Kicking System Blog

Saturday, April 21st

Cox Arena

San Diego, CA

RB Ty Evans scored on three 2nd half runs and the defense added two more scores as the San Diego Shockwave quelled a short 3rd quarter Pomona Cool Rider rally to win a hard-hitting, fiercely competitive NIFL game 61 – 32 in front of 3,473 enthusiastic fans at Cox Arena.

It appeared the Shockwave would coast to an easy victory as they dominated both sides of the ball in the first half while outscoring
Pomona 20 – 0 nearing halftime.

Then, with just 35 seconds remaining in the half DL Ricky Leungwai blocked and fell on a long field goal attempt for a touchdown, making it 27 – 0. But the Cool Riders scored with just 2 seconds remaining when QB Neo Aoga hit fleet WR Cameron Coffey on a 20 yard corner route.

The second half, while much closer, opened with Shockwave DB Darren Brooker returning one of his two interceptions for a 38 yard TD at 14:02 of the 3rd quarter, making the score 34 – 6. The Cool Riders rallied for two quick scores midway through the 3rd quarter to cut the Shockwave lead to a more respectable 34 – 19. But
Pomona could only get within 14 points; when the Shockwave held a 40 – 26 lead at the 5:20 mark of the 3rd quarter.

Evans would put the Cool Riders’ away for good, scoring on back-to-back 3 yard runs making the score 54 – 26 midway through the 4th quarter.

“Ty Evans performed well for the second week in a row,” said Shockwave coach Bob Bees. “He’s been working very hard and overall we played well. The offensive line had a good game, giving our QB’s time to find their receivers. And Brooker’s interception was a key play for us opening the second half.”

The defense continues to shine, forcing multiple
Pomona turnovers and stifling them in the red zone. “We started a little slow, our pass rush wasn’t as good as the past few games,” commented Defensive Coordinator Montra Edwards. “But our secondary stepped up and took care of business. Because
Pomona hadn’t played before, we didn’t have film to study so it was tougher to plan. It was a good, but not great effort. We still have a lot of work to do.”

Shockwave DL Andre Reed had 2.5 sacks and harassed Cool Rider QB Aoga all night. Shockwave WR Deondre Alexander and Cool Rider WR Cameron Coffey each had 6 receptions and 1 TD. Accurate Shockwave K John Matich hit a 47 yard FG early in the 2nd quarter, a remarkable feat considering that NIFL goal posts are 50% of the width of NFL goal posts.

We were fortunate to win another game against the Pomona Cool Riders.  We ended up winning 61-32 in San Diego.  It was not my best game, to say the least.  I did hit a 45 yard field goal and 5 extra points. But I did miss my first extra point and had missed a short field goal.  I had two or three roughing the kicker calls for me.  They team kept coming off the edge hard and basically takled me almost every time I kicked. We even got into a scuffle at one point about it. It learned that I gave to keep my head in the game and not get to heated. I also attempted a 50 yard field that I hit straight but was a couple of yards short but I had a rounghing the kicker called for me as Pomona hit me just after I made contact.

It was a busy weekend as I had was on the field all morning before the game and had 8 sessions on Sunday. I cant complain as I love helping people and playing football!!

I am almost finished with the Masters Project for my graduate school, I am gethering all the surveys I sent out and have to write a few more sections. Again I am redoing my business plan for The Kicking System for the MP. Fun stuff!!

 John Matich

Beaumont‘s well runs dry

Saturday, April 14^th

Cox Arena                                                                                        

Led by a dominating, unrelenting defense, the San Diego Shockwave scored early and often and coasted to an impressive 46 – 9 victory over the previously unbeaten Beaumont Drillers at Cox Arena on Saturday night. 

Played before 2,486 enthusiastic fans, even legendary
Texas oil well blowout expert Red Adair couldn’t cap this one.

The Shockwave’s defense confused and stifled the seemingly non-existent Driller offense through the first three quarters. While Beaumont’s offensive was adequate in last week’s 34 – 32 win against
Atlanta, tonight, they turned the ball over 6 times. When they did hold onto the ball, their output was held to a barely a trickle - the Drillers didn’t complete a pass or record a first down until the 4th quarter. Their only offensive gain in the first half was on a broken play.

