CFL coaches size up the competition

Three months of leaving work a few minutes early to make evening practices, learning the playbook, and waking up sore in the morning are about to come to a close for the gridiron gladiators as the Shell Lightning will face the Express Electronics Eagles this morning in the Commonwealth Football League’s championship game.

Some thought that these two titans were predestined to meet upon the CPA Airport Field in the finals, but neither team had a cake walk to reach the ultimate game, and neither coach is taking the game for granted.

“We’re expecting a real tough game. The Eagles team we faced the first two times is not the team we will face on Saturday—they’ve improved. They’re a great team to begin with and they’re even better now—especially after what I saw against the Typhoon. I was expecting a very close game and I saw a blowout. We’re pretty nervous and the guys are not taking this game lightly,” said Lightning player-coach John Blanco.

Eagles head coach Pete Le’au is also anticipating the outcome of this morning’s contest and he said that his boys have been showing up for practice with a sense of purpose for the big game unlike the days leading up to the match up with the Tinian squad.

“We did what we had to do on offense [against Tinian] by running and passing the ball—the offensive line really came through for me, and that’s what I was worried about because they never came to practice. Yesterday all seven of them showed up because after the game I cussed them out,” he said.

Neither of the coaches will be holding anything back when the teams take the field today, and neither will the CFL organizers, as the Saipan Southern High School band and JROTC color guard will be present to add to the overall experience for the fans and players alike.

Le’au said that despite falling to the Lightning twice this season he believes his team can pull out a win if his players remain in the game for a full four quarters.

“I hope it doesn’t rain because I don’t want it like the first game. I think this one will be a close game like our second game where whomever scores last will win it. The thing is that I hope that nobody gets hurt because if I can keep everybody in there it will be close,” he said.

Both teams boast powerful rushing attacks while the Eagles have experienced the most success through the air of any team this season, and Le’au said that he is very happy to have the talents of his defensive lineman Faasefulu Tigilau for the big game. He said the big man played a major role in stopping the run throughout the season and he made an immediate impact when he returned to play against the Typhoon in the playoffs.

“It was a big difference because he stops the run. I hate to say it but he got hurt at the beginning of out game (against the Lightning) and my defense was open because all of the running plays went right up the middle,” he said.

Even though his team swept the Eagles squad in the regular season, Blanco said that his players hold a high level of respect for the Green Machine and that they will need to play their best to play their best game in order to win today.

“We’re definitely not going in there with a half-ass effort like last time, but the same time we know that they will be playing at an intense level and we’re definitely going to have to play 100 pecent against them. It’s anybody’s ball game. Quite frankly I don’t know. It’ll depend on which Lightning team shows up—either the team that showed up in Tinian or the one that showed up in the previous five games,” he said.

Blanco said that he knows what the Eagles are capable of and that he has had a unique opportunity to watch the development of their quarterback from a youngster to his present day status as a top passer.

“They have a well-balanced attack. They have a pretty good running game; not to mention a very good passing game. Dane [Lizama] is on the money every time. I remember Dane since he was in the SYFL playing with Eastern, watched him when he was playing with Saipan Southern, and now that he is playing with the Eagles I know just how big a threat he is,” he said.

No matter what the outcome of today’s game, Blanco said that he thinks both team are looking at the contest with a sense of relief that the season is coming to a close.

“We’re going to try to go out there to play a clean game, incident free, and whoever comes out with the win, then hey, go out there, shake their hands, and congratulate them.

It’s been a long season. We started back in September, and we started training way back in August. The guys are worn out,” he said.