AUSTIN, TEXAS (May 3, 2009) This isn't something that has been manufactured for the sake of cheap publicity. The road to the SIFL championship goes through Austin and this week’s matchup against the Louisiana Swashbucklers will be a measuring stick to see how far the Turfcats have come through their third game of the season.
"It's kind of like David vs. Goliath almost," Turfcats head coach Chris Duliban said. "It's going to be a slugfest. It's going to be nasty."
The Turfcats' 64-32 road victory over the Houma Conquerors had ended only moments earlier, but few players in the Turfcats dressing room wanted to talk about or even savor the game that had just been played. The focus had promptly been placed on the task ahead.
"It'll be a great SIFL Game to watch," Duliban said.
It didn't matter that the Conquerors were winless. All that mattered was that the Turfcats took care of business. And as far as they're concerned, the right team emerged from the game. If you ask some members of the Turfcats, the game versus the Swashbucklers has been circled since day one.
The Swashbuckler has a great front office, coaching staff, and players. The formula for success of the Lake Charles squad is one that all teams in the Southern Indoor Football League want to follow. The Swashbucklers have claimed back to back Intense Football League championships and have reeled off 20 straight regular season game victories.
It was between two clubs that lead several categories in league statistics, the Turfcats are number two in scoring with 46.5 points per game versus 65.5 for the Swashbucklers. The Swashbucklers boosted their point average by an 81-0 blowout in week one of the Florida Kings at home. The Turfcats have the number one rushing offense averaging 101.5 versus 62.0 for the Swashbucklers. The rushing game led by Deron Ellis, David Banks and Keith Clay are tops in the SIFL. The Swashbucklers ground attack is led by Southern Mississippi product Tim Blackwell averaging 49.0 yards per game.
The Turfcats must eliminate mistakes like they did in week two versus Houma to have a fighting chance versus the preseason favorites. The passing game of Freddie Harrison to Sammy Knight is the best in the league.
The Turfcats will counter with Robert Quiroga, Darrick Wallace and Jackie Warren as their deep threats. The red zone defense by the Swashbucklers is number one in the league closely contested by the Turfcats being ranked number two.
"I knew all year long we were two of the top two teams in the SIFL, just my opinion (from) watching all the other teams," Turfcats Assistant Michael Finney said. "When you've got a good defense like (the Swashbucklers and the Turfcats have), you can be in any game. Teams want to simulate Louisiana and Austin, just the way we play. But you can't coach what we've got. You've got to do a good job and bring the right players in to do it." "One thing about football, it's not about what you say. It's about what you do. And come next weekend, it's all about rolling that football out."
The Austin Turfcats (1-1) return to action on May 9th versus the undefeated Louisiana Swashbucklers at Adfirmative.com Field at the Travis County Expo Center for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff.
Great locations are still available for the 2009 season! Act now to reserve the best seats. Call a Sales Representative today at 866-969-TCAT (8228) to reserve your seats today. The Austin Turfcats are committed to being a premier team in the Southern Indoor Football League and being involved in the community for which we serve.
No comments:
Post a Comment