Warrior General Games

Originally posted by HATEMOBSTER
I just read the Gangster one from the first page lol. Ahhhh memories. Nice write ups, I never knew this was here lol.

It's fun to do and makes for a nice team history.

why is this sticky???

NightHawks Find Rude Welcoming In Putnam County


Published March28th, 2009
Tucson Times

Tucson's coaching staff went into Saturday night's game against the Putnam County Keg Tosser's looking to answer questions regarding just how far their team had come heading into Season 8's post season. After a 55-20 thrashing at the hands of the Keg Tosser's they found themselves with more questions than answers. Where was their improved rushing game? What happened to their pass rush? Where was the vaunted improvement in pass protection from the Nighthawks offensive line? Why did the offense hit on less than 50% of it's passes?

The biggest question of all was perhaps now that we've reached the point of win or go home, can this team step up and make the plays necessary to keep them alive in post season play?

"That was just ugly", said Tucson Head Coach and OC Pontiacnutt, "We let that game get away from us early on. They took us out of our game plan which was to run the ball. Plenty of blame to go around on this one, coaches, players the whole deal". The Nighthawks defense was pushed around all night long allowing 468 yards of total offense. The secondary was constantly harassed allowing 310 yards through the air. Tucson DC Moses was obviously agitated after the game " What can you say? None of the breaks went our way. I thought we had a good plan coming in. They didn't do anything we haven't seen them do before. We just did a piss poor job of stopping them".

Neither team was able to accomplish much offensively with their first two possessions. Putnam County finally got things going midway through the first quarter with a 7 play 64 yard drive. After opening the drive with a rush off right tackle that netted 3 yards the Keg Tossers stayed with the passing game for the next 6 plays. Completions of 10, 25, and 4 yards left them set up just outside the red zone where quarterback Fling Dathing found wideout Jack Knopf for a 27 yard touchdown strike. Nighthawks corner Cro Marty was in one on one coverage on Knopf, " I played him tight off the line of scrimmage and just read the route wrong". Moses took part of the blame, "We had the free safety playing up allowing us to double team the slot man off the line of scrimmage. Their quarterback made a good read in finding the single coverage and their receiver ran a great route. It's not often you'll see Cro get beat like that".

Trailing 7-0 the Nighthawks looked to even the score. "I thought we'd finally gotten things going," said Tucson Quarterback Stonewall Gunner, "We'd struggled a bit early but finally seemed to find some rhythm". The Nighthawks hit two big 3rd down completions on the drive. The first came on a 3rd and 8 when Gunner found his big tight end Pooh Duggins for 19.5 yards and the conversion. Coach Nutt liked the play call, "From watching game film we felt like anytime we could get our tightends matched up with a linebacker we had a big advantage". Later on in the drive the Nighthawks faced a 3rd and 13 from the Putnam County 35 yard line. Gunner again came up big, this time connecting with wideout Glue Trapd for a 21 yard gain. Following an incompletion Gunner was sacked for a loss of 4.5 leaving the Nighthawks facing a 3rd and 14.5. This time Gunner was unable to connect with Trapd forcing Tucson into a field goal attempt. DeadNutz On was good from 35 yards away making it a 7-3 game.

Putnam County made it a 14-3 game on their next possession again using their passing game to dice up the Nighthawks secondary. The Kegger's had 3 catches of 22 yards a piece on the drive moving 73 yards on 7 plays. The drive was capped by a 1 yard touchdown run on a toss sweep to the right. "It wasn't that we couldn't get pressure on the quarterback" said Moses, "we just never could get the sack".

Things got worse quickly on Tucson's next possession. Quarterback Stonewall Gunner was blindsided attempting to hand off and fumbled the ball. The fumble was picked up by the Keggers and returned 18 yards for the score making the deficit 18 points. "I never saw the guy coming " said Gunner, "He was so quick getting to me that I barely had time to take the snap".

The Nighthawks were unable to put points on the board their next two possessions despite being able to move the ball. Going from their own 20 to the Putnam County 43 they appeared to be ready to cut into the Kegger's lead. 2 consecutive sacks ended the drive and took them out of field goal range. On their next possession they again drove the ball into Putnam County territory this time reaching the Kegger's 8 yard line. On a 3rd and goal though, Gunner was picked off in the endzone killing a golden scoring opportunity. "We shot ourselves in the foot offensively and defensively all night long " said Nutt adding, "At that point it should have been an 8 point game which would have allowed us to continue to stay with our game plan offensively".

Tucson was finally able to close the deal on their next drive. Moving the ball 64 yards all through the air Gunner was able to cap things off with a 17 yard touchdown pass to Neon Bodeaux. Gunner completed 4 passes on the drive of 17, 13, and 12 yards before hitting the 17 yard touchdown pass. "Again your glad for the score but it just made me think even more about the 10 points we didn't get" Nutt reflected, "At worst we should have went into the half down by a point. Not taking anything away from Putnam, they played a great game, we just gave them allot of help".

The Kegger's extended their lead on their first drive of the second half. This time mixing the run and pass they drove the ball 64 yards with a 3rd down conversion of 21 yards moving the ball down to just outside the Nighthawks 10 yard line. Two plays later they capped the drive off with a 7 yard touchdown run making the score 28 - 10. "We knew at that point we had our backs agiainst the wall" said safety Rip Urheadoff, " You have to give them credit, they seemed to be a step ahead of us th entire game".

