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09/21/2006: "Thunderbirds at Pioneers Preview"
Thunderbirds looking to improve
Written By: Heather Reinhart
2006-07-06
The Central Minnesota Thunderbirds will begin their quest to reclaim the Mid-America Football League title Saturday night when they travel to Mounds View High School to take on the Midwest Pioneers at 7:05 p.m.
Head Coach Chad Baldwin is in his seventh season with the T-Birds. He said he had some uncertainty about the 2006 squad, but any hesitation was put at ease after Wednesday's practice.
"I think last night we got through a lot of stuff and finally established that we're finally able to run plays and play football," he said Thursday morning. "We made a big leap."
Baldwin admitted that he had been relying on veteran leadership to carry the team this season, but realized that the newcomers had to play their part as well.
"We're about half veterans and half
The Central Minnesota Thunderbirds will begin their quest to reclaim the Mid-America Football League title Saturday night when they travel to Mounds View High School to take on the Midwest Pioneers at 7:05 p.m.
Head Coach Chad Baldwin is in his seventh season with the T-Birds. He said he had some uncertainty about the 2006 squad, but any hesitation was put at ease after Wednesday's practice.
"I think last night we got through a lot of stuff and finally established that we're finally able to run plays and play football," he said Thursday morning. "We made a big leap."
Baldwin admitted that he had been relying on veteran leadership to carry the team this season, but realized that the newcomers had to play their part as well.
"We're about half veterans and half new this year," he said. "It makes it interesting."
While many of the players and coaches have a solid foundation with the team, they also have other responsibilities with their careers and families that are occasionally put ahead of the game.
"We have so many guys that are professionals in their lives and have families," Baldwin said. "There are so many outside-of-football responsibilities that these guys have. This season has probably been the most difficult already."
Baldwin said that while the pre-season practices haven't gone as smoothly as he would have liked, the progress made during Wednesday's practice has left him confident in the team's ability to go out Saturday and win.
The Midwest Pioneers are a much-improved team from 2005 with a solid coaching staff that has added the help of former coaches from the Twin Cities Titans.
The Pioneers already have two games under their belts and bring a 1-1 record into Saturday's contest. The Pioneers beat the Hibbing Hitmen 33-12 in their season opener, and lost to the Racine (Wisconsin) Raiders on the road 22-13. Baldwin said no Minnesota team has ever beaten Racine on its home turf.
Thunderbirds runningback Eric Tarasewicz said the Pioneers should put up a good fight.
"The Pioneers are a good team," he said. "They've already got two games under their belt — which definitely puts them at an advantage. They're a well-coached and disciplined squad."
The Thunderbirds went 8-0 in the regular season of the Mid-America Football League last season, but lost the MFL Championship game to the Twin Cities Titans. The team was later invited to the American Football Rules National Championship Game in Miami, Fla., but lost to the Detroit Seminoles 33-22 to finish with a 10-2 overall record.
Tarasewicz said this season should be another strong one for the T-Birds, who hope to make it back to the MFL Championship game and avenge last year's loss.
"We've built on the team we had last year and are looking forward to another good season this year," he said. "We've added some new faces and hopefully we'll gel together just as good — if not better — than previous teams."
After last year's dominance, the Thunderbirds should be the team to beat in the MFL this season. The Midwest Pioneers will have their shot first.
"They're ready and they would so love to knock us off," Coach Baldwin said.
Tarasewicz said he's ready to get into the action.
"We've gotten some really good practices in the last couple of weeks and now we get to stop hitting our own guys for a change," he said. "I'm looking forward to a good, good football game."