Post by Banana Cat on Apr 2, 2011 8:03:51 GMT -5
www.siouxcityjournal.com/sports/football/amateur/article_9ec63ccb-a4e0-51ff-95c0-fe8a9e70a7a1.html
White noise: Bandits adjust to APFL's pale pigskin
By Michael Brauer / Sioux City Journal
April 2, 2011
SIOUX CITY - The Bandits are 1-0 and wide receiver Damon Mothershead is having a ball.
This season, that ball just happens to be a white one.
"It's a little easier to catch; a lot easier to see," Mothershead said.
It's definitely hard to miss.
That gleaming, white game ball is just one of many adjustments the Sioux City Bandits have had to make this year, in addition to a new league, a new head coach and a whole bunch of new players.
The few veterans the team does have - Mothershead included - are used to the standard, brown shade of game balls used in virtually every other type of organized football, including the Indoor Football League.
When Sioux City ditched the IFL this season in favor of the American Professional Football League, they joined a brand of arena ball that's become known for its pale pigskins.
The white ball might have been one of the first things fans noticed during last weekend's season-opening victory against the Iowa Blackhawks. But according to Mothershead, there's an even bigger difference - literally - between APFL game balls and the ones he's used to.
"Size-wise, I'm used to that little IFL ball we've had the last few years," Mothershead said. "When you're catching it, trying to find the dot in the middle on the nose of the ball - it's just the size you've got to get used to more than anything."
That's also the first thing head coach Butch Faulkenberry noticed.
"The IFL balls are noticeably smaller and this is more like a full-size ball," said Faulkenberry, whose Bandits have the weekend off before facing the Kansas Koyotes next Saturday in Topeka, Kan. "When we got them, the first thing I thought was how (quarterback) Scotty (Jensen) would throw it and how we'd kick it."
Turns out, Jensen was just fine last weekend.
He passed for four touchdowns and hooked up with Fredrick Bruno for a game-winning touchdown with 26 seconds left as Sioux City stunned the two-time defending champion Iowa Blackhawks 57-50 and gave Faulkenberry a win in his arena coaching debut.
Ironically enough, it was the Blackhawks who introduced the white game balls, unveiling them for the first time at the start of their 2009 season. It wasn't long before the "bleach balls" became an APFL standard, in a unique attempt by the league to separate itself from other indoor football associations.
The Bandit receivers were the ones who separated themselves against the Blackhawks. Mothershead had four catches for 65 yards, while Bruno and fellow rookie Eddie Pertilla each hauled a pair of touchdowns from Jensen.
"They're catching on real quick," Mothershead said of his first-year teammates. "They're open-minded to any little tips I can give them at practice, and they're doing a great job."
For rookie receivers like Bruno, the white game ball is the least of their worries. The speedy Wayne State senior has had plenty of other adjustments to make while adapting to the indoor gridiron - for example, the unlimited freedom of motion receivers are given before each play.
"The run-up motion before the snap, that's something I'm still getting used to," Bruno said, directly following the Bandits' victory. "But I like this style a lot."
Judging by last Saturday, this style likes him too.
By Michael Brauer / Sioux City Journal
April 2, 2011
SIOUX CITY - The Bandits are 1-0 and wide receiver Damon Mothershead is having a ball.
This season, that ball just happens to be a white one.
"It's a little easier to catch; a lot easier to see," Mothershead said.
It's definitely hard to miss.
That gleaming, white game ball is just one of many adjustments the Sioux City Bandits have had to make this year, in addition to a new league, a new head coach and a whole bunch of new players.
The few veterans the team does have - Mothershead included - are used to the standard, brown shade of game balls used in virtually every other type of organized football, including the Indoor Football League.
When Sioux City ditched the IFL this season in favor of the American Professional Football League, they joined a brand of arena ball that's become known for its pale pigskins.
The white ball might have been one of the first things fans noticed during last weekend's season-opening victory against the Iowa Blackhawks. But according to Mothershead, there's an even bigger difference - literally - between APFL game balls and the ones he's used to.
"Size-wise, I'm used to that little IFL ball we've had the last few years," Mothershead said. "When you're catching it, trying to find the dot in the middle on the nose of the ball - it's just the size you've got to get used to more than anything."
That's also the first thing head coach Butch Faulkenberry noticed.
"The IFL balls are noticeably smaller and this is more like a full-size ball," said Faulkenberry, whose Bandits have the weekend off before facing the Kansas Koyotes next Saturday in Topeka, Kan. "When we got them, the first thing I thought was how (quarterback) Scotty (Jensen) would throw it and how we'd kick it."
Turns out, Jensen was just fine last weekend.
He passed for four touchdowns and hooked up with Fredrick Bruno for a game-winning touchdown with 26 seconds left as Sioux City stunned the two-time defending champion Iowa Blackhawks 57-50 and gave Faulkenberry a win in his arena coaching debut.
Ironically enough, it was the Blackhawks who introduced the white game balls, unveiling them for the first time at the start of their 2009 season. It wasn't long before the "bleach balls" became an APFL standard, in a unique attempt by the league to separate itself from other indoor football associations.
The Bandit receivers were the ones who separated themselves against the Blackhawks. Mothershead had four catches for 65 yards, while Bruno and fellow rookie Eddie Pertilla each hauled a pair of touchdowns from Jensen.
"They're catching on real quick," Mothershead said of his first-year teammates. "They're open-minded to any little tips I can give them at practice, and they're doing a great job."
For rookie receivers like Bruno, the white game ball is the least of their worries. The speedy Wayne State senior has had plenty of other adjustments to make while adapting to the indoor gridiron - for example, the unlimited freedom of motion receivers are given before each play.
"The run-up motion before the snap, that's something I'm still getting used to," Bruno said, directly following the Bandits' victory. "But I like this style a lot."
Judging by last Saturday, this style likes him too.