Putnam County added a field goal of 28 yards making the score 31 - 10 and followed that with a touchdown run with just a little more than a minute left in the 3rd quarter. Trailing by 28 points and desperate to make things happen the Nighthawks again stubbed their toes when tailback Steve Otter fumbled on the first play of Tucson's next possession. Putnam County again recovered the ball and 4 plays later cashed it in on a 2 yard touchdown run.

Down by 35 Tucson finally hit a big play when Gunner hit Bodeaux on a fly pattern that covered 76 yards down to the Putnam County 4 yard line. "We thought we had the play a couple times earlier in the game" said Gunner, "Neon and I just weren't able to hook up on it till then". Three plays later Gunner was able to find Brad Mercer for the touchdown making the score 45 - 17.

Tucson forced a Kegger's punt on the next Putnam County possession but continued their charitable giving when Gunner was picked off on the first play after the punt giving the Kegger's the ball on their own 44 yard line. Attempting to eat up the remaining time on the clock Putnam County went to their running game. After attempting to rush the quarterback all game long the Nighthawks defensive line appeared tired and was unable to stop the Kegger's tailbacks. Twice Putnam County was able to break off runs of 14.5 yards on the drive. They made the score 52 - 17 on a 5 yard touchdown pass to cap off the drive.

Both teams exhanged long field goals late in the 4th quarter to produce the final score of 55 - 20.

In his post game press conference Nutt was unwilling to place blame on any one portion of the team, or game plan. "The regular season is over' he stated, " we won't find any gimme's the rest of the way. If we're to advance through the playoffs we have to step up and play at a far higher level than what we've played at so far this season. A whole lot higher than we played tonight for sure". Asked about any possible changes headed into post season play Nutt would only say "That situation is the same as always. The coaches will get together first thing in the morning and go over the game film. We'll grade everyone just like we always do then evaluate each position in practice this week. If changes need to be made, we'll make them then and not before then".

Asked about the first round playoff matchup against the Anchorage Wolves Nutt would only say, "They're a talented team we were fortunate enough to beat early in the regular season. It's a tough draw to have to open the playoffs with but it's the hand that we've been dealt".

***Stat Of The Game***

We could go with............

4.........the number of turnovers by Tucson

Or we could use...............

26.........the number of times Tucson quarterback Stonewall Gunner was either hurried or sacked.

Some would probably choose.................

42 and 10............the number of pancakes by the Putnam County offensive line as opposed to the Tucson offensive line.

But I think I have to go with..............

-0.5............the number of rushing yards by the Tucson offense. I can't remember the last time a team with negative rushing yardage won a ball game.

Originally posted by Jowen
why is this sticky???

Because Tucson is unique. We're the total package.

Originally posted by Jowen
why is this sticky???

you would sticky it too if your team could write a paper, to bad right?

Originally posted by Jowen
why is this sticky???

Coz we're nighthawks

Nighthawks Open Playoffs With 21 Point Victory Over Wolves


Published March 30, 2009
Tucson Times

Behind one of the most productive air attacks in Tucson history the Nighthawks opened season 8's playoffs with a 48 - 27 pounding of the Anchorage Wolves. Quarterback Stonewall Gunner threw for 546 yards and four touchdowns and hit 3 different receivers for over a hundred yards a piece. "It was a great night" said Gunner, "everything just seemed to click. The protection was there, the receivers ran great routes, things couldn't have went better". Tucson Head Coach and offensive coordinator Pontiacnutt was extremely pleased with the production he got out of his offense. "All the things that went wrong last game, went right tonight. I think part of the success with the passing game was due to the fact we actually were able to run the ball some tonight. We're still not where we want to be with that side of things but it was a good effort against a quality defense". As pleased as he was with his offense he did have some concerns with his defense. "We gave up to much through the air again" he said adding "part of that was due to the fact they were so far behind. It's still a concern though".

Nighthawks defensive coordinator Moses agreed there were issues that needed to be addressed, "We blew some assignments out there tonight but we also made some good plays. Part of the problems were scheme related. Most of their passing yardage came in the first half. We made some adjustments at the half that seemed to solve those problems. They got some yardage through the air in the fourth quarter but most of that came after we'd gone to a prevent".

Tucson opened the scoring on their opening drive of the game. Moving the ball 65 yards in 3 minutes and 45 seconds while using a mixture of run and pass the Nighthawks took a 7 - 0 lead when tailback Kenny Watson powered up the middle on a 5 yard touchdown run. Watson had 22 yards rushing on 5 carries on the drive. Gunner was 3 or 4 on the drive with completions of 4, 18, and 23 yards. "It was nice to get off to a good start" said Watson, "it always seems a big boost to the team when the offense is able to step out on the field and take charge that way".

After shutting down the Wolves offense on their first possession Tucson's offense again took the field, this time at their own 6 yard line. After driving 62 yards the Nighthawks stalled at the Anchorage 31 yard line. Kicker DeadNutz On was called on to attempt the 49 yard field goal which he slipped inside the left upright to make the score 10 - 0 Tucson. The Nighthawks passing game was again responsible for the big play on the drive. On a 3rd and 8 from Tucson's own 32 Gunner found wideout Glueh Trapd far down the right side where Trapd out leaped his defender for the 31 yard reception down to the Anchorage 37 yard line. "We practice that route all the time in practice" said Trapd, "Gunner intentionally underthrows the pass. It's hard for the defender to react qucikly enough to make a play".

