Inside the Numbers: Pioneers vs. Prowlers
Michael Balakier
Friday April 26, 2002
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers and Greensboro Prowlers square off against each other in Greensboro on Saturday for the second time this season. The Pioneers will try to avenge a 42-28 loss to the Prowlers in a game that Greensboro scored 32 consecutive points to overcome a halftime deficit. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is also trying to register its first victory of the season. The Prowlers are coming off a disappointing overtime loss to the Roanoke Steam in which the Steam scored a touchdown at the end of regulation to send the game to OT.
Positional match ups
Quarterback
The Skinny: The Pioneers Tyler Tomich is coming off two impressive outings in which he completed 60 percent of his passes for over 400 yards. In the two games that he’s played, Tomich has thrown 6TDs and only one interception. Meanwhile, Greensboro’s Chris Weibel has posted impressive numbers as well, completing 45% of his passes and throwing for 7TDs; however Weibel also has thrown five interceptions.
Hidden stat: Last week against Roanoke, Weibel more than doubled his total passing yards from his first two games, as he threw for 288 yards and 4TDs. Weibel also ran for a touchdown.
Advantage: Give a slight edge to Tomich. Greensboro has only one sack on an opposing quarterback this season, and if Tomich has enough time in the pocket, he could lead the way to the Pioneers first victory of the season. Plus, Tomich has been on fire as of late and there’s no reason as to why that shouldn’t continue, even against the pesky Greensboro defense.
Fullback
The Skinny: Both the Pioneers and Prowlers possess skilled players at the fullback position. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will be playing without LaMonte Coleman, so expect East Stroudsburg product Kevin Nagle and Elly Salamo to split carries. Rich Butcofski, who is a local product out of Dallas high school, could also see some carries. Greensboro has primarily relied on Rafik Thorossian and Sigmund Platt to carry the ball this season thus far.
Hidden stat: Thorossian has scored five of the Prowlers seven rushing touchdown this year.
Advantage: The Pioneers have yet to establish a solid running game that would please head coach Terry Karg. Although he won’t admit it, Karg would like the running game to have more of an impact in the Pioneers offensive scheme. In the meantime, the Prowlers hold a slight advantage over the Pioneers in this game.
Wide Reciever
The Skinny: The Pioneers are stocked at the wideout position, showcasing Ky O’Day, Aman Abye, Terrence Tillman, and Matt Jackson. The Pioneers also have been using backup quarterback John Knust at the WR position, but a broken wrist has placed him on the injured reserve for about a month. Each of these players, including Knust, have caught at least one touchdown pass. For the Prowlers, Weibel will be connecting mostly with Antoine Calloway and Jason Gibson. Calloway has 27 receptions for 309 yards and 4TDs. He is also averaging just over 11 yards per catch.
Hidden stat: Two of the four receptions by Pioneers’ Matt Jackson have been for touchdowns.
Advantage: With Tomich running the offense and the limitless targets that he can throw to, the Pioneers hold the edge over Greensboro in this category.
Kick returns
The Skinny: Pioneers head coach Terry Karg has relied chiefly on Aman Abye to handle kickoffs this season because of his previous arenaball experience. The Prowlers possess one of the best returners in the league this season in Walter Ford. Ford is averaging over 25 yards a kickoff and has returned one for a 52-yard touchdown.
Hidden stat: Even without Ford’s touchdown return, he would still be averaging about 21 yards per return.
Advantage: If Ford can get the Prowlers into prime field position every time, Weibel and company stand a good change at sending the Pioneers back to the Wyoming Valley still winless.
Kickers
The Skinny: Neither team shows great statistics in their kicking games. Pioneers kicker Jimmy Kibble is 2-9, one of which is from 55 yards out. Prowlers’ kicker James Thomas is only 1-8 on the season, but his lone good attempt was from 58 yards out that set an af2 record. Oddly enough it came against the Pioneers.
Hidden stat: Combined the teams are 4-18 in field goals and 18-31 in PAT-Attempts.
Advantage: Both kickers are highly skilled. Kibble in particular has an extremely strong leg, but he has yet been able to adjust to the kicking style of the arena game. This one’s a bust. If each team can connect on a couple of field goals, then both teams deserve to win.
What to expect
Forget the fact that the Pioneers are 0-3; they have played solid in each of their outings, excluding Richmond (in my opinion the Speed should be bumped up to the AFL). The key to this game will be protection. Greensboro has allowed nine quarterback sacks while only committing one itself. And although the Pioneers have only registered two sacks of their own, they have only allowed four. The Pioneers opening day loss to the Prowlers, who scored 32 consecutive points to come from behind and steal a victory, will be fresh in their minds come Saturday evening. Also, the Pioneers won’t make the same mistake twice by allowing Greensboro to come from behind again. On the other hand, Greensboro is coming off a heartbreaking loss to Roanoke in OT. If the Pioneers defense can induce enough pressure on Weibel, and if Tomich can continue to play the way he has been over the past two weeks, then the Pioneers should be able to pocket a victory before coming back to coal country.
Prediction: Pioneers get revenge as well as their first victory of the season, 48-32.
Michael Balakier first discovered a knack for writing during his senior year in high school while reporting for his school`s newspaper. Aside from being an Arenaball fan, Michael is an avid Syracuse University athletics follower, which poses a problem for him, as he attends the University of Pittsburgh. Michael plans on using what he has learned through his Arenafan experience to remain as impartial as he can during future Syracuse/Pitt events. Michael also serves as co-Editor of the af2 section of Arenafan Online.
