Written by Stefaun Forge
Thoughts from the Forge: Edition 3
Welcome to Random Thoughts. Week 5 edition. This column is simply some of my thoughts and opinions as relates to the SFLm. It is in no way designed or intended to offend or disparage any player or team. The content will change every week based on how the season progresses. Please enjoy it.
Yes I know I am late, 1 week to be precise… but the old saying is – better late than never!
Let’s start Week 5 with the team that made a #statement! The Ottawa Cavalry! The Cavalry finally rode to victory with a dominant 20-6 grounding of the San Jose Flight. The Cavalry defense cancelled all Flights on 3rd and 4th down, holding them to a combined 3-15 in those situations. They sacked Flight QB Joseph Green twice and also intercepted him twice. Scar Patterson and the Passing Game carried the Cavalry offense, going 25-31 for 271 yds, 1 TD 1 INT. Ryan Rosevelt and Rupert Westcleod paced the receiving corps. Rosevelt had a monster game with 11-129 and 1 TD. Mcleod, who has become a key part and serious weapon for the Cavalry in the passing game, registered 6-115. Harry Huskey and Kay Shinne anchored the Cavalry D with 10 and 8 tackles respectively. Justin Reside had his now weekly interception. Apparently he now resides in the passing lanes of opposing QBs. This victory was sweet justice for the Cavalry who had lost their first 3 games by margins of 7, 5 and 3. Coming off a heart-breaking overtime loss to Tacoma in Week 4 this was a big a rebound and possible springboard for the Cavalry to get back into the playoff hunt.
Another situation that will be interesting to follow is the QB change in Birmingham. Gene Struthers made his debut as Fuel QB against Madison. In his first series under center, Struthers leaned heavily on the running of Randy Squarebush while making a couple timely throws with an end result of a Fuel FG and 3-0 lead. Unfortunately, it would be the only points of the night for the Fuel in a 19-3 loss. Struthers had
Gene Struthers took on a near impossible position last week. He has started as expected. We wait with baited breath to see if he can bridge the gap for the Fuel offence.
a solid night for a midweek signing going 24-39 for 178 and an INT. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here as he develops and the offense opens up more and more. Could he fuel an offensive resurgence in Birmingham?
Has anyone else noticed the depth and quality of the SFLm WR class? (Note: I had to use week 6 total season stats because they were already updated at the time this was written.) I am sure SFL Defensive Coordinators and DBs have. This group is headlined statistically by Kelsey Brown, Essex Denabola, Ryan Rosevelt and Doug Spelling. Nate Ritters is the top rated WR but he has been limited (28-478 3TDs) by a more run heavy and conservative offense due to the fact that Albuquerque hasn’t trailed much this season and the fact that stud RB Doug Brown is leading the league with 837 yds while averaging 7.3 yds per carry putting him on pace for around 1500 yards and 20 TDs. New leader in the clubhouse as the top RB in SFLm??? The depth at WR is further demonstrated by the fact that 9 different receivers have at least 30 catches on the season. Looks to me like if WR is a need for an SFL team then the market is robust.
That’s all my thoughts for now. I hope you enjoyed it and look forward to next week’s! Best of luck to everyone in future weeks!
