3, and Arizona at 3-4.

Woohoo!

[Fonzie]

I've fallen a bit behind on documenting the goings-on of Your Beloved Toros, so we'll try to cut to the chase to get caught up. This week's game is against one of our biggest rivals: the Rounders of Las Vegas. QB Lenny "Jackpot" Olsen always makes things tough for us, and the emergence of RB Anthony Jennings this year gives him a legitimate run game to work with. Vegas also has a solid linebacking corps and good players in the secondary. We'll have our work cut out for us this week, and that work will be a bit harder as we're still without the services of CB Keven Biggs.

On to the action!

Box Score: Las Vegas at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 8, 2011

Attendance: 68,400 (69,800).


Weather: 93 degrees, fair.

1Q: 01:48 TUC - Drew Holliday 9 run.
1Q: 01:48 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 10:49 LVS - Skip Barrett 4 pass from Lenny "Jackpot" Olsen.
2Q: 10:49 LVS - Felix Savoy extra point.
2Q: 01:49 LVS - Thad Gerald 46 pass from Lenny "Jackpot" Olsen.
2Q: 01:49 LVS - Felix Savoy extra point.
3Q: 12:47 TUC - Anthony Torres 31 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 12:47 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 03:20 TUC - Brent Garcia 32 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 03:20 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 13:00 LVS - Corwin Poole 25 pass from Lenny "Jackpot" Olsen.
4Q: 13:00 LVS - Felix Savoy extra point.
4Q: 03:46 TUC - Hugo Eckard 29 field goal.
4Q: 00:54 LVS - Anthony Jennings 1 run.
4Q: 00:54 LVS - Felix Savoy extra point.

Game MVP: LVS 1 Lenny "Jackpot" Olsen

Las Vegas 0 14 0 14 - 28
Tucson 7 0 14 3 - 24

Team Statistics LVS TUC

First Downs 23 19

Total Rushes 30 35
Rushing Yards 117 158
Yards Per Carry 3.9 4.5
Pass Attempts 34 27
Completions 21 11
Passing Yards 263 208
Yards Per Attempt 7.7 7.7
Sacked 3 2
Yards Lost 21 13
Interceptions 0 1
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 1/0

Total Plays 67 64
Total Yards 359 353
Yards Per Play 5.3 5.5

3rd Down Plays 7/15 6/15
Avg. YTG on 3rd 7.1 8.0
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 3 4
Penalty Yards 14 25

Avg. Drive Start OWN 29 OWN 25
Time Of Possession 30:16 29:44


Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 26 130 5.0 37 1
26 Jeffries 8 16 2.0 4 0
19 Goodwin 1 12 12.0 12 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 27 11 208 7.7 32 2 1 2

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
82 Torres 4 76 19.0 13 31 1
80 Higginbotham 2 35 17.5 8 20 0
85 Garcia 2 62 31.0 1 32 1
89 Armitage 1 15 15.0 0 15 0
42 Holliday 1 9 9.0 6 9 0
84 Joyner 1 11 11.0 2 11 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 2 10 5.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
37 Rosenberry 1 21 21.0 0
81 Hodges 1 27 27.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 7 310 44.2 58 2

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 1 1 29 3 3

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
52 Wash 9 3 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 8 2 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 7 3 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 7 2 0.0 0 0 0
45 Stine 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 4 0 2.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 2 1 1.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
27 Ellsworth 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
84 Joyner 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
54 Reeves 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
87 Emerson 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
74 Cochrane 0 1 0.0 0 0 0


Well, that was a bummer. Lenny "Jackpot" Olsen carved us up today, posting a nifty 21/34 for 263 yds and 3 TDs. I'm not quite sure how that could have happened, as the game log made it appear that we had him gameplanned perfectly. He was evidently "on fire" today, and no talent or gameplanning was going to stop him.

I really thought we might have them beat when we took the lead with 3:46 left. But our defense inexplicably took the next drive "off" and let Olsen march right down for the winning score. Not a good day for the "D."

Offensively we had a mixed bag. Holliday was outstanding again, but Goodwin was a bit off today. He had an especially difficult time after Vegas scored their last TD, completing just 2 of 5 passes for 26 yards to get to the Vegas 48. Of course, we had just :01 left at that point and Mario Ah Yat sacked Goodwin to end the game.

Today's loss was doubly-bad as both Vegas and Honolulu made up ground on us with their wins. We now sit at 6-1 and they're at 4-3. The one silver lining: we sustained no new major injuries.

Next week: vs Tulsa.

[Fonzie]

Tulsa is a very talented team, but they seem to come up just shy of expectations every season. They're led by QB Donnie Lowe and 2010 Offensive Rookie of the Year RB "Muddy Waters" Raffo. Raffo was the #14 overall pick in the 2010 draft, and he immediately paid dividends with his 307-1443-12TD rookie season. Tulsa thus has a balanced "pick your poison" offense - we'll do our best to shut down both prongs of their attack, but I doubt we'll be able to truly shut them both down.

On defense the Talons look really good - at least on paper. They signed 14-year vet DE Ralph Crank in the offseason to bolster their pass rush, and their defensive front in general is solid. Their secondary also has some good talent, but they've been a bit dinged up. Surprisingly, this team is 2-5 right now. I wouldn't have thought that possible, but they've had some bad luck in losing three games by 7pts or less. Last week they beat the snot out of Fargo 27-6, so we're hopeful that they've gotten that aggression out of their system and will be nice and compliant today.

We last played Tulsa in 2008, and we beat them 41-10 on the road. We're 3-0 overall against them.

Box Score: Tulsa at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 9, 2011

Attendance: 68,400 (69,800).


Weather: 62 degrees, fair.

1Q: 11:42 TUC - Anthony Torres 6 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 11:42 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 09:04 TUC - Sydney Armitage 3 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 09:04 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 01:37 TUL - Craig Schanding 43 field goal.
2Q: 12:40 TUC - Hugo Eckard 34 field goal.
2Q: 06:04 TUC - Hugo Eckard 39 field goal.
2Q: 01:08 TUL - Craig Schanding 36 field goal.
2Q: 00:05 TUC - Hugo Eckard 20 field goal.
3Q: 10:44 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 14 run.
3Q: 10:44 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 03:34 TUL - Daniel Cone 7 pass from Donnie Lowe.
3Q: 03:34 TUL - Muddy Waters Raffo run for conversion failed.
3Q: 02:54 TUL - Bob Brandon 32 interception return.
3Q: 02:54 TUL - Donnie Lowe pass for conversion failed.
4Q: 02:58 TUC - Hugo Eckard 33 field goal.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Tulsa 3 3 12 0 - 18
Tucson 14 9 7 3 - 33

Team Statistics TUL TUC

First Downs 17 28

Total Rushes 17 38
Rushing Yards 59 139
Yards Per Carry 3.4 3.6
Pass Attempts 41 38
Completions 14 21
Passing Yards 173 349
Yards Per Attempt 4.2 9.1
Sacked 2 0
Yards Lost 13 0
Interceptions 3 1
Fumbles/Lost 2/1 0/0

Total Plays 60 76
Total Yards 219 488
Yards Per Play 3.6 6.4

3rd Down Plays 3/12 4/14
Avg. YTG on 3rd 11.1 7.7
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 1 5
Penalty Yards 10 31

Avg. Drive Start OWN 28 OWN 37
Time Of Possession 24:10 35:50


Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 26 97 3.7 13 0
26 Jeffries 9 40 4.4 14 1
19 Goodwin 3 2 0.6 4 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 38 21 349 9.1 37 2 1 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
89 Armitage 5 77 15.4 25 33 1
80 Higginbotham 4 75 18.7 8 31 0
81 Hodges 4 71 17.7 7 23 0
82 Torres 3 57 19.0 16 37 1
85 Garcia 3 52 17.3 5 23 0
26 Jeffries 1 10 10.0 8 10 0
84 Joyner 1 7 7.0 8 7 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 2 56 28.0 0
37 Rosenberry 1 14 14.0 0
35 Giles 1 29 29.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 5 200 40.0 52 2

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 4 5 39 3 3

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
55 Trujillo 4 2 0.5 0 0 0
25 Minahan 4 0 0.0 1 0 0
45 Stine 3 2 0.0 1 0 0
35 Giles 3 1 0.0 1 7 0
40 Biggs 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 2 1 1.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 1 2 0.5 0 0 0
31 Enoch 1 5 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
54 Reeves 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
21 Stallings 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 3 0
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 2 0
54 Reeves 0 1 0 0 1 0
31 Enoch 0 1 0 0 0 0
82 Torres 0 0 1 0 0 0
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 1 0
68 Kudrow 0 0 0 0 1 0


I'm always thrilled to get solid wins over good teams, which is exactly what we got today. In fact, we managed to pretty thoroughly dominate Tulsa - the score shouldn't have been this close, but an ill-timed Goodwin pass got picked off and returned for a TD. Tulsa's offense had a buttload of trouble trying to move against our resurgent defense. Raffo was held to just 23 yards on 11 carries, and Lowe was 14/41 for 173 yds, 1 TD and 3 INTs.

Offensively, Kent Goodwin established a new career-high in yardage (admittedly, it has been a short career) with 349 yards. He was very involved with the offense today (a bit to my surprise, actually), but Holliday managed to do his part with 97 yards rushing. I'll take it.

One frustration: we've occasionally had the computer plop a kick returner down who has absolutely no kick return skills. That's Jeremy "Cheap Shot" Rosenberry, who returned one kick today for 14 yards and one last week for 21 yards. This happened a few times last season as well, and it completely baffles me. I can understand needing to find another returner if your top two are winded or something, but why Rosenberry? He has no kick return abilities, and there are other folks on the roster who actually have some skill in that area. Weird.

The big bummer from this game is that we lost RT Matthew Pitman for the season. He suffered a compound leg fracture that looks to take at least a full calendar year to heal. Ouch. His loss hurts, but at least we've got longtime starter Chris Franck available to step in.

So we hit the halfway mark at 7-1, and hold a two-game lead over rivals Las Vegas and Honolulu.

Next up: a mid-season review of Your Beloved Toros.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Oh, and by the way, you should know that your weekly reviews are missed... :(

[Fonzie]

Oh, and by the way, you should know that your weekly reviews are missed... :(

Thanks for the kind words, fff. I enjoyed writing them and I'd love to have kept doing them, but real life time demands (mostly in the form of my 3 year-old son and being on the tenure-track) always seemed to crop up and push those reviews to the back burner. I felt it best to just drop them altogether rather than to do them intermittently.

[Fonzie]

The first half of the 2011 CFL season is in the books, so let's check in on how we're doing:

2011 Summary for Tucson Toros

Record: 7-1
Winning Pct.: .875

Tucson Toros Team Rank
Rushes 277 7
Rushing Yards 1142 7
Yards Per Carry 4.12 15
Pass Attempts 215 31
Completions 123 31
Passing Yards 1698 25
Yards Per Attempt 7.89 4
3rd Down Conversions 39.8 26 (T)
Points Per Game 25.8 3
Turnovers 8 9 (T)
Turnover Margin +4 10 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 215 6
Rushing Yards 750 2
Yards Per Carry 3.48 2
Pass Attempts 273 18 (T)
Completions 132 1 (T)
Passing Yards 1735 7
Yards Per Attempt 6.35 4
3rd Down Conversions 39.3 8
Points Per Game 16.8 4 (T)
Turnovers 12 9 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 27 ARI 10
2 20 at SAO 10
3 31 at SEA 21
4 28 at HON 18
5 20 DEN 14
7 24 at ELP 16
8 24 LVS 28
9 33 TUL 18
10 at FAR
11 at ARI
12 NOS
13 HBE
14 SHR
15 HON
16 at MEM
17 at LVS

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
19 Goodwin QB 206 120 1628 7.90 17 5
**Team --- 215 123 1698 7.89 17 5

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
42 Holliday RB 202 888 4.39 4
26 Jeffries FB 58 195 3.36 2
**Team --- 277 1142 4.12 7

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
89 Armitage WR 57 31 488 15.7 81 3
82 Torres TE 29 23 289 12.5 53 3
80 Higginbotham WR 42 21 354 16.8 59 2
85 Garcia WR 29 15 302 20.1 23 4
26 Jeffries FB 19 11 68 6.1 41 1
81 Hodges WR 18 11 132 12.0 19 2
**Team --- 215 123 1698 13.8 300 17

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
31 Enoch S 50 24 0.0 0 1 15
55 Trujillo OLB 50 9 0.5 3 0 1
52 Wash ILB 40 16 0.0 1 0 2
45 Stine S 29 9 1.0 0 3 17
25 Minahan CB 29 9 0.0 0 1 3
58 Watford OLB 26 8 3.0 0 0 3
40 Biggs CB 20 4 0.0 0 1 8
70 Neubauer DT 20 12 5.0 8 0 0
75 Grier DE 20 10 5.5 8 0 1
95 Stoltzfus DT 19 6 4.5 7 0 0
97 Horn DE 17 2 4.5 11 0 0
93 King OLB 15 1 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles CB 11 7 0.0 0 3 2
**Team --- 399 139 28.0 49 9 55

We're 7-1, which ties for our 2nd-best 1st-half ever (we were 7-0-1 in 2005 and 7-1 in 2006), so that's good. Actually, that's great, as I went into the season thinking that the first half of our schedule looked much tougher than the second half. I was prepared to be 5-3 or 4-4 at the break, so being 7-1 makes me very happy. We have a 2-game lead on division foes Honolulu and Las Vegas (both 5-3) and Arizona sits at 3-5. So, we're in good position going into the second half of the year and that's important because our second-half foes appear a big stronger than I anticipated. They're a collective 34-32 on the season.

How did we get to 7-1? Three reasons:

1) Drew Holliday is having another monster season, and is on pace to shatter his career highs in carries and yards. His TDs are down, which is hard for me to explain given that our gameplan sets him up for lots of TD runs, but I figure that little statistical fluke will work itself out;

2) our defense has been outstanding, thanks to the fact that they've stayed generally healthy. Stoltzfus has missed a few games, but even with him out we played tough D. I'm shocked at how effective our pass rush has been so far (28 sacks and 49 hurries), and the new additions to our secondary in Giles and Stine have provided six of the nine INTS we've nabbed. We're surrendering just 3.48 ypc (2nd in league) and 6.35 ypa (4th in league), and if we keep that up we'll be in great shape; and

3) the emergence of Kent Goodwin. Those who've been following this dynasty probably remember that I snuck him in as a starter for the first two games of the year to get him some experience, and my plan was to hand the reigns back to Hogan for the Seattle game. Well, Seattle knocked Hogan out after just 9 pass attempts, and Goodwin came on to seal the win. He's been starting for us ever since and has been nothing short of phenomenal. Thanks to Holliday we've been able to shield Goodwin a bit, and he's only been asked to attempt 206 passes (our 215 pass attempts is the 2nd fewest in the league). I'm sure that helps, but when we've had to rely on him he's come through, as his 17 TDs attest. However, I now have a decision to make: Hogan just finished rehabing his injury and is available to play. Do I stick with the kid or hand things over to the veteran? Decisions, decisions.

Injuries remain the primary concern for this club, as we just had one of our top O-linemen go down for the season (T Pitman). We can rely on veteran T Chris Franck to fill in, but we don't have the kind of O-line depth that can sustain another long-term injury. Stoltzfus also needs to stay healthy. And god forbid anything happen to Holliday. In other words, if we can have the kind of injury luck this year that we didn't get last year, we'll be in good shape.

Next week: at Fargo.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Thanks for the kind words, fff. I enjoyed writing them and I'd love to have kept doing them, but real life time demands (mostly in the form of my 3 year-old son and being on the tenure-track) always seemed to crop up and push those reviews to the back burner. I felt it best to just drop them altogether rather than to do them intermittently.

Perfectly understood, and I did not mean to pressure you in any way.

[Fonzie]

Perfectly understood, and I did not mean to pressure you in any way.

No worries - I certainly didn't feel any pressure from you! I just thought I'd explain the heretofore unexplained disappearance of a former feature.

[Fonzie]

Today's matchup with Fargo (3-5) has "trap" written all over it. Fargo is one of the Western Conference's more talented teams, yet they have not lived up to their lofty preseason billing so far. Indeed, they're on a 3-game losing streak right now and would appear ripe for the pickin'. Thus, this game is bound to result in disappointment.

On to the action!

Box Score: Tucson at Fargo
Fargo, ND.

Week 10, 2011

Attendance: 61,200 (66,000).


Weather: 22 degrees, snow.

1Q: 06:53 FAR - Rob West 3 run.
1Q: 06:53 FAR - Ricky Griffith extra point.
2Q: 14:52 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 7 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 14:52 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 11:44 TUC - Hugo Eckard 53 field goal.
2Q: 08:45 FAR - Ricky Griffith 54 field goal.
2Q: 02:21 TUC - Hugo Eckard 24 field goal.
3Q: 06:04 TUC - Hugo Eckard 19 field goal.
3Q: 03:23 FAR - Delbert Lonergan 5 pass from Brett Hedges.
3Q: 03:23 FAR - Ricky Griffith extra point.
4Q: 08:28 FAR - Ricky Griffith 48 field goal.
4Q: 00:13 FAR - Ricky Griffith 49 field goal.

Game MVP: FAR 3 Brett Hedges

Tucson 0 13 3 0 - 16
Fargo 7 3 7 6 - 23

Team Statistics TUC FAR

First Downs 22 15

Total Rushes 24 28
Rushing Yards 97 100
Yards Per Carry 4.0 3.5
Pass Attempts 43 27
Completions 25 17
Passing Yards 309 159
Yards Per Attempt 7.1 5.8
Sacked 1 2
Yards Lost 6 16
Interceptions 1 0
Fumbles/Lost 2/0 1/0

Total Plays 68 57
Total Yards 400 243
Yards Per Play 5.8 4.2

3rd Down Plays 6/15 4/14
Avg. YTG on 3rd 9.2 8.2
4th Down Plays 0/1 0/0

Penalties 8 6
Penalty Yards 45 38

Avg. Drive Start OWN 27 OWN 34
Time Of Possession 31:28 28:32

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 19 87 4.5 54 0
26 Jeffries 5 10 2.0 7 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 43 25 309 7.1 30 1 1 1

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
80 Higginbotham 7 100 14.2 6 30 0
85 Garcia 5 62 12.4 0 22 0
89 Armitage 4 63 15.7 1 26 0
26 Jeffries 3 25 8.3 21 16 1
82 Torres 2 15 7.5 8 9 0
84 Joyner 2 16 8.0 4 13 0
42 Holliday 1 12 12.0 2 12 0
81 Hodges 1 16 16.0 3 16 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
85 Garcia 1 -2 -2.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 2 42 21.0 0
35 Giles 2 40 20.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 3 133 44.3 59 2

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 3 5 53 1 1

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
52 Wash 9 3 0.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 6 2 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 6 2 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 4 2 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 4 2 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 3 5 1.0 0 0 0
45 Stine 3 3 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 2 3 0.5 0 0 0
93 King 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Torres 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 2 0.5 0 0 0
25 Minahan 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
42 Holliday 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
54 Reeves 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 2 0
85 Garcia 1 0 1 0 0 0
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 0 1
27 Ellsworth 0 0 1 0 0 0
58 Watford 0 1 0 0 0 0
81 Hodges 1 0 0 0 0 0


Trapped, indeed! Strangely enough, we executed our offense almost perfectly, did everything we needed to do defensively, and somehow still managed to lose. The key in this game: our performance in the Red Zone. Fargo stopped us cold on three trips inside their 10 - we only got 6 points on those three trips when we could've gotten 21. Their special teams were also on fire today in blocking two of our field goal attempts (which I believe to be a first in Toros history). I must tip my cap to P.Luxx - his boys managed to play tough when they needed to and did just enough to grab the win, and perhaps salvage their season.

Perhaps the worst news to come from this game is that we've lost DT Harold Stoltzfus again - this time he's out for 5 weeks with a separated shoulder. As has been the case with most of his injuries, he won't be gone for too long, so there's that. I guess.

Next up: at. Arizona.

[Fonzie]

Today we conclude our season series against the Arizona Outlaws, and we do so with a distinct advantage: the 3-6 Outlaws will be playing without QB Freddie Matthias, who tore cartilage in his knee and will miss the next two months. He was hurt last week in their tilt with Honolulu, and just like that Arizona's key offensive weapon is out of commission. We thus hope to be able to add to our 12-4-1 all-time record against Arizona.

But we'll be without a key player of our own: all-world DT Harold Stoltzfus will be sitting this one out with a boo-boo the doctors call a "separated shoulder" or some such bullshit. Instead, Gary Van Brocklin, this year's 6th round draft pick will get the nod. Should be fun to see what the kid has, but we'll have to hope our linebackers stay in position to back him up.

On to the action:

Box Score: Tucson at Arizona
Arizona, AZ.

Week 11, 2011

Attendance: 40,900 (63,000).


Weather: 71 degrees, fair.

1Q: 10:14 ARI - Artie Sonntag 1 run.
1Q: 10:14 ARI - Paul Stephan extra point.
1Q: 09:06 TUC - Jake Emerson 21 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 09:06 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 14:54 TUC - Demetrius Higginbotham 15 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 14:54 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 10:52 TUC - Drew Holliday 9 run.
2Q: 10:52 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 03:24 TUC - Hugo Eckard 25 field goal.
2Q: 00:00 TUC - Hugo Eckard 42 field goal.
3Q: 09:20 TUC - Hugo Eckard 38 field goal.
4Q: 13:37 TUC - Hugo Eckard 41 field goal.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Tucson 7 20 3 3 - 33
Arizona 7 0 0 0 - 7

Team Statistics TUC ARI

First Downs 23 13

Total Rushes 37 28
Rushing Yards 143 188
Yards Per Carry 3.8 6.7
Pass Attempts 29 26
Completions 19 13
Passing Yards 304 109
Yards Per Attempt 10.4 4.1
Sacked 1 1
Yards Lost 5 6
Interceptions 0 0
Fumbles/Lost 1/0 1/1

Total Plays 67 55
Total Yards 442 291
Yards Per Play 6.5 5.2

3rd Down Plays 9/16 5/14
Avg. YTG on 3rd 6.4 6.2
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/1

Penalties 4 3
Penalty Yards 37 20

Avg. Drive Start OWN 35 OWN 17
Time Of Possession 34:29 25:31

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
26 Jeffries 17 49 2.8 10 0
42 Holliday 14 40 2.8 10 1
19 Goodwin 6 54 9.0 26 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 29 19 304 10.4 27 2 0 1

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
89 Armitage 6 101 16.8 9 23 0
80 Higginbotham 5 88 17.6 14 27 1
42 Holliday 2 14 7.0 13 11 0
82 Torres 2 31 15.5 3 17 0
87 Emerson 2 47 23.5 7 26 1
26 Jeffries 1 16 16.0 16 16 0
84 Joyner 1 7 7.0 8 7 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 3 20 6.6 0
85 Garcia 1 9 9.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
35 Giles 2 62 31.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 4 161 40.2 47 2

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 4 4 42 3 3

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
52 Wash 7 2 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
45 Stine 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
74 Cochrane 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 1 0 1.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 1 2 0.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
94 Van Brocklin 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
84 Joyner 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
87 Emerson 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 4 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 2 0
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 2 0
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 0 1
58 Watford 0 0 1 0 0 0
42 Holliday 1 0 0 0 0 0
84 Joyner 0 0 1 0 0 0
74 Cochrane 0 1 0 0 0 0


Now that's more like it! Freddie Matthias' absence was quite noticeable today, as almost everything was clicking for us. We controlled the ball, the clock, field position, won the turnover battle, outgained our opponent by 150 yards, and for what seems to be the first time all year we managed to convert 3rd downs at a respectable clip. The one thing we didn't do: stop the run. Actually, we didn't stop a run, namely the 71 yard scamper by backup RB Zimmerman that led to the only Outlaw TD of the day. Our run D was otherwise respectable today.

