Teams lament sloppy game

Players on both sidelines had little to celebrate after the Express Electronics Eagles put the finishing touches on their 28-0 victory over the Tinian Typhoon at the CPA Airport Field on Saturday, but the Green Machine had an easier time leaving the gridiron with their third win under their belts.

Despite scoring four touchdowns in a shutout win, the Eagles failed to score against the Typhoon in the first half for their second consecutive meeting—and they did so on a day when some the visiting team’s defensive weapons were still on Tinian.

Quarterback Dane Lizama and the rest of the Eagles gained only 62 yards through the first two quarters and gave the ball back to the Typhoon five times on a pair of fumbles and three interceptions.

Their only saving grace was that the team from Tinian was in the giving spirit as well as Juanis King threw four interceptions before the break. The heat of the day was intense, but nothing like the boilers that awaited the offensive squads when they trotted off the field.

The second half was a different story altogether for Lizama and company, as the QB led his teammates on four scoring drives, but the vaunted running attack failed to amount for more than 51 yards as the league’s leading rusher Stanley Iakopo was kept under wraps for only a handful of yards.

“I feel good. It was a good game. Our alignments worked toward the end and we clicked at the last second so it was good. It was hot. Now Mark [Wallace] is hurt, but we have back up receivers that are good—the same as Mark, so once our alignments clicked the passes were there,” said Lizama.

As the clock wound down in the fourth quarter, the QB wanted to get more out the game and took the field with the defense. After being chased and popped behind the line of scrimmage, Lizama said that he wanted to repay the favor to the Typhoon.

“I was just to try hitting someone because most of the time I get hit,” he said.

Wide receiver Tommy “T-Knight” Sanders knows all about the heat, and after time expired explained that he was happy to go home with the win.

“I think it’s pretty hot. I couldn’t run out there, but thank God it’s over. We’re going to be practicing again and we won’t under estimate the next team,” he said

The good feelings didn’t resonate across the field as Typhoon linebacker Keith Nabors didn’t mince words while explaining his thoughts on the morning’s game.

“We were horrible man. We did what we could with what we had, but what we had wasn’t good enough. Too many miscues, and that’s what it was. Turnovers annihilated us. I don’t know how many it was, but you can’t go out there for two plays and come right back out there on defense, and that’s the way it was all game,” he said.

The walking pulse of the team didn’t lay all the blame on the offense, saying that the team was bad as a whole, and that they have a lot to do before the Shell Lightning come to Tinian in two weeks.

“It’s not only one-sided. We made some mistakes on defense—coverage mistakes that led to points. Both sides of the ball—offense, defense, special teams—everything horrible,” he said.

Not helping matters was that the Typhoon were without players who always show up on the stat sheet, as Ringo Reyes, Leo and Chris Pascua, and Blake Manibusan failed to show up to support their teammates on Saipan last Saturday.

“[We were missing] key guys. I have no idea. They just didn’t show up to the boat this morning. I’m disappointed, man. I can’t say anything else. I’m just disappointed,” said Nabors.