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Friday, July 28th

Thunderbirds vs Lumberjacks: Preview

Thunderbirds vs Lumberjacks: Preview
TBirds visit the Lumberjacks
Heather Reinhart
2006-07-26
The Central Minnesota Thunderbirds will hope to make it two wins in a row when they travel to Richfield on Saturday for a battle with the Minneapolis Lumberjacks.
The Thunderbirds improved to 1-1 when they beat the Superior Stampede 21-0 last weekend with the help of a strong passing game. The team struggled with its running game, partially because two of its starting linemen were unable to play due to prior commitments.
It was hoped that the team would have its complete offensive line back in time for the Lumberjacks game, but Coach Chad Baldwin said that probably won\'t be the case. While those who were missing last week will be back, others have since sustained minor injuries and will likely have to sit out on Saturday.
"We\'ll see what happens," Baldwin said.
The T-Birds will also be without offensive coordinator Terry Stark on Saturday, which Baldwin said is his biggest concern at the moment.
"There are a lot of unknowns right now with our team," he said, adding that he isn\'t sure who will do the offensive play-calling in Stark\'s absence. "I will know more after practice this week."
The Thunderbirds are scheduled to hold a team practice Wednesday night and it is hoped that all of the questions will be answered at that time.
The strengths of the Lumberjacks, who are 2-1 this season, come from their linebackers and backfield.
"They\'ve definitely stacked themselves up pretty well," Baldwin said.
The Thunderbirds will not be adding any new plays or making any major changes prior to Saturday\'s game.
"We stay pretty consistent with what we\'ve done because that\'s what the guys know," Baldwin said. "We\'ve got to just go out there and play."
Baldwin said that after teams work the kinks out in the first few games, the battles become a test of which team has the better game plan and can execute it the best.
"Last year our scheme proved to be more successful than theirs, and we hope that\'s the case again," Baldwin said. "It\'s going to be a battle of two really good teams. It could go either way."
Saturday\'s game will be played at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.

Article written by Commissioner on 07.28.06 @ 09:30 PM CST [...more]

Rough Riders Beat Maulers

Rough Riders Beat Maulers for First Time
The Winona/La Crosse Rough Riders pulled out a 27-21 win over the Minnesota Maulers in overtime on Saturday night at Winona State’s Midwest Wireless Stadium. The Rough Riders’ victory was their first ever win over the Maulers in four tries.

The Rough Riders jumped out early, taking a 14-0 lead on two David Dechant touchdown passes in the first half. Dechant’s first TD pass was a 38 yard pass to former Winona State player Donte Pettis and his second score went to Aaron Woelfel for 14 yards. The Maulers took control after that scoring 21 straight points to take a 21-14 lead. Winona/La Crosse was able to send the game into overtime when Keontay Jackson scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 3:37 left in the fourth quarter.

The Maulers had the ball first in overtime, but missed a long field on their first possession. The Rough Riders took the ball after the missed field goal and drove down and scored the winning touchdown on a 5-yard touchdown run by Jackson. Jackson finished with 66 yards rushing on 17 carries while Woefel led in receiving with 117 yards on 5 catches.

The Rough Riders are now 3-1 on the season and they’ll be back at home this weekend when they host the Superior Stampede starting at 7:30.

Article written by Commissioner on 07.28.06 @ 09:28 PM CST [...more]

Saturday, July 22nd

Threshers Youth football clinic set in Waukee

Threshers Youth football clinic set in Waukee

SportsPlex West will host a youth football clinic for youths entering third through eighth grades. The clinic will be held July 29 at the SportsPlex facility, 890 S.E. Olson Drive in Waukee. Instructors for the clinic will include semi-pro football players from the Iowa Threshers.

Youths going into the third through fifth grades will meet from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Youths going into the sixth through eighth grades will meet from 11 to 12:30 p.m.

Cost is $25 per player, and includes a T-shirt. Registration deadline is Saturday. A clinic registration form can be found at www.sportsplexwest.com.

For information, call Brett Barber at 987-0806.

Article written by Commissioner on 07.22.06 @ 10:05 AM CST [...more]

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.