Goodwin continues to surprise me (and thwart my gameplanning) by being a huge part of the offense, but you won't see me complaining - especially when he wins Offensive Player of the Week! Congratulations, Kent!

The big offensive oddity today, however, was the distribution of carries: backup RB/FB Jeffries had 17 carries, and starting RB Drew Holliday (with PT set at 9) got just 14. And no, Holliday didn't get all of his carries in the 1st half with Jeffries relieving him once the score got out of control - Jeffries was getting carries all game long. Very strange, but it didn't stop Holliday from topping 1000 yards for the 6th straight year (233 carries for 1015 yards, 5 TDs so far). Congratulations, Drew!

Two other bits of good news this week: 1) no new injuries; 2) Las Vegas beat Honolulu, putting them both at 6-4 and restoring my 2-game lead in the division. Woohoo!

Next week: the beginning of a 4-game homestand against New Orleans.

[Fonzie]

This week marks the beginning of a month-long homestand, and we kick things off with a tilt against the New Orleans Raging Horde (4-6). Their record might not be much to look at, but their offense is quite good. QB Aaron Henke is in his 3rd-year as the starter and is one of the league's blossoming stars. He hooks up frequently with the talented WR tandem of 11-year vet Cleveland Coon and 2010 #5 overall pick Ryan Clark.

If we're to have any hope of pulling this one out we'll have to outscore them, as I fear our defense won't be too effective. That's in part because Stoltzfus is still out, and our D just isn't quite the same without him getting pressure up the middle. Van Brocklin fill in just fine for him last week, but there's a pretty big dropoff between the two.

On to the action!

Box Score: New Orleans at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 12, 2011

Attendance: 68,400 (69,800).


Weather: 81 degrees, fair.

1Q: 14:39 TUC - Courtney Hodges 100 kickoff return.
1Q: 14:39 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 07:57 NOS - Sammie Sells 25 field goal.
1Q: 03:13 TUC - Hugo Eckard 32 field goal.
1Q: 01:08 TUC - Courtney Hodges 83 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 01:08 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 10:23 NOS - Bill Reyes 7 run.
2Q: 10:23 NOS - Sammie Sells extra point.
2Q: 01:20 NOS - Richard Young 29 pass from Aaron Henke.
2Q: 01:20 NOS - Sammie Sells extra point.
2Q: 00:08 TUC - Hugo Eckard 44 field goal.
3Q: 04:47 TUC - Brent Garcia 9 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 04:47 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 01:10 NOS - Sammie Sells 46 field goal.
4Q: 12:20 NOS - Richard Young 10 pass from Aaron Henke.
4Q: 12:20 NOS - Sammie Sells extra point.
4Q: 08:18 TUC - Drew Holliday 19 run.
4Q: 08:18 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 05:13 NOS - Lewis Ozkilkis 7 pass from Aaron Henke.
4Q: 05:13 NOS - Sammie Sells extra point.
4Q: 01:22 TUC - Drew Holliday 11 run.
4Q: 01:22 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

New Orleans 3 14 3 14 - 34
Tucson 17 3 7 14 - 41

Team Statistics NOS TUC

First Downs 29 21

Total Rushes 30 24
Rushing Yards 108 111
Yards Per Carry 3.6 4.6
Pass Attempts 49 31
Completions 28 18
Passing Yards 391 328
Yards Per Attempt 7.9 10.5
Sacked 0 1
Yards Lost 0 7
Interceptions 2 1
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 2/0

Total Plays 79 56
Total Yards 499 432
Yards Per Play 6.3 7.7

3rd Down Plays 9/16 5/11
Avg. YTG on 3rd 7.0 10.9
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 6 8
Penalty Yards 48 65

Avg. Drive Start OWN 27 OWN 25
Time Of Possession 35:37 24:23

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 19 96 5.0 19 2
26 Jeffries 4 15 3.7 6 0
89 Armitage 1 0 0.0 0 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 31 18 328 10.5 83 2 1 1

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
80 Higginbotham 4 60 15.0 4 23 0
89 Armitage 3 47 15.6 1 23 0
85 Garcia 3 35 11.6 0 15 1
82 Torres 2 36 18.0 7 19 0
84 Joyner 2 30 15.0 5 15 0
42 Holliday 1 5 5.0 5 5 0
26 Jeffries 1 20 20.0 0 20 0
81 Hodges 1 83 83.0 59 83 1
87 Emerson 1 12 12.0 0 12 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 2 132 66.0 1
35 Giles 2 53 26.5 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 5 193 38.6 49 2

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 2 2 44 5 5

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
55 Trujillo 10 1 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 9 4 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 6 0 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 5 5 0.0 1 7 0
45 Stine 5 2 0.0 1 33 0
40 Biggs 4 2 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
21 Stallings 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
94 Van Brocklin 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
84 Joyner 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
74 Cochrane 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
87 Emerson 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 2 1
42 Holliday 2 0 1 0 0 0
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 2 0
68 Kudrow 0 0 0 0 2 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 1 0


Well, that was quite a shootout! In fact, the 75 points scored in this game represents a new record for Points Scored in a Toros game, besting the old record of 65 points scored in our 41-24 win over Arizona in Week 17 of 2006. Very, very exciting game to watch in a viewer. The most notable individual performance has to be that of Ultra-Super-Secret Weapon WR Courtney Hodges. Indeed, he's such a secret weapon that I didn't even know about him. His 100 yd kickoff return for a TD started the game, and then later that same quarter he hauled in an 83-yd TD pass from Kent Goodwin. Not too shabby.

Elsewhere on offense, Goodwin continues to post far better numbers than I have any right to expect from him. Drew Holliday capped an effective day with 2 TDs, and Goodwin's passes were evenly distributed across most of the corps. 432 yards of offense is pretty acceptable.

The 499 yards we surrendered is not. Henke tore us a new one today, and if not for his 2 INTs we'd have lost this game. Overall our pass D has been superb, so I'm hoping this is just one of those bumps in the road that seems to happen at least once per season and is not indicative of an overall defensive meltdown. That would be bad.

So, we sit at 9-2 and continue to have a 2-game lead over Vegas, who beat Memphis silly by the score of 52-31 (despite an injury to Lenny Olsen). Honolulu happily fell another game behind us to 6-5 after losing to the 2-9 San Antonio Stingers.

In other league news: Boise's (10-1) star QB Branden Lin suffered a strained elbow tendon and will need about 7 weeks to recover. That means he'll likely be out at least until the playoffs. That may well put them in a dogfight with Seattle (8-3) for their division, and could ruin their hopes for a top two playoff seeding. We're currently right behind them for best record in the conference, followed by Denver (8-3) and Seattle. Should be a fun stretch run!

Next up: vs. Huntington Beach.

[Fonzie]

This week we face Huntington Beach (7-4), a team we've had some success against in the past (4-1 all time). Our last match against them was in 2009, when we beat them 30-14 in Tucson. They're led by 5th-year QB Clarence Lincoln, who is very talented but has yet to start 16 games in a season, and 4th-year, former 7th-round pick Jorge Riddols (who boomed to be a 70/70 player).

We'll still be without the services of Harold Stoltzfus this week, which may spell a big day for Riddols. We'll just have to hope that Holliday, Goodwin and company can keep up.

Box Score: Huntington Beach at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 13, 2011

Attendance: 68,400 (69,800).


Weather: 83 degrees, fair.

1Q: 14:03 TUC - Courtney Hodges 24 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 14:03 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 10:54 HBE - Rubin Castorena 40 field goal.
1Q: 07:17 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 1 run.
1Q: 07:17 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 02:51 HBE - Rubin Castorena 43 field goal.
2Q: 09:35 HBE - Rubin Castorena 25 field goal.
2Q: 08:57 TUC - Drew Holliday 58 run.
2Q: 08:57 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 02:32 TUC - Hugo Eckard 35 field goal.
2Q: 00:14 HBE - Rubin Castorena 41 field goal.
3Q: 10:11 TUC - Hugo Eckard 37 field goal.
4Q: 12:56 TUC - Drew Holliday 17 pass from Kent Goodwin.
4Q: 12:56 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 07:41 TUC - Demetrius Higginbotham 10 pass from Kent Goodwin.
4Q: 07:41 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Huntington Beach 6 6 0 0 - 12
Tucson 14 10 3 14 - 41

Team Statistics HBE TUC

First Downs 19 24

Total Rushes 32 25
Rushing Yards 134 154
Yards Per Carry 4.1 6.1
Pass Attempts 34 42
Completions 12 20
Passing Yards 203 279
Yards Per Attempt 5.9 6.6
Sacked 5 2
Yards Lost 26 11
Interceptions 1 2
Fumbles/Lost 2/2 0/0

Total Plays 71 69
Total Yards 311 422
Yards Per Play 4.3 6.1

3rd Down Plays 3/14 6/14
Avg. YTG on 3rd 7.7 6.6
4th Down Plays 0/1 0/0

Penalties 4 5
Penalty Yards 64 79

Avg. Drive Start OWN 18 OWN 38
Time Of Possession 30:54 29:06


Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 15 117 7.8 58 1
26 Jeffries 10 37 3.7 10 1

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 42 20 279 6.6 31 3 2 2

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
80 Higginbotham 6 80 13.3 12 22 1
81 Hodges 5 92 18.4 4 31 1
85 Garcia 2 16 8.0 1 9 0
87 Emerson 2 32 16.0 2 19 0
89 Armitage 1 8 8.0 1 8 0
42 Holliday 1 17 17.0 0 17 1
26 Jeffries 1 3 3.0 4 3 0
82 Torres 1 16 16.0 2 16 0
84 Joyner 1 15 15.0 0 15 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 3 9 3.0 0
85 Garcia 2 21 10.5 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
35 Giles 3 93 31.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 5 190 38.0 56 3

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 2 2 37 5 5

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
55 Trujillo 7 2 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 5 2 0.0 0 0 0
45 Stine 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 4 1 2.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 4 1 1.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 3 1 2.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 3 7 0.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 2 2 0.0 1 13 0
25 Minahan 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Torres 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
74 Cochrane 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
21 Stallings 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
19 Goodwin 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
94 Van Brocklin 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
68 Kudrow 0 0 0 0 2 1
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 0 1
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 3 0
75 Grier 0 1 1 0 0 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 2 0
70 Neubauer 0 0 1 0 0 0
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 1 0
97 Horn 0 1 0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 0 0 0 0 1 0
59 Buckley 0 0 0 0 1 0

I had forgotten that we'd be locking horns with longtime Toro Rubin Castorena today - fitting that he was the only Capitalist to score against us.

It was a tale of two halves for our defense - in the 1st half we practiced a "bend but don't break" philosophy. In the 2nd half we practiced a "don't even bend" philosophy. Just look at the Capitalists' drive chart:


Huntington Beach Drive Chart
Quar Began Poss From Plays Yards Result
1 14:03 3:09 OWN 20 6 57 Field Goal
1 7:17 4:26 OWN 20 8 54 Field Goal
1 0:23 5:48 OWN 8 14 84 Field Goal
2 8:57 3:36 OWN 25 6 41 Fumble
2 2:32 0:43 OWN 11 2 6 Fumble
2 1:00 0:46 OWN 20 5 56 Field Goal
3 15:00 0:54 OWN 20 3 3 Punt
3 10:11 1:16 OWN 21 3 18 Interception
3 5:43 2:10 OWN 2 5 17 Punt
3 3:13 1:39 OWN 21 3 7 Punt
3 0:57 0:27 OWN 31 3 0 Punt
4 12:56 2:44 OWN 20 5 19 Downs
4 7:41 3:05 OWN 16 5 6 Punt
4 3:28 0:38 OWN 31 3 0 Punt
4 0:05 0:05 OWN 18 1 -8 Game


Our defense held them to 31 plays for 62 yards in the second half - wow. And while we coughed up the expected yardage to Riddols, we were able to keep Lincoln nicely in check (12 of 34, 203 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT, 5 sacks). Who the hell needs Stoltzfus?

Holliday had a nifty 58 yard scamper for a TD, and tacked on a 17 yd TD reception later on to put the finishing touch on his 143 total yard day. Goodwin had a so-so day, featuring his first multi-interception game, but it was enough to get us a win. I won't complain.

Fortunately we had no new significant injuries - the most noteworthy was a "shift" in long-term, probable-grade injuries for Chris Frank. I believe he'd been playing with a strained hamstring or somesuch before the game, but after the game he spiralled into a severe depression. There are good treatments for depression out there, Chris. Avail yourself of them.

In other RoF news, both Las Vegas (7-5) and Honolulu (6-6) lost, giving us a comfortable 3-game cushion. With 4 games to go, that feels quite nice. We're still hoping to give Boise (11-1) a run for the #1 seed, but they proved that they can win without Branden Lin today when they topped Honolulu.

Next up: vs. Shreveport.

[Fonzie]

This week's matchup is with the Shreveport Pride (5-7), an Eastern Conference Team we've played just twice before. We split those two meetings, with our last game resulting in a 19-14 Toros win in Shreveport. The Pride are a talented team, led by 9th-year QB Douglas Hartman. They've got a good running back in Weldon Rayburn, a talented receiving corps, and an outstanding O-line. In fact, they're pretty solid on both sides of the ball, so we're counting on having a tough contest today. Their record is of course a bit of a surprise, given all this talent. They started off the season with a solid 4-2 record, but have dropped five of their last six. Whatever the reason, I'm hopeful that their struggles will continue for one more week.

We're going to give Stoltzfus one more game to get healthy, so our run defense will probably be a bit porous again. We'll need to compensate with some good offense of our own.

Box Score: Shreveport at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 14, 2011

Attendance: 68,400 (69,800).


Weather: 53 degrees, fair.

1Q: 03:50 SHR - Brenden Bullock 41 field goal.
1Q: 00:50 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 8 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 00:50 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 00:47 TUC - Hugo Eckard 46 field goal.
3Q: 02:13 TUC - Hugo Eckard 29 field goal.
3Q: 01:01 TUC - Drew Holliday 68 punt return.
3Q: 01:01 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 00:22 TUC - Hugo Eckard 25 field goal.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Shreveport 3 0 0 0 - 3
Tucson 7 3 10 3 - 23

Team Statistics SHR TUC

First Downs 11 20

Total Rushes 30 29
Rushing Yards 129 83
Yards Per Carry 4.3 2.8
Pass Attempts 32 41
Completions 19 16
Passing Yards 169 260
Yards Per Attempt 5.2 6.3
Sacked 5 0
Yards Lost 37 0
Interceptions 0 0
Fumbles/Lost 4/3 1/1

Total Plays 67 70
Total Yards 261 343
Yards Per Play 3.8 4.9

3rd Down Plays 3/17 4/16
Avg. YTG on 3rd 8.2 10.7
4th Down Plays 0/2 0/0

Penalties 5 6
Penalty Yards 29 33

Avg. Drive Start OWN 28 OWN 34
Time Of Possession 29:28 30:32

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 17 36 2.1 13 0
26 Jeffries 9 36 4.0 12 0
19 Goodwin 2 5 2.5 6 0
27 Ellsworth 1 3 3.0 3 0
47 Hodges 1 6 6.0 6 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 41 16 260 6.3 35 1 0 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
85 Garcia 5 78 15.6 1 26 0
81 Hodges 4 57 14.2 6 18 0
89 Armitage 3 75 25.0 8 35 0
80 Higginbotham 2 39 19.5 4 22 0
42 Holliday 1 3 3.0 6 3 0
26 Jeffries 1 8 8.0 7 8 1

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 4 71 17.7 1
85 Garcia 1 0 0.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
35 Giles 2 52 26.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 8 326 40.7 44 3

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 3 4 46 2 2

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
31 Enoch 7 6 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 7 4 0.0 0 0 0
45 Stine 7 1 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 4 3 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 3 0 1.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 3 0 1.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 3 3 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
74 Cochrane 2 0 2.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 1 1 1.0 0 0 0
94 Van Brocklin 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
21 Stallings 1 0 0.0 0 0 0


Well, I was right about our run defense - it wasn't so hot. But We did a good job on Hartman and forced a total of four fumbles (three recovered). Most importantly, even though we gave up yardage here and there we stopped them when it mattered most - on 3rd down. The Pride were just 3 of 17, and I'll take that any and every day. Our defense wasn't perfect today, but take a look at Shreveport's drive chart:

Shreveport Drive Chart
Quar Began Poss From Plays Yards Result
1 15:00 2:37 OWN 30 5 24 Punt
1 10:55 1:44 OWN 49 3 7 Punt
1 6:59 3:09 OPP 46 5 22 Field Goal
1 0:50 1:04 OWN 20 3 8 Punt
2 11:26 3:09 OWN 1 6 14 Punt
2 8:17 1:39 OPP 48 5 9 Punt
2 5:46 0:48 OWN 45 3 14 Fumble
2 3:47 1:15 OWN 8 3 9 Punt
2 0:47 0:47 OWN 20 3 23 Half
3 13:09 1:53 OWN 36 3 7 Punt
3 9:35 2:15 OWN 33 5 9 Punt
3 2:13 1:12 OWN 20 3 8 Punt
3 1:01 2:57 OWN 20 9 37 Downs
4 11:02 3:25 OWN 20 7 46 Punt
4 2:33 1:03 OWN 20 5 0 Fumble


That's a thing of beauty.

Offensively we were pretty crappy, and Shreveport did a great job of containing Holliday (except, of course, for that 68-yd punt return!). Goodwin was adequate, and fortunately with our defensive performance today that's all we needed.

Even better: no new significant injuries.

So, we're 11-2 with a 3-game lead over Las Vegas. We've clinched a playoff spot, but need one more win to claim the division title. Hopefully that will come next week against longtime divisional rival Honolulu!

[Fonzie]

Our 4-game homestand ends this week with the arrival of the Honolulu Bloodthirsty Beagles (7-6). They've only had a few changes since our earlier tango - Ronnie Tu has claimed the starting QB job, starting safety John Murguia is out for the year, as is former Toro C David Pless (serves him right, the traitor). Honolulu is struggling a bit more this year than last, which is a bit of a surprise. With two franchise QBs I had assumed they'd be in the driver's seat again this year, but for whatever reason their QB play hasn't been as good. Their defense continues to overachieve, however, so this'll be yet another tricky matchup.

Stoltzfus is still probable, but we're going to unleash him for this game.

Box Score: Honolulu at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 15, 2011

Attendance: 68,400 (69,800).


Weather: 57 degrees, fair.

1Q: 13:56 HON - Matt Brunner 36 pass from Ronnie Tu.
1Q: 13:56 HON - Frederic Swallow extra point.
1Q: 11:28 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 4 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 11:28 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 00:27 HON - Jody Beech 12 pass from Ronnie Tu.
1Q: 00:27 HON - Frederic Swallow extra point.
2Q: 12:34 TUC - Sydney Armitage 10 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 12:34 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 09:40 TUC - Demetrius Higginbotham 6 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 09:40 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 00:18 TUC - Hugo Eckard 19 field goal.
4Q: 11:13 TUC - Mitchel Enoch 38 interception return.
4Q: 11:13 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 02:09 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 2 run.
4Q: 02:09 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 01:04 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 1 run.
4Q: 01:04 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Honolulu 14 0 0 0 - 14
Tucson 7 17 0 21 - 45

Team Statistics HON TUC

First Downs 13 30

Total Rushes 21 35
Rushing Yards 34 185
Yards Per Carry 1.6 5.2
Pass Attempts 36 45
Completions 14 17
Passing Yards 217 232
Yards Per Attempt 6.0 5.1
Sacked 2 2
Yards Lost 9 8
Interceptions 4 2
Fumbles/Lost 2/2 2/1

Total Plays 59 82
Total Yards 242 409
Yards Per Play 4.1 4.9

3rd Down Plays 4/14 8/15
Avg. YTG on 3rd 9.9 8.4
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 10 6
Penalty Yards 57 45

Avg. Drive Start OWN 22 OWN 42
Time Of Possession 25:56 34:04

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
26 Jeffries 19 59 3.1 10 2
42 Holliday 12 106 8.8 20 0
19 Goodwin 2 10 5.0 6 0
4 Hogan 1 3 3.0 3 0
47 Hodges 1 7 7.0 7 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 45 17 232 5.1 39 3 2 2

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
26 Jeffries 5 27 5.4 12 12 1
80 Higginbotham 4 63 15.7 17 20 1
89 Armitage 3 52 17.3 8 30 1
82 Torres 3 35 11.6 10 20 0
81 Hodges 1 39 39.0 12 39 0
85 Garcia 1 16 16.0 2 16 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 2 28 14.0 0
85 Garcia 2 11 5.5 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
35 Giles 3 93 31.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 6 228 38.0 46 6

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 1 2 19 6 6

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
40 Biggs 7 1 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 4 2 1.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 4 1 0.0 1 38 1
55 Trujillo 3 1 0.0 1 0 0
25 Minahan 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
45 Stine 2 3 0.0 1 23 0
35 Giles 2 1 0.0 1 14 0
93 King 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
21 Stallings 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 1 1 0.5 0 0 0
73 Smith 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
47 Hodges 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Torres 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
65 Lyle 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
85 Garcia 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
60 Poplawski 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 0 2 0.5 0 0 0
32 Hartung 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
94 Van Brocklin 0 1 0.0 0 0 0


Well, Honolulu certainly scared the crap out of us in the 1st quarter, scoring two easy TDs and putting a lot of pressure on our offense to keep pace. Goodwin didn't respond especially well, but he got enough offense going to keep us in the game until our defense took over. And boy, did they ever take over. Tu was just 13 of 35 for 202 yds, 2 TDs and 4 INTs. And anytime you can hold an opponent to 1.6 ypc you've had a great day. Actually, anytime you can snag a 31 point win over a division rival you've had a great day, right?

Well, not entirely. You see, all-world RB Drew Holliday developed this little problem where his wrist stopped working. He claims it to be "broken" or something. The doctors say he'll be Out for five weeks. That's not so good, as we've only got two weeks left in the regular season. If we're fortunate enough to get a 1st round bye he'll get three weeks to rest. That will have to be good enough, as I'm fully intending to use the bastard the moment he's cleared to play. The nerve...up and getting hurt right as we were clinching our division and stuff.

Oh, and by the way we clinched our division. And stuff. We're 12-2 now, and are tied with Boise for best record in the conference (but they'd win a tiebreaker due to Conference Record). Denver (10-4) and Seattle (10-4) could also catch us, but we've beaten them both this year and thus own the first tiebreaker over both. So, I guess that means we've actually clinched a first round bye. I think.

Regardless of our 1st-round-bye-clinching-status, we need to keep competing because we'll have a chance to get homefield advantage throughout if we keep winning and Boise manages to trip up (they continue to be without the services of Branden Lin). That means that we'll be going full-bore next week at Memphis.

