Post by 50yardfan on Jul 11, 2010 9:10:41 GMT -5
trib.com/sports/pro/article_f84cc7bd-3c5e-5d5c-8cfb-c431d70a5bf0.html
San Jose vows to not be the same team that dropped a 47-26 decision to Wyoming in last week's regular-season finale.
The Wolves also might not want to resemble the team that lost twice to the Cavalry earlier in the season.
And although last week's game had no bearing on either team's playoff positioning, the winner of tonight's game at the Casper Events Center will be the Western Division champion of the American Indoor Football Association and will play the winner of Saturday's late game between Baltimore and Harrisburg in AIFA Bowl IV on July 24.
"It all comes down to execution," San Jose coach Bennie King said. "At this point [of the season], it comes down to the players ... we have to match the [Cavs'] intensity."
The Wolves (10-5) weren't able to do that last week as the Cavs built a 26-5 lead and cruised to the victory.
Wyoming (14-1) used the same formula in its two earlier wins over the Wolves.
On April 16, the Cavs led 32-7 at the half en route to a 54-25 win and on May 22 they jumped out to a 38-7 halftime lead before holding on for an 80-53 victory.
If San Jose is going to finally beat Wyoming, King knows the Wolves will have to get off to a better start.
"What you have to do on the road is jump out early," he said. "We have to take the crowd out of it because they can be pretty raucous at the Events Center."
Both King and Cavs coach Dan Maciejczak know it's not easy to beat a team four times in one season, but they also know there were extenuating circumstances in last week's game.
w San Jose, knowing it had locked up the No. 2 seed out of the West, chose to rest some key starters rather than risk an injury.
The strategy seemed to work in that backup quarterback Patrick Carras suffered a concussion at the end of the first half, forcing normal starter Omar Jacobs onto the field.
Jacobs completed 8-of-16 passes for 139 yards and three touchdowns in the second half.
w Wyoming, which was playing for only the second time in six weeks and was coming off a lackluster loss the previous week, decided to play its starters throughout.
"I felt like we had to play [our starters] in order to knock the dust off and get back to where we were," Maciejczak said. "We just had to go out and play as hard as we could and do a lot of basic things.
"I felt like we got a lot more accomplished than if we would have rested guys."
Veteran quarterback Matt Strand picked apart the Wolves' secondary, completing 17 of 23 passes for 204 yards and five TDs.
And the Wyoming defense made life miserable for Carras in the first half as they came up with six sacks and an interception.
Despite the big win, Maciejczak said the Cavs have plenty more to show the Wolves tonight.
"For us, we had to get back to playing football," he said, "but we didn't do a lot of different things because we wanted to save everything we had for [tonight's] game."
Obviously, neither the Wolves nor the Cavs will be saving anything tonight.
CARRAS OK: San Jose quarterback Patrick Carras, who suffered a concussion and had to be carried off the field in last week's game, has returned to California and is "doing well," according to Wolves' coach Bennie King, who also praised the Wyoming Cavalry medical staff and local EMTs for their quick response in taking care of Carras.
Contact sports reporter Jack Nowlin at (307) 266-0528 or jack.nowlin@trib.com.
Cavalry Tracker
TONIGHT: San Jose at Wyoming, Casper Events Center, 6:05 p.m.
RECORDS: Wolves (10-5); Cavalry (14-1).
WHAT'S AT STAKE: The Western Division championship of the American Indoor Football Association.
FOURMALITY? The Cavs are 3-0 against the Wolves this season and are seeking their fourth consecutive trip to a league title game.
HE SAID IT: "We have to take the crowd out of it because they can be pretty raucous at the Events Center." -- San Jose coach Bennie King.
NEXT: The winner takes on the winner of Saturday's late game between Baltimore and Harrisburg in AIFA Bowl IV on July 24.
LIVE BLOG: Log on to trib.com/special-section/local to follow along and join tonight's live blog.
San Jose vows to not be the same team that dropped a 47-26 decision to Wyoming in last week's regular-season finale.
The Wolves also might not want to resemble the team that lost twice to the Cavalry earlier in the season.
And although last week's game had no bearing on either team's playoff positioning, the winner of tonight's game at the Casper Events Center will be the Western Division champion of the American Indoor Football Association and will play the winner of Saturday's late game between Baltimore and Harrisburg in AIFA Bowl IV on July 24.
"It all comes down to execution," San Jose coach Bennie King said. "At this point [of the season], it comes down to the players ... we have to match the [Cavs'] intensity."
The Wolves (10-5) weren't able to do that last week as the Cavs built a 26-5 lead and cruised to the victory.
Wyoming (14-1) used the same formula in its two earlier wins over the Wolves.
On April 16, the Cavs led 32-7 at the half en route to a 54-25 win and on May 22 they jumped out to a 38-7 halftime lead before holding on for an 80-53 victory.
If San Jose is going to finally beat Wyoming, King knows the Wolves will have to get off to a better start.
"What you have to do on the road is jump out early," he said. "We have to take the crowd out of it because they can be pretty raucous at the Events Center."
Both King and Cavs coach Dan Maciejczak know it's not easy to beat a team four times in one season, but they also know there were extenuating circumstances in last week's game.
w San Jose, knowing it had locked up the No. 2 seed out of the West, chose to rest some key starters rather than risk an injury.
The strategy seemed to work in that backup quarterback Patrick Carras suffered a concussion at the end of the first half, forcing normal starter Omar Jacobs onto the field.
Jacobs completed 8-of-16 passes for 139 yards and three touchdowns in the second half.
w Wyoming, which was playing for only the second time in six weeks and was coming off a lackluster loss the previous week, decided to play its starters throughout.
"I felt like we had to play [our starters] in order to knock the dust off and get back to where we were," Maciejczak said. "We just had to go out and play as hard as we could and do a lot of basic things.
"I felt like we got a lot more accomplished than if we would have rested guys."
Veteran quarterback Matt Strand picked apart the Wolves' secondary, completing 17 of 23 passes for 204 yards and five TDs.
And the Wyoming defense made life miserable for Carras in the first half as they came up with six sacks and an interception.
Despite the big win, Maciejczak said the Cavs have plenty more to show the Wolves tonight.
"For us, we had to get back to playing football," he said, "but we didn't do a lot of different things because we wanted to save everything we had for [tonight's] game."
Obviously, neither the Wolves nor the Cavs will be saving anything tonight.
CARRAS OK: San Jose quarterback Patrick Carras, who suffered a concussion and had to be carried off the field in last week's game, has returned to California and is "doing well," according to Wolves' coach Bennie King, who also praised the Wyoming Cavalry medical staff and local EMTs for their quick response in taking care of Carras.
Contact sports reporter Jack Nowlin at (307) 266-0528 or jack.nowlin@trib.com.
Cavalry Tracker
TONIGHT: San Jose at Wyoming, Casper Events Center, 6:05 p.m.
RECORDS: Wolves (10-5); Cavalry (14-1).
WHAT'S AT STAKE: The Western Division championship of the American Indoor Football Association.
FOURMALITY? The Cavs are 3-0 against the Wolves this season and are seeking their fourth consecutive trip to a league title game.
HE SAID IT: "We have to take the crowd out of it because they can be pretty raucous at the Events Center." -- San Jose coach Bennie King.
NEXT: The winner takes on the winner of Saturday's late game between Baltimore and Harrisburg in AIFA Bowl IV on July 24.
LIVE BLOG: Log on to trib.com/special-section/local to follow along and join tonight's live blog.