The Tucson defense again forced a three and out and took possession of the ball for the third time on the night, this time from their own 20 yard line. Leaning heavy on their passing game the Nighthawks moved the ball 77 yards with 61 of them coming through the air. Gunner was 4 of 5 on the drive with completions of 12, 21, 20, and 8 yards. Facing a 3rd and 9 from the Wolves 11 yard line Gunner connected with Brad Mercer but the play came up 1 yard short of a 1st and goal forcing the Nighthawks to again settle for yet another field goal attempt. This time DeadNutz On was good from 20 yards away giving Tucson a 13 - 0 lead.

Anchorage was again held to a three and out on thier next possession and called on their punter to hit it deep. He answered with a booming 50 yard punt which Tucson punt returner "ThrowDaBallMyWay" did an excellent job of tracking down and returning 22 yards to the Anchorage 46 yard line. Gunner completed passes of 19, 3, 15, and 9 yards to set up a 1 yard touchdown drive by Kenny Watson, his second of the night to make the score 20 - 0 and throw the Wolves into desperation mode.

Whatever you want to call it seemed to wake up Anchorages offense, particularly their passing game. The Wolves moved the ball 66 yards, most of it through the air, to end the shutout and leave the score 20 - 7. Passes of 20, 7, 19 and 16 yards tied together with a 3 yard touchdown run off right tackle. After the Nighthawks took over at their own 20 yard line they were able to move the ball into Wolves territory before the drive stalled and DeadNutz On was called in to attempt a long 51 yard field goal attempt. The distance was there but the kick was pushed just wide right leaving the Wolves deficit at 13.

The Wolves took over and again began a drive through the air. With completions of 10, 9, 16, 23, and 6 yards left the Wolves at the Nighthawks 4 yard line. 3 consecutive incompletions left the Wolves facing a 4th down. Their kicker was goo from 21 yards out cutting the deficit to 10 points at 20 - 10. After a nice kickoff return of 36 yard set the Nighthawks up in good field position. Tucson wasted no time taking advantage of the Wolves secondary. The first completion was a 27 yard hookup between Gunner and to Brad Mercer giving the Nighthawks a first down at the Wolves 37. 2 plays later Gunner again hooked with Mercer from 19 yards away giving the Nighthawks a first down from the Wolves 18 yard line. After a Tucson timeout and a Nighthawks incompletion gave the Nighthawks a 2nd and 10 from the Wolves 18 Gunner again struck gold with an 18 yard strike to once again Brad Mercer making the score Nighthawks 27 - 10.

The Tucson defense was ready to strike a little gold themselves. After completions of 30 yards and 16 yards set the Wolves up at the Nighthawks 35 yard line and in prime scoring position. The Wolves again went down field only to have this one picked off by Rip Urheadoff and returned 2 yards to the Tucson 25 yard line. Gunner hit his big TE Pooh Duggins for a 15 yard completion. That was followed by Blah Dow rushing for 4 and Kenny Watson rushing for 6 yards giving the Nighthawks a 3rd and short one at the Nighthawks 49 yard line. Gunner again came up with a huge completion, again to his big TE Pooh Duggins. This hook up covered 30 yards and gave the Nighthawks a first down at the Wolves 21 yard line. Dow picked up 3 yards on the next play rushing off the right side and creating a 2nd and 7 at the Wolves 18. TE Pooh Duggins made his 3rd reception of the drive, this one for a touchdown from 18 away and giving Tucson a 34 - 10 lead.

Anchorage was able to cut the deficit to 21 points after the Wolves added another field goal, this one from 35 yards away, making the score 34 - 13. The Wolves cut the deficit 14 points minutes later after Stonewall Gunner was picked off giving the Wolves the ball at their own 38 yard line. Anchorages offense came up with a big play on a 3rd and 9.5 yards when they hit a 23 yard completion for a first and 10 at Tucson's 39 yard line. They came up with a 17 yard completion on their next play giving the Wolves a first down at the Tucson 22 yard line. After completion's of 6, and 13 yards gave the Wolves a first and goal at the Tucson 2.5 yard line, Anchorage punched it in on the next play to make the score 34 - 20.

Tucson took little time in expanding the lead back to 21 points again on a 10 play, 80 yard drive. Gunner again had a big drive with completions of 10, 14, 15, and 27 yards. The last one for a touchdown. The Nighthawks rushing attack added 15 yards to the drive totals. The defense came up with a big stop giving the offense the ball back. They made good on the opportunity extending the lead back to 28 points. Gunner had completions of 17, 7, and 24 yards to give Tucson a first down at the Anchorage 18 yard line. Tailback Kenny Watson gained 7 yards on first down leaving the Nighthawks with a 2nd and short yardage. Tucson went with a play action pass on the next play allowing TE Han's McGergon to get free in the Anchorage secondary for an 11 yard touchdown completion making the score 48 - 20 Nighthawk's.

The Wolves were able to score on a 26 yard touchdown pass for the final score of the game. "Our offense was very much on top of things in tonight's game" said Coach Nutt, "we have to be able to carry that over against Putnam County if we expect to have a chance to win the game". Coach Moses saw some improvement from the season finale and playoff opener, "I'm pretty certain when we view the film we're going to see far fewer blown assignments. We've still got allot of room for improvement and this next game would be a good place to show it". Anthony Hazelett agreed with his coordinator, "We've had some good defensive games this year but we need to take it to that next level. If we expect to beat the Kegger's we'll need to do that".

***Stat of the Game***

We could go with ..............................

3..........the number of Nighthawk's receivers to have over 100 yards receiving

We could also use .....................

