Post by Banana Cat on Mar 24, 2012 5:46:05 GMT -5
siouxcityjournal.com/sports/football/amateur/tonga-bandits-gunning-for-repeat-run-in/article_b374b7c1-0d7a-57f0-8515-f62101c99385.html
Tonga, Bandits gunning for repeat run in 2012
BY MICHAEL BRAUER / siouxcityjournal.com
March 23, 2012
WHO: Sioux City Bandits vs. Oklahoma Defenders
WHEN: 7:05 p.m.
WHERE: Tyson Events Center
RADIO: KWSL 1470 AM
SIOUX CITY -- His fans screaming, the clock winding down, Sioux City Bandit Spetlar Tonga made his move.
All those three-hour practices, that meticulously crafted game plan -- they all led up to this moment, with a title on the line.
Not another indoor football title, mind you.
This was for "Dancing with the Siouxland Stars," a local celebrity dance-off held last month for charity.
Moments after Tonga finished juking and jiving, he and dance partner Christie Finnegan, St. Luke's Director of Marketing, hoisted their hard-earned first place trophy -- a red shoe on a plaque.
Not quite as heavy as that APFL Cup Tonga and the Bandits lifted last year.
"Yeah, I got more hardware in the case," he said with a laugh. It's the same chuckle that escapes the Bandits' captain every time his teammates give him some good-natured ribbing.
"Now, some of the guys call me ‘Twinkle Toes.'"
Fans will be seeing those moves on the gridiron soon enough.
Tonga, the face of the franchise, returns alongside virtually the entire Bandit lineup this season, as Sioux City defends its American Professional Football League title.
The road to repeat begins tonight at home against the Oklahoma Defenders, a league newcomer.
Tonight, they draw the league favorite.
"If we do lose a game, the only reason we would is because we beat ourselves," said Tonga, the middle linebacker on a Sioux City squad stocked with veterans -- at every position but one.
First-year head coach Erv Strohbeen is the franchise's 11th pilot in 12 seasons.
Of course, Strohbeen is a longtime Sioux City assistant and former player who's suited up more times (130) than any Bandit in history -- Tonga included. In other words, don't count on much change.
"It's pretty much the same old, same old," affirmed quarterback Scott Jensen, the reigning APFL MVP.
He and the Bandits made it look easy last season, shredding opponents by nearly 40 points a game en route to a perfect 14-0 campaign.
Things may not be so easy this time around, now that the APFL has expanded to eight teams. The Defenders, Colorado Lightning and Cheyenne Warriors joined the fold for 2012.
Still, there's no doubt who the preseason favorite is.
These Bandits are so familiar with each other, it took them all of one practice to digest the playbook.
"We installed the whole offensive package the first day," Strohbeen said. "As a coach and as a player in indoor football, I've never been able to do that."
At Bandits practice, someone asked Tonga to point out the rookies.
"I was looking around and I could only count one," he said. "That's crazy."
Especially for Tonga, who's been here so long the Bandits have labeled him the "most popular player in franchise history."
At 32, Sioux City's all-time leading tackler wasn't sure he'd even return this season -- especially after capturing that championship ring he'd been craving for so long.
"If there was any tough decision whether or not I was going to come back, it would have been this year," the linebacker said. "Because I got what I wanted, ever since I was a little kid."
"The older you get, you have to play it year by year," he added.
But once Tonga heard former Bandit lineman Anthony "Big Daddy" Thomas was coming back, it sealed the deal.
Thomas -- all 6-foot-3, 340 pounds of him -- clogged the middle for the Bandits back in 2005 when they finished as the Indoor Football League (IFL) runner-up.
"I think that solves our ‘getting a push at the nose guard,' issue," Strohbeen said, referring to Thomas. "I don't think there's a center in this league that'll be able to block him."
Big Daddy is far from the only familiar face returning, though.
Jensen tossed 43 touchdowns and just five interceptions last season, carving up the APFL during perhaps the most prolific quarterbacking campaign in league history.
His complete arsenal returns intact, including leading receivers Damon Mothershead, Eddie Pertilla and running back Andrew Prohaska. Mix in 2010 Bandit Trae Johnson, who's back after taking a year off for "personal reasons," and Jensen's toughest task may be spreading the wealth.
Not a problem, according to Strohbeen.
"If you get three carries and we win 60-40, it's still a good ballgame," the coach said. "I don't think we have a selfish player on this team."
"We're a family. When it comes to this team, our last names are all ‘Bandits,'" echoed Jensen. "If we score a touchdown, it doesn't matter who does it. It's a victory for all of us -- and gets us one step closer to another ring.'
That's the main reason Tonga returned.
"I'd like to win another one," he said. "I know a lot of the other guys on the team would, too."
And he plans on doing his part this season. In other words, don't bet on Strohbeen cutting back on Tonga's play count, just because he's older.
"You can't with Spetlar," the coach said. "Once he comes through the tunnel, there's no off switch. We're up 60-30 at the end of the ballgame, and you try to take him out, he'll be sneaking back on the field trying to play D-line or something."
How does a veteran like Tonga handle the grind?
"Weight room and running the day after a game," he revealed. No matter how bumped and bruised he is.
