Since Hippeard’s departure Shane Boyd has taken over the QB1 duties after spending the last two years as the Brigades backup. Hippeard and the Blackjacks defeated the brick squad 48-41 but the two quarterbacks had similar stat lines and even threw interceptions on back to back plays in the first quarter.

 

Hippeard and Atlantic City bounced back well at home after a loss on the road to the Washington Valor in week three. This week versus Baltimore they held the lead during the entire game and once again jumped out to a 20-7 lead, identical to the week one start they had versus the Soul. The Blackjacks are now 2-0 at home and just won the first of a three-game home stand.  

 

“We played with the type of energy I wanted to see us come out with,” Blackjacks head coach Ron James said. “We didn’t do that the week prior so to bounce back and play well at home was important to us. For whatever reason we come out fast when we play here at home, we really love the environment, so it was a good win for us,”

 

“As an expansion team we want to make sure we’re taking positive steps. We’ve been competitive in every game but that’s not what your after, you’re after the wins so to get one was great. We know that we have three more home games in a row so we need to get moving in the right direction,” James said.

 

While Hippeard played well it was the quarterback of the defense, rookie middle-man Kiante Northington who shined with two interceptions in the first quarter. Northington once again didn’t allow any downfield completions which is very difficult to do when playing the middle.

 

“He’s learning every week, when you’ve got a rookie in the middle you’re expecting the learning curve to be steep and really he’s played very well. We only gave up a couple of deep balls all season long and he’s not one of the guys that’s given them up. It’s great to see that out of your middle-man and he’s going to keep progressing because he’s that type of player, I love the energy he plays with,” James said.

 

“I take pride in not giving up the big ball, stuffs going to happen throughout the game but you’ve got to take pride in not giving up the deep ball,” Kiante Northington said. “You get high motion almost every play so it’s kind of tough, but I really take pride in that,”

 

“Playing the middle-man position, I give respect to everybody else who played middle-man because I didn’t really play it much last year. You’ve got to have a short-term memory and you’ve got to be ready to kind of have all the action. Your like the quarterback of the defense,” Northington said.

 

Northington wasn’t the only rookie defensive back who shined at Boardwalk Hall as Brigade backside corner Nias Martin also had two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Martin played his college ball at New Mexico and is now coached by a Hall of Fame defensive back Omarr Smith. Martin and Northington both showed great potential in last nights game and their development into hopefully lockdown corners would be good for the AFL.

 

Coach Omarr Smith also coached a handful of the Blackjacks players last year, as Hippeard wasn’t the only one to take the short trip north from Baltimore to the Jersey Shore. Lamark Brown, Kendrick Ings, Ray McNeill, and Mark Lewis also played for the Brigade during the 2018 season.

 

“It was an emotional game for some of us because we played on the Brigade last year,” Blackjacks receiver Lamark Brown, who had three total touchdowns in the win said. “For us I think we need to continue the path we’re on, we’re starting to click a little bit. Still not a perfect game like we’re looking for, but we took some steps in the right direction,” Brown said.

 

The Blackjacks receiving core has been a strong point with Brown, Kendrick Ings and Antwane Grant all posting solid numbers through four weeks. Brown has an additional four touchdowns on the ground, while Grant has two rushing touchdowns as well. Brown and Ings are both veterans of the arena game while Grant is a first-year rookie.

 

“Anytime you get a win it’s a good thing,” Kendrick Ings said. “Like Lamark said we’ve got things to work on we still haven’t put that perfect game together, but we can only get better and we will get better so I’m excited about this win. We’ve got two more weeks at home, that’s big getting wins at home. I’m glad Atlantic City is coming out to see us play, it’s loud in there, it’s not a lot of people but we’re going to get there. We keep on winning people will come see us play,” Ings said.

 

Next up for the Blackjacks will be their biggest test in the franchise’s early history, the undefeated Albany Empire will be at Boardwalk Hall looking to hit 5-0. Like this game and every other AFL game this year, there will be a lot of familiarity between the two teams.

 

“There is some familiarity with coach Keefe, he coached under coach James in Utah,” Lamark Brown said. “Randy, Monte, Hobbs and I all played for Keefe in Orlando for two years, so we know some of his tendencies. At the same time, he does a good job of building a good team, they’re very discipline. We’re going to have to put it together in all three phases to come out with a victory next week,” Brown said.

 

“Now all of our energy is going to be on Albany,” coach Ron James said. “Making sure that we’re doing the right things to try and make it difficult for them to win in this building. We know it’s going to be a tough challenge, but we’d rather be playing them at this juncture at home then we would be at their place. Our brief history tells us that we’re a little bit better with the home cooking then we are on the road at this point, but we’re excited about it, we’ll be up for that challenge that’s what you live for,” James said.

Harrison Brown is a college student who has been covering Arena Football since he was 12 years old and has been with ArenaFan since 2014. Harrison was a captain of the varsity football team during his senior year of high school and went on to play one season of Division III football in Massachusetts. Harrison has worked for two indoor football teams, in 2018 he was the Director of Player Personnel for the Jersey Flight and in 2016 he was the Color Commentator for the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets. You can follow Harrison on twitter @HarryBrownRusso.