Meanwhile, the Shockwave offense, led by first time starter Matt Pound played relatively mistake-free football. They scored on two short Ali Culpepper runs, two Pound TD passes - to WR Deondre Alexander and WR Chris Pittman - and a long FG from reliable K John Matich, taking a commanding 32 – 3 lead into the locker-room at halftime.

The most dramatic play of the evening came on the heels of one of many Driller 1st half turnovers. Taking advantage of the scoring opportunity, Pound connected with Pittman on a 38 yard TD to take a commanding 25 – 3 lead midway through the 2nd quarter. Pittman, who finished with 2 TD catches on the night, caught this one in full stride while slamming, a split second later, into the unyielding dasher board in the back of the endzone.

“I was zoning in on the ball, trying to stay focused and make the catch,” said Pittman of his amazing reception. “I really didn’t see the wall coming. Fortunately, I hung on.”

“That was a big-time catch,” commented winning Coach Bob Bees who, at 2 – 1 in his first season as a head coach has the Shockwave in first place in the NIFL’s Pacific Division. “Pittman’s catch really fired up the crowd and the team. We knew we were on our way.”

The Drillers meanwhile, couldn’t shake the dust off their boots, trying three different QB’s in the first half alone, all with the same result.
Beaumont’s QB’s combined for five first half turnovers. In fact,
Beaumont turned the ball over six times in their first eight possessions.

“Our defensive line was relentless from the beginning, really setting the tone for the entire game,” added Bees. “Everybody did a great job tonight. Our offensive line stepped up and showed what they could do. Our receivers – who dropped 6 or 7 balls last week in
Wyoming – really stepped up and made some great grabs, particularly Chris Pittman’s catch.”

With the game out of reach,
Beaumont starting QB Kirk Dean hit WR Chad Luttrell on a 36 yard fly pattern for a TD at 8:14 of the 4th quarter.  The 2 point conversion failed, making the score 39 – 9.

Roman Ybarra came in late in the game to throw the final TD pass for the Shockwave, a 5 yard scoring strike to Pittman.

“I was excited to have the chance to start,” said QB Pound, a local product from 
Escondido. “I made a few mistakes in the beginning, but our defense held them scoreless. All I had to do was get the ball to my teammates and let them do the rest.”

Montra Edwards’ defense, which gave up 57 points the week before, shut down
Beaumont. DL Ricky Leungwai started things off at 11:50 of the 1st quarter, by blocking a long field goal attempt into the end zone for a safety, making the score 2 – 0. 

Well, we just won again. We beat the Beumont Drillers 49-6 on Saturday night.   We all played well and it was great team win.  I was fortunate to have a small field goal 20 yards and connect on 5 or 6 extra points.  Its always nice to win in front of the home crowd.  The kicker for the Drillers had a nice 48 yard field goal.  I must admit the kickers in this league are great kickers.
It was a busy weeekend as I spend Saturday morning on the field and all day on Sunday performing kicking lessons.  And it didn’t stop there as I had more sessions on Monday.   I am also finishing up my graduate degree from the Univeristy of San Francisco, and I have a few more sections left in my Masters Project.    It will nice to graduate next month and have a little breathing room.  I also have concluded a corporation status form my non-profit called “The Extra Point Foundation.” I will be having a kicking camp for youth football kickers this summer with proceeds going towards the San Diego Childrens Hospital.

So far to date I am 3-4 on field goals and 12-12 on extra points. The long field goal is 41 yards.

I will keep you posted…

John Matich

The Wyoming Cavalry scored 20 unanswered points in the 3rd quarter turning what was a tight game into a lopsided 57 -20 win against the San Diego Shockwave. The game was played before 2,692 fans at the Casper Events Center in Casper, WY on Saturday night.The veteran Cavalry club, who outscored the Shockwave 33 – 0 in the second half, won the game going away over the younger, mistake-prone Shockwave.

The first half was a see-saw affair. After stopping the Shockwave on their first drive, the Cavalry’s Trey Ransom opened scoring by converting on a 39 yard FG at the 9:41 mark of the 1st Quarter. The Shockwave tied it at 3 -3 five minutes later with 4:41 left when K John Matich hit from 41 yards out.

Both teams swapped TD’s and the first quarter ended in a 10 – 10 tie. Momentum seemed to shift the Shockwave’s way when the Cavalry’s WR Dante Dudley was stopped at the Shockwave’s 2 yard line on a 4th and goal early in the 2nd Quarter. But the Shockwave quickly turned it over and Wyoming capitalized on a 5 play, 23 yard drive, with a 7 yard QB Matt Strand TD toss to WR Dante Dudley. The PAT failed, making the score 16 – 10.