11.1 ..................the number of yards per reception the the Nighthawk's passing game averaged against the Wolves

Some people would go with ............................

75.5 ........................... by itself a good completion percentage but when you consider the 49 attempts it becomes even more impressive

But I've got to go with ...........................

546 ......................... the number of yards passing against a pretty darn good defense.

great work as usual!

Putnam County Shatters Nighthawks Playoff Hopes

Published: April 1, 2009
Tucson Times

Coach Nutt walked into the post game interview room to address the camera's photographer's, and reporters gathered there but it was very apparent it was a trip he really didn't want to make. "I don't know what to tell you guy's. I hate this loss for the player's, the coaches, the owner, fans and everyone who's worked hard for the team this season." Nutt was asked his thoughts on tonight's game? "Two teams played a tough ball game. One of them played much better than the other". So was he saying the players were responsible for the losses? "In some cases yeah," said Nutt, "in most cases no." Asked where he though "most" of the mistakes had come from? "The sidelines, the coaching booth, the film room, positional meetings. Hell if I could think of anything the janitor did football related I'd blame him too."

This game wasn't the complete domination of these two teams season ending match up. That one seemed over from the get go. This one seemed more like a slow bleeding. The Nighthawks defense gave up significantly less points than in the previous match up as they had yardage. The Tucson's offense on the other hand went into the game looking to attack downfield and found the Kegger's defense prepared to force them underneath. Only 3 times were the Nighthawks able to achieve passes of 18 yards or longer. 21 times they were forced to throw short routes. The running game was an improvement over the last match up, which doesn't really say much. The last time Tucson went for negative rushing yards. This time around they rushed for 11 yards on half their carries from the game before. Ok, so the improvement wasn't enough to make a difference which might also tell you something about where the blame for this game lies.

The Nighthawks took the opening drive and were in the process of putting together an impressive drive. Tucson QB Stonewall Gunner found Glueh Trapd up the right side for a 6 yard gain. On 2nd and 4 Kenny Watson was stopped for no gain. On 3rd and 4 Gunner caught the Kegger's in the same defense as his completion before and was able to hook up with Trapd, this one for 7 yards and a first down. Kenny Watson picked up 3 hard yards on 1st down making it 2nd and 7. Unfortunately RC Slocum was found guilty of a false start (a particularly heinous crime for a center) leaving Tucson 2nd and 12. The Nighthawks put themselves in a position to convert when Gunner found Shayde Black for 11 yards up the right side. Tucson lined up in a Strong I and sent Kenny Watson through for 4 yards and a 1st down. Blah Dow was stopped for a short loss on the next play leaving the Nighthawks in a long yardage situation. On second down Gunner tried to find Bodeaux for a completion down the right side only to have it batted away. That left Tucson with a 3rd and 11. The offense came up big on their next attempt. They lined up in a shotgun 5 wide formation that left the TE covered by Putnam Counties middle linebacker, a matchup that routinely favors the offense. Gunner made them pay hitting his big TE Pooh Duggins for 22 yards and another Tucson 1st down. Gunner then hit backup tightend Hans McGegron for a short 5 yard gain down to the Putnam County 32 yard line. Disaster for the Nighthawks struck on their next play and seemed to deflate the team somewhat for the first half. Gunner lined the team up in a weak I formation and took a short drop in the pocket. On a pass attempt intended down the right side for Brad Mercer it was batted up at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by their right outside linebacker.

The Kegger's were able to come out of the gate knowing they could depend on their running game. After losing a yard on 1st down they picked up 10 on a 2nd down rush. On a 3rd and 1 they picked up the first down after they were able to rush for 6 yards around the right side. They picked up 6 yards on a nearly identical play leaving them a 2nd and 4 to go. A gain of 3.5 game set up a 3rd and short at the Tucson 45 yard line. A gain of 7 on 3rd down left them with a 1st down at the Nighthawks 38 yard line. A rush to the right off tackle followed by an incompletion left them with a 3rd and 6 at the 23 yard line. Putnam converted on a wheel route to their halfback down the right sideline, he was knocked out of bounds by middle linebacker Perry Hauge at the 9 yard line giving the Kegger's a first and goal. They cashed in 3 plays later on a 1 yard rush to take a 7-0 lead. "I really thought we had them stopped a couple of times on that opening drive" said linebacker Perry Hauge who had 4 tackles on the drive and finished the night with 11 tackles and an interception.

Once again Tucson found themselves able to move the ball taking possession at their own 20 with a little more than 2 minutes left in the first quarter. After Watson gained 3 on first down, Gunner was able to connect on 2 consecutive passes of 4 yards each to give the Nighthawks a first down on their own 31 yard line. Watson again ran behind the right side of his line for a gain of 3 yards followed by Gunner hitting Neon Bodeaux for 6 yards leaving Tucson with a 3rd and short. Gunner then hit WR Glueh Trapd for 4 yards and the conversion. After Gunner's pass to Bodeaux was deflected away on 1st down he found SeeYouInYourEndzone for a gain of 4. Facing a 3rd and 6 Coach Nutt called for a draw play, "The way they were bringing their linebackers up and to the outside we thought the play had a very good chance of working". As it worked out Blah Dow came up just short, gaining 5 yards on the play.