Article written by Commissioner on 07.22.06 @ 09:30 AM CST [...more]

Friday, July 21st

Stampede's Dzuck Named MLFN Player of the Week

Superior Stampede defensive back Darrin Dzuck has been named National Player of the Week at defensive back for the Central Region by Minor League Football News for his play July 15th against the Minnesota Valley Warriors. The Duluth, Minnesota native had two interceptions for 106 yards and one TD in the Stampede's 48-6 victory.
Article written by Superior Stampede on 07.21.06 @ 09:41 AM CST [...more]

Monday, July 17th

Stampede Versus Thunderbirds Game Information

The Superior Stampede (2-1)(2-0) will host the Central Minnesota Thunderbirds (0-1)(0-1) on Saturday at Ole Haugsrud Memorial Field on the campus of UW-Superior in Superior, Wisconsin. Kick-off is slated for 3:00 p.m. and the game can be heard by The Fan 560 WEBC radio. The game will be a Toys For Tots Fundraiser in conjunction with area firefighters and Lost in the 50's. Additionally, a lucky fan will have the opportunity to win a Family Four Pack of Green Bay Packers tickets, as they are generously being donated by Nothwest Beverages and our good friends at Miller-Lite!
Article written by Superior Stampede on 07.17.06 @ 04:16 PM CST [...more]

Sunday, July 9th

RoughRiders 20 Vikings 0

By Rick Solem | Winona Daily News

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Despite a double-digit lead, the Winona/La Crosse Rough Riders amateur football team had something to play for.

Cedar Valley had never been inside the Rough Riders’ 20-yard-line all night on Saturday at Maxwell Field.

Not until a Rough Riders’ fumble gave the Vikings the ball with just over two minutes remaining inside the 20.

The Rough Riders played like it was a tie game and pushed the Vikings back with three sacks, maintaining the shutout and the 20-0 home-opening win.

“We’ve got to keep going hard,” said Rough Riders linebacker Tony Ford. “If we stop, coach is going to chew us out.”

The Rough Riders defense never stopped.

They held Cedar Valley to negative-10 yards of offense in the first half, while the offense broke out the running game.

Keantay Jackson made his Rough Riders home debut a great one, putting them up 7-0 with a powerful seven-yard run in the first — diving for the right pylon.

On the next possession, he really gave the crowd something to cheer about, breaking off a 58-yard draw play for his second touchdown of the day.

According to Jackson, none of his eight carries for 70 yards were about him.

“For that draw, you got to give it all to Dempsey Miller,” Jackson said of his lineman. “It’s easy when you’re following a 300-pounder down the field. I give my line all the credit for my yards today.”

Jackson wasn’t the only back carrying his load. Deejay Spencer also got into the action with a 35-yard touchdown run with 20 seconds remaining in the half. He ended with 43 yards on seven carries.

Those three touchdowns were all the Rough Riders defense needed.

“It was great to see the guys hold onto that shutout,” Rough Riders coach Paul Anderson said.

The Rough Riders put up 172 yards of offense in the first half, but ended with just 119 yards mostly because of sacks.

“It was like night and day between the two halves,” Anderson said. “But it was nice to see the running game get going in the first.”

Quarterback David Dechant was 6-for-9 in the first half with 72 yards.

Aaron Woelfel caught four of those passes for 59 yards, including a 20-yard tight end screen that set up Jackson’s 58-yard touchdown run.

Cedar Valley ended with 116 yards of offense.
Article written by Commissioner on 07.09.06 @ 06:10 PM CST [...more]

Friday, July 7th

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
Article written by Commissioner on 07.07.06 @ 12:46 AM CST [...more]

Saturday, July 1st

Owners saw a need for football in Superior

Owners saw a need for football in Superior
By KEN OLSON
The Daily Telegram
Last Updated: Saturday, July 01st, 2006 08:06:52 AM

Thanks to Terry Fawcett, Joel Brekken and Marty Schubitzke, area football fans can now again spend their Saturday afternoons watching football at Ole Haugsrud Field.
The three are owners of the newly formed Superior Stampede, a member of the Mid-American Football League.
“The biggest thing is we wanted to bring adult football back to the University of Wisconsin-Superior campus and the city of Superior,” Fawcett said. “It really means a lot to the local players that they get to play in front of their own home crowd again, and on the field they used to play for as member of UWS or the Superior Spartans.
“We know football is very important to the community
Article written by Commissioner on 07.01.06 @ 05:24 PM CST [...more]

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