[Fonzie]

The CFL currently sports two divisions whose leaders are at .500 - the WFC San Andreas division (Huntington Beach is 7-7) and the EFC Deep South division, home of this week's opponents. Memphis is 7-7 and is frankly something of a surprise team. They were 4-11-1 last year, and every other team in the division appeared to be on the rise last year. Memphis has been able to capitalize on their division rivals' poor luck, and has scored some good luck of their own in three 3-point wins. Breathing down their neck are the 6-9 New Orleans Raging Horde and the 5-9 Shreveport Pride (can a 5-9 team really be said to be breathing down anyone's neck?).

We've got our division wrapped up and are now playing for the #1 overall playoff seed. Boise is also 12-2 and they play a tough Chicago team this week, so we have some hope of being able to move ahead of them.

Drew Holliday is, of course, sitting this one out. The bastard.

Box Score: Tucson at Memphis
Memphis, TN.

Week 16, 2011

Attendance: 59,700 (64,500).


Weather: 29 degrees, fair.

1Q: 09:33 TUC - Courtney Hodges 10 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 09:33 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 08:56 TUC - Demetrius Higginbotham 16 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 08:56 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 09:13 MEM - Carson Blume 19 field goal.
3Q: 07:05 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 34 run.
3Q: 07:05 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 00:04 MEM - Andrew Kendall 8 pass from Blaine Hoffman.
3Q: 00:04 MEM - Stephen Metz run for conversion.
4Q: 09:05 MEM - Stephen Metz 2 pass from Blaine Hoffman.
4Q: 09:05 MEM - Carson Blume extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 26 Corwin Jeffries

Tucson 7 7 7 0 - 21
Memphis 0 0 11 7 - 18

Team Statistics TUC MEM

First Downs 21 20

Total Rushes 31 19
Rushing Yards 166 82
Yards Per Carry 5.3 4.3
Pass Attempts 29 43
Completions 15 20
Passing Yards 220 284
Yards Per Attempt 7.5 6.6
Sacked 5 3
Yards Lost 29 13
Interceptions 1 0
Fumbles/Lost 1/1 0/0

Total Plays 65 65
Total Yards 357 353
Yards Per Play 5.4 5.4

3rd Down Plays 5/12 4/14
Avg. YTG on 3rd 7.5 7.3
4th Down Plays 0/0 1/1

Penalties 5 1
Penalty Yards 30 5

Avg. Drive Start OWN 27 OWN 24
Time Of Possession 32:31 27:29

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
26 Jeffries 26 144 5.5 34 1
47 Hodges 4 12 3.0 10 0
19 Goodwin 1 10 10.0 10 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 29 15 220 7.5 23 2 1 5

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
80 Higginbotham 6 90 15.0 4 20 1
89 Armitage 2 39 19.5 7 23 0
26 Jeffries 2 21 10.5 3 11 0
81 Hodges 2 30 15.0 0 20 1
43 Jenkins 1 7 7.0 1 7 0
82 Torres 1 18 18.0 8 18 0
85 Garcia 1 15 15.0 0 15 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
85 Garcia 3 39 13.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
35 Giles 1 26 26.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 5 234 46.8 52 3

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 0 1 0 3 3

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
52 Wash 10 0 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 8 0 1.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 5 0 1.5 0 0 0
58 Watford 4 3 0.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 3 3 0.0 0 0 0
45 Stine 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Torres 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
21 Stallings 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
73 Smith 0 1 0.5 0 0 0


A win is a win, even if it scares the crap out of you in the process. We had nice leads of 14-0 at halftime and 21-3 in the 3rd quarter, but had to hold on for dear life as Memphis rallied in the 4th quarter. Memphis' rally was made all the more frightening by Eckard's missed 31-yd FG attempt with 1:12 left to play - that would've at least forced them to score a TD. Fortunately the defense came through and stopped Memphis' final drive.

I started Corwin Jeffries, our usual FB, at RB today and he responded quite well. 144 yards? Holliday surprassed that total just once all year. We may have an interim answer at RB, and if Holliday isn't ready to go come playoffs we may be OK. Speaking of Holliday, he's now listed as Doubtful with 4 weeks to go. So at least he's healing.

No new injuries of significance today, thank heavens. And speaking of divine gifts, Boise lost their match with Chicago today 21-19. That puts us one game up on them for the #1 seed, with one week to go. And the icing on that cake is that Branden Lin didn't heal at all this week, so he's still Out for 4 weeks. We thus have a wonderful opportunity to lock up the #1 seed next week at Las Vegas.

[Fonzie]

We're in the driver's seat for the #1 overall playoff seed, so a win here would be nice. However, we're guaranteed a bye week, and I'm disinclined to expose our starters to needless opportunities for injury when we've already got what we most want in hte playoff positioning race. Thus, we'll be starting mostly backups this week with a few exceptions. A few of our younger starters who still need some seasoning will continue to play, including Goodwin and CB Giles.

A win would sure be nice, and not only to clinch the #1 seeding either - I'd really prefer not to get swept by Vegas. Even if we went on to win the CFL Bowl I'd be hearing about Vegas' sweep all offseason. So, while we're not going full-out to win this one, I'd sure be happy if we did.

Box Score: Tucson at Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV.

Week 17, 2011

Attendance: 63,200 (68,000).


Weather: 62 degrees, fair.

2Q: 13:45 TUC - Hugo Eckard 53 field goal.
2Q: 03:45 TUC - Hugo Eckard 28 field goal.
4Q: 09:39 TUC - Demetrius Higginbotham 6 pass from Kent Goodwin.
4Q: 09:39 TUC - Kent Goodwin pass to Corwin Jeffries for conversion
4Q: 06:17 TUC - Jake Emerson 7 pass from Kent Goodwin.
4Q: 06:17 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Tucson 0 6 0 15 - 21
Las Vegas 0 0 0 0 - 0

Team Statistics TUC LVS

First Downs 21 15

Total Rushes 33 23
Rushing Yards 149 70
Yards Per Carry 4.5 3.0
Pass Attempts 31 30
Completions 17 13
Passing Yards 197 136
Yards Per Attempt 6.3 4.5
Sacked 1 5
Yards Lost 4 31
Interceptions 0 1
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 1/0

Total Plays 65 58
Total Yards 342 175
Yards Per Play 5.2 3.0

3rd Down Plays 6/13 5/14
Avg. YTG on 3rd 6.7 9.2
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 7 2
Penalty Yards 37 10

Avg. Drive Start OWN 31 OWN 22
Time Of Possession 31:43 28:17

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
26 Jeffries 23 80 3.4 13 0
47 Hodges 7 49 7.0 29 0
19 Goodwin 2 13 6.5 14 0
21 Stallings 1 7 7.0 7 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 31 17 197 6.3 24 2 0 1

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
26 Jeffries 5 45 9.0 18 13 0
87 Emerson 3 46 15.3 6 24 1
80 Higginbotham 2 21 10.5 2 15 1
82 Torres 2 25 12.5 6 17 0
85 Garcia 2 34 17.0 3 24 0
47 Hodges 1 -3 -3.0 0 -3 0
43 Jenkins 1 11 11.0 0 11 0
81 Hodges 1 18 18.0 0 18 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
85 Garcia 3 9 3.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
35 Giles 1 16 16.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 5 205 41.0 45 1

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 2 2 53 1 1

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
90 Jarrard 8 3 0.0 0 0 0
94 Van Brocklin 5 0 2.0 0 0 0
93 King 5 2 0.5 1 26 0
37 Rosenberry 4 0 1.0 0 0 0
45 Stine 3 4 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
74 Cochrane 2 0 1.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
53 Brisby 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Torres 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
73 Smith 1 2 0.5 0 0 0
98 Crane 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
27 Ellsworth 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
43 Jenkins 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
54 Reeves 1 0 0.0 0 0 0


I'd say that went well.

It turns out that Vegas had the same idea we did - they rested nearly all of their starters in preparation for the playoffs, and it worked to our benefit. The 21-0 win was neither pretty nor as convincing as the score would indicate, but I'll take it. I'm especially happy that nobody got hurt today.

So, we're now the #1 overall seed in the WFC and have set a new club record with 14 regular season wins. Not too shabby, considering we have a first-year starter at QB. We'll review the regular season stats in the next post.

In other news, Boise completed their Lin-less late season slide by losing their 3rd of 4 games to Seattle by the score of 26-7, and in so doing handed the Ring of Ice division crown to the Thunderbirds. Boise will have to settle for the top Wild Card slot.

The other playoff teams are Huntington Beach (8-8, San Andreas division), Denver (11-5, Cavalry division) and Las Vegas (10-6, Wild Card).

[Fonzie]

Let's take a look at how things ended up across the CFL:

Front Office Football 2004
2011 Regular Season Standings

Deep South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Memphis 7 9 0 .438 329 396 7-5 4-2
New Orleans 7 9 0 .438 374 374 6-6 3-3
Shreveport 6 10 0 .375 275 309 5-7 4-2
San Antonio 3 13 0 .188 253 375 1-11 1-5

Great Lakes W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Detroit 12 4 0 .750 380 347 10-2 6-0
Chicago 9 7 0 .563 309 279 6-6 3-3
Albany (NY) 6 10 0 .375 318 354 5-7 2-4
Cleveland 6 10 0 .375 340 365 5-7 1-5

Atlantic W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Durham 10 6 0 .625 397 373 8-4 4-2
Tampa Bay 7 8 1 .469 310 349 5-7 2-4
Charleston (SC) 7 9 0 .438 342 373 6-6 4-2
Baltimore 7 9 0 .438 380 340 4-8 2-4

Yankee W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Hartford 15 1 0 .938 461 239 11-1 5-1
*Boston 11 5 0 .688 361 292 7-5 3-3
*New York 9 7 0 .563 378 351 7-5 2-4
Atlantic City 5 11 0 .313 311 360 3-9 2-4

San Andreas W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Huntington Beach 8 8 0 .500 300 345 6-6 4-2
Sacramento 6 9 1 .406 300 368 6-5-1 3-2-1
Santa Cruz 5 11 0 .313 243 383 4-8 2-4
Long Beach 4 11 1 .281 183 290 3-8-1 2-3-1

Ring of Ice W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Seattle 12 4 0 .750 390 240 8-4 4-2
*Boise 12 4 0 .750 439 260 10-2 4-2
Anchorage 8 8 0 .500 302 320 6-6 3-3
Oregon 4 12 0 .250 267 424 3-9 1-5

Cavalry W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Denver 11 5 0 .688 323 247 8-4 5-1
Fargo (ND) 7 9 0 .438 309 355 5-7 3-3
Tulsa 6 9 1 .406 330 332 6-6 3-3
El Paso 5 11 0 .313 283 329 3-9 1-5

Ring of Fire W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Tucson 14 2 0 .875 448 246 10-2 5-1
*Las Vegas 10 6 0 .625 392 342 7-5 4-2
Honolulu 9 7 0 .563 345 315 6-6 2-4
Arizona 6 10 0 .375 253 353 4-8 1-5

* denotes Wild Card team

Over in the Eastern Conference Hartford again appears to be the team to beat. They plowed right through their schedule to a 15-1 record and are the undisputed Best Team In Football. They also happen to be the defending champs. Nobody wants to play them right now. Hell, nobody's wanted to play them for several years now - this year marks their 5th straight division title. Having been stuck behind Honolulu for so many years, I can honestly say that feel for the other owners in the Yankee division. But hey, at least you guys wrapped up the two Wild Card spots, right?

Durham was the surprise winner in the Atlantic, and everyone else was a huge disappointment. Charleston was expected to continue their tradition of competitiveness this year, and Tampa had big expectations coming off their excellent 2010 campaign. Baltimore featured a very potent offense and probably should've won more games. Weird division.

The Great Lakes saw Detroit win their 7th straight division title, and they didn't even have the services of Johnnie Titone. Al Deneff, a castoff from Arizona, was surprisingly effective and proved to be the difference between Detroit and rapidly-improving Chicago. Look out for the Hitmen next year - all of their young talent is maturing, and we may soon see a changing of the guard.

As with the Real World, the Deep South couldn't seem to do anything right this year. They featured teams that varied only in the degree of badness they possessed. Memphis made history by becoming the worst division champion ever. Good for them.

Back home in the Western Conference, Denver wrapped up their 5th straight division title thanks to surprisingly weak performances from Fargo and Tulsa. As for El Paso, well...nobody ever really expects much from El Paso. ;)

I mentioned that Seattle edged out Boise for their division title, ending Boise's 3-year reign. They were helped considerably by Brandon Lin's late-season injury, however. Still, Seattle is an extraordinarily dangerous team that went 7-1 over the last half of the season. Both are teams nobody really wants to face in the playoffs, especially with Lin back at the helm for Boise.

The San Andreas division is the WFC's version of the Deep South - a weak division with a champion in name only. Huntington Beach won their division fair and square, of course, but 8-8 division champs don't inspire much confidence in their fans. Santa Cruz is an up-and-coming team though - keep an eye on them next year.

And finally, the Ring of Fire was won by yours truly. Las Vegas clinched the final playoff spot thanks to a career year from Lenny "Jackpot" Olsen. Honolulu underperformed, but their underperformance might really be a function of unrealistic expectations on the part of us pundits heading into this year. Kranz had such a magnificent year last season that most of us expected he'd repeat that pretty easily - but the lack of a running game hampered their offense all season long. As for Arizona...well, they had a fairly typical Arizona year.

The playoffs will begin with the following Wildcard Round games:

Boise at Huntington Beach
Boston at Memphis
Las Vegas at Denver
New York at Durham

[Fonzie]

14-2 is a damn fine year, regardless of how far we get in the playoffs. As you'll see below, this record is largely a result of Kent Goodwin's unexpected excellence and a strong defense.

Front Office Football 2004
2011 Summary for Tucson Toros

Record: 14-2
Winning Pct.: .875

Tucson Toros Team Rank
Rushes 515 6
Rushing Yards 2230 5
Yards Per Carry 4.33 5 (T)
Pass Attempts 506 18
Completions 270 26
Passing Yards 3827 13
Yards Per Attempt 7.56 8
3rd Down Conversions 41.8 24
Points Per Game 28.0 2
Turnovers 18 8 (T)
Turnover Margin +10 5

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 426 4
Rushing Yards 1595 1
Yards Per Carry 3.74 2
Pass Attempts 550 27
Completions 268 2
Passing Yards 3403 5
Yards Per Attempt 6.18 1
3rd Down Conversions 35.4 1
Points Per Game 15.3 3
Turnovers 28 4 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 27 ARI 10
2 20 at SAO 10
3 31 at SEA 21
4 28 at HON 18
5 20 DEN 14
7 24 at ELP 16
8 24 LVS 28
9 33 TUL 18
10 16 at FAR 23
11 33 at ARI 7
12 41 NOS 34
13 41 HBE 12
14 23 SHR 3
15 45 HON 14
16 21 at MEM 18
17 21 at LVS 0

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
19 Goodwin QB 497 267 3757 7.55 33 12
**Team --- 506 270 3827 7.56 33 12

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
42 Holliday RB 298 1370 4.59 8
26 Jeffries FB 171 625 3.65 6
**Team --- 516 2233 4.32 15

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
80 Higginbotham WR 104 57 895 15.7 122 7
89 Armitage WR 104 53 873 16.4 116 4
82 Torres TE 61 36 465 12.9 97 3
85 Garcia WR 72 34 558 16.4 30 5
26 Jeffries FB 48 30 233 7.7 122 4
81 Hodges WR 47 26 467 17.9 103 5
**Team --- 506 270 3827 14.1 673 33

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
55 Trujillo OLB 89 19 1.5 5 1 8
52 Wash ILB 89 38 1.0 2 0 6
31 Enoch S 80 44 0.0 0 3 21
45 Stine S 59 26 1.0 0 5 21
58 Watford OLB 51 18 3.0 1 0 4
40 Biggs CB 49 11 0.0 0 1 16
70 Neubauer DT 47 22 9.0 14 0 1
25 Minahan CB 41 14 0.0 0 1 7
75 Grier DE 38 18 8.5 16 0 1
93 King OLB 30 4 0.5 1 1 0
35 Giles CB 30 12 0.0 0 5 8
95 Stoltzfus DT 24 10 5.0 12 0 0
97 Horn DE 22 5 7.0 21 0 0
72 Bernard DE 21 16 5.5 6 0 0
90 Jarrard ILB 19 3 0.0 0 0 0
**Team --- 805 282 51.0 93 17 102

Goodwin shattered our previous team record for TD passes, 24, held by "Colonel" Hogan (2008). He did well enough overall to earn himself a huge new contract that we hope will keep him in Toros red for at least 5 more years. Our receivers had pretty good years overall. Higginbotham bounced back from a disappointing 2010 season, and our role players (Hodges and Garcia) both had wonderful years. Holliday was on his way to having another typical Holliday season (get it?) when he broke his wrist, forcing him to miss the first two games of his professional career. Still, his overall numbers were excellent, and our young-ish O-line had a lot to do with that.

Defensively, I couldn't have asked for a much better year. We forced 28 turnovers (+10), were #1 at ypa and #2 at ypc. What more could you want really? Oh, how about 51 sacks? I'm pretty sure that's a team record, and was a bit of a surprise to me. We have good defensive front players, but outside of Stoltzfus nobody is supposed to be a monster sack artist. Neubauer and Grier overperformed again, and our RDE platoon chipped in 12.5 sacks. We held our opponents to under 50% passing (48.7% to be precise), and were very successful at stopping opponents on 3rd down. Two defensive players tied our team record for INTs in a season at 5.

We also did well on Special Teams. Eckard's 30/40 in FGs was adequate, and his 50 PATs allowed him to lead the league in scoring. His kickoffs were generally better than Castorena's were, so I feel he's an improvement overall. P Edward Winters was a bit more frustrating - he always seemed to shank 32 yd punts when we were stuck at our 15, and his 40.1 average was not good. However, he also managed to nail half of his 82 punts inside the opponents' 20. Hard to know how to feel about this guy. In the return game, CB Bobby Giles gave us a much-needed spark (27.6 average), but FL Courtney Hodges had our lone kickoff return for a TD (29.7 average). Drew Holliday was our primary punt returner, and he did an excellent job (23-206-1 TD).

Long story short: we had a good year.

[Fonzie]

<table border="1" bordercolor="#cb0424" width="80%"><tbody><tr bgcolor="#cb0424"><td colspan="3" align="center">Wild Card Playoff Round</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#ebecf4"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet01.jpgBoise Stampede 38 (http://thecfl.net/cfl/1schedule.html)
<small>B.Lin 21-35-356, D.Bradley 6-98, C.Pritchett 8-183</small></td><td align="center">at</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet09.jpgHuntington Beach Capitalists 3 (http://thecfl.net/cfl/9schedule.html)
<small>C.Lincoln 14-19-131, J.Riddols 13-28, L.Cox 3-42</small></td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#dedfed"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet20.jpgNew York Knights 6 (http://thecfl.net/cfl/20schedule.html)
<small>K.Pace 15-34-183, T.Keith 32-117, R.Atkins 4-68</small></td><td align="center">at</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet03.jpgDurham Bulldogs 16 (http://thecfl.net/cfl/3schedule.html)
<small>E.Kimber 11-20-121, G.Parrish 29-107, M.Browning 4-87</small></td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#ebecf4"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet23.jpgBoston Panthers 24 (http://thecfl.net/cfl/23schedule.html)
<small>D.Bridges 20-35-180, S.Moss 18-63, I.Schwartz 8-116</small></td><td align="center">at</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet22.jpgMemphis Express 13 (http://thecfl.net/cfl/22schedule.html)
<small>B.Hoffman 20-33-264, S.Metz 15-55, J.Huntsman 5-89</small></td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#dedfed"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet24.jpgLas Vegas Rounders 24 (http://thecfl.net/cfl/24schedule.html)
<small>L.Olsen 9-26-193, A.Jennings 26-77, C.Poole 4-110</small></td><td align="center">at</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet29.jpgDenver Dynomite 30 (http://thecfl.net/cfl/29schedule.html)
<small>M.Garibaldi 27-45-281, J.Lubin 33-87, C.Plotkin 10-128</small></td></tr></tbody></table>
I was sad to see division rival Las Vegas get dumped in the first round, as I was hoping to knock them off myself. Alas. ;)

I was especially sad to see Boise advance, despite the fact that their win was all but assured. They greatly outclassed Huntington Beach, and with Lin back in the saddle they were as close to a lock as you can get in this game.

This set of outcomes means that we'll be facing Boise in the Divisional Round. When Lin is fully healthy, they are probably the best team in the conference. I'm not especially happy about this draw, but we'll see what we can do.

[Fonzie]

<table border="1" bordercolor="#cb0424" width="80%"><tbody><tr bgcolor="#cb0424"><td colspan="3" align="center">Divisional Playoff Round</td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#dedfed"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet03.jpgDurham Bulldogs 38 (http://thecfl.net/cfl/3schedule.html)
<small>E.Kimber 18-28-258, G.Parrish 26-137, M.Browning 6-114</small></td><td align="center">at</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet31.jpgDetroit Vampires 30 (http://thecfl.net/cfl/31schedule.html)
<small>A.DeNeff 24-52-370, M.Boyd 16-117, C.Richmond 8-98</small></td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#ebecf4"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet23.jpgBoston Panthers 27 (http://thecfl.net/cfl/23schedule.html)
<small>D.Bridges 19-31-277, S.Moss 15-78, Z.Spates 8-142</small></td><td align="center">at</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet08.jpgHartford Attack 30 (http://thecfl.net/cfl/8schedule.html)
<small>J.Oberg 25-34-284, A.Spearman 22-116, J.Alonzo 6-96</small></td></tr> <tr bgcolor="#dedfed"><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet29.jpgDenver Dynomite 24 (http://thecfl.net/cfl/29schedule.html)
<small>M.Garibaldi 22-30-227, J.Lubin 21-107, C.Plotkin 4-62</small></td><td align="center">at</td><td>http://thecfl.net/cfl/helmet27.jpgSeattle Thunderbirds 13 (http://thecfl.net/cfl/27schedule.html)
<small>C.Dever 15-26-117, B.Liszkiewicz 13-57, C.Faison 5-53</small></td></tr></tbody></table>
Denver did an excellent job stuffing a great offensive team in Seattle - I find it somewhat surprising how easily they were able to stop Dever. Good for them.

In other news, The Best Team In The League (Hartford) barely escaped with a win against their division rival Boston, and Durham continued their improbable season with a nice win over Detroit.

Next up: the game you've all been waiting for: Boise at Tucson.

[Fonzie]

I have just finished reviewing our postseason history, and was quite shocked to realize that we haven't won a playoff game since the 2006 season. That year we went to the Conference Championship game but lost to Honolulu. Since that time we've been one-and-done in 2007 (21-10 Wild Card round loss to Denver), 2008 (17-13 Wild Card round loss to Sacramento), and 2009 (17-16 Divisional Round loss to Denver). In five trips to the playoffs our cumulative playoff record is an embarrassing 3-5, and of the top seven teams in the league by career records we're the only one to have somehow missed out on going to a CFL Bowl.

In other words, we choke come playoff time.

We're hoping this year will be different, because this time we've got the surprisingly effective Kent Goodwin manning the helm - our prior playoff history was all under the leadership of "Colonel" Hogan, whose butt is now firmly attached to our bench. We're thus mildly optimistic about today's game, but with Lin coming to town we cannot get overly optimistic.

We're fairly healthy heading into today's game, with Holliday upgraded to probable and our only missing starter being RT Matthew Pitman. We're ready to go.

Box Score: Boise at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Conference Semifinals, 2011

Attendance: 68,400 (69,800).


