|
 |
|
Season Tickets |
Sting's Defense Swarms Thunder, Holds On For 16-9 Win 03.14.09 - story by Ben Murphy The Saginaw Sting's offense just couldn't get themselves going against the Thunder during their Indoor Football League (IFL) season opener Friday, March 13 at Muskegon. Fortunately for the Sting, their defense held the Thunder to nine points, allowing Saginaw to hold on to a 16-9 win. “We were a little sluggish,” Sting Head Coach Karl Featherstone said. “But it was the first game and first eight man game so I give them a little leeway, but still not up to my standards really.” Neither team was able to find the end zone in the first quarter, as both teams failed to cash in on opportunities. “Our timing was off,” Featherstone said about his offense. “We had some receivers open at time and we weren't able to execute the plays.” However, in the second quarter the Sting were able to cash in on two scoring drives. First on a 10 yard pass from Damon Dowdell to Nate Collins, and later on a 43 yard field goal by Anthony Gallagher. The two scores allowed the Sting to take a 10-7 lead at the half. The defenses continued to dominate in the third quarter. The only score in the period occurred on a Muskegon safety, cutting Saginaw's lead to a slim 10-9 margin going into the final frame. “That was big,” Featherstone said of the score. “The timing on that play was actually great. We started getting our legs back at tat point. There wasn't time to put more points up though.” “I'll take the win as ugly as it was,” Featherstone said. The Sting intercepted Thunder quarterback Dan Richard three times, and Cullen Finnerty who came in a few times to spark the Thunder offense was intercepted once. Hauling in the picks were Ernie Smith, Ruben Gay, Corey Gonzales. McKenzie also had 14 tackles on the play. Despite seeing his defense only giving up 9 points, there were still some things Featherstone saw that he didn't like in his defensive unit. “There were times we let Muskegon out of some third and forever downs,” he said. “We still have to work to do and see if we can get back up to the specifications that I'm satisfied with.” The Sting are now set for their home opener, Friday March 20 against the River City Rage. The Rage are coming off a 6-8 record last year in the United Indoor Football league. While Featherstone is still working on the scouting report for Friday's contest, he knows that Rage head coach Rick Richards, who previously coached in the Continental Indoor Football League with the Rock River Raptors is going to have his team ready. “He's coming to win, bottom line,” Featherstone said. “He's a good coach and they plan on coming here to win. We need to be prepared and walk into our house and take it away from them.” While Featherstone is glad his team won their first game in the IFL, he knows they have to improve if “If we're going to be more competitive in this game we're going to have to execute a whole lot better,” he said. “We're going to have to start right off the (start) executing our plays. The teams in this league are not going to wait around for us to get our game going.” Friday's home opener begins at 7:05 p.m.
|
|
