By Alex Riley
ariley@wyosports.net

DaMarcus Trotter has aspirations of playing professional football at a higher level.

Damon Ware knows this.

So when the topic of moving on came up, the Cheyenne Warriors head coach had some simple yet poignant advice.

“I told him you’ve got to play a lot higher above the competition to make it out of here,” Ware said.

“I think he’s taken that to heart.”

Indeed.

On a night when a slew of things went wrong, Trotter’s performance was right.

Playing as a safety, he nabbed three interceptions.

As a receiver, he caught a 16-yard touchdown pass.

As a leader, he shined.

And, most importantly, he finally played like the standout the Cheyenne coaching staff thought it was recruiting out of McPherson College.

Coming into Saturday’s game with the Northern Colorado Wolfpack, Trotter had eight total tackles on the season and one interception. That pick came in the waning moments of the season-opener. He returned it 28 yards for a touchdown.

Solid numbers, but far from great.

As his teammates went down to injury, Trotter was forced to play more on both sides of the ball.

Losses like Mazi Ogbonna and Julian Banks meant Trotter had to play receiver.

Losing Jake Johnson and Quinell Atkins meant he needed to step up more on defense.

Tired? Of course he was.

Determined? That too.

“I kind of set it in my mind a little bit before this game that every ball that went up I wanted to make sure I was around it, try to make plays for the team,” Trotter said.

In the first half, Wolfpack quarterback Richard Shinazy only completed four passes but three of them went for touchdowns of 16, 33 and 45 yards.

Because of Trotter, the second half was a different story.

Shinazy did not complete a second half pass. In fact, Trotter’s three interceptions were part of four turnovers by the Wolfpack over the final two periods.

Thanks to the miscues, Northern Colorado had the ball just seven plays over the final 30 minutes. Three were Trotter interceptions, one was fumbled away and another was a safety. The Warriors rolled to a 49-20 win.

“It was his time,” Cheyenne defensive coordinator Anthony Parker said.

“He wasn’t the next man on the depth chart, he’s a starter, but he knew in the secondary we had some holes and he stepped in as the leader that he is and played well.”

And the offensive aspect of his game? It was a throwback to his younger days.

Trotter says he hasn’t played receiver since his senior year of high school back in 2006.

He hauled in an acrobatic pass from Bobby Washington in the third period for a 16-yard score that turned out to be the final points of the game for either team.

“I was real tired out there. I’m not used to going offense and defense,” Trotter said with a laugh.

“It brought back some memories after I caught my breath.”

With more nights like Saturday, Trotter might be catching his breath at a higher level sooner than later.

Alex Riley is a writer for WyoSports. Contact him at ariley@wyosports.net. Follow him on Twitter at @alexrileysports.

By Alex Riley
ariley@wyosports.net

CHEYENNE – Since the first half of the Cheyenne Warriors’ season-opener, Quinell Atkins has been a different type of player.

Big plays have replaced jitters.

Fumbles have turned into touchdowns.

And the Warriors’ offense has benefited for the change.

Atkins scored four total touchdowns to help Cheyenne roll past the Rocky Mountain Thunder 44-20 on Saturday.

“The o-line was just opening the holes and I was just running through them,” Atkins said. “We’ve just got to make that statement, let people know we’re here. We kind of came out flat last week. We needed to come out this week and just dominate, and that’s what we did.”

Atkins scored on the fourth play of the game, running in from four yards out to put Cheyenne (2-0) up 6-0.

Early in the second quarter, he added his second rushing score, this time from five yards out to help the Warriors go up 12-0.

Atkins’ third touchdown of the first half was a big one as he caught a dump-off pass from Bobby Washington and dove into the end zone for a 10-yard score.

On the next play, the Thunder (0-1) heaved a 27-yard scoring pass from Robert Andrews to Robert Davis, cutting the deficit to 19-7 just before halftime.

Cheyenne responded on the Thunder’s first drive of the second half as Mike Benedetto sacked the Thunder’s quarterback setting up a bad snap on the ensuing play for a safety.

When the Warriors’ offense returned to the field, Cheyenne kept rolling with a five-yard touchdown pass from Washington to Antonio Munn.

The teams traded scores as Rocky Mountain scored on an 18-yard pass to Davis while Cheyenne got a 43-yard touchdown strike from Washington to former University of Wyoming receiver Mazi Ogbonna.

Benedetto got a sack for a safety on the Thunder’s next drive. Then Atkins went to work at putting the game away.

The 5-foot-6 speedster eluded tacklers on his way to a 27-yard touchdown run that blew the game open at 44-14. He finished with 110 yards of total offense (88 rushing, 22 receiving).

“I think he’s special and I think he can obviously lead this league in touchdowns,” Warriors head coach Damon Ware said. “He’s just got phenomenal talent. Now that he’s settled in and kind of got those first-game jitters out of the way, you can see he’s just a special athlete.”

In two games, the Cheyenne offense has outscored fellow Developmental Indoor Football League teams Northern Colorado and Rocky Mountain 103-39.
And yes, Atkins has seven touchdowns already. Those are numbers he likes to hear.

“You should expect a lot from us as a team. Everybody does their job, you should expect a lot of points,” he said.