Weather: 60 degrees, fair.

1Q: 13:55 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 17 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 13:55 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 11:35 TUC - Sydney Armitage 4 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 11:35 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 05:03 TUC - Jake Emerson 7 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 05:03 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point failed.
1Q: 01:56 BOI - Conrad Fisher 42 field goal.
2Q: 07:48 BOI - Austin Philyaw 2 run.
2Q: 07:48 BOI - Conrad Fisher extra point.
2Q: 00:26 BOI - Conrad Fisher 53 field goal.
3Q: 08:12 BOI - Conrad Fisher 22 field goal.
3Q: 00:35 BOI - Conrad Fisher 32 field goal.
4Q: 00:54 TUC - Buster Trujillo 40 interception return.
4Q: 00:54 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 00:05 TUC - Sydney Armitage 17 pass from Kent Goodwin.
4Q: 00:05 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Boise 3 10 6 0 - 19
Tucson 20 0 0 14 - 34

Team Statistics BOI TUC

First Downs 19 16

Total Rushes 29 25
Rushing Yards 107 98
Yards Per Carry 3.6 3.9
Pass Attempts 47 41
Completions 16 14
Passing Yards 241 183
Yards Per Attempt 5.1 4.4
Sacked 2 0
Yards Lost 10 0
Interceptions 4 2
Fumbles/Lost 2/0 1/1

Total Plays 78 66
Total Yards 338 281
Yards Per Play 4.3 4.2

3rd Down Plays 4/18 3/15
Avg. YTG on 3rd 9.5 8.8
4th Down Plays 0/1 0/0

Penalties 6 13
Penalty Yards 50 116

Avg. Drive Start OWN 33 OWN 32
Time Of Possession 33:35 26:25

Boise Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
45 Philyaw 20 55 2.7 15 1
19 Lin 8 53 6.6 13 0
24 Givens 1 -1 -1.0 -1 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Lin 47 16 241 5.1 45 0 4 2

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
89 Muncy 4 50 12.5 5 22 0
82 Pritchett 4 64 16.0 4 33 0
85 Vankirk 2 27 13.5 0 16 0
45 Philyaw 2 14 7.0 16 9 0
87 Albright 2 61 30.5 0 45 0
88 Colton 1 16 16.0 0 16 0
80 Barney 1 9 9.0 2 9 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
82 Pritchett 5 16 3.2 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
36 Blackwell 1 41 41.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
13 Poole 7 264 37.7 57 4

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
4 Fisher 4 5 53 1 1

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
55 Rausch 10 3 0.0 1 32 0
28 Spry 7 0 0.0 0 0 0
20 Gott 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
59 Otte 3 4 0.0 0 0 0
34 Farmer 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
92 Snodgrass 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
99 Asher 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Pritchett 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
41 Nunez 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
43 Hulse 1 0 0.0 1 0 0
54 Bergmann 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
94 Phelan 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
23 Gallego 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
19 Lin 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
96 Jobe 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
35 Washington 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
88 Colton 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
91 Leaf 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
74 Gomez 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Ranek 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
38 Richmond 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
70 Sims 0 0 1 0 0 2
99 Asher 0 1 1 0 0 0
62 Kenderdine 0 0 1 0 1 0
45 Philyaw 2 0 0 0 0 0
54 Bergmann 0 0 0 0 1 0
84 Palmer 0 0 0 0 1 0

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 18 55 3.0 14 0
19 Goodwin 4 26 6.5 15 0
26 Jeffries 3 17 5.6 10 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 41 14 183 4.4 23 4 2 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
89 Armitage 6 78 13.0 2 23 2
80 Higginbotham 2 34 17.0 6 23 0
85 Garcia 2 28 14.0 0 16 0
42 Holliday 1 9 9.0 9 9 0
26 Jeffries 1 17 17.0 17 17 1
82 Torres 1 10 10.0 10 10 0
87 Emerson 1 7 7.0 0 7 1

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 2 2 1.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
35 Giles 5 119 23.8 0
81 Hodges 1 16 16.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 11 483 43.9 60 6

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 0 0 0 4 5

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
31 Enoch 11 1 0.0 1 3 0
55 Trujillo 7 1 0.5 1 40 1
40 Biggs 6 4 0.0 0 0 0
25 Minahan 3 1 0.5 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 3 0 0.0 1 6 0
75 Grier 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 1 0 1.0 0 0 0
45 Stine 1 1 0.0 1 0 0
27 Ellsworth 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
89 Armitage 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Torres 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
84 Joyner 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
64 Connell 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
81 Hodges 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
54 Reeves 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 0 2 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 3 0
55 Trujillo 0 1 0 0 0 0
52 Wash 0 1 0 0 0 0
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 1 0
26 Jeffries 1 0 0 0 0 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 1 0
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 1 0


Hoo boy, that was one ugly game. Either both offenses were terrible, both defenses were great, or some combination thereof. The high score doesn't really reflect just how crappy this game was - for example, the two teams combined to convert just 7 of 33 3rd downs. There were seven total turnovers, and Your Beloved Toros were incredibly penalty-prone. Despite the general ineptitude of our team (14 of 41 from Goodwin?!), we were able to sneak away with our first playoff win in five seasons. I wish I could say I enjoyed this win more, but I really think we got lucky here. Boise was, on balance, the better team today. We got some fortunate breaks, especially on defense. It isn't every day that Lin throws 4 INTs - he threw just two INTs all season long. In fact, he's thrown just 4 INTs in the last two regular seasons combined. To put an even finer point on it, he hasn't thrown that many picks in a single game since his 3rd game as a pro - back in 2003. Wow.

But Boise's defense came to play as well. Take a look at our drive chart from the second half:

3 15:00 1:18 OWN 18 3 4 Punt
3 13:30 1:40 OWN 5 3 5 Punt
3 7:47 1:24 OWN 32 3 0 Punt
3 3:42 1:29 OWN 14 3 4 Fumble
3 0:35 1:02 OWN 26 3 0 Punt
4 12:26 0:58 OWN 42 3 1 Punt
4 7:58 1:16 OWN 20 3 7 Punt
4 4:18 1:11 OWN 15 3 -3 Punt
4 2:31 0:38 OWN 9 4 11 Punt
4 0:20 0:15 OPP 20 2 20 Touchdown


Oof. Eight consecutive 3-and-outs. That's pretty shitty. Thank heavens our punter came to play today (6 of 11 punts inside the 20).

Still, I won't complain. A win is a win, and I'm thrilled that we get to advance to play Denver for the Conference Championship. We only suffered one injury of significance today in WLB Joseph Watford, who strained a calf muscle and will miss three weeks. We'll be OK without him.

[Fonzie]

We're making just our second-ever trip to the Conference Championship game, and we've drawn the most experienced playoff team in the league in the Denver Dynamite. They have compiled a gaudy 13-5 playoff record, which sets the CFL standard for most playoff games overall as well as the best playoff winning percentage. They went to three consecutive CFL Bowls from 2007-2009, and managed to win two of them. They've won five consecutive division titles. They're good.

Why are they so good? Primarily because of QB Marcus Garibaldi. Garibaldi has drawn comparisons to the NFL's Tom Brady - both put up good to very good stats, but neither are extraordinary. Yet, they both just keep winning and winning championships. Garibaldi, in particular, seems to have a magical ability to convert 3rd downs (rated 99 according to my scout) which keeps their offense chugging along. He doesn't do it alone, of course, and has a number of offensive tools to work with. His O-line is very good, he has veteran RB John Lubin (4th all-time in rushing) in the backfield, and an array of talented-but-not-otherworldly receivers.

Denver's defense is solid overall, as well, so we'll have our work cut out for us today. Fortunately Holliday is back at full strength and we'll try to feed him the ball a fair amount. We've been relying on Goodwin a bit more than I'd like lately.

Box Score: Denver at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Conference Finals, 2011

Attendance: 68,400 (69,800).


Weather: 51 degrees, fair.

1Q: 11:24 DEN - Gary Hutchins 31 field goal.
1Q: 06:58 TUC - Drew Holliday 3 run.
1Q: 06:58 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 11:56 DEN - Daniel Patino 11 pass from Marcus Garibaldi.
2Q: 11:56 DEN - Gary Hutchins extra point.
2Q: 06:44 TUC - Drew Holliday 3 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 06:44 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 00:42 TUC - Drew Holliday 6 run.
2Q: 00:42 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 11:26 TUC - Sydney Armitage 23 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 11:26 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 07:00 DEN - Christian Perry 23 pass from Marcus Garibaldi.
3Q: 07:00 DEN - John Lubin run for conversion.
4Q: 14:28 DEN - John Lubin 16 run.
4Q: 14:28 DEN - Gary Hutchins extra point.
4Q: 04:39 TUC - Kent Goodwin 6 run.
4Q: 04:39 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Denver 3 7 8 7 - 25
Tucson 7 14 7 7 - 35

Team Statistics DEN TUC

First Downs 27 28

Total Rushes 32 23
Rushing Yards 138 98
Yards Per Carry 4.3 4.2
Pass Attempts 36 37
Completions 22 22
Passing Yards 258 319
Yards Per Attempt 7.1 8.6
Sacked 0 1
Yards Lost 0 6
Interceptions 1 0
Fumbles/Lost 1/1 1/0

Total Plays 68 61
Total Yards 396 411
Yards Per Play 5.8 6.7

3rd Down Plays 8/12 7/10
Avg. YTG on 3rd 6.5 7.6
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 2 4
Penalty Yards 7 20

Avg. Drive Start OWN 24 OWN 31
Time Of Possession 33:15 26:45

Denver Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
37 Lubin 24 115 4.7 17 1
26 Farrar 6 13 2.1 6 0
87 Plotkin 1 -1 -1.0 -1 0
4 Garibaldi 1 11 11.0 11 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
4 Garibaldi 36 22 258 7.1 35 2 1 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
89 Peace 6 69 11.5 27 23 0
87 Plotkin 5 92 18.4 12 35 0
25 Warren 4 29 7.2 11 12 0
37 Lubin 3 21 7.0 27 10 0
80 Patino 2 15 7.5 3 11 1
1 Rodriguez 1 9 9.0 1 9 0
84 Perry 1 23 23.0 0 23 1

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
1 Rodriguez 2 57 28.5 0
84 Perry 2 43 21.5 0
28 Davis 1 31 31.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
19 Thornton 3 114 38.0 49 1

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
3 Hutchins 1 1 31 2 2

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
46 Brister 7 2 0.0 0 0 0
24 Sanderson 6 2 0.0 0 0 0
33 Upshaw 4 3 0.0 0 0 0
94 Deacon 4 3 0.0 0 0 0
97 Flynn 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
99 Beamon 3 2 1.0 0 0 0
55 Nichols 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
93 Collins 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
98 Knell 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
38 Halvorson 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
54 Everett 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Duggan 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
28 Davis 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
87 Plotkin 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
68 Calder 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
1 Rodriguez 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
45 Foster 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
27 Waters 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
68 Calder 0 0 0 0 4 0
52 Garcia 0 0 0 0 3 0
69 Gardner 0 0 0 0 2 0
89 Peace 0 0 0 0 2 0
87 Plotkin 1 0 0 0 0 0
94 Deacon 0 1 0 0 0 0
60 Saldivar 0 0 0 0 1 0
67 Browning 0 0 0 0 1 0

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 17 79 4.6 16 2
26 Jeffries 3 11 3.6 7 0
19 Goodwin 3 8 2.6 6 1

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 37 22 319 8.6 35 2 0 1

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
89 Armitage 6 97 16.1 4 27 1
80 Higginbotham 5 80 16.0 15 23 0
26 Jeffries 4 47 11.7 34 15 0
82 Torres 2 28 14.0 17 21 0
84 Joyner 2 13 6.5 2 9 0
42 Holliday 1 3 3.0 3 3 1
81 Hodges 1 35 35.0 3 35 0
85 Garcia 1 16 16.0 0 16 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
35 Giles 3 98 32.6 0
81 Hodges 2 44 22.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 3 108 36.0 44 2

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 0 0 0 5 5

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
55 Trujillo 13 0 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 7 7 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 6 1 0.0 0 0 0
45 Stine 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 3 0 0.0 1 10 0
25 Minahan 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
47 Hodges 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
21 Stallings 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
68 Kudrow 0 0 0 0 2 1
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 4 0
54 Reeves 0 0 1 0 2 0
52 Wash 0 1 0 0 0 0
75 Grier 0 0 1 0 0 0
42 Holliday 1 0 0 0 0 0


Now that was a good game. The fans got their money's worth out ofthat one. It might not be entirely clear from the box score, but we built up a nice 28-10 lead that Garibaldi quickly reduced to a 28-25 lead early in the 4th quarter. Once Lubin scampered in for the TD I was fairly convinced that we were going to lose, as this is precisely the kind of circumstance in which Garibaldi shines. Indeed, Denver was marching down the field midway through the 4th and had reached our 22 when this happened:

--
1-10-TUC22 (06:07) DEN 87 Plotkin ran a reverse around right end for -1 yards.
Tackled by TUC 52 Wash, assisted by TUC 95 Stoltzfus.
Ball was fumbled and recovered by TUC 75 Grier for 18 yards to the TUC41.


That saved the game for us. They were at least going to score a FG on that drive, but instead we got the ball back and Goodwin did the rest:

1-10-TUC41 (05:57) TUC 19 Goodwin pass fell incomplete, intended for 80 Higginbotham.
DEN 98 Knell hurried the quarterback into a bad throw.

2-10-TUC41 (05:51) TUC 19 Goodwin pass completed to 81 Hodges for 35 yards (OOB).
Tackled by DEN 93 Collins, assisted by DEN 38 Halvorson.
--
1-10-DEN24 (05:15) TUC 19 Goodwin pass completed to 89 Armitage for 18 yards (OOB).
Tackled by DEN 38 Halvorson.
--
1-06-DEN06 (04:49) TUC 19 Goodwin scrambled for 6 yards and a touchdown.
Extra point by TUC 12 Eckard was good.


That kid is amazing. And the game, overall, was a real thriller. I'm a bit dismayed at how much our coach relies on the kid, despite my gameplanning to the contrary, but I really cannot complain. If he needs to throw 37 times for us to win, so be it.

We won. We won the game, and now we get to play in our FIRST EVER CFL BOWL! WOOHOO!

But who do we get to play, you might ask? We will be playing The Best Team In The League - the Hartford Attack. They beat Durham 31-24 to make it to their second straight CFL Bowl (they won it all last year). That means that the two teams with the best regular season records will be squaring off for the championship. Nice.

The CFL bowl will be hosted tonight at 7:45 pm central time on aim. If you're interested in following the action head on over to thecfl.net and enter the forums. There'll be a post indicating how to join the chat.

[Fonzie]

This is it! Time for the big dance. I've been waiting for this moment for eight seasons, and at this point I really don't care if we win the Bowl or not. I'm just happy to be here (that's what my PR guy told me to say, anyway).

We're locking horns with the 15-1 Hartford Attack, considered by most to be the pride of the league (Shreveport aside). They had some trouble with their postseason opponents (30-27 over Boston, 31-24 over Durham), but were able to pull off the win both times. Their offense is terriffic, featuring the 1-2 punch of QB James Oberg and RB Alan Spearman. Their defense is also good, but they've struggled against the run a bit more than anyone would've expected given their talent. That's something we might try to exploit, especially considering that their pass D was excellent.

Bah! Why am I wasting words? Let's get on with it: the championship game that pits the league's best team (15-1 Hartford) against the second-best team (14-2 Tucson).

Box Score: Hartford vs Tucson
Jacksonville, FL.

Front Office Championship, 2011

Attendance: 68,300 (68,300).


Weather: 63 degrees, rain.

1Q: 07:44 HAR - Jeffrey Alonzo 22 pass from James Oberg.
1Q: 07:44 HAR - Rod Farmer extra point.
2Q: 11:05 TUC - Courtney Hodges 5 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 11:05 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 01:32 TUC - Hugo Eckard 33 field goal.

Game MVP: TUC 42 Drew Holliday

Hartford 7 0 0 0 - 7
Tucson 0 10 0 0 - 10

Team Statistics HAR TUC

First Downs 18 16

Total Rushes 24 40
Rushing Yards 120 165
Yards Per Carry 5.0 4.1
Pass Attempts 41 19
Completions 14 11
Passing Yards 197 140
Yards Per Attempt 4.8 7.3
Sacked 0 3
Yards Lost 0 18
Interceptions 1 1
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 2/1

Total Plays 65 62
Total Yards 317 287
Yards Per Play 4.8 4.6

3rd Down Plays 4/15 7/15
Avg. YTG on 3rd 8.8 7.2
4th Down Plays 1/1 0/0

Penalties 2 6
Penalty Yards 15 55

Avg. Drive Start OWN 27 OWN 24
Time Of Possession 25:48 34:12

Hartford Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
34 Spearman 16 84 5.2 18 0
41 Lincoln 5 34 6.8 19 0
26 Cassady 2 0 0.0 0 0
82 Alonzo 1 2 2.0 2 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
3 Oberg 41 14 197 4.8 48 1 1 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
82 Alonzo 6 76 12.6 7 22 1
80 Vandenberg 3 41 13.6 2 24 0
85 Trail 2 52 26.0 24 48 0
41 Lincoln 2 17 8.5 16 12 0
34 Spearman 1 11 11.0 2 11 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
36 Gallegos 1 6 6.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
34 Spearman 2 35 17.5 0
36 Gallegos 1 19 19.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
13 Gilmore 7 244 34.8 43 4

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
10 Farmer 0 1 0 1 1

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
27 Lee 13 1 0.0 0 0 0
92 Sawyer 8 3 0.0 0 0 0
93 Poole 6 1 2.0 0 0 0
59 Rea 5 4 0.0 0 0 0
90 Leary 5 2 0.0 0 0 0
95 Ensley 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
46 Dyer 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
97 Russel 2 3 1.0 0 0 0
36 Gallegos 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
38 Caldwell 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
40 Gillette 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
48 Weaver 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
80 Vandenberg 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
76 Earp 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
49 Colston 0 1 0.0 1 6 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
68 Oroumieh 0 0 0 0 3 0
77 Fitzgerald 0 0 0 0 2 0
72 Jefferson 0 0 0 0 2 0
40 Gillette 0 1 0 0 0 0
92 Sawyer 0 1 0 0 0 0
61 Lynn 0 0 0 0 1 0
48 Weaver 0 0 1 0 0 0

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 29 136 4.6 45 0
26 Jeffries 9 13 1.4 6 0
19 Goodwin 2 16 8.0 12 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 19 11 140 7.3 24 1 1 3

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
89 Armitage 4 49 12.2 9 14 0
26 Jeffries 2 18 9.0 5 10 0
81 Hodges 2 21 10.5 0 16 1
80 Higginbotham 1 16 16.0 0 16 0
82 Torres 1 24 24.0 0 24 0
84 Joyner 1 12 12.0 0 12 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 1 28 28.0 0
35 Giles 1 19 19.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 7 287 41.0 52 2

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 1 1 33 1 1

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
31 Enoch 5 2 0.0 0 0 0
45 Stine 5 2 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 4 3 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 4 2 0.0 0 0 0
40 Biggs 4 0 0.0 1 9 0
52 Wash 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
27 Ellsworth 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Torres 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
54 Reeves 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
21 Stallings 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
87 Emerson 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 2 3
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 4 0
71 Franck 0 0 1 0 1 0
26 Jeffries 0 0 0 0 2 0
68 Kudrow 0 0 0 0 2 0
42 Holliday 1 0 0 0 0 0
82 Torres 0 0 0 0 1 0
81 Hodges 1 0 0 0 0 0

Hartford Drive Chart
Quar Began Poss From Plays Yards Result
1 12:42 4:58 OWN 36 10 64 Touchdown
1 7:37 1:07 OPP 36 3 1 Punt
1 4:20 2:30 OWN 35 6 18 Punt
2 14:47 0:50 OWN 39 3 2 Punt
2 11:05 2:34 OWN 22 7 35 Punt
2 3:04 0:36 OWN 20 2 0 Interception
2 1:32 1:32 OWN 23 7 62 Half
3 15:00 4:14 OWN 15 8 48 Punt
3 4:03 2:58 OWN 7 6 31 Punt
4 12:56 1:42 OWN 38 5 30 Punt
4 5:36 3:02 OWN 15 7 46 Missed FG
4 0:19 0:19 OWN 20 3 0 Game

Tucson Drive Chart
Quar Began Poss From Plays Yards Result
1 15:00 2:18 OWN 28 3 -6 Punt
1 6:30 2:10 OWN 2 4 19 Punt
1 1:50 2:03 OWN 25 5 19 Interception
2 13:57 2:52 OWN 17 7 83 Touchdown
2 8:31 5:27 OWN 20 9 31 Punt
2 2:28 0:56 OPP 16 3 0 Field Goal
3 10:46 6:43 OWN 1 11 40 Punt
3 1:05 3:09 OWN 21 5 7 Punt
4 11:14 5:38 OWN 5 9 56 Punt
4 2:34 2:15 OWN 46 6 18 Punt


During the regular season Hartford led the league in scoring with 461 points, and we were second with 448. Somehow we managed to produce just 17 points between the two of us today, and thankfully we got 10 of those points to win the championship! WOOHOO!

One very, very ballsy call stands out in this game: with time winding down in the 1st half and the score 10-7, Hartford marched the ball down to our 13 and called their final timeout. With a 3rd and 2 and just :18 left on the clock they sent their FG unit onto the field. However, their FG unit included starting all-world running back and they faked the FG attempt. Spearman was stopped for a loss of 2 yards, and the half ended. Hartford's only other scoring opportunity came late in the 4th quarter, but K Farmer missed a 56-yard attempt. The rest is history.

Hat's off to Masked's Hartford squad. They were in it to the end and gave us a helluva game.

Holliday won the game MVP award, and I'm hard pressed to argue that anyone else would've deserved it more. He was a huge part of our somewhat unique gameplan - we wanted to run the ball and shorten the game as much as possible. I didn't think we'd do well in a shootout with Oberg, so we leaned heavily on our run game and it paid off.

I could make a case for awarding the MVP to our entire defense, who did an excellent job of containing one of the league's best QBs in Oberg. In fact, I'm tempted to award them a collective postseason MVP for the work they did in containing Oberg, Lin, Garibaldi, Philyaw and Spearman. Damn fine work, gentlemen.

Well, that season was quite a roller coaster ride. We snuck in a couple of starts for Goodwin to begin the year, then returned to our usual starter in Hogan. The "Colonel" immediately got hurt and surrendered the reins to Goodwin for the rest of the season, and the kid was absolutely lights out. He led us not only to our best regular season record, but to our first CFL Bowl appearance and victory. Crazy.

Goodwin also appears that he'll be improving beyond what our scouts currently think of him. He's recently begun to max out his potential in some skills, but his now-full red bars keep creeping up with each game he plays. I was so optimistic about his future development that I awarded him a huge contract extension at the end of the season that should keep him locked up at a below-market rate for many more years.

What a wonderful season. I'm looking forward to repeating next year!

[Raven Hawk]

Oddly, at the beginning of the season, I thought that your team was the weakest it has been in 3-4 seasons. I think you found a gem in Goodwin. I was eyeing him as well, but pulled the trigger on the "needs much more development" Carlton Burgess a couple picks before Goodwin was drafted. But moreso, you're defense deserves some serious props.

Congrats on the win and the great season!

