Bears Lose by 1 to Rhino-Raiders

Saturday saw the Bears face the Rhino-Raiders for the first time in the 2007 regular season. Both teams came out ready to play and ended the first half tied 0 - 0. The Rhino-Raiders came up big on defense several times to shut down the Bears and showed their maturity by attack punting in the game when a younger team would have attempted two fourth and 1 attempts. Both attack punts proved to be brilliant calls and left the Bears with the entire field to cover, not to mention leaving the Bears without the posibility of huge returns on a regular punt.

The game came down to a blocked field goal and a blocked extra point. The Rhino-Raiders topped the Bears 7 to 6. The score was much closer than the stats for the game, but what really matters is how many points show on the board when the final whistle blows and the Rhino-Raiders won that battle.

If the season progresses as it appears, this will not be the last time these two teams will meet. The next time should be just as intense and much more meaningful as it should decide the league champion.

Puzzling Rule of the Game

I am no expert on the rules of the RMFL or on how they should be enforced, but I would expect the officials at the game to be knowledgable about the rules. Here is one I found particularly interesting from the Bears/Rhino-Raiders game this past Saturday:

Other Special Penalty Enforcements

Any personal foul on the defense results in an automatic first down for the offense.

The Bears were struggling to get the ball in the end-zone when a dead-ball personal foul was called on the Rhino-Raiders for a late hit. Instead of giving the Bears an automatic first down, the officials choose not to give the first down because they claimed not all personal fouls resulted in automatic first downs. I don't see any exceptions in the rule above, so this is where I need some help understanding this. What a change in the game that call could have made. Four downs from the four yard line would have been very different in the game.

The Rhino-Raiders argued this one up pretty good that there is a difference between different personal fouls and the particular personal foul whistled on the Rhino-Raiders when the Bears were on their 4 yard line (or close to it)should not be an automatic first down. The rule looked pretty clear to me. Maybe someone with more understanding of this rule can explain to me the difference between the personal foul on the Rhino-Raiders and the rule listed above. Anyone?

A partial list of game rules can be found at RMFL Rules

I won't claim this would have been the difference in the game, because things might hav gone very different after that for both teams -- but it sure would have made it more interesting if the game was 7-0 at the half.

Bears Begin Second Regular Season

The Bears enter the regular season after blowing away the competition in the pre-season. The Bears seem to have procured the players necessary to challenge for the championship of the Rocky Mountain Football League AAA division this their second season in the league. The only two things that could stop the Bears are the Rhino-Raiders and themselves. Keeping the team intact will be a challenge and if done, the Bears should be unstoppable this year. The Rhino-Raiders won’t agree, but after week two they should change their tune and be believers as well.

The Bears currently have what appears to be the best defense in the entire league. Barring any defections, they should stifle almost every offense in the league. With a strong defensive line of Fiefia brothers, some great linebackers, and great talent in the secondary the Bears defense seems ready for the season. The only question mark will be if the team can keep Creighton and Tuitagaloa around for the season to solidify the group of secondary who have been around from the beginning. It is entirely possible if this group can stay together for the entire season, barring any major injuries, the competition might hope their defense scores as that might be the only points they see on the board at the end of the game.

The Bears offense seems to be coming together nicely as well. The offensive line has been shored up and there is a larger pool of running backs and receivers to spread things around. The quarterback position is deeper than last year and the team should come together faster than last year offensively. The biggest competition this season will probably be between the offense and defense and which group scores more points than the other during the season. It might be more interesting to have three positions on the scoreboard to keep things entertaining; Bears Offense, Bears Defense, and Opponent.

The biggest game of the season for the Bears will come in week two against the Rhino-Raiders with the game on June 9 against the Mustangs coming in a distant second. It is entirely possible, excepting the Rhino-Raiders game, that teams this season will be fighting just to score against the Bears in many of the games. It looks like an exciting second season and a potential championship season for the Bears in 2007.

Predictions:
April 14 at Utah Heat – Bears 48, Heat 7
April 21 vs. Rhino-Raiders – Bears 28, Rhino-Raiders 14
April 28 vs. Muddogs – Bears 42, Muddogs 6
May 5 at Utah Wolverines – Bears 21, Wolverines 6
May 12 vs. Seminoles – Bears 54, Seminoles 0
May 19 vs. Predators – Bears 42, Predators 14
June 2 at Boise Speed – Bears 38, Speed 14
June 9 vs. Mustangs – Bears 28, 14
June 16 at Lionz – Bears 21, Lionz 6

Regular season 9-0

Bears Win Preseason Game versus Rockets

The Bears completed their first preseason game Saturday with a shutout (38-0) over the Bear River Valley Rockets. The game was typical of a preseason game with some sloppy play, but it was very encouraging as everyone got a chance to play and learn. The Bears looked like they have the potential to be a better team than last year with several key additions and more depth than last season. Once the bugs are worked out and players know what to expect from team members, the Bears will be back to their end-of-season form of last year. With the number of players on the team, the only problem will be satisfying the playing time desires of everyone on the team.

If the Bears can keep their team together with all of the depth they have currently, they should compete nicely for the title this year. The difficulty will be to keep players on the team in backup roles and keep them satisfied. Frustration often occurs on teams like this because of playing time. It is difficult to play everyone and have everyone be satisfied. It appears that once the team has practiced more and comes together as a team, the biggest challenge will be to keep everyone on the team happy. If that can be done, the Bears should be an early favorite in the championship game this season.

Next Saturday is the final preseason game of the new season. The game will be played at Logan High School at 3 p.m. against the Pocatello Pretators. If you haven't seen the Bears play in the past, this will be a great opportunity to see the team and the game atmosphere available. Join the Bears, you won't be disappointed.