Boston Dragons - 2008 season

[kingfc22]

Pre-Season Week 2

Boston Dragons 24
@Little Rock Toads 3

First things first. Last season we went 3-1 in the preseason so let's make sure the fans know that the results of these games are meaningless. Our defense created 3 turnovers which is good to see. We want that to carry over from last season.

However, we did see some good things on the field from certain players that will be counted on this season.

QB Jerald Burdette got the start and played into the 2nd quarter. He was 8/10 for 71 yds and led the team on a 9 play - 44 yd. drive for a Carter Garland FG.

RB Tony Moriarty was hitting the holes hard as he rushed for 44 yds. on just 5 carries.

WR Josh Sullivan worked his way all over the Little Rock secondary. He had 9 catches for 118 yds. and a TD.

We have one position where the starter is still in question. Who will be the starting free safety for the Dragons???

Introducing first, incumbent Leslie Harris.:thewave: Harris was on the field for 40 plays and he made 8 tackles and a pass defensed which led the team tonight. He also picked off a pass and returned it for a TD. On the other hand, Leslie did allow 6 passes to be caught...

His competition is Quinn Surdyk. :thewave: Quinn was in the game for 37 plays. He made 4 tackles and he assisted on 4 more.

And what most people want to know. How did the rooks do?

DT Earl Hood was on the field for 44 plays. He made 1 tackle and assisted on another. He also batted down a pass.

C Junior Huffman played 47 plays and he had 1 KRB in 2 opportunities.

CB Lawrence Currie played 40 plays. He made 4 tackles tonight and played a solid game.

LB Neil Weems made 3 tackles and had our only sack of the night.

And everyone's favorite player when things go bad, the backup quarterback.

QB J.B. Fogarty played almost 3 quarters. He was 9/18 for 117 yds. and a TD plus he ran for another. Next week we hope to see Fogarty to improve on that completion percentage.

[kingfc22]

Gaddis Inks Big Extension

At a team press conference following today's game against Little Rock, the club announced that they have signed DE Fritz Gaddis to a contract through 2012. Sources close to the team say that Gaddis is easily one of the top 5 paid defensive ends in the game.

Gaddis had this to say, "I'm really happy to be able to take care of my family. I wasn't happy when Tulsa gave up on me and I'm thankful that Boston gave me a chance last offseason. Working with the coaches here has made me a better player and I'm excited to lineup alongside Hood and Webb this season."

We were able to get a quick response in from GM David Gonzalez, "I'm extremely happy that Fritz decided to sign a long-term deal with the Dragons."

The WGH line is going to have QB's and RB's saying We Got Hammered all season long.

[kingfc22]

Nice report!

Thanks.

[Matt]

I'm part of the JB Fogarty fanclub.

start him dammit

[kingfc22]

Pre-Season Week 3

Newark Bulldogs 17
@Boston Dragons 13

Well this is a game we won in my opinion. J.B. Fogarty led a 73 yd. drive in the final 2 minutes that ended with a Josh Sullivan TD from 19 yds. out. However, some blind guy wearing pinstripes dropped a yellow hanky and called the play back.

Jerald Burdette looked impressive once again. He was 13/19 for 167 yds. including a 54 yard TD strike to Josh Sullivan who is having a very strong preseason. Fogarty had that nice final drive which wsa highlighted by a 54 yard pass to Tory Wigfall. Fogarty finished the night 8/16 for 102 yds. and an INT. After 2 games, Burdette is starting to pull away with the starting job while Fogarty has shown some flashes of what the future might hold in Boston.

Onto the free safety battle. Surdyk played in 44 plays. He made 3 tackles, had 3 assists and picked off Sante in the endzone. Harris played in 36 plays. He made 1 tackle and had 1 assist.

The loudest cheer of all probably came late in the 2nd quarter when Webb and Hood made a Ruben sandwich. Sante looked a little wobbily after that sack, which had the crowd on it's feet since he is not the most popular QB to ever play in Boston.

Speaking of Earl Hood. He was in the game for 48 plays and had half a sack, 2 tackles and an assist.

LB Dieron Tierney had a very solid game leading the team with 7 tackles and CB Milton Martin played well managing 4 tackles. Unfortunately, the veteran cornerback got injured and will miss the rest of the preseason which probably end up costing him his spot on the roster.

On a side note, it was the second game in a row that we knocked a QB out of the game. First it was Peabody that went down and today it was Burger. Last year we knocked out Lozier and Peterson in the regular season.

[Kobeck]

so now we brag about causing injuries huh???

8)

[kingfc22]

so now we brag about causing injuries huh???

8)

Not at all. Just giving teams fair warning that when you play the Dragons, you better know that we are gonna hit you in the mouth and that you better be prepared.

