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Thanks to an odd quirk in the schedule and a 10-game winning streak, the Maryland Maniacs will have a three-week break before hosting either the Rochester Raiders or River City Rage in the Indoor Football League playoffs on July 25.
Maryland (10-4) opened the season with two straight losses then reeled off 10 consecutive victories before falling to Bloomington, 50-12, on June 20 and Rochester, 64-39, last weekend. Maryland beat Rochester in two of the Atlantic Division rivals' three meetings this season. Thus, even though Rochester still has two regular season games remaining, the Maniacs have clinched the division title.
"We'll get the winner of the Rochester-River City game when they play in the first round of the playoffs," said Maniacs' coach Matt Steeple. "We have two weeks off and then we get another week off for a bye and we just have to wait to see who wins that game. I think the rest is really going to do us good. I gave them this week off from practice. We have a lot of nicks and bruises that need time to heal. These three weeks off should really do us a lot of good."
Rochester has won five in a row and has outscored its opponents, 305-145, in those games. River City, which defeated Maryland, 42-24, in the season opener, completed its schedule last weekend and will get two weeks off before taking on Rochester in a playoff game on July 18.
"When we faced River City it was like culture shock," Steeple said. "This is really a first-year team and you have to get guys acclimated to the organization throughout the year. Rochester is a veteran team. They've been in the league for a long time and they know how to prepare for every game."
Steeple said the Maniacs will spend the next two weeks working on all three phases of the game and instilling more discipline during practices. Maryland has emerged as one of the top teams in the league statistically on defense, although their 10-game win streak included two wins over winless Alaska and two others against 1-11 Muskegon.
"We're only dressing 21 players, so everyone on the team knows that they have to be ready for all three phases," Steeple said. "Penalties have been another issue. We want the guys to play with passion, but they have to play with controlled passion. All of the talking has to stop. No one ever won a championship by talking."
Saturday night at Rochester, the Maniacs were penalized 16 times for 117 yards. A wild first half ended with Rochester leading, 36-33. Maniacs' quarterback Bryson Spinner, who threw for 175 yards and four touchdowns in the first half, was sidelined for the entire second half by dehydration.
Without Spinner, who has thrown 29 touchdown passes this season, the Maryland offense ground to a halt. Backup quarterback Joe Urso was intercepted twice, one of which was returned for a touchdown. The Maniacs' only points of the second half came on an interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter by Colin Nelson. Spinner threw first-half touchdown passes to Terry Moss, Raymond McCarter, Darryl Overton and Bruce Hocker. Overton also ran for a TD.
E-mail Ted Black at tblack@gazette.net.