TRANSITION SEASON FOR ROUGHRIDERS COULD DROP THEM NEAR BOTTOM OF RMFL STANDINGS

Team Preview by: Jared Neumeier

BOISE – When the then, defensive coordinator, Chuck Hudson saved the franchise (then known as the Boise Cardinals) from early ruin in the summer of 2000, few knew where this franchise would go.

Six seasons later, after compiling a regular season record of 33-17, Hudson has finally retired from the team. In all of those seasons, the Boise Roughriders were always there come playoff time

What about 2006?

The Boise Roughriders will most certainly be in a transition in 2006. This transition, however, will not completely be due to the changeover of management, as long time General Manager, Doug O’Brian has also left the franchise.

Even with a number of long time veteran players staying with the team and the return for a full season (hopefully) of two-time RMFL Defensive MVP, Zac Jockumsen, there will be a number of new faces in key positions for the Roughriders and they will be missing some very key players from previous seasons.

Tackle leader from 2005, Maurice Sapp will not be back, star receiver, Tony McPhearson is gone along with offensive stars Sheridan Hodson and Chance Leeds. Also, Jason Yates and Austin Callison will not be back. However, what could hurt the worst might be Aaron Blakely, who finished second in the RMFL in rushing in 2005, by only 24 yards and after missing the better part of two games.

Its not all bad news, for the spirited Roughriders of Boise, however. As I mentioned, Jockumsen will be back which should take care of the Sapp hole, and the Roughriders may be the only team in the RMFL that had a small private celebration over the folding of the Treasure Valley Stallions. With the Stallions “off the books” they received two very big and very talented offensive linemen who were committed to the Stallions program, Joe Crutchfield (6’4, 300) and his brother, Bill Crutchfield (6’7, 370) who will immediately improve the Roughriders offensive line situation.

There will, however, once again, be a lot of question marks now with who replaces Blakely and how good they will be, who will be their receiving threats now that McPhearson is not with the team, can they get pressure on opposing quarterbacks after losing some of their sack leaders AND… the annual question, can they get consistent quarterback output out of either incumbent, Brian Stogsdill or returning to the team, RMFL veteran, Paul Dovel?

There is no question the Roughriders will rely on their ground attack once again for their offense, especially behind a behemoth offensive line and they will rely on good team defense and some solid defensive backs to stop opposing offenses, but with the RMFL going to AAA and the Roughriders schedule set to be the most difficult they have ever played, there will be too many question marks to rank this team into a playoff position.

They will just have to play into it… and I’m sure that suits them just fine.

KEY ADDITIONS:

Joe Crutchfield – Offensive Line

Bill Crutchfield – Offensive Line

OFFENSE:

The book on the Roughriders over the years has always been, “good defense, average offense”. Although the Boise offense had generally been “perceived’ as average, there has been improvements over the years. The Roughriders offense finished 4^th (of 16 teams) in 2004 and 6^th (of 21 teams last season). In both of these seasons, Brian Stogsdill was the primary quarterback of the team., however, in those two seasons, Stogsdill compiled an embarrassing 49.6 quarterback efficiency rating, including a 33.8 rating last season after throwing 14 interceptions against 6 touchdowns. In 2004, the team had RMFL MVP, Ernesto Ramos and last year, Blakely. 2006, no Ramos and no Blakely, can the team continue to move the ball and score without solid quarterback play? I don’t think so. There is good news, however. Stogsdill has had some excellent performances over the years and the addition of two great offensive lineman to an already solid offensive line might just be enough to erase all of the inconsistency bugs from his repertoire. Additionally, another decent quarterback has re-joined the team. Former Cardinal and Roughrider, and Treasure Valley Cowboy, Paul Dovel is back. The competition for the two should be healthy and it is likely that both will be playing plenty for the Roughriders in 2006, however, the job will still be Stogsdill’s to lose. Still, aside from returning all-star tight end, Shawn Mares, who lead the team last season with 14 receptions for 368 yards, the rest of the offensive skills players will be new to the team. In the backfield, Efrain Oliveres, who originally played for the Wasatch Wildcats of old will be the teams’ fullback. Oliveres will lead for a mix of tailbacks. Phil Zeek, a 5’9, 200 pound, low-to-the-ground sparkplug will share time with a player of similar build, Dan Maguira (5’6, 200) and a more traditional tailback, Charles Dabney (6’, 210). The Roughriders may eventually settle on one of them, but the likelihood that any one of them will be able to replace the numbers Blakely or Ramos did is highly unlikely, especially since most running backs need carries to get a feel for the game. The wide receivers will come from two of either Adam Guy, who is desribed as a “triple-threat” and all-around athlete at 6’0, 195-lbs, Adam Epps with “great speed” and Jeremy Prussia, described as “explosive”. Regardless, they are all unproven talent and will have to work with Roughrider quarterbacks in game situations before they can really show what they can do… which leads us to the really good news. The Roughrider offensive line. The Crutchfield boys join long time team leader and now head coach, Todd Rietmann (6’4, 350), Mike Kierpic (6’3, 300) and the little man of the group, veteran, Robert Tracy (6’3, 275). Make no mistake, this will be a formidable offensive line and might end up being the best in the league. Forget the receivers or the quarterback, the Roughrider offense may never have to pass anyway if this group can play up to their potential, stay healthy and any of the tandem of Zeek, Dabney or Maguira can take advantage of their opportunity. All-star quality place-kicker, Eric Harbison returns to make the big kicks necessary to win the close ones. I’m not projecting the offense very high… but this projection comes with a real ray of hope. Projected Offensive Rank: 7^th.

