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09/30/2006: "Thunderbirds vs Shoremen: Preview"

Thunderbirds vs Shoremen: Preview
T-Birds looking for their first win
2006-07-19
 The Central Minnesota Thunderbirds will be looking for redemption when they head to Superior, Wis., on Saturday to take on the Superior Stampede in a 3 p.m. game. 
Last year, the Thunderbirds rolled to an 8-0 regular-season record in Mid-America Football League action, but the team lost its first game of the 2006 season by a score of 17-14. With only seven games on the regular-season schedule, Coach Chad Baldwin stressed the importance of Saturday's contest. 
"This is a must-win situation for us," Baldwin said. "We only have seven games and we can't afford to lose two." 
The season-opening loss to the Midwest Pioneers on July 8 came in part due to a lack of offensive linemen. Three regular starters were unable to attend the game and while one is back this week, two will still be missing in action. 
"It's going to be interesting because we still don't have our offensive line," Baldwin said. "Our offensive line is going to be our Achilles heal for us." 
Baldwin said additional offensive players may still be added to the Thunderbird roster before the game. He said that if that happens, the team will be in good shape on Saturday. 
The Stampede is a new team this season after branching off from the Duluth-Superior Shoremen. The Duluth Shoremen recently completed their season in the Great Plains Football League, and Superior may receive a few new players from Duluth this week. 
"We expect them to come at us really hard from start to finish," Baldwin said. 
Superior has already played three games this season and holds a 2-1 record with league victories over the Minnesota Maulers and the Shakopee Warriors. 
Baldwin said the majority of the teams in the league started their season earlier than the Thunderbirds did, which could continue to hinder the team this week. 
"These other teams have their timing down better than we do," he said. 
The team has a practice scheduled for Wednesday night, and Baldwin said he hopes to get a lot accomplished before game time. 
Saturday's game will be played at the University of Wisconsin-Superior with kick-off scheduled for 3 p.m.