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Chuck Wright To Play AgainBy: Tony Boone
Chuck Wright claims this was never in the plans.
However, anyone familiar with the quarterback that led the former Iowa Blackhawks to two American Professional Football League championships may have seen this coming.
After five games as the head coach of the Council Bluffs Express, Wright is putting the pads back on this Sunday afternoon. He’ll be the backup to starter Silas Fluellen when his 4-1 team plays host to Mid-Missouri (4-2) at 4:05.
The move became necessary when Chad Schmigel, the starting quarterback for Council Bluffs for the first four games of the season, had to leave the team for personal reasons.
Wright said suiting up made more sense than bringing in an outsider in midseason.
“The big thing was I didn’t want to create any kind of controversy,” he said. “I just wanted to help the team out any way that I could. I thought I could still use my coaching skills in that realm. And, if needed, I can throw it around a little bit.”
Wright said he will still have some input on the offensive play-calling. Assistant Dave Brumagen has been promoted to head coach for the remainder of the season.
Council Bluffs co-owner Brad Lindgren approached Wright with the idea, the quarterback said. But Wright said the decision to ultimately play again was left up to him.
“It was never something that I thought was going to take place. They brought it to me,” he said. “As long as we’re winning at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”
There is a catch, however. Wright’s former No. 7 now belongs to Fluellen, who led the Express to a road win last week. The former Wayne State star asked Wright if he wanted it back this week. Wright declined and has requested to wear No. 15 instead.
Even in a different jersey, he expects to be a factor.
“I’ll be geared up on Sunday, ready to go if needed,” Wright said. “If I’m needed out there, or if we need a change of pace, I’ll step out there and rally the troops.”
Express Extend Winning Streak to 3
By: Tony Boone
Council Bluffs made the short field even shorter Saturday night.
Kick returns and turnovers gave the Express the ball in Colorado territory nearly the entire first half of its 45-24 win at the Mid-America Center. C.B. (3-1) scored 31 first-half points even though it had only 65 yards of total offense before the intermission.
“That was crucial,” Council Bluffs coach Chuck Wright said. “We had a feeling we’d have good field position early so we kind of came up with a game plan to take advantage of that.”
Marques Parker broke a 6-6 tie with a 49-yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the first quarter. After the Lightning answered, Robert Kirvin brought the ensuing kick back to the Colorado 3 to set up a short scoring run by Khalid Waters.
Jesse Jones’ second TD catch pulled the Lightning back to within one at 13-12. C.B. then lengthened its lead when defensive linemen Kyle Roach and Ryan Hoden came up with consecutive turnovers.
Both led to touchdowns.
“It was huge,” Hoden said. “It allowed us to separate on the scoreboard.”
Parker scored his third TD after Roach batted a pass from Nathan Kimbro into the air then intercepted it while on his back on the Lightning 10. That came right before Hoden’s fumble recovery at the Colorado 14 led to a David Ferris touchdown.
“He just threw a quick screen pass, that little jet screen,” Roach said. “I just jumped up, hit it and it landed in my lap. It worked great.”
The Lightning (0-4) arrived to the MAC late, pushing the kickoff time back 25 minutes. The winless team was within six, however, midway through the third when Kimbro scored on a sneak.
Backup quarterback Silas Fluellen engineered a scoring drive for the Express from its own 1-yard line on the next possession as the team began to pull away. He hit Parker with a 19-yard pass to the 3. After Levi Owens scored, C.B. picked up a two-point conversion catch by Robert Kirvin.
LaRon Striplin’s interception at the Express 3 in the fourth sealed the victory.
One low point for C.B. in its third consecutive win was the kicking game. Rookie Kyle Schwartz missed four of his five PAT attempts.
Colorado (0-4) 6 12 6 0 – 24
Council Bluffs (3-1) 13 18 8 6 – 45
CB: Marques Parker 2 run (kick failed)
C: Jesse Jones 16 pass from Nathan Kimbro (kick blocked)
CB: Parker 49 kickoff return (Kyle Schwartz kick)
C: Jones 8 pass from Kimbro (pass failed)
CB: Khalid Waters 3 run (kick failed)
CB: Parker 10 run (pass failed)
CB: David Ferris 3 run (kick failed)
C: Arthur Humphries 10 run (pass failed)
C: Kimbro 1 run (run failed)
CB: Levi Owens 3 run (Robert Kirvin pass from Silas Fluellen)
CB: Steve Rush 2 run (kick failed)
Good Field Position Helps Express Earn Another Win
By: Tony Boone
Kick returns and turnovers gave the Express the ball in Colorado territory nearly the entire first half of its 45-24 win at the Mid-America Center. C.B. (3-1) scored 31 first-half points even though it had only 65 yards of total offense before the intermission.
“That was crucial,” Council Bluffs coach Chuck Wright said. “We had a feeling we’d have good field position early so we kind of came up with a game plan to take advantage of that.”
Marques Parker broke a 6-6 tie with a 49-yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the first quarter. After the Lightning answered, Robert Kirvin brought the ensuing kick back to the Colorado 3 to set up a short scoring run by Khalid Waters.
Jesse Jones’ second TD catch pulled the Lightning back to within one at 13-12. C.B. then lengthened its lead when defensive linemen Kyle Roach and Ryan Hoden came up with consecutive turnovers.
Both led to touchdowns.
“It was huge,” Hoden said. “It allowed us to separate on the scoreboard.”
Parker scored his third TD after Roach batted a pass from Nathan Kimbro into the air then intercepted it while on his back on the Lightning 10. That came right before Hoden’s fumble recovery at the Colorado 14 led to a David Ferris touchdown.