[Groundhog]

Congrats Tucson. I'm not in the CFL, but I've been following this dynasty since page 1, and it's good to see your boys pick up the trophy!

[Taco]

Congratulations, Fonzie! What a great season! The Bulldogs are looking forward to traveling to Tucson in 2012.

[Fonzie]

Thanks for the kind words, gentlemen! This was truly one of those clichéd "magical" seasons in which everything lined up just right for us.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Congrats Fonz!

[Masked]

Congratulations - looking forward to the rematch next season :)

[Fonzie]

Let's see who got hardware this year:

Front Office Football 2004
2011 Awards List

Award Player Team
Player of the Year Butch Fulton SAC
**Front Office Bowl MVP Drew Holliday TUC
Coach of the Year Dwayne Crowley HAR
Legend of the Game Paul Dover HON
Offensive Player of the Year Butch Fulton SAC
Defensive Player of the Year Rocky Alleman CHT
Offensive Rookie of the Year Austin Philyaw BOI
Defensive Rookie of the Year J.C. Harvey ALB
All-League First Team Quarterback Charles Dever SEA
All-League First Team Running Back Butch Fulton SAC
All-League First Team Fullback George Welton TUL
All-League First Team Tight End Gerald Thorpe CHI
All-League First Team Wide Receiver Rueben Albertson ACI
All-League First Team Wide Receiver Michael Browning DUR
All-League First Team Center Corey Fulbright CHT
All-League First Team Offensive Guard Kelvin Battle CHT
All-League First Team Offensive Guard Kevin Levine BAL
All-League First Team Offensive Tackle Larry Peters DET
All-League First Team Offensive Tackle Marty Covington ELP
All-League First Team Punter Derek Shields LVS
All-League First Team Kicker Frederic Swallow HON
All-League First Team Defensive End Kasey Cha CHT
All-League First Team Defensive End Rick Lamontagne SAC
All-League First Team Defensive Tackle Dominic Shumpert SEA
All-League First Team Defensive Tackle Larry Ellis ARI
All-League First Team Inside Linebacker Charles Reed HON
All-League First Team Outside Linebacker Mikel Bussard FAR
All-League First Team Outside Linebacker Jeffrey Whitfield SCU
All-League First Team Cornerback Willie Golalic ACI
All-League First Team Cornerback Devin Hopper ALB
All-League First Team Safety Rocky Alleman CHT
All-League First Team Safety Michael Hubbard SAO
All-League Second Team Quarterback Edward Kimber DUR
All-League Second Team Running Back Jeff Reid ELP
All-League Second Team Fullback Tom Grafton LBE
All-League Second Team Tight End Frederick Abeyta HON
All-League Second Team Wide Receiver Jamie Atkins ALB
All-League Second Team Wide Receiver Chris Chavez ORE
All-League Second Team Center Tony Baker LVS
All-League Second Team Offensive Guard Lawrence Walters NYK
All-League Second Team Offensive Guard Danilo Biddle SAC
All-League Second Team Offensive Tackle Craig VanEck ACI
All-League Second Team Offensive Tackle Lance Lukas FAR
All-League Second Team Punter Brock Lightfoot LBE
All-League Second Team Kicker Bryce Goodwin ANC
All-League Second Team Defensive End J.J. Houston SAO
All-League Second Team Defensive End Scott Flowers DET
All-League Second Team Defensive Tackle Andre Baker FAR
All-League Second Team Defensive Tackle Mercury Gil MEM
All-League Second Team Inside Linebacker Tim Atkins SCU
All-League Second Team Outside Linebacker Richie Haynesworth CHI
All-League Second Team Outside Linebacker Mario McLain ALB
All-League Second Team Cornerback Mark Tatum NYK
All-League Second Team Cornerback Clyde Alston MEM
All-League Second Team Safety Oliver Fish NOS
All-League Second Team Safety Bobby Miller LBE
League's Fastest Man Arnie Pritchett ANC
League's Strongest Man Jerald Barber SHR

Once again a rather pedestrian performance from RB Butch Fulton earned him MVP honors. Butch ran for 1840 yards on 462 carries (a 3.98 ypc) and 9 TDs, with 85 receptions for 648 yds (but no TDs and 3 drops). He also fumbled 14 times. Not very MVP-y in my eyes. For the second year in a row I'd choose James Oberg over Fulton. Oberg completed 64.9% of his passes for 3878 yds (a 7.94 ypa), 35 TDs, and 15 INTs with zero fumbles. He was the best player on the second-best team in the league. He's the real MVP.

I'd have even settled for an MVP choice of Atlantic City CB Willie Golalic. Willie picked off 8 passes and defended a league-record 34 passes as well, allowing just 39 completions. That's a PDPct of 23.4. Otherworldly.

The only hardware our players picked up was Drew Holliday's CFL Bowl MVP. If I had to pick one award, that's the one I'd choose. Still, a few other guys might've deserved a nod this year, including our Head Coach Ryan Bolden. He was passed over for Coach of the Year, which was awarded to Hartford's coach. I'm not sure how that could possibly compute, given that in preseason nobody had us going to the CFL Bowl, much less winning it. Hartford, meanwhile, was amongst the popular picks again. That's a slap in the face for poor Mr. Bolden - and will hopefully provide him with motivation to pursue that trophy next year.

On to next year!

[Fonzie]

We head into 2012 flushed with unexpected success and eager to defend our championship. Let's see how our roster is shaping up after the offseason:

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Hogan, Milan "Colonel" 4 QB 14 61 66 2 yrs
Weinke, Artie 9 QB 6 30 52 3 yrs
Goodwin, Kent 19 QB 3 62 66 5 yrs
Hodges, Kenny 47 RB 10 31 34 2 yrs
Holliday, Drew 42 RB 7 60 63 5 yrs
Fawcett, Frankie 24 RB 5 33 35 ---
Stallings, Andy 21 RB 4 21 25 ---
Jenkins, O.J. 43 FB 7 32 35 2 yrs
Jeffries, Corwin 26 FB 7 53 53 4 yrs
Torres, Anthony 82 TE 6 73 73 4 yrs
Joyner, Marlon 84 TE 6 55 55 3 yrs
Chandler, Colin 83 TE 3 37 50 3 yrs
Armitage, Sydney 89 FL 12 54 61 1 yr.
Hodges, Courtney 81 FL 5 37 43 2 yrs
Garcia, Brent 85 FL 5 39 45 1 yr.
Higginbotham, Demetrius 80 SE 10 43 43 4 yrs
Emerson, Jake 87 SE 2 28 42 3 yrs
Reeves, Casey 54 C 5 61 61 4 yrs
Buckley, Luther 59 C 5 44 49 3 yrs
Poplawski, Ross 60 LG 5 71 71 5 yrs
Connell, Kelvin 64 RG 6 61 61 4 yrs
Van Buren, Sean 78 RG 3 39 47 ---
Lyle, Stan 65 LT 6 41 43 1 yr.
Puente, Rob 69 LT 4 37 42 1 yr.
Kudrow, Shane 68 LT 4 65 67 2 yrs
Franck, Chris 71 RT 16 46 47 2 yrs
**Pitman, Matthew 63 RT 8 64 69 3 yrs
Blunt, Robbie 67 RT 3 17 45 ---
Winters, Edward 15 P 5 67 67 3 yrs
Eckard, Hugo 12 K 11 60 68 3 yrs
Smith, Carl 73 LDE 11 47 49 2 yrs
Grier, Howie 75 LDE 9 56 59 3 yrs
Bernard, Ted 72 RDE 8 38 38 2 yrs
Horn, Albert 97 RDE 8 49 49 2 yrs
Cochrane, Bennie 74 LDT 4 37 44 2 yrs
Van Brocklin, Gary 94 LDT 2 29 37 3 yrs
Neubauer, Kenneth 70 RDT 10 55 60 3 yrs
Stoltzfus, Harold 95 RDT 10 92 93 1 yr.
Brisby, Cornelius 53 SILB 7 31 37 ---
Wash, Grant 52 MLB 15 59 59 2 yrs
Jarrard, Josh 90 MLB 10 47 50 3 yrs
Trujillo, Buster 55 SLB 11 62 66 1 yr.
King, Jerry 93 SLB 12 54 60 1 yr.
Watford, Joseph 58 WLB 12 64 69 2 yrs
Crane, Bob 98 WLB 8 38 45 3 yrs
Biggs, Keven 40 LCB 12 67 74 ---
Callis, Bernie 48 LCB 9 36 43 ---
McGarrity, Cris 34 LCB 4 40 47 4 yrs
Giles, Bobby 35 LCB 3 55 55 4 yrs
Minahan, Ray 38 RCB 8 53 54 ---
Rosenberry, Cheap Shot 37 RCB 12 39 46 2 yrs
Enoch, Mitchel 31 SS 12 75 83 2 yrs
Hartung, Kenneth 32 FS 12 55 55 3 yrs


The only retirement of note was FS Carl Stine - he was a huge addition to our secondary last season, but was evidently willing to call it a career after winning a ring. Hard to blame him.

Our secondary will be our biggest concern this offseason. We were unable to get Biggs to negotiate a reasonable extension late last season, so he's going to be allowed to test the waters. It'll be unfortunate if he goes elsewhere, but I won't be heartbroken. He's a nice player, but he never seemed to perform quite up to his supposed abilities. He never picked off more than 2 passes in a single season. Given the kind of money he wants ($6m in bonus money for a 2-yr deal) I'd expect much better performances than that.

Otherwise, we don't have many gaping holes. We franchised poor DT Harold Stoltzfus again (3rd year running!), and this year his cap number was actually lower than last year ($6.1m vs. $6.29m). We're most going to need depth, so we'll target a few minor FAs and aim for improvement via the draft. We've renegotiated quite a bit to get under the cap, and have about $1.7m in free cap space. I might try to cap out a few contracts to free up some more room, if needed.

One particularly happy note: the scout ratings above didn't change much at all in the offseason (we have the same scout as last year), but Kent Goodwin is now rated 62/66 after finishing last year 59/65. I love him.

[Fonzie]

Former 1st rounder and occasional nickel back Ray Minahan immediately jumped ship for a nice contract with Cleveland (who are spending like drunken sailors - they also picked up all-world RB Burt Liskiewiecz with a 1-yr $15m deal). Ray was a bit like a miniature version of Keven Biggs - good ratings, but his performance was always a bit wanting. Adios Ray!

We were able to bring back Bernie Callis with a 3 yr, $4.8 million offer. He'll get a shot at the nickel package this year.

We signed a backup RB in J.C. Edwards. He has the makings of a good receiving back, and will provide some depth behind Holliday. He's cheap and on a 1 yr deal.

Biggs also has a couple of nice offers on the table, so any fantasies I had about him slipping through FA and signing a nice cheap deal to stay with us is out the door.

[Fonzie]

Some recent Tucson-related FA goings-on in the CFL:

-Keven Biggs signed a 2-yr, $13.81m deal with Anchorage. Best wishes, Keven!

-Former 1st round pick FL Brent Garcia has been sent to division rival Las Vegas for a 5th rounder in next year's draft. Brent did pretty well for us over the last two years (he did "well" considering he was a 1st round bust), including catching a combined 66 passes for 926 yds and 7 TDs in the last two years as our 3rd wideout. We'd have liked to keep him around, but he was asking for starter-type money in an extension, and I wasn't about to give it to him. Oh, and we gave Brent a final "cortisone" shot before he left the facilities for Vegas. On an unrelated note, I wouldn't be shocked to find that the Rounders' locker room becomes rapidly infected with genital herpes.

- We then swung another trade to replace Garcia. We sent our 7.32 pick this year (yes, we're passing up on the opportunity to draft Mr. Irrelevant) to Cleveland for veteran SE Coleman Parr (44/44). The 13-yr vet has caught 382 career passes (in 695 targets) for 5485 yds and 29 TDs. He has just 30 career drops. I'm anticipating he'll slide right into the #3 role.

- We simultaneously (and somewhat unexpectedly) landed former Toro WR Freddie Housley to a minor FA contract. Freddie spent the last two seasons with Santa Cruz, but decided to give Tucson another whirl. He's good at Getting Downfield and at catching passes on 3rd down. He'll battle Courtney Hodges for the #4 spot.

- Speaking of Santa Cruz, they shocked the CFL when they released both of their stud starting tackles last week (ownership evidently demanded that they get "younger" or somesuch). RT Noah Smyth (86/89) and LT Russell Tollefson (74/81) began fielding offers last week, and much to my surprise Tollefson accepted one from us! We gave him a 3-yr, $21.69m deal, which landed us about $1.8m above the salary cap. Oops. Still, we're delighted to have him aboard and he'll fill a huge hole with RT Pitman likely still out for the whole season. A quick check of Tollefson's position change-ability confirms our hopes that he can make the switch to RT fairly seamlessly. Great news!

We now have 51 players under contract and need to shed some salary to get back under the cap. I expect a few more deals to be made in the near future.

[Fonzie]

We're near the end of the early FA period and have completed the signings we'll make prior to the draft. We've added three more players worth noting:

SS Kevin Yeager (38/43) - With the departure of Minahan we also lost our Secondary Leader, and some unpleasantries erupted. Yeager was brought on to be our new leader. He's not very good, and was sadly the best we could come up with from the FA pool. We'll be looking around in late FA/post-camp cuts for a better alternative.

K Tyrell Simuel (47/47) - According to the scouts Simuel has perhaps the worst kicking accuracy in the league (6/6). However, he's also got perhaps the most powerful leg in the league (100/100) and is a monster on kickoffs (96/96 on distance, 82/82 on hang time). The 5th year pro has primarily been used as a kickoff specialist, but New York used him his first year in the league as a full-time placekicker and he did well (30/37 in FGs, 38/38 in PATs). We'll give him a look in camp.

SS David Visser (64/64) - Visser is the guy we've tapped to replace last year's Safety Gun-For-Hire Carl Stine. He's a 15-year pro who has spent his entire career with Santa Cruz. His performance has been just so-so over the last 3 seasons, but then again so have Santa Cruz's overall fortunes (10-37-1 won/loss/tie record). We're hoping he has enough left in the tank to keep our departure-ravaged secondary somewhat functional.

Next up: The 2012 CFL Draft!

[Fonzie]

We've got a ton of mid-round picks this year, and we don't really need them. Unfortunately we couldn't find any takers, so we went ahead and used 'em. Here's who we got:

1.32 FS Tommy Burns - Tommy's a 5'10" 200 lb safety who plays the run like a linebacker. He's also especially good at man coverage, which is always attractive to us. Safety is our biggest need, and Tommy is arguably not only the best safety left but also the best player left at the bottom of the 1st round. I'm fairly happy with this pick. His combine scores are good and he doesn't have high volatility (41), so I'm fairly confident he won't bust. Pre-draft rating: 34/63

2.3 DE Emmanuel Muranaka - Our defensive front is aging fast, especially at linebacker. However, the two linebackers I had my eye on for this pick were taken in the two slots right before us, so I decided to nab Muranaka instead. He's got good potential in the skills I most prize in a DE (run D and PRT), and his low volatility again should keep us bust-free. Pre-draft rating: 20/57

3.32 SS Amos Torres - I've decided to take a chance on a potential "reach" player here on the basis of his outstanding combine scores. Torres is an exceptionally strong (19 reps) and fast (4.44 40) safety, who is also smart (38 Solecismic) and agile (7.12 agility). He's also got good potential in man coverage, but perhaps even better potential in bump coverage. He should also be able to play the run well. I f he develops I'll look at him as a possible long-term replacement for Enoch. Pre-draft rating: 18/43.

4.3 TE Shannon Thomas - I'm gambling with Thomas too - he had one of the best overall combine performances in this year's draft class. Thomas may also end up being a reach, but if he develops like I think he should we may have a future star on our hands. Pre-draft rating: 23/41

4.32 CB Gus Tucker - We appear to be taking the Ron Wolf "shotgun" approach to fixing our secondary this year, with our 3rd defensive back chosen in five picks. Gus looks promising, with good potential in B&R and Man coverages, very good INT ratings, and a solid player against the run. He can return punts too. Pre-draft rating: 12/49

5.14 C Darrell Copeland - We don't really need a backup/project center, but Copeland was too good to pass up here. He looks to be in the Good/Very good range on the top 4 center skills and also had a good combine. Pre-draft rating: 23/53

5.17 SS Ron Hawkins - Another safety! Woohoo! You just can't have enough safeties! Pre-draft rating: 21/45

5.32 QB Dexter Nykolaiszyn - I felt as though our current stable of quartebacks had too many vowels in their names. This guy should help there. Pre-draft rating: 12/51

6.32 CB Carl Proctor - Another corner. Good potential in coverage. Pre-draft rating: 16/37.

Those are our nine picks from this year's draft. We also signed a whole mess of rookie free agents, just for kicks. We'll see what happens with them in camp.

[Fonzie]

During the draft I noticed that All-World Running Back Drew Holliday suffered some apparent changes in his ratings, dropping him to a 51/54 rated guy. His nosedive couldn't have come at a worse time - we just traded his big backup last year, and now have scarecely any depth behind him. Ugh.

[Fonzie]

2012 Training Camp is over, and here's what we've learned about this year's Toro squad:

Rookies

note: all rating changes below reflect the changes from pre-draft through the end of camp, and thus include the initial "scout error" adjustments we see after the draft.

1.32 FS Tommy Burns - +4/-1
2.3 DE Emmanuel Muranaka - +2/-4
3.32 SS Amos Torres - +6/+10
4.3 TE Shannon Thomas - +3/+9
4.32 CB Gus Tucker - +1/-15
5.14 C Darrell Copeland - +3/-3
5.17 SS Ron Hawkins - +1/-10
5.32 QB Dexter Nykolaiszyn - +3/-7
6.32 CB Carl Proctor - 0/-4

So, some pretty good news here from the top half of our draft, and some seriously bad news from the bottom. Torres and Thomas look like they're both on their way to becoming big parts of the team, and Burns and Muranaka don't appear likely to become huge busts. That's good!

Tucker, Hawkins and Nykolaiszyn are likely to be shown the door immediately, and they might be followed shortly by Proctor. I'm fairly stunned at how much those guys busted - they weren't terribly talented to begin with, so to have such enormous drops essentially means that they wound up having no talent at all. Enjoy your future careers in the fast-food industry gentlemen!

Other Noteworthy Changes

QB Milan Hogan - The "old man" suffered a ratings drop during the draft period and is now rated as 55/59. Still a very servicable backup and occasional starter, but he's starting to slip a bit.

MLB Grant Wash - Wash also took a hit during the draft, losing 11 points from his ratings. He's now 48/48 and can still play the run well, but his coverage skills have eroded noticably. He'll now have to compete for his starting job with career backup Josh Jarrard.

WLB Joseph Watford - Dropped -5/-5. Still in good shape to start though.

RT Matthew Pitman - This is probably the most curious ratings change we saw in our veterans. During the draft period he shop up +7/+6, despite still being listed as "out" with an MCL injury (23 weeks). I have a feeling those rating changes don't mean a damn thing.

QB Kent Goodwin - Ah, finally some good news! Kent went up +5/+1 during camp and is now rated 68/68. For his career this puts him at +47/+14, and he still shows some green in his skill bars. Rock on.

Next up: final cutdowns and exhibition season.

[fantastic flying froggies]

I love that 3rd round pick of yours. Torres will be a great safety for the Toros.

[Fonzie]

I really couldn't bring myself to post all of the exhibition games - I find that I quickly grow bored with the preseason, and for now would much prefer to skip it. Noteworthy developments during the preseason:

A minor trade: we sent our 2014 6th round pick to division rival Vegas for their veteran LG Kenneth Smalls. He'll make a very solid backup (RB: 57, PB: 62) to Poplawski

A major trade: we sent 12-year veteran FL Sydney Armitage back to his original team in Boston for 3rd, 4th and 6th round picks over the next few seasons. Armitage was our "best" receiver (rated 54/61) for the last 3 seasons, but he never managed to put up particularly good numbers. He typically caught about 50% of the passes thrown his way, and his yardage average was fairly pedestrian. He didn't drop many passes, but he just didn't catch very many either. Anyway, his performance didn't warrant the $8m bonus he wanted for a one-year extension, so his ass is gone.

We finish the exhibition season with a 3-1 record, yawn a bit, and cut down the roster. Here's the 53 we take into the regular season:

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Hogan, Milan "Colonel" 4 QB 14 55 59 2 yrs
Weinke, Artie 9 QB 6 30 46 3 yrs
Goodwin, Kent 19 QB QB 3 69 69 5 yrs
Holliday, Drew 42 RB RB 7 51 54 5 yrs
Edwards, J.C. 25 RB 5 38 40 1 yr.
Hayakawa, Kelvin 33 RB 1 29 35 2 yrs
Jenkins, O.J. 43 FB 7 32 36 2 yrs
Jeffries, Corwin 26 FB FB 7 53 53 4 yrs
Torres, Anthony 82 TE TE 6 73 73 4 yrs
Joyner, Marlon 84 TE 6 54 55 3 yrs
Chandler, Colin 83 TE 3 40 50 3 yrs
Thomas, Shannon 85 TE 1 28 50 4 yrs
Housley, Freddie 86 FL FL 7 41 46 2 yrs
Hodges, Courtney 81 FL 5 37 43 2 yrs
Higginbotham, Demetrius 80 SE SE 10 42 42 4 yrs
Parr, Coleman 88 SE 13 41 41 2 yrs
Emerson, Jake 87 SE 2 29 42 3 yrs
Reeves, Casey 54 C C 5 62 62 4 yrs
Gaines, Hunter 50 C 2 36 53 2 yrs
Smalls, Kenneth 67 LG 10 48 48 2 yrs
Poplawski, Ross 60 LG LG 5 71 71 5 yrs
Connell, Kelvin 64 RG RG 6 62 62 4 yrs
Van Buren, Sean 78 RG 3 44 48 2 yrs
Tollefson, Russell 62 LT RT 12 71 77 3 yrs
Lyle, Stan 65 LT 6 42 44 1 yr.
Kudrow, Shane 68 LT LT 4 66 67 2 yrs
Franck, Chris 71 RT 16 44 46 2 yrs
**Pitman, Matthew 63 RT 8 72 76 3 yrs
Winters, Edward 15 P 5 67 67 3 yrs
Eckard, Hugo 12 K 11 60 68 3 yrs
Smith, Carl 73 LDE 11 42 43 2 yrs
Grier, Howie 75 LDE LDE 9 57 60 3 yrs
Muranaka, Emmanuel 96 LDE 1 25 52 4 yrs
Bernard, Ted 72 RDE RDE 8 39 39 2 yrs
Horn, Albert 97 RDE 8 50 50 2 yrs
Cochrane, Bennie 74 LDT 4 40 45 2 yrs
Van Brocklin, Gary 77 LDT 2 35 38 1 yr.
Neubauer, Kenneth 70 RDT RDT 10 53 57 3 yrs
Stoltzfus, Harold 95 RDT LDT 10 93 94 1 yr.
Wash, Grant 52 MLB 15 48 48 2 yrs
Jarrard, Josh 90 MLB MLB 10 46 50 3 yrs
Trujillo, Buster 55 SLB SLB 11 60 65 1 yr.
King, Jerry 93 SLB 12 50 57 1 yr.
Watford, Joseph 58 WLB WLB 12 59 64 2 yrs
Crane, Bob 98 WLB 8 42 45 3 yrs
Davis, Gavin 40 LCB 11 25 28 1 yr.
Callis, Bernie 27 LCB 9 36 44 1 yr.
McGarrity, Cris 34 LCB RCB 4 45 48 4 yrs
Giles, Bobby 35 LCB LCB 3 56 56 4 yrs
Rosenberry, Cheap Shot 37 RCB 12 40 47 2 yrs
Hawkins, Ron 29 RCB 1 18 40 1 yr.
Enoch, Mitchel 31 SS SS 12 76 84 2 yrs
Torres, Austin 38 SS 1 25 53 3 yrs
Visser, David 44 FS FS 15 62 62 2 yrs
Hartung, Kenneth 32 FS 12 55 55 3 yrs
Burns, Tommy 39 FS 1 39 62 4 yrs

The big changes to our roster this year:

Quarterbacks: Goodwin just keeps getting better.

