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REPORT CARD: MARINERS VS. STAMPEDE |
Steve McNelly’s Grade Report for the Mariners Opening Night Win against Harrisburg
BALTIMORE, MD (March 9, 2010) – A Mariners/Stampede game never lacks drama, and last Saturday night was no exception. The Mariners came in with one goal in mind; beat the Stampede and start the season off 1-0, and that’s exactly what they did with a 55-48 victory. The scoring was virtually back and forth the entire game, starting with a Harrisburg field goal, which was answered by a Mariners touchdown. However, in the end, the Mariners made no mistakes and capitalized on the mistakes made by the Stampede offense and special teams. The exams are in; let’s see how the Mariners did in their season opener in Harrisburg:
Offense: B+
The Mariners offense didn’t falter and didn’t stall, and had an outstanding performance. The passing game was nearly perfect, as E.J. Nemeth led the Mariners offense with four passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. Nemeth was spreading the ball around quite generously to his wide receivers Saturday night. Scorpio Brown led all receivers in yards with 66 through the air and three touchdown catches. Jamaal Stokes hauled in six receptions for 44 yards, and Armar Watson, who filled in for the injured Mike Williams, caught four passes for 63 yards. The reason why the Mariners didn’t quite get an A or A- is because of the running game. While Isaiah Grier did lead the AIFA in rushing and was a major part of the Mariner offense last season, he was very quiet in this game. Grier rushed for a mere 17 yards on 11 attempts, and did reach the end zone on the two yard run. The offense came to play last night, and hopefully that will carry over in the weeks to come.
Defense: C+
Much to the surprise of many Mariners fans at the game and watching our live broadcast on UStream, the Mariners defense had a very difficult time stopping the Harrisburg offense. Baltimore’s defense gave up 257 yards of total offense and six total touchdowns. The passing defense got lit up and gave up 257 yards through the air and three passing touchdowns. The Mariners run defense was great, only giving up 15 yards on the ground on eight rushing attempts. They didn’t make a big play all game long until the fourth quarter. The Stampede offense drove down the field to the 8-yard line and looked to score again. However, Mariners defensive back Jermaine Thaxton stepped up big and picked off Stampede quarterback Kelvin Robinson to seal the deal for a Mariners victory. Melik Brown and Fearon Wright got in the back field a few times, as Brown brought down Robinson twice and Wright helped assist in a sack. The Mariners defense will need to step it up next week and make more defensive plays to stop driving offenses. Despite that, you have to give credit to the Baltimore defense for stepping up when it counted in the clutch.
Special Teams: B
No doubt about it, the blocked extra point returned for two points kept the Mariners within striking distance of this game. Thanks to a great heads up play by Armar Watson, every time the Stampede would score, the Mariners would return fire and stay within one point until they put the game away. Kicker J.R. Cipra did allow four touchbacks that gave Harrisburg great field position, as well as one “uno” to put the icing on the cake of a very delicious Mariners victory. Cipra went 1 for 2 on field goals, missing a long 55-yarder.
What the Fans Think: Here is how the great Mariners fans graded the game via our Facebook page:
“Offense A, Defenses B, Special Teams B” – Mike Barnstein
“I give them a big W 1st place in the east Baby lol” – Bruce Ginevan
Next Sunday, the Mariners will face off against the New Jersey Revolution in their home opener. Kickoff is at 4pm; hope to see you all there!
For more information about the Baltimore Mariners go to www.baltimoremariners.com.
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