"I can't make my body any sorer than it already is," he said. "So I might as well work out."
And if the weight room ever fails him, there's always the dance floor.
BY MICHAEL BRAUER / siouxcityjournal.com
March 23, 2012
WHO: Sioux City Bandits vs. Oklahoma Defenders
WHEN: 7:05 p.m.
WHERE: Tyson Events Center
RADIO: KWSL 1470 AM
SIOUX CITY -- His fans screaming, the clock winding down, Sioux City Bandit Spetlar Tonga made his move.
All those three-hour practices, that meticulously crafted game plan -- they all led up to this moment, with a title on the line.
Not another indoor football title, mind you.
This was for "Dancing with the Siouxland Stars," a local celebrity dance-off held last month for charity.
Moments after Tonga finished juking and jiving, he and dance partner Christie Finnegan, St. Luke's Director of Marketing, hoisted their hard-earned first place trophy -- a red shoe on a plaque.
Not quite as heavy as that APFL Cup Tonga and the Bandits lifted last year.
"Yeah, I got more hardware in the case," he said with a laugh. It's the same chuckle that escapes the Bandits' captain every time his teammates give him some good-natured ribbing.
"Now, some of the guys call me ‘Twinkle Toes.'"
Fans will be seeing those moves on the gridiron soon enough.
Tonga, the face of the franchise, returns alongside virtually the entire Bandit lineup this season, as Sioux City defends its American Professional Football League title.
The road to repeat begins tonight at home against the Oklahoma Defenders, a league newcomer.
Tonight, they draw the league favorite.
"If we do lose a game, the only reason we would is because we beat ourselves," said Tonga, the middle linebacker on a Sioux City squad stocked with veterans -- at every position but one.
First-year head coach Erv Strohbeen is the franchise's 11th pilot in 12 seasons.
Of course, Strohbeen is a longtime Sioux City assistant and former player who's suited up more times (130) than any Bandit in history -- Tonga included. In other words, don't count on much change.
"It's pretty much the same old, same old," affirmed quarterback Scott Jensen, the reigning APFL MVP.
He and the Bandits made it look easy last season, shredding opponents by nearly 40 points a game en route to a perfect 14-0 campaign.
Things may not be so easy this time around, now that the APFL has expanded to eight teams. The Defenders, Colorado Lightning and Cheyenne Warriors joined the fold for 2012.
Still, there's no doubt who the preseason favorite is.
These Bandits are so familiar with each other, it took them all of one practice to digest the playbook.
"We installed the whole offensive package the first day," Strohbeen said. "As a coach and as a player in indoor football, I've never been able to do that."
At Bandits practice, someone asked Tonga to point out the rookies.
"I was looking around and I could only count one," he said. "That's crazy."
Especially for Tonga, who's been here so long the Bandits have labeled him the "most popular player in franchise history."
At 32, Sioux City's all-time leading tackler wasn't sure he'd even return this season -- especially after capturing that championship ring he'd been craving for so long.
"If there was any tough decision whether or not I was going to come back, it would have been this year," the linebacker said. "Because I got what I wanted, ever since I was a little kid."
"The older you get, you have to play it year by year," he added.
But once Tonga heard former Bandit lineman Anthony "Big Daddy" Thomas was coming back, it sealed the deal.
Thomas -- all 6-foot-3, 340 pounds of him -- clogged the middle for the Bandits back in 2005 when they finished as the Indoor Football League (IFL) runner-up.
"I think that solves our ‘getting a push at the nose guard,' issue," Strohbeen said, referring to Thomas. "I don't think there's a center in this league that'll be able to block him."
Big Daddy is far from the only familiar face returning, though.
Jensen tossed 43 touchdowns and just five interceptions last season, carving up the APFL during perhaps the most prolific quarterbacking campaign in league history.
His complete arsenal returns intact, including leading receivers Damon Mothershead, Eddie Pertilla and running back Andrew Prohaska. Mix in 2010 Bandit Trae Johnson, who's back after taking a year off for "personal reasons," and Jensen's toughest task may be spreading the wealth.
Not a problem, according to Strohbeen.
"If you get three carries and we win 60-40, it's still a good ballgame," the coach said. "I don't think we have a selfish player on this team."
"We're a family. When it comes to this team, our last names are all ‘Bandits,'" echoed Jensen. "If we score a touchdown, it doesn't matter who does it. It's a victory for all of us -- and gets us one step closer to another ring.'
That's the main reason Tonga returned.
"I'd like to win another one," he said. "I know a lot of the other guys on the team would, too."
And he plans on doing his part this season. In other words, don't bet on Strohbeen cutting back on Tonga's play count, just because he's older.
"You can't with Spetlar," the coach said. "Once he comes through the tunnel, there's no off switch. We're up 60-30 at the end of the ballgame, and you try to take him out, he'll be sneaking back on the field trying to play D-line or something."
How does a veteran like Tonga handle the grind?
"Weight room and running the day after a game," he revealed. No matter how bumped and bruised he is.
"I can't make my body any sorer than it already is," he said. "So I might as well work out."
And if the weight room ever fails him, there's always the dance floor.