Running Backs: Holliday should be able to keep it together for another year or two. And I like this Hayakawa kid - the undrafted rookie free agent might surprise a few people.

Receivers: Armitage is gone, but I'm not sure that will hurt us much. We've got quite a few solid-but-not-spectacular targets for Goodwin. We should be fine here.

Offensive line: We're much deeper here now with Tollefson and Smalls. We ditched our longtime backup center Luther Buckley in favor of the younger and potentially better Gaines. Pitman is still out for the year - but he should be healed by the playoffs. We can't afford to keep that roster spot open for him, so he's on the IR. I'm looking forward to seeing how he comes back from the injury. If he's OK this will be a position of great strength for us.

Defensive line: Largely unchanged from last year. And that's a good thing.

Linebackers: are a lot older. They should still do OK, but the clock is ticking on this crew.

Secondary: has been heavily reworked, and I'm not really sure what to expect from them. I think McGarrity will be fine with some experience, and Callis should help out a bit, but we've got a lot of new faces back there. Our pass defense might not be as tight as it was last year.

Specialists: the same.

That brings us to opening night! We start the season with a home match vs. Honolulu.

[Fonzie]

We renew our rivalry with the only divisional team to sport a winning record against us, the Honolulu Blue Pacific (back under the ownership of MrBug after a 2-year hiatus). They currently have a 10-9 edge in our series, but they've struggled against us of late: they began this rivalry 9-2 against us, but over the last four years have gone 1-7. We're hoping to start the season right with a win over a division rival that will square our record against them.

Box Score: Honolulu at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 1, 2012

Attendance: 66,000 (69,800).


Weather: 86 degrees, fair.

1Q: 11:21 TUC - Hugo Eckard 19 field goal.
1Q: 07:47 TUC - Coleman Parr 6 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 07:47 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 01:02 TUC - Hugo Eckard 27 field goal.
2Q: 08:31 HON - Les Muth 13 run.
2Q: 08:31 HON - Frederic Swallow extra point.
2Q: 07:18 TUC - Courtney Hodges 6 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 07:18 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 05:53 HON - Jody Beech 25 pass from Ronnie Tu.
3Q: 05:53 HON - Frederic Swallow extra point.
3Q: 02:09 TUC - Freddie Housley 4 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 02:09 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 13:37 TUC - Kelvin Hayakawa 4 run.
4Q: 13:37 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 08:41 TUC - Courtney Hodges 5 pass from Kent Goodwin.
4Q: 08:41 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Honolulu 0 7 7 0 - 14
Tucson 13 7 7 14 - 41

Team Statistics HON TUC

First Downs 18 24

Total Rushes 25 29
Rushing Yards 63 156
Yards Per Carry 2.5 5.3
Pass Attempts 32 33
Completions 14 19
Passing Yards 255 258
Yards Per Attempt 7.9 7.8
Sacked 3 0
Yards Lost 19 0
Interceptions 1 0
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 1/0

Total Plays 60 62
Total Yards 299 414
Yards Per Play 4.9 6.6

3rd Down Plays 8/16 6/12
Avg. YTG on 3rd 8.1 4.7
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 3 7
Penalty Yards 53 45

Avg. Drive Start OWN 17 OWN 33
Time Of Possession 28:44 31:16


Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
33 Hayakawa 19 113 5.9 32 1
42 Holliday 5 20 4.0 15 0
26 Jeffries 3 11 3.6 4 0
80 Higginbotham 1 3 3.0 3 0
25 Edwards 1 9 9.0 9 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 30 18 245 8.1 50 4 0 0
4 Hogan 3 1 13 4.3 13 0 0 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
81 Hodges 5 92 18.4 17 50 2
26 Jeffries 4 45 11.2 3 13 0
80 Higginbotham 3 45 15.0 0 21 0
88 Parr 3 23 7.6 1 9 1
86 Housley 1 4 4.0 0 4 1
82 Torres 1 34 34.0 19 34 0
84 Joyner 1 11 11.0 0 11 0
33 Hayakawa 1 4 4.0 6 4 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 1 17 17.0 0
87 Emerson 1 16 16.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 1 30 30.0 0
35 Giles 1 39 39.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 4 204 51.0 57 2

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 2 2 27 5 5

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
55 Trujillo 6 1 1.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 6 1 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 4 2 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 3 1 1.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 3 0 0.0 1 0 0
44 Visser 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 2 3 0.5 0 0 0
77 Van Brocklin 2 1 0.5 0 0 0
93 King 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
27 Callis 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
88 Parr 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
98 Crane 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Torres 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
33 Hayakawa 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
68 Kudrow 0 0 0 0 6 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 3 0
62 Tollefson 0 0 1 0 0 0
82 Torres 0 0 0 0 1 0
33 Hayakawa 1 0 0 0 0 0


That went just about as well as we could've hoped! A 27 point win is always welcome, but to come in the season opener against a big division rival gives us an enormous lift. Goodwin picked up where he left off last year, suggesting he won't just be a flash-in-the-pan. And our running game was surprisingly effective.

About that running game...um, Drew Holliday got hurt again. The man who had been Mr. Invincible for 94 straight starts as a Toro has now suffered two "out" injuries in two seasons. Methinks he might be starting to show his age a bit. At least he's only out for 4 weeks with a bad back.

But boy did his replacement put on a show! Lightly regarded undrafted FA Kelvin Hayakawa put on a clinic today. It is early in his career, to be sure, but we might have found something with this kid.

Fortunately, Holliday's injury was the only one of significance this week. And that's important, as we next travel to face a very potent Baltimore team.

[Fonzie]

This week we play an Eastern Conference opponent in Baltimore. We've only met twice before, and split those two meetings. We last met in Week 2 of 2008, a game won by The Good Guys 23-6. That Baltimore team was led by QB Phillip Barbieri, an All-Galaxy QB who will be a shoo-in for the Hall - when he finally retires. Unfortunately, the bastard is still around four years later. He's now a 16th-year veteran and is leading a rejuvenated Baltimore offense. Last year he posted career highs in passing yards (4652), YPA (8.56) and TD passes (33). Pair him with a solid receiving corps, a very good O-line, and good talent all around the defense, and we've got a lot of trouble on our hands.

And we're without our star running back, Drew Holliday. That's great.

Box Score: Tucson at Baltimore
Baltimore, MD.

Week 2, 2012

Attendance: 79,300 (80,000).


Weather: 88 degrees, fair.

1Q: 14:19 TUC - Bernie Callis 31 interception return.
1Q: 14:19 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 11:14 TUC - Demetrius Higginbotham 7 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 11:14 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 09:19 TUC - Demetrius Higginbotham 9 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 09:19 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 03:33 BAL - Jared Lackey 32 field goal.
2Q: 10:17 BAL - Gregory Rice 10 pass from Philip Barbieri.
2Q: 10:17 BAL - Jared Lackey extra point.
2Q: 05:36 TUC - Kelvin Hayakawa 24 run.
2Q: 05:36 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 01:54 BAL - Marty Determann 5 pass from Philip Barbieri.
2Q: 01:54 BAL - Jared Lackey extra point.
3Q: 06:55 TUC - Jake Emerson 10 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 06:55 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 09:05 BAL - Jared Lackey 40 field goal.
4Q: 05:21 BAL - Amos Nelson 1 run.
4Q: 05:21 BAL - Jared Lackey extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Tucson 21 7 7 0 - 35
Baltimore 3 14 0 10 - 27

Team Statistics TUC BAL

First Downs 20 27

Total Rushes 22 25
Rushing Yards 88 118
Yards Per Carry 4.0 4.7
Pass Attempts 36 47
Completions 20 25
Passing Yards 228 371
Yards Per Attempt 6.3 7.8
Sacked 2 0
Yards Lost 16 0
Interceptions 0 3
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 1/0

Total Plays 60 72
Total Yards 300 489
Yards Per Play 5.0 6.7

3rd Down Plays 7/14 6/12
Avg. YTG on 3rd 9.1 7.0
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/1

Penalties 7 8
Penalty Yards 48 45

Avg. Drive Start OWN 36 OWN 20
Time Of Possession 28:03 31:58

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
33 Hayakawa 18 79 4.3 24 1
26 Jeffries 2 9 4.5 6 0
25 Edwards 1 1 1.0 1 0
19 Goodwin 1 -1 -1.0 -1 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 36 20 228 6.3 25 3 0 2

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
86 Housley 5 102 20.4 17 25 0
26 Jeffries 4 37 9.2 14 12 0
81 Hodges 3 26 8.6 10 14 0
80 Higginbotham 2 16 8.0 1 9 2
25 Edwards 2 11 5.5 13 6 0
43 Jenkins 1 7 7.0 0 7 0
82 Torres 1 16 16.0 2 16 0
87 Emerson 1 10 10.0 0 10 1
33 Hayakawa 1 3 3.0 0 3 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
87 Emerson 2 34 17.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
35 Giles 3 77 25.6 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 6 249 41.5 46 3

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 0 0 0 5 5

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
31 Enoch 11 3 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 7 1 0.0 1 38 0
55 Trujillo 6 1 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 5 2 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 3 4 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 3 3 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
44 Visser 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
27 Callis 1 0 0.0 1 31 1
52 Wash 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
43 Jenkins 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
54 Reeves 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
39 Burns 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 0 0 0.0 1 5 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
68 Kudrow 0 0 0 0 1 1
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 0 1
62 Tollefson 0 0 0 0 3 0
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 3 0
58 Watford 0 1 0 0 0 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 1 0


Whew.

Baltimore was kind enough to spot us a 21 point lead in the 1st quarter, thanks largely to Barbieri's uncharacteristic wildness. We wound up needing all of those scores and managed to high-tail it out of Baltimore with a narrow win.

I had a feeling we'd have trouble stopping their offense, and that we'd need to rely on turnovers to win this one. For once in my life I wound up being right. It's a nice feeling, thanks for asking.

As for individual performances, Goodwin continued his solid play, Higginbotham caught his only two passes of the day within 3 minutes of each other, and they both went for TDs, and Hayakawa acquitted himself well in his first career start. The three interceptions were also crucial, although I would've preferred if that unit had, you know, held the opponent to less than 370 passing yards. But I suppose I'm being a bit picky there.

Thankfully we suffered no new injuries, but Holliday is still out for 3 more weeks. That's too bad, as we face Denver next week. And Denver is one of just four teams to own a winning record against us (5-3 overall), so it would be nice to be at full strength. Alas.

Other News: Elsewhere in the CFL, history was made today when Honolulu's Ronnie Tu threw for seven, that's right, seven TDs against a very talented Charleston squad. The previous league record was 5 (held by many). Hat's off to our long-time nemesis for this outstanding accomplishment!

[Fonzie]

This week we face a grudge match against the Denver Dynamite, our opponent in last year's Western Conference championship. They will, no doubt, be looking to avenge their 35-25 loss and extend their 5-3 advantage in this rivalry. They're well-positioned to do so, as they're fairly healthy and have Marcus Garibaldi under center. That man can completely carry a team when needed. I'm a fan of his, but as an opponent I hate him. I suppose that's a sign of respect.

We're still without Drew Holliday, but that's our only injury worth noting heading into this game. His loss puts us at a disadvantage to be sure, but his backup Hayakawa has played well so far. We'll need him to keep that up if we're to stand a chance in this one.

Box Score: Denver at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 3, 2012

Attendance: 66,000 (69,800).


Weather: 81 degrees, fair.

1Q: 09:10 DEN - Gary Hutchins 39 field goal.
2Q: 12:30 TUC - Demetrius Higginbotham 8 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 12:30 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 06:23 DEN - Gary Hutchins 27 field goal.
4Q: 09:02 TUC - Demetrius Higginbotham 5 pass from Kent Goodwin.
4Q: 09:02 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Denver 3 3 0 0 - 6
Tucson 0 7 0 7 - 14

Team Statistics DEN TUC

First Downs 14 14

Total Rushes 25 27
Rushing Yards 77 132
Yards Per Carry 3.0 4.8
Pass Attempts 42 24
Completions 23 10
Passing Yards 208 158
Yards Per Attempt 4.9 6.5
Sacked 3 3
Yards Lost 26 26
Interceptions 0 0
Fumbles/Lost 2/1 0/0

Total Plays 70 54
Total Yards 259 264
Yards Per Play 3.7 4.8

3rd Down Plays 9/20 2/12
Avg. YTG on 3rd 6.8 11.2
4th Down Plays 0/1 0/0

Penalties 3 3
Penalty Yards 25 25

Avg. Drive Start OWN 35 OWN 20
Time Of Possession 33:31 26:29

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
33 Hayakawa 21 111 5.2 41 0
25 Edwards 4 16 4.0 5 0
19 Goodwin 2 5 2.5 7 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 24 10 158 6.5 35 2 0 3

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
80 Higginbotham 6 81 13.5 12 23 2
81 Hodges 2 27 13.5 4 19 0
82 Torres 1 15 15.0 4 15 0
87 Emerson 1 35 35.0 0 35 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
87 Emerson 3 10 3.3 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
35 Giles 2 50 25.0 0
81 Hodges 1 14 14.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 8 340 42.5 52 3

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 0 1 0 2 2

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
31 Enoch 11 0 0.0 0 0 0
44 Visser 6 2 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 4 4 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 3 0 0.5 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 2 2 1.5 0 0 0
52 Wash 2 0 1.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
27 Callis 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
54 Reeves 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 1 4 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
43 Jenkins 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
68 Kudrow 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
77 Van Brocklin 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
96 Muranaka 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
68 Kudrow 0 0 0 0 0 2
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 3 0
62 Tollefson 0 0 0 0 1 1
90 Jarrard 0 1 1 0 0 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 2 0
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 1 0
97 Horn 0 1 0 0 0 0
82 Torres 0 0 0 0 1 0
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 1 0


Hoo boy - another ugly game, but we were able to snag the win. I'm not sure either team really deserved to win this game, as it was a generally ugly offensive performance/beautiful defensive struggle (depending on your point of view). We caught a huge break (so to speak) when Marcus Garibaldi suffered a separated shoulder in the 1st half. His replacement had minimal success, and that injury was probably a major reason why we were able to win. Of course, another big reason for this win was Monty Boyd's generosity, as he fumbled away the ball at our 5 yard line. Thanks, Monty.

Yet another major reason was Hayakawa, who had his 2nd 100-yd game in 3 tries. He now has carried the ball 58 times for 303 yds and 2 TDs since taking over for Holliday. Not too shabby. Goodwin also chipped in at times, but was generally ineffective against a tough Denver pass defense.

We suffered two injuries of note: G Kelvin Connell strained an adductor muscle and is out for 5 weeks, and S Mitchel Enoch strained a tricep muscle and is Questionable for next week. We've finally got some O-line depth, so we should be OK without Connell. Enoch - I'm not sure if I'll play him or not next week.

Speaking of next week: we play at Santa Cruz.

[Fonzie]

This week we play a spunky Santa Cruz (0-4) squad. Their last winning season was in 2007 when they won their division with an 11-5 record. They've been in rebuilding mode for five years now, and have accumulated considerable young talent that is starting to realize its potential. However, they're not quite there yet. This is a game we should win, but their young talent is perfectly capable of snatching this one away from us.

Box Score: Tucson at Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA.

Week 4, 2012

Attendance: 55,900 (68,700).


Weather: 71 degrees, fair.

1Q: 10:14 TUC - Hugo Eckard 31 field goal.
1Q: 03:04 SCU - Robbie Schultz 1 pass from Quentin Larrabee.
1Q: 03:04 SCU - William Lyon extra point.
2Q: 11:13 SCU - William Lyon 30 field goal.
2Q: 06:09 SCU - Robbie Schultz 4 pass from Quentin Larrabee.
2Q: 06:09 SCU - William Lyon extra point.
3Q: 01:44 TUC - Freddie Housley 35 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 01:44 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 14:46 TUC - Hugo Eckard 38 field goal.
4Q: 14:28 TUC - Coleman Parr 10 pass from Kent Goodwin.
4Q: 14:28 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 00:50 TUC - Hugo Eckard 38 field goal.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Tucson 3 0 7 13 - 23
Santa Cruz 7 10 0 0 - 17

Team Statistics TUC SCU

First Downs 16 21

Total Rushes 19 42
Rushing Yards 81 178
Yards Per Carry 4.2 4.2
Pass Attempts 29 30
Completions 14 16
Passing Yards 215 169
Yards Per Attempt 7.4 5.6
Sacked 2 3
Yards Lost 10 20
Interceptions 1 0
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 2/1

Total Plays 50 75
Total Yards 286 327
Yards Per Play 5.7 4.3

3rd Down Plays 1/11 7/16
Avg. YTG on 3rd 6.7 7.2
4th Down Plays 0/0 1/2

Penalties 5 4
Penalty Yards 30 55

Avg. Drive Start OWN 33 OWN 23
Time Of Possession 23:09 36:51

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
33 Hayakawa 13 49 3.7 9 0
25 Edwards 3 16 5.3 9 0
26 Jeffries 2 8 4.0 5 0
19 Goodwin 1 8 8.0 8 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 29 14 215 7.4 35 2 1 2

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
26 Jeffries 4 42 10.5 20 13 0
88 Parr 3 36 12.0 2 15 1
86 Housley 3 68 22.6 3 35 1
80 Higginbotham 1 12 12.0 3 12 0
82 Torres 1 25 25.0 5 25 0
81 Hodges 1 17 17.0 0 17 0
87 Emerson 1 15 15.0 2 15 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 1 20 20.0 0
35 Giles 1 25 25.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 6 242 40.3 48 1

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 3 3 38 2 2

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
58 Watford 9 1 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 9 1 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 7 0 1.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 6 3 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 5 1 0.5 0 0 0
35 Giles 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
44 Visser 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
27 Callis 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 2 5 0.5 0 0 0
93 King 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 1 2 1.0 0 0 0
39 Burns 1 2 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
62 Tollefson 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
98 Crane 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
25 Edwards 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
54 Reeves 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
68 Kudrow 0 0 0 0 2 1
26 Jeffries 0 0 0 0 0 1
58 Watford 0 1 1 0 0 0
62 Tollefson 0 0 0 0 1 0
90 Jarrard 0 1 0 0 0 0
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 1 0
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 1 0
50 Gaines 0 0 0 0 1 0


Wow, we very nearly blew this one. We were down 17-3 at the half and needed 20 unanswered points to sneak away with a win. We didn't play very well at all, and I'm especially troubled by our lousy 1 for 11 on 3rd downs. Still, to win a game that we should've lost is a good thing.

No significant injuries this week, but Holliday, Enoch and Connell are still injured. However, we've got a bye next week, and getting those three healthy is real important given our upcoming schedule. After the bye we play at Las Vegas (3-0), host Huntington Beach (1-2), play at Sacramento (4-0), host Long Beach (2-1), and visit Honolulu (3-1). Five straight tough games.

Next up: the dreaded bye.

[Fonzie]

I'm embarrassingly behind in updating this dynasty, owing to certain life events. (http://thecfl.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3128) But I'll attempt to get us caught up fairly quickly. Because something important is to happen this coming Tuesday night I'll endeavor to have us caught up by then. Thus, I'll keep my insightful and witty commentary to a minimum, for now.

Box Score: Tucson at Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV.

Week 6, 2012

Attendance: 57,300 (68,000).


Weather: 73 degrees, fair.

1Q: 07:52 LVS - Anthony Jennings 3 run.
1Q: 07:52 LVS - Felix Savoy extra point failed.
1Q: 02:06 LVS - Chris Wisdom 5 pass from Lenny "Jackpot" Olsen.
1Q: 02:06 LVS - Felix Savoy extra point.
2Q: 08:57 TUC - Marlon Joyner 11 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 08:57 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 03:37 LVS - Burt Lang 17 pass from Lenny "Jackpot" Olsen.
2Q: 03:37 LVS - Felix Savoy extra point.
3Q: 02:53 LVS - Anthony Jennings 3 pass from Lenny "Jackpot" Olsen.
3Q: 02:53 LVS - Felix Savoy extra point.
4Q: 14:12 LVS - Felix Savoy 41 field goal.
4Q: 13:27 TUC - Courtney Hodges 28 pass from Kent Goodwin.
4Q: 13:27 TUC - Kelvin Hayakawa run for conversion failed.
4Q: 07:35 LVS - Felix Savoy 36 field goal.
4Q: 04:40 TUC - Hugo Eckard 33 field goal.
4Q: 02:29 TUC - Hugo Eckard 29 field goal.

Game MVP: LVS 1 Lenny "Jackpot" Olsen

Tucson 0 7 0 12 - 19
Las Vegas 13 7 7 6 - 33

Team Statistics TUC LVS

First Downs 19 27

Total Rushes 23 31
Rushing Yards 98 145
Yards Per Carry 4.2 4.6
Pass Attempts 43 45
Completions 23 23
Passing Yards 355 271
Yards Per Attempt 8.2 6.0
Sacked 1 0
Yards Lost 7 0
Interceptions 0 1
Fumbles/Lost 3/2 3/0

Total Plays 67 76
Total Yards 446 416
Yards Per Play 6.6 5.4

3rd Down Plays 5/17 7/16
Avg. YTG on 3rd 8.2 8.1
4th Down Plays 0/1 0/0

Penalties 9 8
Penalty Yards 67 56

Avg. Drive Start OWN 28 OWN 37
Time Of Possession 26:15 33:45

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 14 57 4.0 22 0
33 Hayakawa 7 19 2.7 12 0
26 Jeffries 1 9 9.0 9 0
25 Edwards 1 13 13.0 13 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 43 23 355 8.2 52 2 0 1

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
81 Hodges 7 126 18.0 17 44 1
80 Higginbotham 6 127 21.1 18 52 0
84 Joyner 3 31 10.3 2 11 1
88 Parr 2 29 14.5 0 18 0
82 Torres 2 17 8.5 6 9 0
86 Housley 1 15 15.0 6 15 0
25 Edwards 1 8 8.0 0 8 0
33 Hayakawa 1 2 2.0 0 2 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 2 12 6.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 1 25 25.0 0
35 Giles 1 38 38.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 6 219 36.5 45 1

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 2 3 33 1 1

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
55 Trujillo 7 2 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 7 1 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 6 0 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
44 Visser 3 2 0.0 1 26 0
27 Callis 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 2 3 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
42 Holliday 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
38 Torres 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
96 Muranaka 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 0 1
62 Tollefson 0 0 0 0 2 0
80 Higginbotham 1 0 0 0 0 0
88 Parr 0 0 1 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 0 1 0 0 0 0
58 Watford 0 1 0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 0 1 0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 1 0 0 0 0 0
82 Torres 0 0 0 0 1 0
81 Hodges 1 0 0 0 0 0
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 1 0
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 1 0


A loss to Vegas is always painful. A two touchdown loss? Unbearable. Goodwin did what he could, but a bad case of fumbles, poor special teams play, and a vacationing run defense did us in. Blech.