The Nighthawks opted to punt from midfield instead of taking a chance on 4th down. "Moses told me he thought our defense could get the ball back for the offense. If you've got a coordinator that feels that strongly you have to trust him". Tom "Bigfoot" Sawyer's pooch punt gave Putnam possession of the ball on their 18 yard line. After gaining 6 yards on a first down rush the Keggers went up top only to have the pass intercepted by linebacker Perry Hauge who returned the ball 11 yards to the Putnam County 18 yard line. "They'd burned us earlier on the halfback pass so I'd been looking for it again," said Hauge "I read the quarterbacks eyes and got their just in time to tip the pass and come down with the ball".

The Tucson offense took little time taking advantage of their defenses charity. Gunner found WR Brad Mercer for a 17 yard gain down the left side to give the Nighthawks a first and goal at the Putnam 2 yard line. 2 plays later they tied things up when Glueh Trapd caught a 2 yard touchdown pass leaving the score 7-7.

With the half approaching Putnam took possession of the ball at theiir own 28 yard line. Using a balanced attack they went on a 14 play, 72 yard drive that ended with a 1 yard touchdown run to give then a 14 - 7 lead with just over 4 minutes left in the half. The Kegger's weren't done with their scoring in the first half though. After Tucson shot itself in the foot with a false start penalty to prevent a drive from getting started, Putnam took advantage using the final 2:57 of the half to drive into field goal range where they were successful from 34 yards away.

"We really had a let down on both sides of the ball in the last few minutes of the half" said Nutt, "We'd played them even up to that point then kind of checked out mentally".

Adding to Nutt's anger over the way the 1st half ended was the way the second half started. Putnam came right out and took the second half kickoff, using a 9 play drive consisting of 5 passes and 4 runs and concluding with a 40 yard field goal to take a 20 - 7 lead.

Tucson was unable to put anything together anything offensively and was forced to punt the ball back to the Kegger's. Once again Putnam County put together an impressive drive that stalled after two sacks by the Nighthawks defense, forcing a 45 yard field goal attempt that split the uprights. "They probably come away with 7 there if not for our defensive lineman coming up with those sacks" said Moses adding "at that point your still hoping the offense will find a rhythm so I'm on the sideline begging for someone to step up and make a play. Quickly Sacked and I B Stuffingholes did just that".

Both teams traded punts before Tucson put together their final drive of the game, almost completely through the air. Gunner was 6 of 10 on the drive for 48 yards passing. Tucson was able to reach the Putnam 20 yard line before 3 consecutive incompletions forced them to bring DeadNutz On in the game to attempt a 37 yard field goal that made the score 23 - 10.

Tucson's defense was able to get the ball back for the offense near midfield when Mike Lorenzo picked off a Putnam pass but the offense was unable to take advantage actually losing a yard on the drive thanks in large part to another false start and a 3rd down sack of Tucson quarterback Stonewall Gunner. Putnam effectively put the game out of reach by taking Tucson"s punt and driving 58 yards against an obviously tiring Nighthawks defense. "We had them facing a 3rd and 10 at midfield. They lined up in a single back formation and drop back to throw the ball" painfully remembered DC Moses, "our strong safety bit up on the tight end leaving man coverage on their outside receiver and their quarterback just made a great throw". Putnam capped the drive off with a 1 yard touchdown run making the score 30 - 10.

After another 3 and out forced an exhausted Nighthawks defense back out onto the field they were unable to offer much resistance against a Kegger's offense who seemed to be running downhill by that point. Putnam made the score 37 - 10 going 54 yards on 10 plays. Tucson could do little more than watch time run out on the clock.

"What can you say? Putnam has a hell of a team. You can't take anything away from them" said Nutt, " I think we were able to make some improvement between now and our last match up but unfortunately it wasn't enough to make a significant difference". Asked what he thought the difference in the game was he didn't hesitate "They could run the ball, they had balance. You could see our defense wear down as the game went on because of their physical style of running". Nutt bristled at the thought of off season changes, "Those are decisions that have to be made at the right time and that time isn't now". Asked when the proper time was? "There are lots of things to be taken into consideration, contracts, free agency, player retirement, and team needs just to name a few. We'll get together with the front office and break things down and make decisions on any moves we need to make". One things for sure, this being their 3rd season in AA ball it could likely be a make or break season for the current staff.

***Stat of the Game***

You could go with...........

33 and 4 ............ the number of pancakes Putnam County had compared to Tucson

Or you could use ...................

11 ...................... the number of rushing yards for the Nighthawks

Or some people might go with ........................

172.5 ........................ the number of yards rushing by Kegger's tailback Hurricane Nate

But I think I have to go with .................

27 ................. the number of plays the Kegger's offense ran more than the Nighthawks did. Coincidentally also the number of points that Portland County won by.

Nighthawks Make Ready For Season 9

Published: April 11, 2009
Tucson Times


Winning franchises are often successful because of the hard work put in by front office personnel in the months making up the off season. The brain trust of the Tucson Nighthawks being no exception once again have put in long hours working on personnel issues, contracts, rules changes within the league and their possible effects on game play as well as possible additions to their coaching staff.

Off season acquisitions are always at the forefront in the fans minds during the off season. Owner and OC Pontiacnutt felt that large personnel changes wouldn't be necessary for the Hawks to be of championship caliber in season 9, "We're always looking for potential Nighthawks, but very few measure up in terms of talent and belief in what we're trying to accomplish". Director of Operations and DC Mr. Moses agreed but provided a few more details, "We thought we might lose cornerback Mike Lorenzo but we were able to work out a deal to keep him in Tucson. We're bringing in another cornerback as well as another linebacker from an existing agent. Beyond that, I'm not planning for any arrivals or departures, but we normally have a few surprises every offseason. I hope to keep everyone on the roster. I like the group we've assembled, especially their agents".

