May 3, 2014
By CHRIS HOPKINS
The state of Pennsylvania has always
been a hotbed of competition thanks to two great sports cities,
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Both have produced numerous successful
franchises, which has subsequently produced intense intrastate
rivalries.
Whenever the Philadelphia Flyers and
Pittsburgh Penguins share the same ice, the penalty box sees plenty of
action and the matchups in the 1980s and early 1990s between the
Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates were nothing short of
cinematic thrillers.
Another fierce rivalry between franchises of these two sports-crazed cities is beginning to truly blossom, as the Pittsburgh Power are setting their sights on closing the gap between themselves and the Philadelphia Soul.
The first installment of this rivalry
in 2014 will take place in Pittsburgh this Saturday, but home team
beware, as the road squad has won five of the six matchups in the
series.
Philadelphia holds the overall series
record at 4-2 and has enjoyed a great deal more overall success over
the years than the Power, who have yet to make the playoffs since their
inception in 2011.
This offseason, Pittsburgh decided to
take advantage of the free agent market in hopes of loosening the
Soul’s stranglehold on AFL in-state dominance.
The Power brought in 2012 AFL MVP Tommy Grady at quarterback and added playmaking defensive back Virgil Gray, who was the Defensive Player of the Game in last year’s ArenaBowl.
The Power players had a great
practice this week and will be looking to end their three-game losing
slide. They are ready for the challenge against Philadelphia, a team
that is riding a three-game winning streak after the starting the season
on their own three-game skid.
“We need to get a lot more consistent
on offense. We had a great week of practice and great week of
preparation,” said Defensive Line Coach Leroy Thompson. “We need to do a better job on defense creating turnovers.”
Coach Thompson, who coached the
offensive and defensive lines in Philadelphia in 2012 when they made it
to the ArenaBowl, admitted this game means more to him than some others
might.
“I’m not going to lie, I had this
game circled on my calendar,” Thompson said. “Not in a negative way, but
because I coached with Clint Dolezel and coached Derrick Ross and Bryan Robinson and it’s always good to go back against those guys. “
Although a majority of the Pittsburgh
roster are first-year Power players, some of the veterans have
experienced this matchup in the past.
“In-state rivalries are always big,” defensive back Sergio Gilliam said. “It’s a big game especially since it’s a divisional game and they’re a great team. “
Gilliam and the rest of the defense
will have to step up big on Saturday as they go up against one of the
most well-oiled offensive machines in the AFL. The Power understand the
importance of getting to quarterback Dan Raudabaugh in order to disrupt his rhythm in the passing game.
Another area that is hard to overlook is the running attack with League-record holder, fullback Derrick Ross.
“We need to pay attention to where
the ball is and stay in our rushing lanes while playing a lot smarter in
noticing their formations and where [Ross] lines up on the field,” said
defensive end Neil Purvis. “They can rush it at any time so we will have to keep our rushers a little tighter than we would in other weeks.”
Purvis is the longest-tenured Power player and the only player left from their inaugural 2011 roster.
With playoff implications looming, the Power will look to turn the tide by taking down in-state rival Philadelphia Soul, in the first of three Keystone Collisions in 2014.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST on Saturday and can be seen nationally on ESPN 3.
No comments:
Post a Comment