The Shockwave responded and took their only lead of the game with 1:48 remaining in the first half when QB Roman Ybarra hit WR Chris Pittman with a 6 yard TD pass. The PAT was good giving the Shockwave a 17 – 16 lead. That lead, however, was short lived. The Cavalry, benefiting from good field position resulting from a short kickoff, scored with 27 seconds remaining making the score 24 – 17.

On the ensuring kickoff, the Shockwave quickly advanced the ball several times to the Cavalry 17 yard line. The Shockwave called a timeout with 1 second remaining and K John Matich had enough leg to muscle a 27 yard partially blocked field goal attempt through the uprights. Score – 24 – 20, Wyoming at the half.

The first half was hard-hitting and penalty-filled. “Mistakes and penalties did us in not only in the first half, but the entire game,” said a disappointed head coach Bob Bees of the Shockwave’s play. “We came out flat in the second half. It was a very tough loss.”

Despite the relatively small gathering, the raucous Wyoming fans – led by their famous 9th man – the fired up crowd – seemed to play a part in the Shockwave’s undoing, disrupting the San Diegans at key moments throughout the contest. While time of possession favored the Shockwave 32 minutes to 28 minutes, the Shockwave really couldn’t muster any offense – dropping numerous passes, suffering three interceptions and losing one fumble. The Cavalry, meanwhile had plenty of giddy-up on offense. Their defense, though was the story, turning the fumble and one interception into two, 3rd quarter Cavalry TD’s that put the game out of reach.

Some questionable officiating at key moments didn’t help San Diego’s chances. Calls appeared to go Wyoming’s way most of the night, sealing the Shockwave’s fate. “The officiating seemed a bit lopsided,” lamented Shockwave wide receiver coach, Eric Van Tassel. “There were an inordinate number of calls that broke our momentum and stalled our drives. They certainly weren’t 37 points better than we were.”

Shockwave WR Nakoa McElrath led all receivers with 6 catches for 77 yards and 1 TD. WR Chris Pittman added 5 receptions for 29 yards and 1 TD. Shockwave RB Ali Culpepper, who ran strong in the season opener against LA couldn’t get untracked, gaining just 8 yards on 5 carries.

Cavalry DB Brandon Everage had two interceptions, and DB Brian Guthrie had one; the costly 49 yard interception return for TD, that punctuated Wyoming’s performance and put the game out of reach, 44 – 20. Cavalry WR Dante Dudley also had a big night, catching 3 TD passes. Speedy RB James “Spiderman” Jones seemed to always be involved, touching the ball 16 times for the Cavalry. He gained 30 yards on 11 carries and had 5 receptions for 46 yards.

“While we don’t like any loss, this shows us where we’re at and the adjustments we need to make,” vowed Coach Bees. “And we’ll make those adjustments and be ready next week. Our schedule doesn’t get any easier. Beaumont, our next opponent, is a very good team. They just beat Atlanta 34 -32 Saturday night.”

Hello,

Its been a little to long for this post. I have played two games and since the last post and the season is off and running. We won our first game 57-9 against LA. We just lost to Wyoming 57-20. We were down only 24-20 at half.

Both of the kickers that I played against are good kickers. The LA kicker made a 39 yarder and had some good kickoffs and made a great tackle on a kickoff.  The Kicker from Wyoming, Trey Ransom, had a great evening, and made a 40 yard field goal and most of his extra points.  The NIFL has good talent for kickers.

I missed a 43 yarder my first game but made all my extra points (7-7), I connected on a 41 yarder and a 27 yarder in the wyoming game and was 2 for 2 on extra points. My last field goal was at the end of the half with one second left, an opposing player basically tackled me as I made impact with the ball and I had to muscle it through. I never saw the ball go through the uprights, in fact I did not know that I made it untill the end of half-time.  I found out by looking at the stat sheet and cofirming it with Coach Bees.  It was partially blocked and the ball just made it in. I will take those when I can. Luckly I was not hurt, teamate Rico Curtis just got enough of the player so he did not take my knee out.

We have Beaumont Drillers this week, another challenge for us.

John Matich