[MIJB#19]

Merchantmen Drop To 1-2 In Pre-Season
Coming back to Maassluis, the Merchantmen won't have a winning record in the 2008 pre-season. With a 23-20 victory, the Frederick Red Menace defended their home soil well. Justin McDavid once again made good decissions at quarterback, but more fumbles make the coaching staff worried. The defense looked hopeless and has a lot to improve in the regular season. Injuries hit again as rookie Scott Bagley joins the list of inactive players for the last pre-season game.

Lenny Roberts wants more playing time and with 113 yards and 2 touchdowns the running back has a case. Running through the decent Merchantmen defense, Roberts was the key element in a 23-20 victory. In the end the score was even closer than the game was as the Red Menace wasted a 20-0 lead and allowed 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Justin McDavid once again enjoyed wearing the orange-white-and-blue outfit. McDavid quarterbacked his men well as he completed 18 of 28 passes for 175 yards and 3 touchdowns versus 1 interception. McDavid connected with Charlie Martins, Jerry Beyer and Alfredo Rhodes for the scores McDavid even worked his butt off for others as he recovered a fumble of a teammate.

But as McDavid recovered a fumble, it was one of three own recoveries. Like in the previous two pre-season games, the Merchantmen as a team combined for four fumbles and the stories of the curse of Fumblin' Justin boiled up again. Gregory Monti and Desmond Carlisle joined the list of players with a fumble. Kyle Montoya and Jerry Beyer added their second fumble of the pre-season.

But as the offense fumbled, the defense looked even more hopeless. While allowing 440 total yards concerns are rising about how great the system can be in Maassluis. It may have been pre-season, but the Merchantmen started a lot of potential starters, including some true starters. Allowing 237 yards for the entire game, the pressure is on Charles Gomez, Cody Cluff and Lincoln Gilmore even more during the regular season.

Rookie Scott Bagley will likely miss the regular season start. The kickoff return specialised running back picked up a nasty back injury and is listed as out for the next pre-season game. Bagley joins defensive tackle Andrew Rasmussen on the list of players tagged as 'out'. Albert Bernardo and Mike Kershner are expected to return in time for regular season action.

Who will play in the last pre-season game is still a mystery. The team management has spoken with the coaching staff about the option to let the starters handle the home game against the Miami Sharks. But seeing the trend in recent games, the Merchantmen are likely to stick with the current depth chart and let the backups and youngsters handle the pre-season.