[Matt]

Pre-Season Week 3



Well this is a game we won in my opinion. J.B. Fogarty led a 73 yd. drive in the final 2 minutes that ended with a Josh Sullivan TD from 19 yds. out. However, some blind guy wearing pinstripes dropped a yellow hanky and called the play back.

ahh suck it up. You lost against most of my backups

[kingfc22]

Pre-Season Week 4

Boston Dragons 17
@Texas Trojans 20

For the second week in a row we have shown our tendency to show the rest of the IFL how to lose games instead of how to win them. Today's loss took a valiant effort by K Carter Garland to miss 3 of 4 FG's to keep Texas in it. :spank:

Today was the game that J.B. Fogarty was waiting for. He got the start and was able to play with the #1 unit. He did lead the team on a 11 play 63 yd. drive that resulted in a TD, but his stat line was not very impressive. He ended the night 4/9 for 40 yds. Incumbent starter, Jerald Burdette came into the game in the second half and went 10/18 for 120 yards.

Tony Moriarty was impressive as he sliced his way through the Texas defense for 83 yds. on 15 carries.

4th Rd. draft pick, Tyrus Strickland got the start today in order for him to get more reps. He caught 4 passes for 49 yds and he also returned a kickoff for a 98 yd. TD.

On defense, Quinn Surdyk had a very good game leading the team with 7 tackles and with Leslie Harris going down with an injury to his elbow Quinn will be the starter in week 1. Our doctors have said that Harris could be out up to seven weeks.

#1 draft pick, Earl Hood made 2 tackles and hurried the QB into a bad throw.

Deron Tierney had his second straight good game as he had 5 tackles. Anthony Hill continues to push towards earning a spot on the final roster with an INT and 3 tackles.

C Junior Huffman did not have a good game as he allowed 2 sacks. In the two previous preseason games he did not allow a sack.

Next week we play Vermont. It will be the last chance for players to shine and try to earn a spot on our 53 man roster.

[kingfc22]

Pre-Season Week 4

Vermont Mountaineers 9
@Boston Dragons 17

Pass happy Vermont came into Boston and left with a loss, however the biggest loss of the night belonged to the Dragons. First round draft choice, Earl Hood, went down with an injury late in the game (hello Sammy Harvey, WTF are you doing playing him late in the game). Hood has a sprained elbow ligament and he will be out 5-7 weeks.

Onto the game notes. J.B. Fogarty got the start and Dana Mason saw his first action of the preseason as well. Fogarty went 5/8 for 64 yds. and a TD. Mason was 13/19 for 147 yds. with a TD and 2 INT's. Fogarty has cleary cemented himself as the #2 guy behind Burdette entering the season.

RB Ross Benson had a suberb game as he ran all over the Vermont defense. He managed to gain 105 yards on only 13 carries.

Tyrus Strickland continued to impress the coaching staff as he nabbed 3 more receptions for 37 yards and will likely be the #4 receiver to start the season.

Rookie Lawrence Currie had 7 tackles to lead the team and Deron Tierney added 4 tackles and a sack.

[kingfc22]

Week 1 @West Virginia (0-0)
Record: 0-0, AC East

We headed into Sunday's matchup with a 4-5-1 record against the Beasts. The media pundits are not sure what to make of the 2008 Dragons as many of them are taking a wait and see approach.

This should be a victory, but as seen with last season's tie nothing can be taken for granted. The game started out well for us as our defense got an early 3 and out and then Jerald Burdette led a 9-play drive that covered 61 yds. and ended in a Tory Wigfall TD. A couple of field goals for each side led us to having a 10-6 lead at the half.

In the second half, neither team could get much of anything going. The Beasts scored a TD on a long drive to tie the game at 13 apiece until Carter Garland nailed a FG with 2:21 to go which put us up by 3. Unfortunatley our defense seems to always allow a huge play late in the game when the other team trails. It's almost to a point where you just have to laugh. The Beasts hit a FG to send the game into OT.

Luckily in OT, our defense continued to show why we should be in contention to win a fair share of games as Willie Ames picked off a pass which changed field position. Then another 3 and out allowed us to start at our own 46 and Burdette led the team into FG range and Garland did not miss.

FINAL SCORE
Boston 19
West Virginia 16


Key News From the Game:
Red Zone defense: We allowed only 1 TD in 4 West Virginia trips inside the RZ.
Field position battle: Our average starting spot was our own 35. Offseason acquisition, P Alton Laliberte had 6 punts and each one pinned the Beasts inside their own 20.
Rushing Offense: We were awful on the ground as we only gained 89 yards while averaging 2.4 YPC.
Virgil McIver: Was named IFL Defensive Player of the Week


Big Performances:
Carter Garland: Hit 4/4 FG attempts
Virgil McIver: 12 tackles, 1 sack

Injury Report:
No serious injuries

[Matt]

JB Fogarty, please

[kingfc22]

Week 2 vs. Oakland (0-1)
Record: 1-0, 1st in AC East

After an opening day victory in West Virginia, we get the luxury of taking on a pissed off Oakland team for our home opener. We went into the game thinking that we would put double team Martinez all day and see if the rest of the defense could handle Bice.

