THOUGHTS ON THE GAME-BOSSIER SHREVEPORT

Quick Recap of the game:
(COURTEOUS OF AF2.COM) "The Arkansas Twisters defeated the Bossier-Shreveport BattleWings, 39-38, in a defensive minded contest in front of 3,819 fans at the Alltel Arena on Saturday night. The defenses set the tone of the night early when each team recorded a defensive stop on the opponent’s first offensive drive of the game. The Arkansas Twisters finally gave offensive pundits something to cheer about when QB Kyle Rowley connected with WR Robert Johnson on a 17 yard touchdown pass with 6:27 remaining in the first quarter. The defenses continued to dominate in the second half as WR/LB Lee Thomas picked off a Kyle Rowley pass and returned it for a touchdown early in the third quarter to give the BattleWings a 26-20 lead. The lead was snatched back by the Twisters when Kyle Rowley hit Olan Coleman for a 16 yard touchdown pass with 58 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Twister lead didn’t last long thanks to the dynamic return skills of P.J. Berry who returned the subsequent kickoff for a 58 yard score to give the BattleWings a 32-27 edge going into the 4th quarter.
Twisters FB Chad Cook scored on a 3 yard run to give Arkansas a 33-32 lead at the outset of the 4th quarter. That 6 play, 33 yard scoring drive was met with a 5 play 35 yard scoring drive by the BattleWings that culminated in Buchie Ibeh’s second touchdown reception of the night to give the BattleWings a 38-33 lead with 7:55 remaining in the game. The Twisters reclaimed the lead when Kyle Rowley connected with Steven Bergeski for the fifteenth time of the night on a 9 yard touchdown pass. The BattleWings were in the enviable position of having the final offensive possession of the ballgame down 39-38, but could not capitalize. QB Andrico Hines hooked up with WR Manwell Talbert on a 7-yard pass on first down, but that was the only positive play of the possession. FB Jason Schule was tackled for a 2-yard loss on 2nd down and Hines was sacked and penalized for intentional grounding on 3rd down. Hines was then intercepted by Lawrence Richardson who benefited from a strong pass rush that had harassed Hines for the entirety of the drive. For the second year in a row, the BattleWings lose their season opener by a lone point."

My Thoughts/Impressions On The Game
-I was very surprised by how low scoring and very defensive this game was (Though Coach Seigfreid has been quoted as to saying he expected a low scoring game). Both teams have explosive and potent offenses and having a game in arena football with a score below 40 is not something you see everyday.

-I was VERY impressed with the defense. A blocked extra point, holding the Wings to a field goal (which was missed), and stopped the wings from scoring in the redzone twice and most importantly, getting an interception to seal the crucial win for the twisters.

-I was very disappointed with Rowley's overall performance for the night. I understand it was the first game and you can't expect 100% perfection in the first game, but being a veteran in the arena game and having been on a championship team, I expected better from Rowley. His two interceptions were poor decisions with one being returned for touchdown late in the 3rd quarter. Throughout the night, a lot of inconsistent moments for Rowley which translated into sputtering moments for the offense. He's going to need to shape and work these first game kinks out if he's going to replicate his outstanding performance last season.

-Both teams sluggish/sputtering moments on all sides of the ball. Maybe I was just expecting too much too soon, but with the talent and coaching staffs both teams have, I was just expecting a classic, highly offensive AF2 match up.

-Battle Wings kicker Art Carmody was the biggest blunder for the night. His kicking was awful and virtually cost his team the win by missing a FG and three after point attempts. The Twisters special team was by all means a blunder as well, giving up a 58 yard P.J. Berry kickoff return for the touchdown (Berry was UNTOUCHED all the way).

-ROJO (aka Robert Johnson) is going to be special player for the Twisters. Though he only had one touchdown reception for the night, Johnson showed spunk and although a rookie, wouldn't allow the Wings DB's to push him around. If he can stay healthy and just get a little bit more of a feel for the game, he's going to become a dangerous offensive weapon for the team.

-Their was A LOT of trash talking, pushing, and emotion displayed by not only the players but the twisters and battle wings fans throughout the night...and I LOVED IT! You can really see an exciting and hard hitting rivalry taking shape. Though I don't think this will ever take the same level that the Arkansas-Tulsa rivalry is, I could very well see this match up between these two teams becoming one of the more premier rivalries of the AF2.

CONCLUSION OF THE GAME
It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win. A lot of inconsistency but that would be expected when most of your team is made of talented rookies. I was proud of the fact that when the team needed a score and needed a stop, Arkansas stepped up to the challenge and won. Bossier Shreveport seemed very surprised and taken back by the youthful resiliency that the twisters showed and before they knew what hit them, the game was over 39-38. This was a big win for the Twisters but their is still A LOT of work to be done. Rowley defiantly needs to watch film from this game and learn from his mistakes and work with his WR's and better gel. The next game, this saturday at Amarillo, looks to be a nice a little tune up/fixer up game for Arkansas which will be a perfect time to tweak some things.

OVERALL GRADES:
Offense: C+
Defense: B
Special Teams: C-