Post by 50yardfan on Apr 18, 2011 13:25:30 GMT -5
Reno Barons make explosive debut with rout of Tucson
www.rgj.com/article/20110418/SPORTS/104180316/Reno-Barons-make-explosive-debut-rout-Tucson?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p
The Reno Barons' lead-up to their debut Sunday was anything but stable.
The indoor football team fired its first head coach, Major Harris; promoted Anthony Bartley to the top job; and adjusted the roster plenty in the past month.
What else could possibly happen?
The Barons' first scheduled opponent, the Duo Sports Thundercats of San Diego, didn't arrange their bus to Reno in time. Luckily, the Tucson Trojans, a team in its first year, made it to Reno early Sunday for the 7 p.m. kickoff at the Reno Events Center.
They might have felt that was a bad decision because the Barons dominated the game and started off their inaugural season with a 67-8 victory in front of 2,315.
"This means a lot to me," Hug High grad Issac Porter said. "I have a lot of family and a lot of fans here, so it's really nice."
The field, made of AstroTurf, was laid in strips across the cement with a few visible bumps.
Indoor football is an extremely fast-paced game, with players scrambling around the short field and getting knocked into the yellow walls surrounding the field.
Defense is tough with a shorter field (50 yards), but it is perhaps the key to the game, as the Barons proved. Reno finished with six interceptions and three fumble recoveries, including one in the end zone.
"This game is designed for defenses to struggle," Bartley said. "To me, it's a moral victory to give up just one score."
That lone touchdown was a 30-yard heave in the second quarter and the only moment all game that silenced the spectators in the Reno Events Center.
Fans on the east side can sit right up against the yellow wall, but those on the south and west sides sit at least 10 to 15 feet back.
But there is no lack of action for anyone, as balls bounce off walls and beams across the ceiling and end up flying into the stands.
"This game is a lot faster," Porter said.
The kicking game is a bit different than that of the NFL or college football.
The posts are much closer together, making it more difficult to sink a field goal or an extra point
Also, there is an opportunity to score offensively on every kickoff, as Reno kicker Merf Trout showed early in the first quarter.
If the kick sails through the uprights on the other side of the field, the kicking team scores one point, or an "uno."
But if the ball flies over the barrier without landing inside the posts, the receiving team starts on its own 20-yard line, just 30 yards from the end zone.
An uno also can be scored if the receiving team gets tackled before it runs out of its own end zone. The Trojans fell victim to this late in the first half.
The Barons have been practicing for about a month, but their chemistry already is starting to develop.
"I've never gotten this close with a team this fast," Porter said.
But just like any coach, Bartley feels there's more work to be done.
"I think it's going to take two or three games for us to get our timing down and build our confidence," he said.
ABOUT THE BARONS
What: A professional indoor football team that made its debut with a 67-8 victory over the Tucson Trojans on Sunday at the Reno Events Center.
Affiliation: Independent.
Next Game: vs. the San Jose Wolves, Friday at 7 p.m.
Tickets: $14-$46, Reno Events Center box office
www.rgj.com/article/20110418/SPORTS/104180316/Reno-Barons-make-explosive-debut-rout-Tucson?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p
The Reno Barons' lead-up to their debut Sunday was anything but stable.
The indoor football team fired its first head coach, Major Harris; promoted Anthony Bartley to the top job; and adjusted the roster plenty in the past month.
What else could possibly happen?
The Barons' first scheduled opponent, the Duo Sports Thundercats of San Diego, didn't arrange their bus to Reno in time. Luckily, the Tucson Trojans, a team in its first year, made it to Reno early Sunday for the 7 p.m. kickoff at the Reno Events Center.
They might have felt that was a bad decision because the Barons dominated the game and started off their inaugural season with a 67-8 victory in front of 2,315.
"This means a lot to me," Hug High grad Issac Porter said. "I have a lot of family and a lot of fans here, so it's really nice."
The field, made of AstroTurf, was laid in strips across the cement with a few visible bumps.
Indoor football is an extremely fast-paced game, with players scrambling around the short field and getting knocked into the yellow walls surrounding the field.
Defense is tough with a shorter field (50 yards), but it is perhaps the key to the game, as the Barons proved. Reno finished with six interceptions and three fumble recoveries, including one in the end zone.
"This game is designed for defenses to struggle," Bartley said. "To me, it's a moral victory to give up just one score."
That lone touchdown was a 30-yard heave in the second quarter and the only moment all game that silenced the spectators in the Reno Events Center.
Fans on the east side can sit right up against the yellow wall, but those on the south and west sides sit at least 10 to 15 feet back.
But there is no lack of action for anyone, as balls bounce off walls and beams across the ceiling and end up flying into the stands.
"This game is a lot faster," Porter said.
The kicking game is a bit different than that of the NFL or college football.
The posts are much closer together, making it more difficult to sink a field goal or an extra point
Also, there is an opportunity to score offensively on every kickoff, as Reno kicker Merf Trout showed early in the first quarter.
If the kick sails through the uprights on the other side of the field, the kicking team scores one point, or an "uno."
But if the ball flies over the barrier without landing inside the posts, the receiving team starts on its own 20-yard line, just 30 yards from the end zone.
An uno also can be scored if the receiving team gets tackled before it runs out of its own end zone. The Trojans fell victim to this late in the first half.
The Barons have been practicing for about a month, but their chemistry already is starting to develop.
"I've never gotten this close with a team this fast," Porter said.
But just like any coach, Bartley feels there's more work to be done.
"I think it's going to take two or three games for us to get our timing down and build our confidence," he said.
ABOUT THE BARONS
What: A professional indoor football team that made its debut with a 67-8 victory over the Tucson Trojans on Sunday at the Reno Events Center.
Affiliation: Independent.
Next Game: vs. the San Jose Wolves, Friday at 7 p.m.
Tickets: $14-$46, Reno Events Center box office