Barbarians bounce back against Nitro

After falling to the Shell Chiefs in the season opener, the Miller Barbarians returned to the CPA Airport field with a vengeance, as they easily dispatched the Verizon Nitro, 26-0, in the second week of action in the Commonwealth Football League.

Led by quarterback Plasido Tagabuel, the Barbarians dominated the Nitro’s defense, combining for 294 yards of total offense, compared to an overall 36-yard output from Verizon.

Tagabuel provided most of the offense for the black and gold, throwing for a pair of touchdowns and interceptions, and leading all passers and runners as well. Tagabuel went 3-for-9 for 119 yards in the air, rushed seven times for 48 yards, and caught a pass for 13 yards. He split time with Eric Lizama, who went 3-for-11 for 33 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception, and gained 26 yards running on two carries.

“We were at full strength unlike last week. Like I said, we got the rust out [last week], and they had to get it out. I expect them to get a lot better next time. Getting that first game under the belt is a big deal because you can’t simulate game conditions in practice. Guys are just not going to hit their teammates as hard as they’re going to hit someone from another team. They’re going to be okay,” said Barbarians head coach Clyde Lemons.

The Barbarians jumped out to a 12-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Though the Nitro made it close to the end zone on a couple of occasions, birthday boy Josh Stein and the rest of the smothering black and gold defense refused to surrender a single point.

The steel curtain yielded just 36 yards to the Nitro, and hand-delivered three sacks, from Asterio Tawanpiy (2) and Ben Pangelinan (1).

The Barbarians went into the halftime intermission with a 20-0 lead, but that wasn’t good enough, as they put up another touchdown in the third quarter to go up 26-0. Though they failed to convert the 2-point attempt, the Barbarians didn’t need the additional cushion.

While the Nitro were shaking off the cobwebs, the Barbarians had their own version of Spiderman, as Syl Teregeyo was menacing white and red from just about everywhere on the field.

“Our safety had a great game, Syl Teregeyo. He played running back, he scored, and he picked off a pass today, so he had a pretty good game,” said Lemons.

Teregeyo did a little more than that, as the Barbarians got the most out of the multi-positional player. The safety/running back/receiver/kicker recorded a tackle, had an interception, a 42-yard kick off, caught a 12-yard pass, rushed four times for 30 yards, scored a touchdown, and converted a two-point after attempt.

Teregeyo did everything but mow the grass before the game, but his teammates didn’t let him do all of the work. Alison Kaipat led all of the wide-outs with 76 yards receiving, followed by Ambrose Ogumoro with 32, and running back Chong Won rushed eight times for 38 yards.

As a result of extensive practices, the Barbarians worked well as a team on Saturday, but that was not case for the Verizon Nitro, as coach Andre Winston explained the difficulties that his team faces on weekly basis.

“Our defense is primarily Tinian players and they really did the job for us. It’s difficult for the offense because we don’t get any scenarios about different defenses to look for and to practice against. We use as many players as we can to offset the different plays. Friday, the mayor of Tinian was kind enough to provide transportation for the guys to come down Friday evening, so we could get at least one practice in with a complete crew. It’s hard to do stuff when you only have one day of practice with a full set of guys.”

Winston believes that his team can pull through. “For our guys it’s just a matter of execution, and that obviously comes from practice. We just need to get a full set of players out for a complete practice, and then we can put some points on the board. It’s simple football, it’s just a lack of concentration on practice.”