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