Inside the Numbers: Pioneers vs. Wolves
Michael Balakier
Tuesday June 11, 2002
The Mohegan Wolves try to seek revenge against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers for their 49-40 defeat last week in Uncasville, CT. The Pioneers are now 3-7 on the year and 3-3 in the Northeast Division while Mohegan is 3-7 overall and 2-6 in the division. The winner of Saturday’s game will have sole possession of fourth place in the Northeast division while the loser will have official control of the basement.
Positional matchups
Quarterback
The skinny: After coming off arguably his best performance of the year against Rochester on June 1, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Byran Snyder did one step better against Mohegan by going 19-28 for 230 yards and 6 touchdowns. The only flaw is Snyder’s game last week against the Wolves was the one interception that he threw. On the year, Snyder has a 107.37 quarterback rating and has completed over 58% of his passes for 1021 yards and 24 TDs. He is currently averaging 204.2 yards/game. Mohegan is led by one of the league’s better quarterbacks, Cable Davis. Last week against the Pioneers, Davis went 24-40 for 249 yards and 3 TDs. On the year, Davis has completed 53% of his passes for 2378 yards and 34 TDs. His QB rating is 82.81.
Hidden stat: Davis ranks sixth in the af2 in passing yards per game with an average of 237.8 and second in the league in total offense with an average of 235.1 yards/game.
Advantage: There’s bad news, then good news, then some more bad news. The bad news first is that Mohegan’s pass offense ranks first in the league, averaging 256.0 yards per game. The good news is that the Pioneers pass defense ranks 12th in the league, giving up only 195.6 yards per game. But the bad news again is that the Wolves pass defense ranks slightly above the Pioneers pass defense, second in the af2 to be exact, allowing only 171.2 yards per game. Also, Mohegan ranks second and fourth, respectively, in total offense and defense while the Pioneers rank 25th in total offense and 17th in total defense.
Fullback
The skinny: Elly Salamo looks to be the Pioneers top rush threat now. Salamo finished the game with 35 yards and one touchdown on seven attempts against the wolves. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Kevin Nagle finished with 4 yards on two attempts. Salamo currently leads all Pioneer rushers with 110 yards and 3 TDs. Nagle has 71 yards on the year and one touchdown. Mohegan’s top rusher is Ben Labelle. Labelle had four rushes for 18 yards and one touchdown against the Pioneers last week. On the year, Labelle has 61 yards and 5 touchdowns on 16 attempts in five games.
Hidden stat: There’s some more good and bad news. The bad news first is that the Pioneers rush defense still ranks in the lower tier of the af2, 33rd to be exact. However, the good news is that Mohegan’s rush offense ranks 28th, averaging just 14.8 yards per game.
Advantage: The Pioneers running game proved to be effective last week against Mohegan, and there are no signs that it shouldn’t do the same this week. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is averaging 35.8 yards/game on the ground this year, which ranks 8th in the af2. Mohegan’s rush defense ranks 29th, allowing 34.7 yards/game. Salamo and Nagle may be in for a big night.
Wide receivers
The skinny: The Pioneers had another great game out of quarterback-turned-receiver John Knust. Knust, who was named the game MVP against Rochester two weeks ago for his four touchdown performance, held an encore performance by hauling in 8 catches for 84 yards and three touchdowns. Aman Abye added six receptions for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for 48 yards and 1 TD. Terrell Johnson made his return from the injured list by making five receptions for 98 yards and two touchdowns. The Wolves receiving core is led by twin brothers Brandon Burnside and Brent Burnside. Last week, Brandon hauled in 5 catches for 73 yards and one touchdown. On the year, Brandon has caught 19 touchdown passes and has 959 receiving yards. Brent is second on the team with 554 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns.
Hidden stat: Brandon Burnside ranks fifth in the league in scoring with 128 points, seventh in the league in receptions with 61, second in receiving yards with 959, and first in all purpose yards with 205.8 yards/game.
Advantage: Since Knust’s return, the Pioneers receiving core has been nearly unstoppable. This week will be Mohegan’s chance to prove Wilkes-Barre/Scranton otherwise.
Kick returns
The skinny: With the loss of Bob Washington, the Pioneers will most likely turn to Aman Abye, who handled return duties at the beginning of the season. Abye is averaging 13.7 yards/return on the year. Brandon Burnside has been the top return man for the Wolves and returned a kick for a touchdown against the Pioneers last week. Burnside has 40 returns for 818 yards for an average of 20.5 yards/return. He ranks eight in the league in missed field goal returns, averaging 14.7 yards/game.
Hidden stat: Burnside has handled all but nine of the 49 returns this year for the Wolves.
Advantage: Before playing Rochester two weeks ago, the Pioneers emphasized on getting a return for a touchdown. However, last week, it seems as if they forgot to emphasize not allowing a return for a touchdown. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had momentum on special teams going into last week’s game, but Mohegan and returner Brandon Burnside have seized the Pioneers’ momentum and taken control of it.
Kickers
The skinny: The Pioneers Jimmie Kibble went 0-3 in last week’s game, missing from 19, 37, and 47 yards. On the year, Kibble is 8-28. Mohegan’s Shawn Maclean is 5-9 on the year and 13-18 on PATs.
Hidden stat: Kibble ranks among the league top kickers. He ranks fifth in kick scoring with 60 points, seventh in field goals, and sixth in point after attempts.
Advantage: Kibble has been fickle lately. He bounced back two weeks ago against New Haven after having a horrific game the week before against Albany. Now, after getting back on track, Kibble faltered against the Wolves. If Kibble is fickle, then the pattern shows that this week’s game should belong to Kibble.
What to expect
The Pioneers came up big against the Wolves last week, and now have their eyes on moving up out of the Northeast basement. However, Mohegan’s 3-7 record can be very deceiving, especially considering the fact that they rank fourth and fifth in total defense and offense, respectively. It should be a very close game, and the team that can make the plays in the clutch and keep turnovers to a minimum should be able to come out on top in this game. The Pioneers are riding into the contest with a lot of momentum on their side. Meanwhile, Mohegan has lost six of their last seven games. However, it’s always been said that the most dangerous team is a team that has been losing, but that shouldn’t be the case here.
Prediction: Mohegan travels to coal country seeking revenge, but Wilkes-Barre/Scranton send the Wolves back to Uncasville searching for answers. Pioneers win, 45-42.
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.
