Pioneers face a different pain

There were a couple of familiar faces walking the sidelines on Thursday during the Pioneers’ regular afternoon practice session.

Fourteen weeks into the regular season, bumps and bruises are taking their toll on the team. Some they can ill afford to take lightly.

“I came here to practice (today), but here I am,” said Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defensive lineman Isaac Hilton.

Hilton is third in arenafootball2 with 13 sacks, but suffered a minor shoulder injury earlier in the week during a practice. He said he’ll be ready to play when the Pioneers face Florida at 7:30 tonight at Germain Arena in Estero, Fla.

“I haven’t done much all week,” Hilton said. “It’s just been a lot of mental repetitions.”

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton quarterback Ryan Vena and wide receiver Larry Kendrick were standing alongside Hilton.

Although both were just resting minor injuries – Vena has a contusion on his throwing arm and Kendrick has a multitude of bumps and bruises – they stood out like a sore thumb dressed in street clothes on the sideline of Thursday’s practice.

“Everybody is really banged up,” said Pioneers head coach Rich Ingold. “These guys are resting (Thursday), but they’ll be good to go for (today’s game).”

The Pioneers (10-2) have possibly their toughest contest of the season today, facing the No. 3 team in the American Conference in the Florida Firecats (8-3).

Florida is coming off a bye week during Week 13 and is currently in the midst of a two-game slump, having lost to Manchester and South Georgia in consecutive weeks.

“Florida has been struggling to score points lately,” said Ingold. “They have a great pass rush and a dangerous quarterback. I think we’re pretty evenly matched.”

A close game with an evenly matched team doesn’t serve Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s goals well.

The Pioneers are seeking to lock up home-field advantage throughout the American Conference playoffs. A win versus Florida virtually guarantees just that.

“The bottom line is that we’re on an 18-game home winning streak,” said Ingold. “Everyone knows how good we are on our own field. We want that advantage. We want every playoff game to be at home. That’s what’s important right now.”

The Firecats do bring to the table a weapon that has the potential to exploit a weakness in the Pioneers’ defense.

Florida fullback James Gibson has run for 252 yards on 67 carries this season. He’s the fifth-ranked rusher in arenafootball2, but has the third-most yards and the fourth-most touchdowns (11).

For the Pioneers, whose 27th-ranked rushing defense is allowing 35.1 yards per game, a Florida offense balanced with a successful rusher could spell a closer game than the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton wants.

But in a league where shortened fields provide pass-heavy offenses, Ingold seemed confident that his defensive front could put enough pressure on the Firecats’ offensive line to make them abandon the run game early.

“They aren’t going to beat us with the run,” he said. “They may sneak one in on us, but we’re going to get after them. It’s all about rushing the quarterback.”

Hilton saw Florida’s weakness in an offensive line that was, in his words, “inexperienced” and “not well coached.”

Tight end Chris Bowser, center Thomas Bell and guard Greg Walls set up in front of Florida quarterback Chris Wallace, who’s completed 230-of-386 passes for 2,315 yards and 52 touchdowns with seven interceptions. Together, they’ve allowed Wallace to be sacked 20 times this season.

“Their offensive line seems like it’s patchwork,” said Ingold. “It’s one of the reasons they haven’t been able to score a lot of points this season.

“If we can get in there and take control – and I know we can, we have one of the top pass rushes in the league – there’s no reason we can’t put this game out of reach early.”

Families no longer feuding

After last week’s brawl in the stands of the Wachovia Arena, it was learned that the altercation originated with the family members of Pioneers wide receiver Bakari Brown and defensive back Micheaux Robinson.

Robinson said at Thursday’s practice that everything between the two families has been patched up and there are no hard feelings between the two teammates.

“We were playing the game at the time,” said Robinson, who’s currently second in the league in interceptions with 12 behind Sergio Gilliam of Spokane. “We (Robinson and Brown) didn’t even know what had really happened until later.

“This team is a family, too. We talked, everything’s the way it was. We’re both just trying to play football.”

Playoff picture

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton clinched the East Division and a first-round home playoff game with last week’s win over Manchester. Green Bay also clinched an American Midwest Division with a win over Mahoning Valley.

Florida, the current Midwest Division leader, can’t clinch the title this week, but needs the win to stay in contention. A loss for the Firecats puts them in a three-way tie for the lead in the Midwest heading into Week 15 with South Georgia and Tennessee Valley.

Quad Cities remains the probable first-round opponent for the Pioneers as the No. 8 seed in the American Conference. The Steamwheelers are 6-6 with a Week 14 game against second-ranked Green Bay (9-3). The Pioneers have split the season series with Quad Cities, losing 48-41 at Quad Cities on March 28 and winning 84-26 at Wachovia Arena on May 5. The Blizzard beat the Steamwheelers 52-35 on April 25.

UP NEXT

Pioneers (10-2) at Florida (8-3)

WHAT’S AT STAKE: For the Pioneers: The Pioneers enter the game leading the American Conference standings. A win over the Firecats keeps them in No. 1 and virtually guarantees them home-field advantage throughout the American Conference playoffs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has already locked up a game at Wachovia Arena for the first round.

For the Firecats: The Firecats lead the South Division, but a loss can change that very quickly. If the Pioneers win, Florida can slide to second in the South and fourth, or potentially fifth, in the American Conference standings after South Georgia defeated Spokane this past week and Green Bay posted a win to move into second at 9-3.

Jamie A. Raub is an agate clerk for The Times Leader. He may be reached at 970-7139.