Pioneers Devoured by Wolves
Jason Moyer
Saturday May 28, 2005
The Wolves came into play ranked third in the latest arenafootball2 coach’s poll, dropping from the number one spot despite beating South Georgia by 25 points last week. Winning by only 13 points, who knows how far they will drop this week.
Sarcasm aside, the Wolves are a very talented team led by the top quarterback-receiver combination in the league. Quarterback Jake Eaton ranked number one in af2 with a 114.1 passer rating, while WR/LB J.J. McKelvey led the league with 61 catches coming into play tonight.
Both players backed up these rankings earning game honors as Eaton was named Offensive Player of the Game completing 22 of 29 passes for 274 yards with five touchdowns and rushing for a three yard score in the fourth quarter. McKelvey received the Ironman of the Game award as he hauled in 10 catches for 131 yards with four tallies.
"He [McKelvey] is a great player. We knew that coming in," stated Head Coach Les Moss. "He was a good player last year. I was surprised nobody picked him up."
Moss may not have been surprised by McKelvey’s performance, but Moss did surprise fans by starting five-year veteran Brian Snyder over Kyle Rowley. Rowley beat out last season’s starter Tim Hicks during training camp, but has been turnover prone in recent games.
"I made the decision early in the week," remarked Moss. "Rowley’s had a good year so far, but I thought we needed a spark."
The decision appears not to have worked. The Pioneers scored on three of the six possessions in which Snyder led the offense. Snyder finished 12 of 23 for 84 yards with two touchdowns and one interception before being replaced by Rowley late in the third quarter.
For a team that has now lost four of their last five games, the decision may have been made in desperation rather than inspiration. Wilkes-Barre now heads into the second half of the season three games behind Manchester with a schedule that includes a four game road trip.
"We got to keep fighting," observed Moss. "We’re not out of it by a longshot. We’re at 4-4 and we got to keep going."
Unfortunately, the Pioneers may have to keep going without their star offensive specialist J.R. Thomas. Thomas went down in the second quarter with a lower leg injury. He was unable to put pressure on his leg as he was assisted from the field. Thomas was taken to Geisinger Medical Center for further evaluation.
"We’ll find out about J.R.’s injury probably Tuesday, but it doesn’t look good," observed Moss.
When asked to describe his team at this stage of the season Moss commented, "Right now we’re a mistake prone team. When we turn the ball over, it puts us in a bad spot."
The Pioneers will try to right their sinking ship when they travel to Milwaukee to take on the Green Bay Blizzard, who is 6-1 entering tonight’s action and has previously beaten Wilkes-Barre 48-40.
Inside the game:
Jake Eaton was named Offensive Player of the Game completing 22 of 29 passes for 274 yards with five touchdowns.
J.J. McKelvey garnered Ironman of the Game with 10 receptions for 131 yards with four scores.
William Haith collected Defensive Player of the Game honors with an interception and eight tackles.
Rocco Forgione led the Pioneers with seven catches for 46 yards and two touchdowns.
Jamie Hattley led all defensive players with ten solo tackles.
Next week:
The Pioneers take on Green Bay looking to avenge their loss earlier in the season. Next weeks game will kickoff at 8:00.
Jason Moyer is an elementary school teacher in the western New Jersey area. He is an avid follower of the Arena Football League and has been covering the Philadelphia Soul with ArenaFan.com since 2005. Jason resides in Whitehall, PA with his wife and daughter.
