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HARTFORD, CT (AP) - Hartford played another top IFL team this week, and came away with another win. Jerome Mueller might be able to make a case for the IFL MVP. All he has done since Scott Nelson went down with an injury earlier this year is post a 4-0-1 record when starting. It has not only been the players around him that have stepped up, Mueller has completed 107 of 152 passes for 1012 yards and 9 TDs against 2 interceptions. For those keeping up at home, he has completed 70.2% of his passes for 6.65 per attempt and a 102.7 rating, which leads the league!
Many Hartford fans expected Harry Moss, the hero of Hartford's inaugural season, to step in and replace Scott Nelson. After all, he had led Hartford to an 8-6 record down the stretch last year and was one of the top passers in the league. But Coach Mills saw something in Mueller that made him opt to go with the rookie, "Mueller has this knack for capitalizing on the defense's mistakes. Moss is a great QB, but he doesn't jump on mistakes the way Jerome does. Plus, Jerome has an incredible pocket presence. Scotty got sacked 10 times in 4 games, Jerome has been sacked just 6 times in 5-1/2 games."
Hartford fans cannot complain about the results, a 4 game winning streak, including wins against IFL big boys Wichita and Hartford's arch-rivals the Beasts. Now with a 5-3-1 record, Mills is wishing some earlier games had broken the other way. That fumble at the end of the Cleveland game is looming bigger and bigger now. "We could be 6-2-1 and tied with Boston right now, or even better 7-2, we should have had that Boston game at our place. It's going to be tough to beat them in Boston, but if anyone can, we will."
Today's game was more one sided than the score suggests. Wichita's veteran QB McCalla was pressured into a 12 of 23 performance for 94 yards! When they rushed the ball things did not get much better, they totaled 85 yards on the ground on 28 carries. The Grizzlies offense turned in their second best performance all time. They rushed for 168 yards on 37 carries, led by Marcano's 90 yards and 5.2 average per carry. In the air, Mueller fired 21 completions out of 27 attempts for 195 yards and 2 touchdowns. He nearly had a third as Antoine Jessie was caught from behind at the Wichita 3 yard line and lost the ball. The Grizzlies missed two FGs and had the turnover deep in Wichita territory. They finished the game at the Wichita 24 yard line.
Many Hartford fans expected Harry Moss, the hero of Hartford's inaugural season, to step in and replace Scott Nelson. After all, he had led Hartford to an 8-6 record down the stretch last year and was one of the top passers in the league. But Coach Mills saw something in Mueller that made him opt to go with the rookie, "Mueller has this knack for capitalizing on the defense's mistakes. Moss is a great QB, but he doesn't jump on mistakes the way Jerome does. Plus, Jerome has an incredible pocket presence. Scotty got sacked 10 times in 4 games, Jerome has been sacked just 6 times in 5-1/2 games."
Hartford fans cannot complain about the results, a 4 game winning streak, including wins against IFL big boys Wichita and Hartford's arch-rivals the Beasts. Now with a 5-3-1 record, Mills is wishing some earlier games had broken the other way. That fumble at the end of the Cleveland game is looming bigger and bigger now. "We could be 6-2-1 and tied with Boston right now, or even better 7-2, we should have had that Boston game at our place. It's going to be tough to beat them in Boston, but if anyone can, we will."
Today's game was more one sided than the score suggests. Wichita's veteran QB McCalla was pressured into a 12 of 23 performance for 94 yards! When they rushed the ball things did not get much better, they totaled 85 yards on the ground on 28 carries. The Grizzlies offense turned in their second best performance all time. They rushed for 168 yards on 37 carries, led by Marcano's 90 yards and 5.2 average per carry. In the air, Mueller fired 21 completions out of 27 attempts for 195 yards and 2 touchdowns. He nearly had a third as Antoine Jessie was caught from behind at the Wichita 3 yard line and lost the ball. The Grizzlies missed two FGs and had the turnover deep in Wichita territory. They finished the game at the Wichita 24 yard line.
