Barbarians look for strong finish to successful season

(Part 2 of 3)

Second place in a three-team division isn’t all that bad, and at 2-3,the Miller Barbarians are assured of the No. 2 spot in the fourth season of the Commonwealth Football League.

The Barbarians are a game under the .500 mark, and with their finale against the winless Verizon Nitro this Saturday, they have to believe that their chances of pulling even are good.

The Barbarians feature a hard-hitting defense that makes receivers think twice before running patterns over the middle, and a punishing running back that would-be tacklers hate to face. So far they have racked up 62 points over five games, but their problems stem from having allowed 74 points against.

Led by Plasido Tagabuel, the Barbarians have looked like a team bound for the championship. The second-rated passer in the league has thrown for six touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 418 yards in five games, and completed 21-of-64 passes averaging 83.6 yards per game.

While he has been able to scramble his way into making plays, his rushing total is -31 yards on 42 carries, largely in part to the Chiefs sack attack. One of his key weapons is the heavy-duty running back Chong Won.

A collision with Won is like being run into by the Saipanda bus, but not that pretty. Won has blasted would be tacklers for 109 yards on 39 carries. Confusion often arises when trying to figure out if Alison Kaipat is more like Randy Moss or Terrell Owens, as the CFL’s leading receiver caught eight passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns in four games.

On defense, the intimidating black and gold swarms opposing offenses with a squad that attacks the ball in numbers. The Miller squad has more assisted tackles that the entire league. Team leading tacklers Asterio Tawanpiy, Shaun Odoshi, and Bill Saures lead them into the fray, as the trio has combined for 40.5 tackles, 6 sacks, and an interception.

The Barbarians Department of Defense also knows a little about intercepting enemy air strikes, as standout safety Syl Teregeyo is leading the league with 10 picks in five games, to go along with his 10.5 tackles.

Teregeyo has at least one interception in each of his games, and is averaging two picks per contest. The Barbarians have been depending on Syl to come through on both sides of the ball, as the Neon-Deion of the CFL has rushed out of the backfield and lined up as a wide receiver as well.

Teregeyo has a pair of receptions for 23 yards and a touchdown and nine rushes for 32 yards and a touchdown to add to his resume. Big T also pitches in on special teams plays, and has a two-point conversion on his list of accomplishments as well. To a lesser extent, Tawanpiy has also played on both sides of the ball, with a reception for 13 yards.

Plaguing the Barbarians is they seem to be playing against two teams every time they step onto the field—the opposition and themselves. Five games into the six-game season, the black and gold have committed 76 penalties that have had them marching backwards for 480 yards. That is 21 yards more than the offense has gained through the air, and the Barbarians could have used them in close games with the Chiefs.