As far as any planned scheme changes Coach Nutt felt tweaking an fine tuning was more the answer on the offensive side of the ball. "I would say offensively we are looking to upgrade our rushing attack and have added in more fullback designed plays. We are looking for a blaanced attack that pushes the ball deep and opens the run plays, many changes are on the horizon so just stay tuned". On the defensive side of things Moses was less forthcoming, "I'm sure there will be changes with the ability to tinker with the depth chart and the new defensive play creator will open up a world of new possibilities. I know there are some changes that I want to make, but I'm not exactly going to spell it out. There are things I want to try, we'll see how it works".

Moses felt his defensive squad did a solid job in season 8 but left definite room for improvement, "If I had to grade us overall, I'd have to give us a B+. There were times when I thought we'd perform better than we did and other times when I was surprised by some of the numbers we put up". Nutt agreed, "The defense was outstanding in every game but the Putnam game were we just could not get to the QB".

As always everyone is evaluated in the off season including players and the coaching staff. Nutt praised the staffs work and gave them the often dreaded vote of confidence adding that the only changes would be possible additions in key spots. "We're always looking for dedicated individuals that buy into the Nighthawk mission and are dedicated to building a champion". Moses indicated he had no desire to go elsewhere as long as he was wanted by Tucson's ownership. "I'll be here as far as I know. If P-nutt wants to can me, he hasn't told me yet" he joked laughing, "Honestly, were it not for Tucson I'd have probably left the league by now. Weve got a fantastic group of agents and everyone gets along really well. I enjoy my role with the team. I'd certainly steip aside for a quality DC that wanted to take the reins and have interviewed several in the past couple seasons, but no one that seemed as interested as I thought they should be. At some point, I'd like to primarily focus on recruiting, finances, etc. That's probably my favorite part of the GLB experience".

Nutt will return his top 3 offensive threats from season 8. Quarterback Stonewall Gunner comes off a season where he threw for close to 4500 yards and will once again join forces with one of the top receiving corps in AA ball. The offense also returns it's leading rusher from a season ago, power back Kenny Watson. Nutt was quick to point out that Watson, despite his lower levels, was able to dominate in several games last season.

Not to be outdone Mr. Moses was quick to point out players on the defensive side of things that were dominate forces in season 8, and would be returning for season 9. "Jimmy Williams made an immediate impact, his tackle to deflection ratio was really good. My underleveled DE Abner Moses made major strides over the season and gave us another option at end. Cary Brown continues to impress and perform regardless of what league we're in. Hauge is always solid. It's hard to pin point anyone player, game to game we always had different guys stepping up".

To reach the championship level the team and fans desire will most likely take more improvement from the Nighthawks offensive front. Though they made a vast improvement last season in pass protection continued improvement in run blocking will be needed to keep opposing defenses honest and allow the passing game time to do it's thing. Further improvement on the front 7 of the defensive side of things is crucial to any championship hopes. To often last season opposing teams were allowed to control the line of scrimmage with their power running game. More pressure on opposing Qb's from the front 4 would also go along way towards improving things on the defensive side allowing the linebacking corp to help out more in pass coverage and preventing the Nighthawks secondary from being forced to "play on an island".

With pre-season camp only days away and a multitude of questions that can only be answered once the season begins it's a journey we'll all have to undertake together.

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This is Bob. Copy and paste Bob and soon he will take over GLB

Originally posted by obamabaracks
☻/
/¨„
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This is Bob. Copy and paste Bob and soon he will take over GLB

Uh............ok.

should be real sports writer

Tucson Can't Get Enough Of Brokebacks Defense, Special Teams

Published; April 26, 2009
Tucson Times

Knowing coming into this game that it was really a lose lose situation for the Tucson Nighthawks didn't make things much easier for the coaches in charge along with the players partaking in the game. It was a game they were suppose to win handily and they didn't disappoint, but it was also one where they were suppose to look dominating on both sides of the ball while doing so.

Mission accomplished sort of............................

Scoring offensive touchdowns on a 1 yard fullback plunge, along with three Stonewall Gunner touchdown passes and four DeadNutz On field goals was a good start. Add the two pick 6's provided by pressure from the Nighthawks front line and the Tucson secondary showing they know how to jump a route in a timely manner and this one was already over. We can't forget though that there were also 3 long punt returns for touchdowns by Tucson's long time return man Throw DaBawl Myway to remove any doubts about this ever having been a competitive contest with the final score being Tucson 73-0.

Tucson took the opening kickoff and drove the length of the field. Tucson powerback Kenny Watson netted 4 yards rushing on 2 carries with Blah Dow pitching in a 5 yard gain of his own. The other 43 plus yards on the drive came courtesy of Stonewall Gunner and the Nighthawks receiving corp with backup fullback Donald Roy Hutson punching it in from a half yard away to give Tucson the only lead they'd need the rest of the day.

After the Brokebacks failed at an attempt at offensive football the Tucson offense once again took control of the ball. After Phillie's punt went out of bounds at the Tucson 10 yard line the Nighthawks knew they had 90 yards of open space in front of them to operate. The initial first down on the drive consisted of a 6 yard run by Watson on 1st down. After an incompletion from Gunner to SYIYEZ set the Nighthawks up with a 3rd and 4 Gunner picked up the first down using his cadence to draw the Brokebacks defensive line off sides. The Tucson running game then took over with Blah Dow gaining 25 yards on carries of 7, 5, 4, 6, and 3 with Watson adding in 31 yards on gains of 16, 3, 6, and 6 yards apiece. After gaining a 1st and goal at the Brokebacks 5 yard line. A short Dow gain surrounded by back to back incomplete short passes left Tucson with having to try a chip shot field goal to take a 10 - 0 lead.