Unfortunatey our gamble did not pay off until the 2nd half. Hamilton to Bice was a constant theme in the first half and it led to a 21-7 Oakland lead at the half. Bice ended up with 13 catches for 190 yds. and Gene Hamilton finished with 4 TD passes.

Offensively we struggled with the running attack and Burdette was 19/31 for 195 yds. The interesting thing that has people in Boston talking is the fact that Coach Harvey brought in J.B. Fogarty late in the game. Fogarty went 6/8 for 51 yds. and a TD.

FINAL SCORE
Oakland 28
Boston 16


Key News From the Game:
Red Zone defense:This week we were really bad allowing Oakland to score 4 TD's in 4 trips.
Rushing Offense: We were pretty bad on the ground again as we only gained 115 yards while averaging 3.4 YPC.


Big Performances:
Billy McBride: 11 tackles


Injury Report:
No serious injuries

[kingfc22]

Week 3 @Murfreesboro (0-2)
Record: 1-1, 3rd in AC East

We started our 4 game road trip today in Murfreesboro. We felt really good going into the game knowing that the Mules didn't really have anyone that would scare us at QB. Last season's #1 pick would probably get the ball a lot and we hoped to slow him down.

We started the game with the ball and on a 4th and short at the 50 yd. line Coach Harvey decided to use a fake punt for the 2nd time this season and it failed again. Obviously Harvey was not afraid of the Mules attack.

The Mules took a 3-0 lead before we saw Carter Garland connect on FG's of 41, 46, and 40. We held a 9-3 lead into the 4th quarter and had a 9-6 lead late in the game. For some odd reason, we decided to pass on a 48 yd. FG and instead we decided to punt the ball into the endzone for a net gain of 11 fricken yards.

Mules QB McGee found his golden arm just in time as he connected for a 47 yd. pass with Bridges on a 3rd and 10. It was the biggest gain for the Mules all day and it set up the game tying FG. Unlike week 1, we were not able to pull out the victory in OT.


FINAL SCORE
Boston 9
Murfreesboro 15


Key News From the Game:
Red Zone offense: We were so bad on offense this week that we did not even make it into the Mules red zone.
Passing Offense: Burdette had a good day going 17/26 for 192 yds.
Josh Sullivan: Josh was shutout today and he only has 6 catches on the season.


Big Performances:
Daryl Magallanes: 7 receptions for 87 yds.
Carter Garland: 3/3 FGA


Injury Report:
No serious injuries

[kingfc22]

Week 4 @Hartford (2-1)
Record: 1-2, 3rd in AC East

This early divisional battle between AC East foes turned out to be a kicker's dual most of the game. Following a 10 play drive by the Grizzlies that resulted in a game tying FG, Jerald Burdette threw an INT on the very first play from scrimmage. Hartford was able to capitalize on the short field and scored the games lone TD.


FINAL SCORE
Boston 12
Hartford 19


Key News From the Game:
Red Zone offense: Again we had trouble getting 6 and had to settle for 4 GG's.
Passing Offense: Burdette had an awful game going 16/40 with 2 INT's and he had 10 passes defensed. Hell of an effort turned in by the Grizzlies.
Boston vs. Hartford: In the last 3 games we have now lost by 7 pts, 1 pt, and 6 pts.


Big Performances:
Carter Garland: 4/4 FGA



Week 5 @California (0-3)
Record: 1-3, 3rd in AC East

If we wanted to get back into the playoff hunt we would need a win over this lowly Heroes squad. This was our 3rd of 4 straight games on the road and we did play sluggish. J.B. Lincoln torched us on the afternoon as he had TD runs from 75 and 46 yds. Even with those long runs we held a 20-14 lead late in the third quarter but were unable to hang on for the victory.


FINAL SCORE
Boston 20
California 28


Key News From the Game:
Red Zone offense: We found the endzone twice this week once inside the red zone.
Passing Offense: Burdette had another subpar game. (Following this week I realized that my changes to the game plan were not benefitting my team)



Big Performances:
Tory Wigfall: 24 carries for 90 yds.



Week 6 @Albuquerque (3-2)
Record: 1-4, 3rd in AC East

Hands down, the defense won this game for us. We managed a lowly 160 yds. of total offense and only ran 50 plays compared to the Matadors 77 plays. QB David Humphrey was harassed all day and was 15/43 for 175 yds. with 2 INT's and was sacked twice and hurried 11 times. Both picks set up scores by our offense and we were able to score a huge upset on the road.

FINAL SCORE
Boston 10
Albuquerque 9


Key News From the Game:
Passing Defense: We hurried Humphrey 11 times, sacked him twice, defensed 9 balls and picked 2 off.

Big Performances:
Raymond Webb: 5 hurries and 0.5 sacks
Lawrence Currie: Our rookie nickel back got his first career INT