[Fonzie]

We'll attempt to avenge our first loss of the season by inflicting some conference damage on a solid Huntington Beach squad.

Box Score: Huntington Beach at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 7, 2012

Attendance: 66,000 (69,800).


Weather: 75 degrees, fair.

1Q: 09:44 TUC - Anthony Torres 7 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 09:44 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 05:16 HBE - Leroy Cox 75 pass from Clarence Lincoln.
1Q: 05:16 HBE - Rubin Castorena extra point.
1Q: 02:08 TUC - Freddie Housley 23 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 02:08 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 11:18 TUC - J.C. Edwards 3 run.
2Q: 11:18 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 06:17 HBE - Tony Godlewski 1 run.
2Q: 06:17 HBE - Rubin Castorena extra point failed.
2Q: 04:19 TUC - Demetrius Higginbotham 6 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 04:19 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 10:05 HBE - Jorge Riddols 66 punt return.
3Q: 10:05 HBE - Rubin Castorena extra point.
4Q: 07:52 TUC - Freddie Housley 11 pass from Kent Goodwin.
4Q: 07:52 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 01:51 TUC - Hugo Eckard 42 field goal.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Huntington Beach 7 6 7 0 - 20
Tucson 14 14 0 10 - 38

Team Statistics HBE TUC

First Downs 18 25

Total Rushes 21 26
Rushing Yards 96 104
Yards Per Carry 4.5 4.0
Pass Attempts 35 36
Completions 22 25
Passing Yards 345 370
Yards Per Attempt 9.8 10.2
Sacked 6 0
Yards Lost 36 0
Interceptions 0 0
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 0/0

Total Plays 62 62
Total Yards 405 474
Yards Per Play 6.5 7.6

3rd Down Plays 7/16 7/13
Avg. YTG on 3rd 9.5 9.0
4th Down Plays 0/1 0/0

Penalties 9 8
Penalty Yards 75 63

Avg. Drive Start OWN 18 OWN 31
Time Of Possession 28:14 31:46


Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 17 65 3.8 16 0
33 Hayakawa 5 23 4.6 12 0
25 Edwards 4 16 4.0 11 1

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 36 25 370 10.2 55 4 0 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
80 Higginbotham 8 133 16.6 9 55 1
86 Housley 6 99 16.5 25 29 2
88 Parr 3 39 13.0 3 15 0
82 Torres 3 42 14.0 7 21 1
81 Hodges 2 30 15.0 6 17 0
25 Edwards 1 11 11.0 11 11 0
87 Emerson 1 11 11.0 0 11 0
33 Hayakawa 1 5 5.0 6 5 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 1 0 0.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
35 Giles 2 63 31.5 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 5 240 48.0 57 3

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 1 1 42 5 5

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
31 Enoch 6 2 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 5 3 2.0 0 0 0
93 King 4 0 1.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 3 1 1.5 0 0 0
44 Visser 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
38 Torres 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 2 1 1.5 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
39 Burns 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
96 Muranaka 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
27 Callis 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
98 Crane 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
25 Edwards 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
54 Reeves 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
87 Emerson 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
77 Van Brocklin 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 3 0
68 Kudrow 0 0 0 0 2 0
62 Tollefson 0 0 0 0 1 0
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 1 0
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 1 0
78 Van Buren 0 0 0 0 1 0


Well, we let QB Clarence Lincoln have a bit more success than I'd like, but there's not much else to complain about here. Six sacks is great, Goodwin was on fire again, and our special teams came to play this week. We're now 5-1 on the season.

[Fonzie]

This week we play division-leading Sacramento, who are without starting QB Seymore Barre. Instead they'll head into battle with 5th year man Everett Dole under center. Sacramento appears to have a downfield passing orientation on offense, so we'll have to be careful in the secondary.

Box Score: Tucson at Sacramento
Sacramento, CA.

Week 8, 2012

Attendance: 67,700 (71,000).


Weather: 69 degrees, fair.

1Q: 09:21 SAC - Branden Eastman 44 field goal.
1Q: 00:39 SAC - Jerome Stearns 61 pass from Everett Dole.
1Q: 00:39 SAC - Branden Eastman extra point.
2Q: 13:26 TUC - Anthony Torres 4 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 13:26 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 03:55 TUC - Freddie Housley 58 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 03:55 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 00:00 SAC - Branden Eastman 30 field goal.
3Q: 12:38 TUC - Hugo Eckard 43 field goal.
3Q: 06:26 TUC - Hugo Eckard 35 field goal.
4Q: 12:51 SAC - Butch Fulton 1 run.
4Q: 12:51 SAC - Branden Eastman extra point.
OT: 09:16 TUC - Hugo Eckard 23 field goal.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Tucson 0 14 6 0 3 - 23
Sacramento 10 3 0 7 0 - 20

Team Statistics TUC SAC

First Downs 21 19

Total Rushes 25 36
Rushing Yards 167 106
Yards Per Carry 6.6 2.9
Pass Attempts 41 34
Completions 21 13
Passing Yards 302 324
Yards Per Attempt 7.3 9.5
Sacked 1 3
Yards Lost 14 19
Interceptions 1 0
Fumbles/Lost 2/0 1/0

Total Plays 67 73
Total Yards 455 411
Yards Per Play 6.7 5.6

3rd Down Plays 4/14 6/18
Avg. YTG on 3rd 9.9 9.0
4th Down Plays 0/0 1/1

Penalties 12 11
Penalty Yards 101 70

Avg. Drive Start OWN 27 OWN 23
Time Of Possession 31:15 34:29

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 14 73 5.2 21 0
33 Hayakawa 5 20 4.0 7 0
25 Edwards 3 60 20.0 54 0
19 Goodwin 2 10 5.0 5 0
80 Higginbotham 1 4 4.0 4 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 41 21 302 7.3 58 2 1 1

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
80 Higginbotham 8 72 9.0 15 15 0
82 Torres 6 76 12.6 18 28 1
88 Parr 2 38 19.0 12 31 0
86 Housley 2 70 35.0 29 58 1
43 Jenkins 1 14 14.0 1 14 0
84 Joyner 1 16 16.0 5 16 0
81 Hodges 1 16 16.0 2 16 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 3 4 1.3 0
87 Emerson 1 -3 -3.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 2 50 25.0 0
35 Giles 2 56 28.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 6 261 43.5 54 0

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 3 4 43 2 2

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
31 Enoch 9 4 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 5 4 1.5 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
44 Visser 4 5 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
27 Callis 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 2 2 1.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 2 0 0.5 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
98 Crane 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
81 Hodges 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
54 Reeves 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
33 Hayakawa 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
77 Van Brocklin 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
50 Gaines 0 0 0 0 0 1
42 Holliday 2 0 1 0 0 0
62 Tollefson 0 0 0 0 2 0
68 Kudrow 0 0 0 0 2 0
78 Van Buren 0 0 0 0 2 0
37 Rosenberry 0 0 1 0 0 0
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 1 0
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 1 0
35 Giles 0 1 0 0 0 0


Wow. We held Dole to just 13 completions on 34 attempts, but he still connected for 324 yards! That's crazy - so crazy that it almost cost us the game. Those 12 penalties for 100+ yards weren't helpful, either. Thank heavens for OT!

[Fonzie]

This tilt against Long Beach marks our third straight game against a San Andreas division foe. I'll need to have a chat with the league schedulers - we really need to mix things up a bit more.

Box Score: Long Beach at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 9, 2012

Attendance: 66,000 (69,800).


Weather: 92 degrees, fair.

1Q: 06:49 TUC - Freddie Housley 8 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 06:49 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 00:57 TUC - Hugo Eckard 31 field goal.
2Q: 11:11 LBE - Don Terrell 2 run.
2Q: 11:11 LBE - Carson Blume extra point.
2Q: 07:08 LBE - Carson Blume 29 field goal.
2Q: 03:34 TUC - Coleman Parr 4 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 03:34 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 10:22 TUC - Courtney Hodges 17 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 10:22 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 05:03 LBE - Carson Blume 32 field goal.
4Q: 12:18 TUC - Courtney Hodges 32 pass from Kent Goodwin.
4Q: 12:18 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 04:31 TUC - Hugo Eckard 38 field goal.
4Q: 00:56 LBE - Norm Patterson 51 pass from Randolph Kranz.
4Q: 00:56 LBE - Carson Blume extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Long Beach 0 10 3 7 - 20
Tucson 10 7 7 10 - 34

Team Statistics LBE TUC

First Downs 17 27

Total Rushes 32 29
Rushing Yards 167 158
Yards Per Carry 5.2 5.4
Pass Attempts 26 37
Completions 15 21
Passing Yards 198 334
Yards Per Attempt 7.6 9.0
Sacked 0 0
Yards Lost 0 0
Interceptions 0 1
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 1/0

Total Plays 58 66
Total Yards 365 492
Yards Per Play 6.2 7.4

3rd Down Plays 3/11 7/12
Avg. YTG on 3rd 3.6 7.5
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 4 6
Penalty Yards 19 35

Avg. Drive Start OWN 26 OWN 26
Time Of Possession 28:24 31:36


Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 20 110 5.5 23 0
33 Hayakawa 6 21 3.5 11 0
25 Edwards 2 28 14.0 24 0
19 Goodwin 1 -1 -1.0 -1 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 37 21 334 9.0 45 4 1 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
81 Hodges 6 135 22.5 35 33 2
86 Housley 5 57 11.4 0 16 1
80 Higginbotham 4 84 21.0 17 45 0
82 Torres 3 35 11.6 11 13 0
88 Parr 1 4 4.0 0 4 1
84 Joyner 1 12 12.0 0 12 0
25 Edwards 1 7 7.0 1 7 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 1 8 8.0 0
87 Emerson 1 19 19.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 2 44 22.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 3 168 56.0 66 2

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 2 2 38 4 4

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
35 Giles 8 1 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
44 Visser 4 3 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 4 3 0.0 0 0 0
77 Van Brocklin 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
27 Callis 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 1 2 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
98 Crane 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
25 Edwards 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
60 Poplawski 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
39 Burns 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 3 0
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 2 0
78 Van Buren 0 0 0 0 2 0
62 Tollefson 0 0 0 0 1 0
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 1 0
42 Holliday 1 0 0 0 0 0
43 Jenkins 0 0 1 0 0 0
84 Joyner 0 0 0 0 1 0
68 Kudrow 0 0 0 0 1 0


Now that's more like it. A solid win with good efforts all around. We had to play without G Kevin Connell, but our offense didn't suffer at all. Goodwin was great, Holliday turned in another solid effort, and our defense did enough to lock up a 2-TD win. I'm not happy that we keep coughing up 20+ points on defense, but hopefully we'll get our defense on track.

[Fonzie]

A big game! Honolulu (6-2) is still in the hunt for the division crown, and will no doubt be looking to avenge the 41-14 drubbing we gave them in Week 1. Unfortunately, we'll be without the services of our best defender, DT Harold Stoltzfus. That's not good, as we're taking on the legendary Ronnie Tu here.

Box Score: Tucson at Honolulu
Honolulu, HI.

Week 10, 2012

Attendance: 65,100 (66,000).


Weather: 68 degrees, fair.

1Q: 11:43 TUC - Freddie Housley 8 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 11:43 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 05:41 TUC - Coleman Parr 7 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 05:41 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 11:57 TUC - Hugo Eckard 38 field goal.
2Q: 03:38 TUC - Marlon Joyner 28 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 03:38 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 02:03 HON - Chris Rodham 84 pass from Ronnie Tu.
2Q: 02:03 HON - Frederic Swallow extra point.
3Q: 08:59 TUC - Coleman Parr 10 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 08:59 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 05:20 TUC - Jerry King 2 fumble return.
3Q: 05:20 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point failed.
3Q: 02:21 HON - Jody Beech 5 pass from Ronnie Tu.
3Q: 02:21 HON - Frederic Swallow extra point.
3Q: 00:33 TUC - Drew Holliday 45 run.
3Q: 00:33 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 13:24 HON - Mario Samples 19 pass from Percy Boutte.
4Q: 13:24 HON - Frederic Swallow extra point.
4Q: 10:06 TUC - Drew Holliday 4 run.
4Q: 10:06 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Tucson 14 10 20 7 - 51
Honolulu 0 7 7 7 - 21

Team Statistics TUC HON

First Downs 38 13

Total Rushes 49 14
Rushing Yards 235 47
Yards Per Carry 4.7 3.3
Pass Attempts 35 24
Completions 24 11
Passing Yards 320 281
Yards Per Attempt 9.1 11.7
Sacked 0 2
Yards Lost 0 17
Interceptions 0 3
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 1/1

Total Plays 84 40
Total Yards 555 311
Yards Per Play 6.6 7.7

3rd Down Plays 11/15 3/8
Avg. YTG on 3rd 7.3 9.3
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 5 6
Penalty Yards 40 65

Avg. Drive Start OWN 31 OWN 18
Time Of Possession 42:41 17:19

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 29 174 6.0 45 2
33 Hayakawa 15 26 1.7 9 0
25 Edwards 5 35 7.0 22 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 34 23 306 9.0 28 4 0 0
4 Hogan 1 1 14 14.0 14 0 0 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
80 Higginbotham 5 83 16.6 4 23 0
88 Parr 3 34 11.3 4 17 2
82 Torres 3 36 12.0 16 14 0
81 Hodges 3 40 13.3 2 16 0
42 Holliday 2 16 8.0 6 10 0
26 Jeffries 2 16 8.0 21 10 0
86 Housley 2 36 18.0 15 28 1
84 Joyner 2 35 17.5 1 28 1
25 Edwards 1 15 15.0 10 15 0
87 Emerson 1 9 9.0 2 9 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 1 9 9.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
35 Giles 2 77 38.5 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 2 69 34.5 40 1

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 1 2 38 6 7

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
31 Enoch 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 3 0 2.0 0 0 0
93 King 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
27 Callis 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
98 Crane 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 1 1 0.0 1 0 0
44 Visser 1 0 0.0 2 0 0
70 Neubauer 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
77 Van Brocklin 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
39 Burns 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
38 Torres 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
62 Tollefson 0 0 0 0 5 0
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 5 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 3 0
93 King 0 0 1 1 0 0
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 2 0
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 1 0
98 Crane 0 1 0 0 0 0
82 Torres 0 0 0 0 1 0
68 Kudrow 0 0 0 0 1 0


WOW.

At the risk of sounding like a graceless winner, that was perhaps the best performance I've ever seen from this team. A 51 point output on the road resulting in a 30 point win against a key division rival sporting a Hall Of Fame QB? Damn. Almost makes me feel sorry for MrBug.

Almost. ;)

We set two new team records today - our 51 point output and 555 total yards. It isn't officially tracked for record-keeping purposes, but I'd bet our 38 first downs are also a team record.

Crazy. 92 points scored versus a division rival in one season is a beautiful thing.

[Fonzie]

Another division game, this time vs. perennial cellar dwellers Arizona. We're still without Stoltzfus, and coming off a huge emotional win over Honolulu. Do I smell a trap?

Box Score: Arizona at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 11, 2012

Attendance: 66,000 (69,800).


Weather: 47 degrees, fair.

1Q: 04:32 ARI - Artie Sonntag 3 run.
1Q: 04:32 ARI - Paul Stephan extra point.
2Q: 02:08 ARI - Paul Stephan 46 field goal.
2Q: 00:05 ARI - Paul Stephan 51 field goal.
3Q: 12:53 TUC - Freddie Housley 16 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 12:53 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 08:04 ARI - Artie Sonntag 1 run.
3Q: 08:04 ARI - Paul Stephan extra point.
3Q: 05:25 TUC - Courtney Hodges 16 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 05:25 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.

Game MVP: ARI 3 Freddie Mathias

Arizona 7 6 7 0 - 20
Tucson 0 0 14 0 - 14

Team Statistics ARI TUC

First Downs 26 16

Total Rushes 37 16
Rushing Yards 165 44
Yards Per Carry 4.4 2.7
Pass Attempts 40 39
Completions 22 18
Passing Yards 318 306
Yards Per Attempt 7.9 7.8
Sacked 2 1
Yards Lost 9 6
Interceptions 1 2
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 1/1

Total Plays 79 56
Total Yards 474 344
Yards Per Play 6.0 6.1

3rd Down Plays 8/16 5/14
Avg. YTG on 3rd 7.2 8.2
4th Down Plays 0/1 0/1

Penalties 7 4
Penalty Yards 55 25

Avg. Drive Start OWN 26 OWN 32
Time Of Possession 35:41 24:19


Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 12 24 2.0 6 0
33 Hayakawa 2 6 3.0 3 0
25 Edwards 1 3 3.0 3 0
19 Goodwin 1 11 11.0 11 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 39 18 306 7.8 32 2 2 1

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
80 Higginbotham 3 66 22.0 10 32 0
86 Housley 3 58 19.3 11 30 1
81 Hodges 3 46 15.3 5 21 1
87 Emerson 3 48 16.0 1 18 0
42 Holliday 2 41 20.5 5 24 0
26 Jeffries 2 32 16.0 3 16 0
82 Torres 1 9 9.0 0 9 0
25 Edwards 1 6 6.0 0 6 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
35 Giles 4 127 31.7 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 3 119 39.6 52 1

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 0 2 0 2 2

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
70 Neubauer 7 3 0.5 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 6 3 0.0 0 0 0
44 Visser 6 1 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 6 0 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 5 4 0.0 0 0 0
27 Callis 4 4 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 4 3 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
77 Van Brocklin 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 2 1 1.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 2 1 0.5 0 0 0
88 Parr 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
38 Torres 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 1 0 0.0 1 25 0
25 Edwards 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
33 Hayakawa 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
74 Cochrane 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
62 Tollefson 0 0 0 0 0 1
80 Higginbotham 1 0 0 0 0 0


Well, that was embarrassing.

We had the inevitable letdown after last week's big win. Two missed field goals were costly in this one, but perhaps not as costly as being completely unable to move the ball on the ground. I can't recall us ever having a game in which our O-line scored zero Key Run Blocks. Amazing, and hat's off to Arizona's D-line for an inspired effort.

[Fonzie]

Today we take on the Tampa Bay Torpedoes, a team we've only met twice before (we split those two games). Tampa's having a rough season (3-7), and we'll hope to continue their misery for at least another week.

Thankfully we get Stoltzfus back this week.

Box Score: Tampa Bay at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 12, 2012

Attendance: 66,000 (69,800).


Weather: 54 degrees, fair.

1Q: 09:26 TBY - Vinny McKnight 6 run.
1Q: 09:26 TBY - Felton Cooper extra point.
1Q: 04:28 TUC - Hugo Eckard 19 field goal.
1Q: 02:36 TBY - Trent Muir 62 pass from Joshua Urrutia.
1Q: 02:36 TBY - Felton Cooper extra point.
1Q: 00:26 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 6 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 00:26 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 05:07 TBY - Damion Tabb 14 pass from Joshua Urrutia.
2Q: 05:07 TBY - Felton Cooper extra point.
3Q: 12:07 TUC - Jake Emerson 5 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 12:07 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 08:05 TUC - Hugo Eckard 55 field goal.
3Q: 03:44 TUC - Hugo Eckard 50 field goal.
4Q: 13:04 TUC - Hugo Eckard 25 field goal.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Tampa Bay 14 7 0 0 - 21
Tucson 10 0 13 3 - 26

Team Statistics TBY TUC

First Downs 25 17

Total Rushes 25 24
Rushing Yards 84 148
Yards Per Carry 3.3 6.1
Pass Attempts 50 31
Completions 25 17
Passing Yards 384 258
Yards Per Attempt 7.6 8.3
Sacked 1 0
Yards Lost 6 0
Interceptions 2 1
Fumbles/Lost 1/0 2/1

Total Plays 76 55
Total Yards 462 406
Yards Per Play 6.0 7.3

3rd Down Plays 9/18 5/12
Avg. YTG on 3rd 9.8 6.0
4th Down Plays 1/2 0/0

Penalties 6 3
Penalty Yards 60 20

Avg. Drive Start OWN 24 OWN 32
Time Of Possession 32:35 27:25


Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 17 110 6.4 36 0
33 Hayakawa 4 22 5.5 18 0
19 Goodwin 2 2 1.0 3 0
25 Edwards 1 14 14.0 14 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 31 17 258 8.3 56 2 1 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
26 Jeffries 5 27 5.4 8 12 1
86 Housley 3 90 30.0 23 35 0
82 Torres 3 29 9.6 6 13 0
80 Higginbotham 2 26 13.0 5 14 0
81 Hodges 2 77 38.5 7 56 0
42 Holliday 1 4 4.0 0 4 0
87 Emerson 1 5 5.0 0 5 1

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 1 17 17.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
35 Giles 2 52 26.0 0
81 Hodges 1 29 29.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 3 134 44.6 50 1

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 4 4 55 2 2

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
31 Enoch 8 1 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 6 1 0.0 1 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 5 1 1.0 0 0 0
93 King 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 4 2 0.0 0 0 0
44 Visser 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 2 0 0.0 1 0 0
97 Horn 1 2 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
86 Housley 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
38 Torres 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
27 Callis 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 3 0
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 3 0
62 Tollefson 0 0 0 0 2 0
80 Higginbotham 1 0 0 0 0 0
44 Visser 0 1 0 0 0 0
42 Holliday 1 0 0 0 0 0
84 Joyner 0 0 0 0 1 0
81 Hodges 0 0 1 0 0 0


Things were looking ugly early, as Tampa scored TDs on three of their first four possessions. But Goodwin, Holliday, and a recovered defense saved us from what would've been a second straight embarrassing loss.

This win puts us at 9-2, which is the best record in the conference. We're awesome.

[Fonzie]

Seattle has been one of the Western Conference's perennial contenders thanks to the two-headed offensive beast of QB Charles Dever and RB Burt Liskiewicz. Unfortunately for Seattle, Liskiewicz left in free agency for Cleveland, and Dever suffered a ruptured adductor muscle in Week 11. Heading into that Week 11 game Seattle was 6-3 - they've since dropped their last two (and would go on to lose their final 7 games) without Dever. This should be a walk in the park.

Thus, it won't be.

Box Score: Tucson at Seattle
Seattle, WA.

Week 13, 2012

Attendance: 57,900 (65,700).


Weather: 45 degrees, fair.