Once again the Nighthawks defense quickly returned the ball to the Tucson offense. The Nighthawks put together a short drive helped by Gunner twice drawing Brokeback tackles to jump into the neutral zone and make contact. After that it only took three completions for the Nighthawks to find paydirt. Gunner first found Bodeaux for 5 yards up the right side. On second and five Gunner found Trapd up the left side for a 16 yard gain to set up Tucson at the Brokebacks 35 yard line. On the next play Gunner sidestepped pressure and stepped up in the pocket before finding Neon Bodeaux for the 35 yard touchdown pass and a 17-0 Tucson lead.

That lead was quickly added to, this time by the Tucson defense. Brokeback QB Reverend Doctor was facing a 2nd and 10 and attempted to go deep over the middle with Tucson DT Quickly Sacked right in his face. His errant pass was picked off by Nighthawks linebacker Cary Brown who returned the pick 28 yards for the touchdown and a 24-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter.

Both teams then took turns trading punts as neither could seem to get their passing games going with any consistency midway through the 2nd quarter. Lightning struck for the first time though in the kicking game when Tucson return man ThrowDaballmyWay settled underneath a 40 yard Philadelphia punt and began to pick his way through Brokeback defenders for 80 yards and a 31-0 Nighthawks lead.

The Nighthawks blew another chance to get points right before halftime when time ran out before they could get their field goal team in place to try a 20 yard field goal attempt.

The second half opened with the Nighthawks defense again stepping up with a big play when Perry Hauge delivered a vicious hit to force a fumble that was recovered by Abner Moses giving the Nighthawks offense the ball at the Philli 36 yard line. The Nighthawks were only able to reach the Brokebacks 5 yard line where on 4th down they were forced to settle for a 23 yard field goal and a 34-0 lead.

Special teams lightning struck again just minutes later when ThrowTheBallMyWay again fielded a 38 yard punt at his own 16 yard, side stepped the first defender and then wound his way 84 yards for his second TD return of the day and a 41-0 Tucson lead.

It was just a minute and 23 seconds later when ThrowTheBallMyWay performed his final magic act of the night taking the next Brokebacks punt for a score, this time from 78 yards away. With the Nighthawks up 48-0 and Philadelphia showing little life there was no surprise that the stadium began to empty out early as most of those who payed to see the game correctly assumed this one was over.

The Nighthawks then pushed the score to 51-0 on another long drive that stalled late and ended in a DeadNutzOn field goal. On the drive Tucson's backs combined for 42 yards rushing while the Tucson passing game added another 56 yards to their totals. The drive started at the Nighthawks on 4 yard line but finally stalled at the Brokebacks 7 yard line.

Tucson added to the blowout midway through the 4th quarter when Gunner found Domin8ter Braden on a 7 yard fade pattern in the right corner of the endzone to make the score 58-0. On the drive Gunner was 4 of 6 for 38 yards passing. On the Nighthawks next drive it took only 2 plays for them to again find paydirt courtesy of the Tucson passing game. After a Brokeback punt set the Nighthawk's up at their own 29 yard line Tucson immediately went to the air with Gunner connecting with Braden for a 10 yard gain. On the next play lightning struck as Gunner took the snap and delayed just long enough to allow backup tailback / slotman David "the Deuce" Palmer to swing out into the underneath flat. Once Palmer caught the ball and made the first man miss it was a footrace to the house with the Brokebacks Safety the only man with a hope of catching Palmer. He didn't. The missed extra point made the score 64-0 Tucson.

After Tucson's defense intercepted another Phillie pass to set the Nighthawks defense up inside the Brokebacks 30 yard line the Nighthawks were only able to net 7 yards thanks in part to allowing Gunner to be sacked for a loss of 7. Tucson again settled for a field goal, this one from 40 yards away to make the score 67-0.

Tucson's defense must have talked things over and decided not to trust the offense with another turnover. On a first and 10 from midfield the Brokebacks again tried to pass only to once again have it picked off, this time by Nighthawks cornerback Jimmy Williams. Williams took the pick 67 yards for the games final score making it 73-0.

In his post game press conference P-nutt praised all facets of the Nighthawks play. Offense, defense, special teams and his staff. "We couldn't have had a better opener to build off of for this season". Offensively he was particularly pleased with the Nighthawks passing game. "Gunner was on tonight though we could have protected him a little better. Our receivers did a great job of running good routes and catching the ball." DC Moses had little room to complain either "I think we gave up slightly more than a 100 total yards and pitched a shutout while putting 2 defensive TD's on the board. These are films it will be a pleasure to grade".

***Stat of the Game***

We could go with ....................

3, 111, and 2......................that's the number of Interceptions, return yards, and touchdowns by Nighthawks Jimmy Williams and Cary Brown.

Or we could go with.............................

1.4 and 2.1..........................................The first number was the yards per carry allowed by the Tucson D. The second was the yards passing allowed.

But I think I have to go with........................

315 and 3.............................315 being the total number of punt return yards by ThrowDaBawlMyWay to go along with 3 big punt returns for TD.


