Louisville Spoils Cincinnati’s Foray Into the League
Marc Viquez
Sunday March 30, 2003
“We have tremendous players, but we are still learning,” said Swarm Head coach Chris MacKeown. “They found out what the game is all about in the first half and then we tried to make a run of it in the second half, but the bottom line is that we were poor tacklers, we threw too many interceptions and too many dropped passes. Those things will kill you every time.”
QB Danny Smith tossed three interceptions on the day and the one that probably hurt the most was the one WR/LB Damon took in for a touchdown with 50 seconds left in the first half to put Louisville up 20-12. The Swarm had been able to keep up with the Fire and looked to go into the half no worse than trailing by two-points.
“I dropped back and saw him squat down on the outside receiver and he must have made a good read on my eyes,” said Smith, who finished 18 of 42 for 202 yards and 2 TD passes. “I didn’t even see him, it was one of those deals where it was a good defensive plays and I have to be more heads up.”
Smith looked his best in the second half connecting with WR/LB James Scott on a 26-yard strike and then leading the team to another scoring drive that resulted in a 5-yard run by OS Ryan Russell to put Cincinnati up 25-23. However, the Swarm never really threatened after that as the Fire scored 13 unanswered points en route to the victory.
“This was a preseason game for us, since the scrimmage we had scheduled for Rochester was halted when the war started,” added MacKeown. “All the busses we had were taken over by the government and so this is the first time we have the chance to hit anybody but ourselves. It showed due to poor tackling”
In the first quarter of play there were a series of passes that slipped out of the reach of receivers’ hands, plays that were broken up quickly by the Fire, and three missed conversions after touchdowns (two on kicks).
“Mentally we were prepared, physically with the arena and catching it off the nets it was a lot different than we were used to at our practice facility. Now that we got the hang of things we will be a lot better off,” added Smith.
The Swarm looked like a team that definitely could have used a pre-season game or two before the start of the season. They gave a good fight against the Fire, but it seemed like Louisville Head coach Wally English had a few more tricks up his sleeves.
“They were pretty good with 8 guys who drew checks from National Football League teams last season. They were good at pass protection, but we worked hard to get to the quarterback”
The numbers game was relatively even on paper, but differed drastically when it came to kick-off yards. The Fire tallied 110-yards on four kickoff returns, while the Swarm could only manage a lonely 8-yards. The Fire were perfect on the night scoring off the Mason interception and recovering a fumble that lead to a Marc Samuel 28-yard FG in the third quarter.
“The second half was relaxed a little bit. I know myself was relaxed more,” added Smith. “It gets frustrating when you go down, you’re trying to get back and you are taking hits. My mind gets boggled and you try to force things. I have to get better at that.”
Cincinnati will be on the road against Birmingham next weekend and will debut at home on Saturday, April 19 against Charleston. The team will have two games out of their system and, by the home opener, could be fine tuned in the game of Arena Football.
“We have a lot of work to do and we have 15 more games to keep plugging away,” added an optimistic Smith.
A fan of the sport since 1990 Marc has covered both the New Jersey Gladiators and Cincinnati Swarm (Af2) for Arenafan Online. Marc now resides in Indianapolis after graduating with a Masters in Sports Management from Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind. When not at a Firebirds game Marc can be found traveling the Midwest covering sports for various Internet and print publications.