CINCINNATI MARSHALS (1-2) at BEAUMONT DRILLERS (4-1)
April 16, 2005 at Ford Center Beaumont, TX
When Cincinnati embarked on their new era of indoor football March 26, the ones to rudely usher them into it with a 36-24 defeat at U.S. Bank Arena were the Beaumont Drillers. Now, four weeks later the Marshals must endure the their first road experience against that same Beaumont team.
While the Drillers controlled much of that first contest, including a 18-3 second half advantage, both teams have added enough to keep the outcome of this game from being obvious.
Beaumont may have had two games under their belt, but they were still struggling to choose between backup quarterbacks Kasey Nonette and Aubrey Jones. With Saldana still out, Jones has taken over full responsibility of that role. As the main guy last week, he was able to complete 13 of 26 passes
The Drillers have also had a few weeks to get star receiver Shockmain Davis back into the fold. Davis just joined the team in Cincinnati, catching just one pass. He was able to break one big kickr return as well, but his impact could be even greater this week. In addition, with Chad Luttrull out, Pat Palmer has emered as a favorite target for Jones. Catching just one pass against the Marshals, Palmer hauled in three touchdowns against Lubbock in a 60-47 win last week.
The upgraded passing game could spell trouble for the Marshals, since the Drillers already had their way running the ball against Cincinnati last time. Even with starting running back Anthony Johnson suffering a shoulder injury early in the game, the Drillers piled up over 100 rushing yards, led by replacement Roland Hayes and a 300-plus pound offensive line. The Marshals rank 17th in the 22-team NIFL, allowing over 81-yards per game to their opponents, a stat aided by the fact Fayette ran only once the entire second half last week.
Fortunately, Cincinnati's roster has improved since that first contest as well. First they added defensive back Ron Carpenter to a secondary that has picked off a pair of passes in each of their first three games. Carpenter accounted for one of those in his first appearance against River City. Tim Wilkins had both in the first matchup with Beaumont, and added another last week to place second in the NIFL with three. Being tied for eighth in the league as a team with an average of two picks per game has enabled them to overcome a pass defense that ranks at the bottom of the league.
Offensively, the Marshals picked up center Matt Mercer, who provided an immediate boost. With quarterback Brett Dietz now getting protection from his former grade school classmate, Dietz was able to have his best game yet, completing 18 of 25 passes for a season-high 156 yards. Dietz also avoided the critical mistakes which cost the team in losses to Beaumont and River City.
Dietz may get a boost from leading receiver Tobias Deans, who will be returning to his home territory this week. Deans dropped a costly touchdown pass to start the River City game, but bounced back with seven catches last week, including the first Cincinnati touchdown by someone other than Rayshawn Askew since the first half of the first Beaumont game.
If Dietz and Deans can continue their improvement, that should allow Askew to far more options than he had when he was stuffed for five yards on nine carries in the second half the last time these two teams played.
The Drillers have put together an impressive streak since an opening night loss to Odessa. They have won three straight road games, including a contest in Dayton without a full squad on what was originally supposed to be their bye week. If the Marshals can pull off an upset for back-to-back wins, they should have plenty of momentum going into a string of three straight games against the rival Dayton Warbirds.