****UP NEXT****
The RGB Berserk come into town to face the Nighthawks. It will be a step up in competition that will force Tucson to again be on top of their game. The Berserk are a very good team who are talented on both their offensive and defensive lines as well as their receiving corp and rushing game. Tucson will need success throwing the ball while shutting down the Berserks rushing attack if they hope to go to 2-0 on the season.

Nighthawks Overwhelm Beserk

Published: April 30, 2009
Tucson Times
Written By: Rip Urheadoff


Using a stifling pass rush and rush defense the Tucson Nighthawks made what if you judge by the final score, appeared to be short work of rival RGB Beserk 41-16. The game was much closer than the final score appeared. The Nighthawks for the second game in a row scored on offense, defense, and special teams. "We weren't dominating on offense but we did the things we needed to to win the game" said Coach P-nutt, "It surely does help though to have a dominating defense and special teams setting you up in great field position and putting points up on the board as well. We'll need that if we're going to make a serious run for a championship this season".

The Nighthawks opened the scoring on their first drive using a pounding ground attack to reach the Beserk 16 yard line before stalling. DeadNutz On was called on to attempt a field goal which was good from 33 yards away giving Tucson a 3-0 lead. "We really ran the ball well early on" said Tucson Qb Stonewall Gunner, "It was great to get points on the board to open things up but we were disappointed having to settle for 3 instead of getting 7, it's happened far to often so far this season". The Nighthawks have attempted and made 10 field goals this season. "We've got a great kicker" said P-nutt, "One we can depend on when we have to. Right now though we're having to depend on him far to often."

The Beserk answered the Nighthawks score with a field goal drive of their own tieing the score up 3-3. After forcing the Tucson offense to go 3 and out Tucson called upon it's other kicker, punter Tom "Big Boot" Sawyer, to pin the Beserk deep. Sawyer responded by booming a 48 yard punt that rolled out inside the RGB 5 yard line. "Special teams have been huge for us so far" said DC Moses. Moses defense responded on RGB's next play when Quickly Sacked took down the Beserk's Qb for a safety and a 5-3 lead.

Tucson took advantage of the free kick mounting a 7 play drive that was climaxed by fullback Amos Moses scoring from 1 yard out to give Tucson a 12-3 lead. Gunner had back to back big completions to set the score up first hitting Glueh Trapd for 27 yards before finding Brad Mercer for a gain of 17 yards down to the one yard line. Again though RGB responded with a scoring drive of their own going 66 yards exclusively through the air before finding the endzone on a 17 yard touchdown pass to cut the Nighthawks lead down to 2.

Tucson used it's own passing game on their next drive to move down to the RGB 7 yard line before having to settle for another field goal and a 15-10 lead. Gunner connected on passes of 11, 6, 4, 7, 29, 14, and 6 yards on the drive. "Again we came up a bit short" said Gunner, "when we can turn these field goals into touchdowns we'll be tough to beat". RGB again closed it to a 2 point game on a drive set up by a Stonewall Gunner interception that gave the Beserk possession of the ball at Tucson's 24 yard line. DC Moses praised his defense for holding RGB to the field goal attempt. "We could have easily given up 7 points there but the defense bowed their backs and held them out of the endzone".

With time running down in the first half Gunner again directed Tucson's offense down field using the passing game. Key on the drive was it's opening play, a 35 yard pass connections from Gunner to Neon Bodeaux. The drive ended with DeadNutz On hitting his 3rd field goal of the half from 36 yards away giving Tucson and 18-13 lead headed into the half.

Both teams traded field goals to open the second half leaving the score 21-16. "It was a very tight game at that point. We were ready for it to go down to the wire" said P-nutt. Tucson stretched it's lead to 8 points with yet another DeadNutz On field goal, this one from 22 yards out, leaving the score 24-16. This time though RGB was unable to answer and was forced to punt the ball away leading to what most likely the turning point of the game. ThrowDaBall Myway fielded the 42 yard punt and wound his way 52 yards for his 4th punt return for a touchdown on the season breaking the game open and giving Tucson a 15 point lead.

If that wasn't enough to break the Beserk's back Tucson's defense dealt the final blow just minutes later when Felix Updawg stepped in front of a Beserk pass picking it off and returning it 24 yards for the score and a 38-16 lead. "I had responsibility for the back coming out of the backfield." said Updawg adding, "I don't think the quarterback ever saw me. I just read his eyes and jumped the route".

Tucson added a 55 yard field goal, DeadNutz On's 6th of the game, to close out the scoring and give Tucson a 41-16 win. "This was an extremely tight game that in a matter of minutes got busted wide open." said P-nutt during his post game press conference. "We put allot of thought into special teams this off season including the hiring of a new special teams coach and it's paid huge dividends the first two games of the season. This was a complete team win. All phases of the game contributed." When asked about the play of his defense DC Moses was quick to point out how pleased he was with their play to this point. "This was a strong quality opponent. We held them to 16 points and were able to add 7 of our own on the pick 6 by Updawg. It's still early in the year but I like the direction we're headed".



***Stat of the Game***

We could go with..............

8...................the number of tackles for loss by the Tucson defense

Or we could use.................

9 and 7.................................the number of Hurries (9) and sacks (7) by the Tucson defense.

But I think I'll go with...........................

0.2............................The miniscule "Yards per Rush" the Nighthawks defense allowed to the Beserk rushing game.


Next Up: Uncle Sam's Misguided Children
Despite getting off to an 0-2 start the USMC appear to be a talented team with a quality passing game and offense still trying to find it's way defensively. The Nighthawks will look to leave them searching for answers and their first win.