Post by Banana Cat on Jul 27, 2010 15:33:35 GMT -5
trib.com/sports/college/article_373f7a44-944c-586b-91b4-fce959bbf329.html
Cavs hope next year's the year they finally shed runner-up label
By SCOTT ALLEN - Special to the Star-Tribune
July 27, 2010
The losses haven't become any easier to take, but after four straight trips to the championship game, each one ending in defeat, Wyoming Cavalry head coach Dan Maciejczak is able to appreciate the journey a little more.
"There's a lot more that goes into it than winning the whole thing, I guess," Maciejczak said after the Cavalry let a first-half lead slip away Sunday in a 57-42 loss to the Baltimore Mariners in AIFA Bowl IV. "We go out and play the teams that our league gives us to play, we win, and then we come out here and try to win. It just hasn't rolled in our favor yet."
After four years of watching the other team hoist the championship trophy, Cavalry fans and players alike have to be wondering if it ever will.
Wyoming (15-2) breezed through the regular season and its only playoff game en route to Baltimore, and while the Cavalry carried the weight of three straight second-place finishes across the country, most of the pressure Sunday was on the Mariners. In addition to playing before its home fans at 1st Mariner Arena, Baltimore was looking to become the first team in league history to finish the season undefeated.
"Some of the veterans talked about it a little," Cavalry wide receiver Brooks Charlton said of Wyoming's losing streak in title games. "But I thought we came out and showed we were prepared."
Quarterback Matt Strand, who has started the Cavalry's last four championship games, didn't show any signs of nervousness in the first quarter, as the league's leading passer threw two early touchdown passes to give Wyoming a 16-0 lead.
"We didn't feel like there was any additional pressure," Strand said. "We had to come out and play our game. We did at times, and when we did that, we looked very good."
Strand, who regularly ranks among the AIFA's regular season leaders in passing yards and touchdowns, has had mixed success in championship games. After throwing nine interceptions throughout the 2008 regular season and playoffs, the Chadron State product threw four interceptions in a 48-12 loss to Florence in AIFA Bowl II. During last season's loss to Reading in AIFA Bowl III at the Casper Events Center, Strand threw for five touchdowns, but only one came after halftime. His lone interception was returned for a touchdown early in the second half.
Strand's performance against the top-ranked Baltimore defense was solid, if not championship-worthy. He threw six touchdowns passes, including five to Jasonus Tillery, but he also had four interceptions. Two of those interceptions occurred in the end zone.
"Matt played well," Maciejczak said. "It's not on any one player's shoulders."
Maciejczak and Strand are both aware of the comparisons that come with losing four straight championship games. Yes, NFL Hall of Famers Marv Levy and Jim Kelly, who lost four consecutive Super Bowls from 1991 to 1994, finally have some company in Runnerupville.
Next season, the Cavalry will look to shed the stigma by first doing what the Buffalo Bills could not — advance to a fifth consecutive title game — and then winning the thing. At the very least, they'll try to enjoy the journey.
"If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't," Maciejczak said. "I've been in this game long enough to know that you play to win football games, but the lives that our kids touch and the work we do in the community goes a heck of a lot further than getting beat four times in a championship game."
By SCOTT ALLEN - Special to the Star-Tribune
July 27, 2010
The losses haven't become any easier to take, but after four straight trips to the championship game, each one ending in defeat, Wyoming Cavalry head coach Dan Maciejczak is able to appreciate the journey a little more.
"There's a lot more that goes into it than winning the whole thing, I guess," Maciejczak said after the Cavalry let a first-half lead slip away Sunday in a 57-42 loss to the Baltimore Mariners in AIFA Bowl IV. "We go out and play the teams that our league gives us to play, we win, and then we come out here and try to win. It just hasn't rolled in our favor yet."
After four years of watching the other team hoist the championship trophy, Cavalry fans and players alike have to be wondering if it ever will.
Wyoming (15-2) breezed through the regular season and its only playoff game en route to Baltimore, and while the Cavalry carried the weight of three straight second-place finishes across the country, most of the pressure Sunday was on the Mariners. In addition to playing before its home fans at 1st Mariner Arena, Baltimore was looking to become the first team in league history to finish the season undefeated.
"Some of the veterans talked about it a little," Cavalry wide receiver Brooks Charlton said of Wyoming's losing streak in title games. "But I thought we came out and showed we were prepared."
Quarterback Matt Strand, who has started the Cavalry's last four championship games, didn't show any signs of nervousness in the first quarter, as the league's leading passer threw two early touchdown passes to give Wyoming a 16-0 lead.
"We didn't feel like there was any additional pressure," Strand said. "We had to come out and play our game. We did at times, and when we did that, we looked very good."
Strand, who regularly ranks among the AIFA's regular season leaders in passing yards and touchdowns, has had mixed success in championship games. After throwing nine interceptions throughout the 2008 regular season and playoffs, the Chadron State product threw four interceptions in a 48-12 loss to Florence in AIFA Bowl II. During last season's loss to Reading in AIFA Bowl III at the Casper Events Center, Strand threw for five touchdowns, but only one came after halftime. His lone interception was returned for a touchdown early in the second half.
Strand's performance against the top-ranked Baltimore defense was solid, if not championship-worthy. He threw six touchdowns passes, including five to Jasonus Tillery, but he also had four interceptions. Two of those interceptions occurred in the end zone.
"Matt played well," Maciejczak said. "It's not on any one player's shoulders."
Maciejczak and Strand are both aware of the comparisons that come with losing four straight championship games. Yes, NFL Hall of Famers Marv Levy and Jim Kelly, who lost four consecutive Super Bowls from 1991 to 1994, finally have some company in Runnerupville.
Next season, the Cavalry will look to shed the stigma by first doing what the Buffalo Bills could not — advance to a fifth consecutive title game — and then winning the thing. At the very least, they'll try to enjoy the journey.
"If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't," Maciejczak said. "I've been in this game long enough to know that you play to win football games, but the lives that our kids touch and the work we do in the community goes a heck of a lot further than getting beat four times in a championship game."