In Frank Haege We Trust! What’s not to like about Frank Haege returning to an arena he should have never had to leave in the first place? Yeah, after John Hufnagle jumped to the NFL, the old Red Dogs made one of a series of blunderous moves by hiring 0-8 Bergenfield High School coach Frank Mattiace over the coach-in-waiting, Frank Haege. And what has Haege done since his departure? Oh, there’s the 37-1 AF2 record, there’s two AF2 Championships and a Quad Cities win by a score of 103-3. Not bad. And now Chris Mara and the Glads have turned back the clock and have moved ahead at the same time. Mara has brought back Haege to New Jersey to replace Lar_y Kuharich who pulled of the impossible by being less successful then Mattiace.
Since Haege’s return, the Glads have totally revamped. Underachievers were jettisoned from New Jersey while quality prospects like James Bowden, Mike Horacek & Jay McDonagh were signed to the Red & Black. Then, to the fan’s delight, the Glads brought in former NY Jet Glenn Foley and some guy named Alvin. Short of booking Bruce Springsteen to sing the national anthem, Mara & Haege have done a great job so far.
So what’s on the horizon for the 2002 New Jersey Gladiators and what can we expect in Buffalo? Well for the upcoming season, Coach Haege anticipates a winning season and securing New Jersey’s first playoff berth since 1998. It is not inconceivable that the Glads get their first ever home playoff game this year. IKE is predicting that New Jersey will get that first home game with at least a 8-6 record. The Gladiators will make a serious run for the Eastern Division title. Fan polls say that the Gladiators are one of the most improved teams in the league. And it all starts in Buffalo at the HBSC Arena this Friday night. Scoop & Company will be leaving the Garden State and will shuffle off to Buffalo to give y’all a first hand account of opening night action. And if the pre-season is any indicator, there should be a lot of action. Last season, Kuharich's slow-paced offense looked like it was playing knee-deep in the swamps of Jersey instead of on the fast-paced arena turf. Haege's Gladiators will score points this year.
New Jersey went 2-0 in the preseason in impressive fashion. Wins over the New York Dragons and the Alban…. oops, I mean “Indiana” Firebirds gave the Glads and their fans a lot to look forward to. However the big, inevitable question has surfaced: who will be the starting QB for the Gladiators? When Coach Haege came to New Jersey fresh from his 37-1 Quad Cities stint, he brought the reigning AF2 Championship quarterback with him, Jay McDonagh. Then the Glads signed Glenn Foley. With Foley and McDonagh in, and with Connell Maynor sent to Carolina and Todd Bankhead sent packing, New Jersey upgraded the QB position by leaps and bounds, but who is #1? Well, you don’t pay a back up QB big bucks to sit the bench (hmmm... wait a sec... that scenario worked out pretty well for the New England Patriots!). So NFL Foley is the odds on favorite over AF2 McDonagh. But look at last week versus the Firebirds: Foley threw no touchdowns and one interception while Jay “Mickey D” McDonagh came off the bench with almost no incompletes, no INTs and FIVE TDs. So what should New Jersey do? It’s quite simple really.
Listen to the 79% who voted in a recent Ike’s Army QB poll. Start McDonagh in Buffalo. Coach Haege says it’s a game time decision, but Frank... please buddy... listen to old Scoop! Foley is good, but raw. Jay is good and ready. We all know that part of the Foley signing is that his name a draw (and God knows that New Jersey needs to draw fans this year!). But this is a road game; Foley’s name is not an issue in Buffalo. The Destroyers have already had their fill with former Jet QBs (see: Browning Nagle’s failure as a Destroyer QB). Buffalo is ripe for the taking and it’s a divisional road game. This game is too important to risk with a QB that has yet to play a full AFL game. Let "Mickey D" pick up the win in upstate NY and bring the team home with a 1-0 record going into next week’s home opener versus the expansion Dallas Desperados. With all of the local hype around Foley, he’ll almost be a certain starter for that home game. But please Coach, let McDonagh start this Friday. IKE says if Jay plays, the Glads win 51-42. So let it be written, so let it be done.
- Scoop Maximus
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