“He just threw a quick screen pass, that little jet screen,” Roach said. “I just jumped up, hit it and it landed in my lap. It worked great.”
The Lightning (0-4) arrived to the MAC late, pushing the kickoff time back 25 minutes. The winless team was within six, however, midway through the third when Kimbro scored on a sneak.
Backup quarterback Silas Fluellen engineered a scoring drive for the Express from its own 1-yard line on the next possession as the team began to pull away. He hit Parker with a 19-yard pass to the 3. After Levi Owens scored, C.B. picked up a two-point conversion catch by Robert Kirvin.
LaRon Striplin’s interception at the Express 3 in the fourth sealed the victory.
One low point for C.B. in its third consecutive win was the kicking game. Rookie Kyle Schwartz missed four of his five PAT attempts.
Colorado (0-4) 6 12 6 0 – 24
Council Bluffs (3-1) 13 18 8 6 – 45
CB: Marques Parker 2 run (kick failed)
C: Jesse Jones 16 pass from Nathan Kimbro (kick blocked)
CB: Parker 49 kickoff return (Kyle Schwartz kick)
C: Jones 8 pass from Kimbro (pass failed)
CB: Khalid Waters 3 run (kick failed)
CB: Parker 10 run (pass failed)
CB: David Ferris 3 run (kick failed)
C: Arthur Humphries 10 run (pass failed)
C: Kimbro 1 run (run failed)
CB: Levi Owens 3 run (Robert Kirvin pass from Silas Fluellen)
CB: Steve Rush 2 run (kick failed)
Express set to host The Colorado Lighting
The Council Bluffs Express will play host to The Colorado Lighting Saturday May 5th at 7:05pm. All Youth Football Players get free admittance with there jersey on. The pregame party will be at Quaker Steak and Lube. Everyone with game tickets receive 20% off their bill. Come watch the Express try to continue our winning streak!
Express Roll Over Cheyenne
COUNCIL BLUFFS — That wasn't a tornado siren in Council Bluffs on Saturday evening.
It was the sound of the Express steamrolling Cheyenne in their home opener.
C.B. blanked the Warriors 50-0 behind a defensive effort that included four sacks and 11 other tackles for losses, an interception return for a touchdown and a first-quarter safety.
Train whistles blared from a crowd that made its way to the Mid-America Center despite the severe weather concerns in the area. They witnessed the Express (1-1) showing marked improvement from the squad that gave up 56 points at Oklahoma in a season-opening loss two weeks ago.
"We told them this was their game to show Council Bluffs that this team is the real deal," head coach Chuck Wright said. "We took leaps-and-bounds strides from last week."
The Express were rolling from the outset. Quarterback Chad Schmigel connected with Adrian Perez from 51 yards out on C.B.'s third play from scrimmage, and the team never looked back.
LaRon Striplin picked off a Richard Shinazy pass and returned it 15 yards for a score two minutes later. Then James Patterson sacked Shinazy for a safety to make it 16-0.
Patterson had two sacks on the night as the Express held Cheyenne (0-3) to only 42 total yards.
"We have all this talent on the team, but the first week when we played down in Tulsa we couldn't put it together," he said. "We finally did tonight. It was pretty much a team effort."
Schmigel threw for three first-half touchdowns as C.B. built a 30-0 lead at the break. He later gave way to Silas Fluellen, who ran for scores on his only two carries in the game.
"He did was he does, and I do what I do," Schmigel said. "We were clicking on all cylinders."
Cheyenne (0-3).........................0 0 0 0—0
Council Bluffs (1-1).......................16 14 6 14—50
CB: Adrian Perez 51 pass from Chad Schmigel (Kyle Schwartz kick)
CB: LaRon Striplin 15 interception return (Schwartz kick)
CB: Safety, Richard Shinazy sacked by James Patterson in end zone
CB: Marques Parker 8 pass from Schmigel (Schwartz kick)
CB: Khalid Waters 20 pass from Schmigel (Schwartz kick)
CB: Silas Fluellen 21 run (kick failed)
CB: Fluellen 8 run (Schwartz kick)
CB: David Ferris 3 run (Schwartz kick)
RUSHING: C, Shinazy 9-(-37), Bryant 8-(-7), Tyler 5-(-6). CB, Waters 6-14, Ferris 4-28, Owens 3-18, Fluellen 2-29, Parker 1-7, Schmigel 1-3.
PASSING: C, Shinazy 11-22-1 92, Tyler 0-1-0 0. CB, Schmigel 12-18-1 157, Fluellen 1-1-0 11.
RECEIVING: C, Casimier 5-44, Munn 4-27, Huber 2-21. CB, Parker 3-25, Rush 3-10, Perez 2-64, Waters 2-34, Kirvin 2-24, Owens 1-11.
Council Bluffs Express set to host open house
The Council Bluffs Express Indoor Football team will be hosting an open house during the teams preseason scrimmage March 5th 2012 at the Mid America Center beginning at 6 pm. The Chamber of Commerce will conduct their ribbon cutting ceremony promptly at 5.
Take a look at the view of the action from your favorite seats. Fans can come and pick their seats as season tickets will be sold at the event. Season tickets for the 2012 season (6 home games) start at $54 and top out at only $108 in the front row.
The team will take the field around 6 pm. Check out all the action as players are fighting for a spot on the team. The Express begin their inaugural season March 31st with an away game in Tulsa, OK, and start their home portion of the schedule April 14th with a contest against the Cheyenne Warriors at the MAC. Kickoff is set for 7:05 pm. Doors open at 6.
Game Worn Blackhawks Jerseys on Sale!
Game worn Iowa Blackhawks jerseys are on sale. $25 each. Email councilbluffsexpress@gmail.com for sizes and numbers.
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