DEFENSE:

Even without Jockumsen last season, the Roughrider defense finished 4^th in the RMFL in defense. Of course, one might argue that the ranking came including four games against the offensively challenged Snake River (15^th) and the Idaho Matadors (17^th). However, they also had 2 games against the explosive Magic Valley Bulldawgs as well as games with Pocatello (no offensive slouch there) and, who will forget, the Rhino-Raiders at home. So, like ‘em or not, the Roughriders do prove their starch year after year on defense and I see no reason not to expect them to be pretty good in 2006 as well. Even though their most recognized star, Zac Jockumsen was injured for the season in the second game against the Rhino-Raiders, the defense did not miss a beat. Other players stepped up. Also, the 2006 Roughrider defense has more good news, these are all returning veterans. Not one of the expected defensive starters is new to the Roughriders. They have play together and will know each other. Along the defensive front line, Jeremy Lee (6’3, 290) will join Darren Gossett (6’225) at the d-end spots. This will be the chance to shine for both of them at full-time defensive linemen. In the middle, alls-star Reashard Howard will be paired with Sean McBride (6’3, 260). The line only hopes to set the table for a solid linebacker corps that will include two-time RMFL tackles leader in Jockumsen and returning veterans, Bob Mares and Smokey Percifield. Mares lead the team in sacks in 2005 with 6-1/2, however, this will be the first time in a while for Percifield to see full time play and his ability to “shake the rust off” at middle backer will be a key in the teams run-stopping efforts. Star safety, Sean Thompson, moves to corner to be paired with one of the teams fastest players and all-around athletes, Dane Knickrehm. Knickrehm and Thompson lead the team in picks last season with 6 a piece and expect to continue at that level especially if the Roughrider front can continue to pressure opposing quarterbacks. Former Madison Lionz player, Scott Scwab, gets a full-time promotion to starting safety and Kevin Bekker returns to his original free safety on the defense after playing last season primarily as a wide receiver, allowing for the move of Thompson to cornerback. Again, a solid group, no holes, no real question marks. They, however, may be hampered if the offense struggles. This is the smallest roster the Roughriders have had in years (about 40), so there isn’t quite as much depth as usual. They need to keep their best players healthy and they need to have offensive success so that this defense can shine. It’s a tough schedule, though and they play many games against the best offenses in the league. Projected Defensive Rank: 5^th.

INTANGIBLES AND COACHING:

It has now become difficult envisioning an RMFL playoffs without the Roughriders in it, however, the AAA/AA split has certainly made that a real potential… NOT, however, any kind of certainty. There are only a couple of question marks on this team and those can easily be positives that makes this team compete at the highest possible level. Whatever they do, however, they will have to do it without their long-time head coach, Chuck Hudson, patrolling the sidelines or his vast array of assistant coaches chipping in their support. For the first time ever, this team will be almost exclusively player-coached which only introduces more question marks about how this team will stay motivated or how well they will be able to make in-game adjustments. 2006 will be the most difficult test this Roughrider team will have faced, but the rewards will only be that much sweeter if they pass this test and report for their unprecedented 7^th straight playoff appearance.

OVERALL RANKING: 7^th