1Q: 04:23 TUC - Courtney Hodges 5 run.
1Q: 04:23 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 07:20 SEA - Ed Akin 2 run.
2Q: 07:20 SEA - Johnny Webster extra point.
2Q: 00:34 TUC - Drew Holliday 2 run.
2Q: 00:34 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 12:57 TUC - Hugo Eckard 38 field goal.
4Q: 04:37 SEA - Johnny Webster 18 field goal.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Tucson 7 7 0 3 - 17
Seattle 0 7 0 3 - 10

Team Statistics TUC SEA

First Downs 22 17

Total Rushes 31 24
Rushing Yards 134 72
Yards Per Carry 4.3 3.0
Pass Attempts 33 39
Completions 16 23
Passing Yards 276 219
Yards Per Attempt 8.3 5.6
Sacked 2 3
Yards Lost 10 16
Interceptions 0 1
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 0/0

Total Plays 66 66
Total Yards 400 275
Yards Per Play 6.0 4.1

3rd Down Plays 6/15 4/13
Avg. YTG on 3rd 8.0 7.8
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/1

Penalties 9 7
Penalty Yards 63 34

Avg. Drive Start OWN 24 OWN 27
Time Of Possession 29:56 30:04

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 22 89 4.0 13 1
33 Hayakawa 6 25 4.1 8 0
19 Goodwin 2 15 7.5 10 0
81 Hodges 1 5 5.0 5 1

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 33 16 276 8.3 30 0 0 2

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
80 Higginbotham 5 94 18.8 12 30 0
82 Torres 3 46 15.3 4 18 0
88 Parr 2 50 25.0 5 27 0
81 Hodges 2 39 19.5 0 22 0
26 Jeffries 1 9 9.0 3 9 0
86 Housley 1 13 13.0 1 13 0
25 Edwards 1 12 12.0 2 12 0
87 Emerson 1 13 13.0 2 13 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 1 -4 -4.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
35 Giles 2 52 26.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 6 222 37.0 42 3

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 1 3 38 2 2

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
31 Enoch 11 3 0.0 1 12 0
44 Visser 7 1 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 5 0 1.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 3 3 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 3 2 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
27 Callis 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 2 0 2.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 2 3 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 1 2 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
98 Crane 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
68 Kudrow 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
39 Burns 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 2 1
62 Tollefson 0 0 0 0 1 1
26 Jeffries 0 0 0 0 2 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 2 0
68 Kudrow 0 0 0 0 2 0
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 1 0


One of those head-scratcher games, here. We dominated Seattle statistically, yet only came away with a 7 point win. I don't see any easy explanations, other than their punter having a great game.

Still, a win is a win and we're now 10-2. That's good.

[Fonzie]

Speaking of stud QBs lost for the season, Charleston lost all-world QB Landon Hurst in week 9 to ACL surgery. They've given the keys to 2nd-year QB Luther Wylder, who looks to have a good future but is very green at the moment. Nevertheless, they've since gone to a run-heavy offense and have still managed to succeed. RB Archie Chasser leads the charge for them.

Did I mention that DT Stoltzfus is hurt again? *sigh*

Box Score: Tucson at Charleston (SC)
Charleston (SC), SC.

Week 14, 2012

Attendance: 98,000 (99,900).


Weather: 71 degrees, fair.

1Q: 01:23 TUC - Hugo Eckard 39 field goal.
2Q: 00:51 TUC - Hugo Eckard 24 field goal.
3Q: 11:06 TUC - Freddie Housley 15 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 11:06 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 14:51 TUC - Coleman Parr 8 pass from Kent Goodwin.
4Q: 14:51 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 04:55 CHT - Kris Lyle 48 field goal.
4Q: 02:03 TUC - Kelvin Hayakawa 8 run.
4Q: 02:03 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point failed.
4Q: 00:00 TUC - Hugo Eckard 36 field goal.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Tucson 3 3 7 16 - 29
Charleston (SC) 0 0 0 3 - 3

Team Statistics TUC CHT

First Downs 19 14

Total Rushes 34 41
Rushing Yards 169 124
Yards Per Carry 4.9 3.0
Pass Attempts 27 21
Completions 13 8
Passing Yards 198 96
Yards Per Attempt 7.3 4.5
Sacked 1 3
Yards Lost 5 15
Interceptions 1 0
Fumbles/Lost 1/1 3/3

Total Plays 62 65
Total Yards 362 205
Yards Per Play 5.8 3.1

3rd Down Plays 6/14 5/17
Avg. YTG on 3rd 6.5 9.5
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/1

Penalties 11 8
Penalty Yards 62 54

Avg. Drive Start OWN 39 OWN 23
Time Of Possession 31:20 28:40

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 18 88 4.8 13 0
33 Hayakawa 10 44 4.4 10 1
19 Goodwin 3 33 11.0 18 0
26 Jeffries 2 5 2.5 5 0
4 Hogan 1 -1 -1.0 -1 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 27 13 198 7.3 38 2 1 1

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
88 Parr 4 48 12.0 8 16 1
81 Hodges 4 78 19.5 9 38 0
86 Housley 2 34 17.0 7 19 1
82 Torres 1 16 16.0 3 16 0
25 Edwards 1 11 11.0 0 11 0
87 Emerson 1 11 11.0 0 11 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 4 15 3.7 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 1 22 22.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 5 180 36.0 54 2

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 3 3 39 2 3

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
31 Enoch 7 3 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 6 1 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 5 4 1.0 0 0 0
70 Neubauer 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
77 Van Brocklin 4 2 0.5 0 0 0
44 Visser 4 3 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 4 2 0.0 0 0 0
27 Callis 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 3 5 0.0 0 0 0
98 Crane 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 2 1 1.5 0 0 0
35 Giles 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
74 Cochrane 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
96 Muranaka 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Torres 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
68 Kudrow 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
33 Hayakawa 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 3 1
68 Kudrow 0 0 0 0 3 0
37 Rosenberry 0 0 1 0 0 0
44 Visser 0 0 1 0 0 0
58 Watford 0 1 0 0 0 0
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 1 0
90 Jarrard 0 0 1 0 0 0
42 Holliday 1 0 0 0 0 0
84 Joyner 0 0 0 0 1 0
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 1 0
35 Giles 0 1 0 0 0 0
50 Gaines 0 0 0 0 1 0
96 Muranaka 0 1 0 0 0 0


Goodwin didn't bring his "A" game, but he didn't need to today. Our defense was on fire, and the running game did enough damage to give us a convincing win. I'm impressed that our Run D did the job without our top run defender. His replacement, Gary Van Brocklin, has impressed me and appears to be a "creeper."

Good times.

[Fonzie]

Today we get a chance for redemption against division rival Las Vegas. A loss here would mean a sweep for them, which I suppose I could live with because I'd have no other choice but to die. Thus, we need to win. It would also be nice to maintain our 2 game lead on Honolulu (9-4).

Oh, and we're still without Stoltzfus.

Box Score: Las Vegas at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 15, 2012

Attendance: 66,000 (69,800).


Weather: 80 degrees, fair.

1Q: 09:44 LVS - Corwin Poole 9 pass from Lenny "Jackpot" Olsen.
1Q: 09:44 LVS - Felix Savoy extra point.
2Q: 12:36 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 10 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 12:36 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 05:04 TUC - Freddie Housley 11 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 05:04 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 01:45 LVS - Tommy Wolfe 45 pass from Lenny "Jackpot" Olsen.
2Q: 01:45 LVS - Felix Savoy extra point.
3Q: 10:23 TUC - Courtney Hodges 2 pass from Kent Goodwin.
3Q: 10:23 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 00:16 LVS - Felix Savoy 50 field goal.
4Q: 00:20 LVS - Tommy Wolfe 7 pass from Lenny "Jackpot" Olsen.
4Q: 00:20 LVS - Felix Savoy extra point.

Game MVP: LVS 1 Lenny "Jackpot" Olsen

Las Vegas 7 7 3 7 - 24
Tucson 0 14 7 0 - 21

Team Statistics LVS TUC

First Downs 24 25

Total Rushes 20 30
Rushing Yards 113 157
Yards Per Carry 5.6 5.2
Pass Attempts 43 39
Completions 22 20
Passing Yards 239 257
Yards Per Attempt 5.5 6.5
Sacked 1 0
Yards Lost 7 0
Interceptions 0 1
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 0/0

Total Plays 64 69
Total Yards 345 414
Yards Per Play 5.3 6.0

3rd Down Plays 2/11 6/14
Avg. YTG on 3rd 9.3 8.6
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 4 10
Penalty Yards 35 75

Avg. Drive Start OWN 26 OWN 27
Time Of Possession 28:49 31:11


Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 24 118 4.9 21 0
19 Goodwin 3 19 6.3 10 0
33 Hayakawa 3 20 6.6 7 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 39 20 257 6.5 28 3 1 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
26 Jeffries 5 38 7.6 15 13 1
82 Torres 5 72 14.4 16 23 0
86 Housley 3 55 18.3 4 28 1
88 Parr 2 32 16.0 8 20 0
42 Holliday 2 25 12.5 11 19 0
80 Higginbotham 1 19 19.0 5 19 0
81 Hodges 1 2 2.0 0 2 1
87 Emerson 1 14 14.0 3 14 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 2 3 1.5 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 3 62 20.6 0
35 Giles 1 19 19.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 6 260 43.3 52 3

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 0 1 0 3 3

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
31 Enoch 6 4 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 6 1 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 4 2 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 4 2 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 4 2 0.0 0 0 0
44 Visser 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
74 Cochrane 2 0 1.0 0 0 0
96 Muranaka 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
27 Callis 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
87 Emerson 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
77 Van Brocklin 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
26 Jeffries 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
82 Torres 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
81 Hodges 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
38 Torres 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
68 Kudrow 0 0 0 0 7 0
54 Reeves 0 0 0 0 2 0


Oof.

That is one tough loss to stomach. Primarily because of how it ended:

4-07-LVS35 (01:46) TUC 12 Eckard attempted a 52 yard field goal and missed short of the crossbar.

Possession to Las Vegas.

1-10-LVS42 (01:41) LVS 1 Olsen pass fell incomplete, intended for 83 Poole.
TUC 44 Visser defended the pass.

2-10-LVS42 (01:27) LVS 1 Olsen pass was dropped by 87 Lang.

3-10-LVS42 (01:14) LVS 1 Olsen pass completed to 81 Gerald for 14 yards.
Tackled by TUC 31 Enoch.
Penalty: TUC - Intentional Face Mask.
--
1-10-TUC29 (01:07) LVS 1 Olsen pass was blocked at the line, intended for 87 Lang.
TUC 75 Grier blocked the pass.
Penalty: TUC - Defensive Holding.
--
1-10-TUC24 (00:54) LVS 1 Olsen pass fell incomplete, intended for 87 Lang.
TUC 75 Grier hurried the quarterback into a bad throw.
Penalty: TUC - Too Many Men on the Field.

1-05-TUC19 (00:54) LVS 1 Olsen pass completed to 83 Poole for 12 yards.
Tackled by TUC 55 Trujillo.
--
1-07-TUC07 (00:32) LVS 1 Olsen spiked the ball to stop the clock.

2-07-TUC07 (00:27) LVS 1 Olsen pass completed to 84 Wolfe for 7 yards and a touchdown!
Extra point by LVS 18 Savoy was good.

First, we attempt an ill-advised 52 yard field goal with under two minutes remaining. If we punt it there Vegas will have, at minimum, an 80-yard field to traverse in very little time. If make the FG we have a 7-point lead, if we miss it we give them great field position. Of course, the worst possible outcome is what happened, and then the penalty flags started flying. Three straight plays netted them 25 free yards, setting Olsen up perfectly. Unbelievable.

Still, we're 11-3 and maintain a 2-game lead thanks to an Arizona upset over Honolulu.

[Fonzie]

We're catching Durham during a transition period, as their longtime QB Edward Kimber retired last offseason. That means we'll get to see 2nd-year man JJ Reid today, who has great potential but is currently very shaky. Still, they've got receiver Michael Browning ready to go, and he can be a game-changing force.

Box Score: Durham at Tucson
Tucson, AZ.

Week 16, 2012

Attendance: 66,000 (69,800).


Weather: 45 degrees, fair.

1Q: 05:52 TUC - Freddie Housley 41 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 05:52 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 00:46 TUC - Hugo Eckard 48 field goal.
2Q: 00:11 DUR - Victor Hoke 51 field goal.
3Q: 07:47 TUC - Drew Holliday 1 run.
3Q: 07:47 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 09:09 TUC - Corwin Jeffries 1 run.
4Q: 09:09 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
4Q: 01:01 TUC - Drew Holliday 1 run.
4Q: 01:01 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Durham 0 3 0 0 - 3
Tucson 10 0 7 14 - 31

Team Statistics DUR TUC

First Downs 18 26

Total Rushes 30 30
Rushing Yards 153 63
Yards Per Carry 5.1 2.1
Pass Attempts 39 37
Completions 20 20
Passing Yards 207 320
Yards Per Attempt 5.3 8.6
Sacked 5 0
Yards Lost 31 0
Interceptions 1 2
Fumbles/Lost 4/3 0/0

Total Plays 74 67
Total Yards 329 383
Yards Per Play 4.4 5.7

3rd Down Plays 8/17 6/11
Avg. YTG on 3rd 6.7 9.7
4th Down Plays 1/1 0/0

Penalties 9 13
Penalty Yards 44 109

Avg. Drive Start OWN 19 OWN 34
Time Of Possession 29:33 30:27

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
42 Holliday 16 62 3.8 13 2
33 Hayakawa 8 -6 -0.7 3 0
19 Goodwin 3 1 0.3 5 0
26 Jeffries 2 5 2.5 4 1
25 Edwards 1 1 1.0 1 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 37 20 320 8.6 41 1 2 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
86 Housley 6 109 18.1 10 41 1
81 Hodges 4 71 17.7 24 35 0
80 Higginbotham 3 37 12.3 5 16 0
26 Jeffries 3 26 8.6 20 13 0
82 Torres 1 15 15.0 4 15 0
84 Joyner 1 38 38.0 6 38 0
25 Edwards 1 8 8.0 7 8 0
87 Emerson 1 16 16.0 6 16 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 2 15 7.5 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
81 Hodges 1 27 27.0 0
35 Giles 1 30 30.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 4 184 46.0 50 2

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 1 1 48 4 4

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
90 Jarrard 7 3 1.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 7 3 0.0 0 0 0
44 Visser 7 1 0.0 1 18 0
34 McGarrity 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
58 Watford 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 4 2 2.0 0 0 0
77 Van Brocklin 3 0 1.0 0 0 0
75 Grier 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch 2 3 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
37 Rosenberry 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
98 Crane 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 1 1 1.0 0 0 0
27 Callis 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
62 Tollefson 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
80 Higginbotham 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
86 Housley 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
54 Reeves 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
68 Kudrow 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
96 Muranaka 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
39 Burns 1 0 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
62 Tollefson 0 0 0 0 6 0
44 Visser 0 0 1 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus 0 1 0 0 0 0
75 Grier 0 1 0 0 0 0
97 Horn 0 0 1 0 0 0
82 Torres 0 0 0 0 1 0
34 McGarrity 0 1 0 0 0 0
77 Van Brocklin 0 1 0 0 0 0
96 Muranaka 0 0 1 0 0 0



That was kind of a weird game. Statistically we were fairly even, and we weren't too far apart on turnovers. In fact, we were penalized over twice as much yardage as Durham, yet we managed to blow them out. I'm not sure how that happened, aside from our better field position. Hmph.

We're now 12-3 and have officially claimed the best record in the league this season. Thus, we've got homefield advantage locked up for the playoffs. That means we'll be resting some guys next week.

[Fonzie]

I desperately want to beat the snot out of Arizona for the loss they handed us earlier this season, but I more desperately want to be healthy for the playoffs. So, most of our starters are benched or have had their PT scaled back for this meaningless contest.

Box Score: Tucson at Arizona
Arizona, AZ.

Week 17, 2012

Attendance: 40,400 (63,000).


Weather: 80 degrees, fair.

1Q: 13:29 TUC - Freddie Housley 9 pass from Kent Goodwin.
1Q: 13:29 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 08:39 TUC - Kelvin Hayakawa 2 run.
1Q: 08:39 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
1Q: 01:56 TUC - Hugo Eckard 25 field goal.
2Q: 13:40 ARI - Alfred Austin 9 pass from Freddie Mathias.
2Q: 13:40 ARI - Paul Stephan extra point.
2Q: 09:21 TUC - Freddie Housley 24 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 09:21 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
2Q: 04:46 ARI - Paul Stephan 31 field goal.
2Q: 01:56 TUC - Jake Emerson 35 pass from Kent Goodwin.
2Q: 01:56 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.
3Q: 08:26 TUC - Coleman Parr 8 pass from Milan "Colonel" Hogan.
3Q: 08:26 TUC - Hugo Eckard extra point.

Game MVP: TUC 19 Kent Goodwin

Tucson 17 14 7 0 - 38
Arizona 0 10 0 0 - 10

Team Statistics TUC ARI

First Downs 24 18

Total Rushes 41 22
Rushing Yards 152 95
Yards Per Carry 3.7 4.3
Pass Attempts 26 32
Completions 18 17
Passing Yards 287 260
Yards Per Attempt 11.0 8.1
Sacked 0 1
Yards Lost 0 7
Interceptions 0 1
Fumbles/Lost 1/0 3/3

Total Plays 67 55
Total Yards 439 348
Yards Per Play 6.5 6.3

3rd Down Plays 9/14 5/11
Avg. YTG on 3rd 5.7 6.4
4th Down Plays 0/0 0/0

Penalties 6 4
Penalty Yards 43 30

Avg. Drive Start OWN 40 OWN 17
Time Of Possession 35:40 24:20

Tucson Individual Statistics

Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
33 Hayakawa 17 57 3.3 14 1
42 Holliday 16 62 3.8 13 0
25 Edwards 6 24 4.0 10 0
80 Higginbotham 1 3 3.0 3 0
26 Jeffries 1 6 6.0 6 0

Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
19 Goodwin 19 11 204 10.7 35 3 0 0
4 Hogan 6 6 65 10.8 18 1 0 0
9 Weinke 1 1 18 18.0 18 0 0 0

Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
86 Housley 6 106 17.6 7 24 2
81 Hodges 3 56 18.6 5 26 0
87 Emerson 3 59 19.6 6 35 1
88 Parr 2 26 13.0 7 18 1
80 Higginbotham 1 16 16.0 1 16 0
26 Jeffries 1 8 8.0 0 8 0
82 Torres 1 12 12.0 2 12 0
25 Edwards 1 4 4.0 5 4 0

Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
42 Holliday 2 -5 -2.5 0
88 Parr 1 21 21.0 0

Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
35 Giles 2 62 31.0 0

Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
15 Winters 3 137 45.6 65 3

Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
12 Eckard 1 2 25 5 5

Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
27 Callis 7 1 0.0 0 0 0
52 Wash 6 0 0.0 0 0 0
38 Torres 5 2 0.0 0 0 0
74 Cochrane 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
35 Giles 3 1 0.0 1 10 0
39 Burns 3 1 0.0 0 0 0
97 Horn 2 1 1.0 0 0 0
72 Bernard 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
34 McGarrity 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
44 Visser 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
88 Parr 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 King 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
32 Hartung 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
90 Jarrard 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
98 Crane 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
77 Van Brocklin 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
29 Hawkins 0 1 0.0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
62 Tollefson 0 0 0 0 3 0
68 Kudrow 0 0 0 0 3 0
50 Gaines 0 0 0 0 2 0
38 Torres 0 1 1 0 0 0
67 Smalls 0 0 0 0 1 0
44 Visser 0 1 0 0 0 0
52 Wash 0 1 0 0 0 0
71 Franck 0 0 0 0 1 0
82 Torres 0 0 0 0 1 0
64 Connell 0 0 0 0 1 0
60 Poplawski 0 0 0 0 1 0
19 Goodwin 0 0 1 0 0 0
78 Van Buren 0 0 0 0 1 0
35 Giles 0 0 1 0 0 0
77 Van Brocklin 0 0 1 0 0 0
33 Hayakawa 1 0 0 0 0 0


Revenge is mine!

I'm quite surprised by this result, as we had a lot of backups out there today, and Goodwin was pulled for the 2nd half. Go figure.

That puts us at 13-3 to end the season, which marks the 2nd-best regular season record in club history (last year we were 14-2). Next up: team summary.

[Fonzie]

Here are the numbers:

Front Office Football 2004
2012 Summary for Tucson Toros

Record: 13-3
Winning Pct.: .833

Tucson Toros Team Rank
Rushes 455 19
Rushing Yards 2086 7
Yards Per Carry 4.58 2 (T)
Pass Attempts 546 10 (T)
Completions 299 20
Passing Yards 4442 3
Yards Per Attempt 8.13 3
3rd Down Conversions 43.4 16
Points Per Game 28.3 1
Turnovers 15 2 (T)
Turnover Margin +11 3

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 450 11
Rushing Yards 1803 12
Yards Per Carry 4.00 14
Pass Attempts 579 29 (T)
Completions 299 16 (T)
Passing Yards 4145 27
Yards Per Attempt 7.15 17
3rd Down Conversions 41.1 10
Points Per Game 16.8 4 (T)
Turnovers 26 9 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 41 HON 14
2 35 at BAL 27
3 14 DEN 6
4 23 at SCU 17
6 19 at LVS 33
7 38 HBE 20
8 23 at SAC 20
9 34 LBE 20
10 51 at HON 21
11 14 ARI 20
12 26 TBY 21
13 17 at SEA 10
14 29 at CHT 3
15 21 LVS 24
16 31 DUR 3
17 38 at ARI 10


Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
19 Goodwin QB 535 290 4332 8.09 40 10
**Team --- 546 299 4442 8.13 41 10

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
42 Holliday RB 224 1052 4.69 5
33 Hayakawa RB 159 629 3.95 4
25 Edwards RB 33 236 7.15 1
**Team --- 455 2086 4.58 12

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
80 Higginbotham WR 105 58 911 15.7 117 5
86 Housley WR 108 49 916 18.6 158 13
81 Hodges WR 89 49 878 17.9 143 7
82 Torres TE 63 36 495 13.7 123 2
26 Jeffries FB 41 31 280 9.0 107 2
88 Parr WR 60 27 359 13.2 50 7
87 Emerson WR 31 16 246 15.3 22 3
**Team --- 545 299 4442 14.8 818 41

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
31 Enoch S 94 29 0.0 0 1 15
55 Trujillo OLB 68 23 1.0 0 0 8
44 Visser S 63 22 0.0 0 4 11
90 Jarrard ILB 61 31 1.0 1 0 5
58 Watford OLB 53 15 0.0 0 1 2
34 McGarrity CB 45 8 0.0 0 2 15
35 Giles CB 43 10 0.5 0 3 17
70 Neubauer DT 41 18 5.5 6 0 2
37 Rosenberry CB 40 8 0.0 0 2 7
75 Grier DE 40 22 6.5 9 0 0
27 Callis CB 39 11 0.0 0 1 5
95 Stoltzfus DT 37 20 8.0 15 0 0
93 King OLB 35 6 1.0 1 0 1
77 Van Brocklin DT 22 7 2.0 5 0 0
72 Bernard DE 20 14 1.0 8 0 0
97 Horn DE 19 10 7.5 27 0 0
**Team --- 831 272 36.0 78 14 95

A few comments:

- I heart Kent Goodwin. The guy set new club records for passing yards, TD passes, and QB Rating (98.1). I hope to god that he translates into FOF2k7 well, as we're sunk without him.

- Drew Holliday managed his 7th-straight 1000 yard rushing season despite missing several games to injury. He's now 10th in league history with 9611 rushing yards on 2189 carries (4.39 avg). He's 2nd in league history with 68 rushing TDs. His career is likely winding down due to age/injury, and I fear what 2k7 will do to this poor guy. But he's been a great part of our offense for a long time.

- Demetrius Higginbotham set new career highs with 58 receptions and 911 yards. He's now ranked 30th in league history, and tops in club history, with 6658 receiving yards.

- Freddie Housley set a new team record with 13 TD catches this season.

- We set new club records for points per game (28.4), passing yards (277.4) and total yards (408).

- When we could wheel Stoltzfus onto the field he was great. His 8 sacks were tops on the team.

- Unsung hero of the year: DE Albert Horn. Albert is a situational pass rusher, and nabbed 7.5 sacks and 27 hurries in part-time duty.

Next up: the playoffs!