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The Albuquerque Matadors were the surprise team in the league last season. They turned around from a 2005 record of 3-13 and took the top seed in the AC last season with a 12-4 record. One goal line fumble prevented the Matadors from winning their first ever playoff game last year and the team is hungry to return again this season.
Offense-
David Humprhey returns for his 5th year as the starter. Humphrey threw for career highs in yardages, TDs, and completion percentage last season after the team drafted Donald Hanks to compete with him for the job. Competition motivated Humphrey to get the job done and he led the Matadors to 12 wins. He had a career high 403 yards against Oakland which ranks as the 8th highest yardage output for a QB in league history.
On the ground, Kelly "Crisp" Wheat returns for his 5th season as the starter as well. Wheat bounced back from a horrible 2005 season to score a career high 10 TDs. Wheat was a big reason the Matadors were 2nd in the league in rushing. The other big reason? How about twin tackles Miles Perkins and Rickey McCloskey. Widely regarded throughout the league as the best tackle tandem in the IFL, Perkins and McCloskey are bulldozers who sprung Wheat for multiple big gains last season. The rest of the line might be a little shaky this season. Brian Pihos, the 1st pick by the Matadors in 2004, is solid at RG, but incumbent LG Richard Rapp was traded in the offseason and the team is looking for young Jake Kaplan to step into his spot. At Center, Luke Ford returns for his second year as the full time starter. He struggled at times last season, but now looked more comfortable in camp this year and should be solid in the middle.
In the air, IFL career reception leader Scott Scharf returns alongside 5 year starter TE Roger Webster and the young Louis Halstead. Scharf took some time to find his rhythm after coming over from Wichita in a trade last season, but once he and Humphrey found some chemistry, Scharf's stats took off. Scharf set team records for receptions and yards and looks to better those numbers this year. Webster had career highs in yardage and TDs last season despite missing 2 games due to injuries. His backup, last year's 2nd round pick Matthew Cobb, is good enough to start for a lot of teams and allows the team to use multiple TE sets often. On the opposite side, SE Louis Halstead also posted career highs in catches, yardage, and TDs, taking some pressure off of Scott Scharf. Slot WR Gary Ferreira will be misssed, but Burton Boswell should be able to fill the role of slot WR adequately this season.
Defense -
For the 5th season in a row, all 11 projected starters will be returning to their positions. The Matadors have started the same defense each of the last 4 years, and that won't change again this season either.
On the line, Clement Oakley and Rudolph Michell will be terrorizing QBs once again. The added attention they received last season led to DTs Alfredo Annis and Robert Senter both posting career highs in sacks. Combine them with the LB trio of Arlen Weise, Augustine Murray, and Kenneth Fricke, and you have the front seven that finshed 6th overall against the run last year.
The secondary quartet of David Brown, Andy Rouleau, Herman Almeida, and Emmett Dobson return once again. Brown and Almeida are in the top 10 in league history for INTs and neither look to let up this season. Teams tried to throw away from Rouleau last season and Brown responded by tying for the league lead with 7 INTs last year. Gary Firth has been the nickel guy for those last 4 seasons as well and has been counted on to start whenever Brown or Rouleau went down. Almeida was banged up last season, but backup SS Paul Runnels stepped in without missing a beat. Almeida looked tentative during camp, but he'll be ready for week 1.
Special Teams-
K Haywood Tate also returns for his 5th season. He kicked 30 FGs last season and had never missed a PAT in his career. His reliability has made a huge impact on Matador games over the past 4 years. P Michael Curry returns for his 4th year in Albuquerque.
Outlook-
The Matadors are back strong, returning 21 of the 22 starters that led them to the #1 seed in the AC. This team won't be surprising anyone this year, instead they'll be targetted by division rivals Fresno and Anchorage. A playoff berth and a playoff win are expected this season. Ole!
Offense-
David Humprhey returns for his 5th year as the starter. Humphrey threw for career highs in yardages, TDs, and completion percentage last season after the team drafted Donald Hanks to compete with him for the job. Competition motivated Humphrey to get the job done and he led the Matadors to 12 wins. He had a career high 403 yards against Oakland which ranks as the 8th highest yardage output for a QB in league history.
On the ground, Kelly "Crisp" Wheat returns for his 5th season as the starter as well. Wheat bounced back from a horrible 2005 season to score a career high 10 TDs. Wheat was a big reason the Matadors were 2nd in the league in rushing. The other big reason? How about twin tackles Miles Perkins and Rickey McCloskey. Widely regarded throughout the league as the best tackle tandem in the IFL, Perkins and McCloskey are bulldozers who sprung Wheat for multiple big gains last season. The rest of the line might be a little shaky this season. Brian Pihos, the 1st pick by the Matadors in 2004, is solid at RG, but incumbent LG Richard Rapp was traded in the offseason and the team is looking for young Jake Kaplan to step into his spot. At Center, Luke Ford returns for his second year as the full time starter. He struggled at times last season, but now looked more comfortable in camp this year and should be solid in the middle.
In the air, IFL career reception leader Scott Scharf returns alongside 5 year starter TE Roger Webster and the young Louis Halstead. Scharf took some time to find his rhythm after coming over from Wichita in a trade last season, but once he and Humphrey found some chemistry, Scharf's stats took off. Scharf set team records for receptions and yards and looks to better those numbers this year. Webster had career highs in yardage and TDs last season despite missing 2 games due to injuries. His backup, last year's 2nd round pick Matthew Cobb, is good enough to start for a lot of teams and allows the team to use multiple TE sets often. On the opposite side, SE Louis Halstead also posted career highs in catches, yardage, and TDs, taking some pressure off of Scott Scharf. Slot WR Gary Ferreira will be misssed, but Burton Boswell should be able to fill the role of slot WR adequately this season.
Defense -
For the 5th season in a row, all 11 projected starters will be returning to their positions. The Matadors have started the same defense each of the last 4 years, and that won't change again this season either.
On the line, Clement Oakley and Rudolph Michell will be terrorizing QBs once again. The added attention they received last season led to DTs Alfredo Annis and Robert Senter both posting career highs in sacks. Combine them with the LB trio of Arlen Weise, Augustine Murray, and Kenneth Fricke, and you have the front seven that finshed 6th overall against the run last year.
The secondary quartet of David Brown, Andy Rouleau, Herman Almeida, and Emmett Dobson return once again. Brown and Almeida are in the top 10 in league history for INTs and neither look to let up this season. Teams tried to throw away from Rouleau last season and Brown responded by tying for the league lead with 7 INTs last year. Gary Firth has been the nickel guy for those last 4 seasons as well and has been counted on to start whenever Brown or Rouleau went down. Almeida was banged up last season, but backup SS Paul Runnels stepped in without missing a beat. Almeida looked tentative during camp, but he'll be ready for week 1.
Special Teams-
K Haywood Tate also returns for his 5th season. He kicked 30 FGs last season and had never missed a PAT in his career. His reliability has made a huge impact on Matador games over the past 4 years. P Michael Curry returns for his 4th year in Albuquerque.
Outlook-
The Matadors are back strong, returning 21 of the 22 starters that led them to the #1 seed in the AC. This team won't be surprising anyone this year, instead they'll be targetted by division rivals Fresno and Anchorage. A playoff berth and a playoff win are expected this season. Ole!
