Typhoon vow to rebound from home loss

After dropping the first regular season Commonwealth Football League game at home on Tinian, the Typhoon have plenty of reasons to be happy despite coming out on the losing end of the 22-13 score.

Fans lined the fence line at Tinian Municipal Field to cheer for their hometown team as they challenged the Express Electronics Eagles, and several more entered onto the grassy expanse to get as close to the action as possible along the Typhoon sidelines.

It was easy to see the enthusiasm that filled the Tinian players as they were running full tilt during their pre-game warm-ups, as explained by their inspirational leader Keith Nabors.

“It was amazing just being at home, having the family here and not having to travel—it was huge. It was amazing having our family and friends out here to support us—it was good being at home,” he said.

The big middle linebacker wasn’t the only one who was lifted by playing on his home turf, as quarterback Anthony “Ton” Borja echoed much the same sentiments.

“It feels great, man, a lot of people showed up,” he said.

Tinian head coach Andre Winston was also energized by the start under the lights as he joined his players on the sidelines in his uniform.

“I love it. It reminds me of high school or college atmosphere the way people were cheering the team on—the home team. It really kept the momentum, and they were the 12th man out there tonight and I appreciate the people of Tinian for showing up,” he said.

While Winston enjoyed the support, he was disappointed and said that he wanted to do more for the Tinian fans by pulling off the upset over the Green Machine.

“Our defensive line needs work—that’s apparent judging by the yards that the Eagles gained on the ground. On offense we still have to fine-tune our plays and work on our execution. I’ve gotta hand it to the Eagles, they found our weakness and exploited it. I feel like we embarrassed Tinian today and we will come back next time and produce a better game,” he said.

After shutting out the Eagles in the first half, the Typhoon allowed them to rally for a come from behind win. Nabors said that the Tinian “Department of Defense” had too much playing time and that it eventually took its toll on the play stoppers.

“The defense was just out on the field too long and it showed in the third and fourth quarter. In the first half, the defense was just on the field to long—too many mistakes. We need to clean that stuff up. Our penalty total was outrageous, and that’s what killed us,” he said.

While the key penalties negated gains and scores for the Typhoon, the home team actually cut its average of 15 flags per game for 95 yards in half to eight infractions for a reduced 70 yards.

Part of the reason for the miscues could easily be due to the lack of experience of rookie quarterback Borja, but Winston said that it was the right thing to do.

“Juanis [King] came down with the flu earlier and we wanted to rest him up. He wasn’t 100 percent at quarterback so Ton’s been our back up QB that we’ve been practicing with all year so we opted to give him a shot at it to give him some experience. It worked out for the better for us. We’re just fortunate that we’ve got two quarterbacks that can get us yardage through the air,” he said.

Borja praised his teammates for their efforts and said that whether or not he’ll get the nod under center again is up to his coach.

“I don’t know—it’s up to the coach. We just came up short man, but our defense man, they’re the best,” he said.

While he may not have been pleased with the outcome of the game, Winston gave credit to all of the people who volunteered their time to convert the dirt covered infield into a grassy carpet—the likes that no field in Saipan can offer.

“It was just a process after the baseball tournament this summer. I give credit to Keith Nabors. He’s really the head honcho that got the field maintained and coordinated with DCCA to get it ready to place a nice game on the field. I just hope the Eagles enjoyed it as much as we did for the first time,” he said.

Nabors said that is a result of the team effort between his fellow players and the crew from the Division of Community and Cultural Affairs.

“It was a couple of weeks of us out here watering the grass after the practice getting it ready. The hardest part was the mound and getting it level, but it worked out,” said Nabors.

As a Tinian resident for the past eight years, former CFL official Darrell Fair came to the field to cheer on his home team, and he said that he was just glad to see the game materialize.

“I’m just glad to come out and support these guys anyway I can. It’s great to come out here and watch them play. Anytime that Saipan comes over here to play a Tinian team no matter what the sport—I don’t care if it’s tittly winks—you’re gonna have the support of the Tinian people come out here and watch. The same happens when we go over to Saipan and play—you’ll always find Tinian fans over there. Every single week they come over there—maybe not as many as we would like but they always come out there and show their support,” he said.

Tinian’s next home game comes a month from now on Saturday, Nov. 12, when the Shell Lightning and their aerial attack come to town, and Nabors is inviting everyone to watch what happens a week after Election Day.

“Hey come out and see the greatest show on Tinian. Come out and see us. We appreciate all the support from all of our friends, family, fans—just come out and see some great football action.”