Post by 50yardfan on Mar 18, 2011 9:08:34 GMT -5
HARRISBURG, PA (March 18, 2011) - After finishing 12-4 and advancing to the conference championship game in just their second season of play one may think the Harrisburg Stampede's focus is on the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) championship game.
Speaking with experience that comes from winning over 75 percent of his games and a national championship as an indoor football head coach, Stampede General Manager and Head Coach Bernie Nowotarski knows the road to championships is paved one game at a time.
"This early in the season you want to concentrate on just getting better each day, stay focused on the task at hand and focus on game number one; no other game matters right now. When that one is over you fix what you can and re-focus," commented Nowotarski.
The Stampede starts its championship journey this Sunday, March 20th at 4:00 PM at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex Equine Arena against, perhaps their biggest rivals, the Erie Explosion.
In an offseason, which saw the hiring of Nowotarski, the move of the Stampede to the SIFL, and with the transfer to the SIFL, a switch to Arena Football League style rules, one constant still remains; wins and losses against Erie go a long way toward determining the Stampede's overall success.
In 2009, the Stampede's first season, Harrisburg quickly established itself as a force to be reckoned with by earning their first road win in Erie; a 34-31 victory over the northwestern PA club. They also took the season series against Erie by winning two of three battles.
The 2010 season brought much good fortune for Erie with an 8-3 record against the rest of the league, but a 0-4 tally against Harrisburg. The Stampede also earned their first playoff victory in franchise history by defeating Erie 52-48 in the East Division playoffs.
Heading into 2011 the Stampede hold a 6-1 advantage over Erie, but this season their match-ups against the Explosion loom even larger in the three-team Northeast Division.
With four contests against Erie and four games against the expansion Trenton Steel a full 66 percent of the Stampede's games will be division match-ups; which of course will go a long way toward determining the Northeast Division champion.
The first of those battles take place this Sunday. For Stampede fans familiar faces Eugene Goodman, Will Hines, and Archie Smith will take the field. Jermaine Thaxton who played for Harrisburg in 2009 before leading Baltimore to a championship in 2010 returns to the Herd.
Nowotarski has also added a mix of veterans such as kicker J.R. Cipra and rookies like Nick Watkins from Clemson. After playoff berths in three of their four seasons, but no postseason wins to show for their regular season success, the Explosion have also re-tooled to take the team to the next level.
Following Sunday's game we will see which club earns early bragging rights for Pennsylvania indoor football superiority and also takes the early Northeast Division lead.
With Coach Nowotarski's one game at a time approach fully entrenched, the Stampede will quickly put their first game in the season's rear view mirror and then turn their focus down the road to game number two in Fayetteville.
Speaking with experience that comes from winning over 75 percent of his games and a national championship as an indoor football head coach, Stampede General Manager and Head Coach Bernie Nowotarski knows the road to championships is paved one game at a time.
"This early in the season you want to concentrate on just getting better each day, stay focused on the task at hand and focus on game number one; no other game matters right now. When that one is over you fix what you can and re-focus," commented Nowotarski.
The Stampede starts its championship journey this Sunday, March 20th at 4:00 PM at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex Equine Arena against, perhaps their biggest rivals, the Erie Explosion.
In an offseason, which saw the hiring of Nowotarski, the move of the Stampede to the SIFL, and with the transfer to the SIFL, a switch to Arena Football League style rules, one constant still remains; wins and losses against Erie go a long way toward determining the Stampede's overall success.
In 2009, the Stampede's first season, Harrisburg quickly established itself as a force to be reckoned with by earning their first road win in Erie; a 34-31 victory over the northwestern PA club. They also took the season series against Erie by winning two of three battles.
The 2010 season brought much good fortune for Erie with an 8-3 record against the rest of the league, but a 0-4 tally against Harrisburg. The Stampede also earned their first playoff victory in franchise history by defeating Erie 52-48 in the East Division playoffs.
Heading into 2011 the Stampede hold a 6-1 advantage over Erie, but this season their match-ups against the Explosion loom even larger in the three-team Northeast Division.
With four contests against Erie and four games against the expansion Trenton Steel a full 66 percent of the Stampede's games will be division match-ups; which of course will go a long way toward determining the Northeast Division champion.
The first of those battles take place this Sunday. For Stampede fans familiar faces Eugene Goodman, Will Hines, and Archie Smith will take the field. Jermaine Thaxton who played for Harrisburg in 2009 before leading Baltimore to a championship in 2010 returns to the Herd.
Nowotarski has also added a mix of veterans such as kicker J.R. Cipra and rookies like Nick Watkins from Clemson. After playoff berths in three of their four seasons, but no postseason wins to show for their regular season success, the Explosion have also re-tooled to take the team to the next level.
Following Sunday's game we will see which club earns early bragging rights for Pennsylvania indoor football superiority and also takes the early Northeast Division lead.
With Coach Nowotarski's one game at a time approach fully entrenched, the Stampede will quickly put their first game in the season's rear view mirror and then turn their focus down the road to game number two in Fayetteville.