The Cheyenne Warriors week 2 game versus the Rocky Mountain Thunder will be broadcast live on pay-per-view. Click on the link to purchase or use www.GM28.com/warriors.
Date: April 13, 2013
Time: 7:05pm

By Alex Riley
ariley@wyosports.net | 0 comments

CHEYENNE – Will Lawrence arrived in Cheyenne on Thursday.

Expect him on the field for the Cheyenne Warriors this Saturday.

“I’m trying to play. I didn’t come up here just to relax,” Lawrence said with a laugh.

The former Boise State offensive lineman, a three-year starter, was originally coming to the Warriors when the team was set to join the Indoor Football League.

When the team had to step away from the IFL, Lawrence was offered a backup job with the San Antonio Talons of the Arena Football League.

After being cut last week, Cheyenne coach Damon Ware reached out to Lawrence.

“This year was about bringing in players that are used to winning, building a winning tradition here in Cheyenne,” Ware said.

“He’s a guy that comes from a winning program. He’s a guy that brings all the skill set that you want to have at this level. It’ll be fun for me to coach him up, get him under my tutelage and see what he can do in a little bit faster game.”

With Lawrence on the field, the Warriors can now rotate some linemen on either side of the ball.

Ware expects Lawrence see time at center and guard on the offensive line. He could also see action on the defensive front as well.

“Versatility. I can play d-line too. I play everything on the o-line and relentless pursuit,” Lawrence said. “I’m just going to do my job to the best of my ability.”

Ware also signed former McPherson College receiver Joe Middleton, but he had not arrived in Cheyenne for Thursday’s practice.

Middleton was a preseason NAIA All-American in 2011 after grabbing 73 receptions for 1,220 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2010.

As a senior, he played in all 11 games and caught 41 passes for 559 yards and four scores. Middleton was with the Talons in AFL during the 2012 season.

There will be a meeting for all teams that are registered for the flag football league on Friday April 12th at 6:00 pm at the Cheyenne Ice & Events Center. Please send a team captain/representative. For more information please call 307-369-2807.

By Alex Riley
ariley@wyosports.net

CHEYENNE – Players and coaches for the Cheyenne Warriors indoor football team admit that Saturday’s halftime involved a lot of yelling.

Cheyenne trailed the Northern Colorado Wolfpack. The Warriors had fumbled the ball away twice and committed close to a dozen penalties.

“There was quite a bit of yelling and getting into the guys about starting the game so slow,” Warriors head coach Damon Ware said. “We did everything that we don’t practice. Obviously we got the guys refocused, made our adjustments and we came out a completely different team.”

Indeed they did.

Cheyenne scored on its first possession to tie the game and closed by scoring 47 unanswered points on the way to a 59-19 win in the Developmental Indoor Football League opener for both teams.

Down 19-3 in the second quarter, Cheyenne didn’t score its first touchdown of the season until Julian Banks hauled in a 23-yard pass from Bobby Washington with 6:04 left before halftime.

In the second half, however, Cheyenne wasted little time in striking first as Quinell Atkins ran 24 yards on the second play of the third quarter to tie the game.

After a four-and-out by Northern Colorado (0-1), Cheyenne took the lead for good when Banks caught his second score of the night, this time from 12 yards out, to put the Warriors ahead 26-19.

Atkins made an interception three plays later and returned it 25 yards to permanently swing momentum in Cheyenne’s favor. He finished with nine carries for 65 yards and three total touchdowns.

“We went in at halftime, coach gave us a nice little talk and pretty much just said to step it up,” Atkins said. “We weren’t playing like we were supposed to be playing. We just had to come out and step it up and that’s what we did.”

Cheyenne’s defense corrected its mistakes and stopped Northern Colorado from putting together drives. The Wolfpack completed just four passes for 12 yards in the second half, and its longest run was for a mere six yards. Northern Colorado had 13 incomplete passes in the second half and ran just 23 offensive plays.

Cheyenne also scored twice on defense in the second half, the first by Atkins and the second by DaMarcus Trotter. A fumble recovery by Chris Whatley also set up a score in the third quarter.

“Everybody was excited, it was first game, first home game, and we were a little off-kilter that first half,” Warriors defensive coordinator Anthony Parker said. “They wanted it. They wanted it bad. There really wasn’t too much to say. They knew what they had to do and they did it.”

Alex Riley is a sportswriter for the WyoSports Cheyenne bureau. Follow him on Twitter at @alexrileysports. Contact him at ariley@wyosports.net.

By Alex Riley
ariley@wyosports.net

Damon Ware is livid.

Not even 20 minutes into practice, his voice is booming through The Edge Sports Center in Fort Collins, Colo.

The coach of the Cheyenne Warriors indoor football team has seen very little from his squad, but already he’s seen enough.

The entire offense is sent to the sideline and ordered to run sprints from one side of the field to the other.

Ware isn’t upset about the execution of plays. He isn’t aggravated by a dropped pass or two.

It’s the loafing that’s bothering him. The tempo is not right.

The Warriors are less than a week away from kicking off the 2013 season, and the players aren’t treating practice like it’s a game. This isn’t how professional football players act.

The sprints are a wakeup call.

“Everybody is getting the message. It’s like, ‘OK, you don’t want to do it? We’re going to run,’” lineman John West said.

“When we don’t do that, he gets mad, and we have to pay for it. He’s trying to get it second-nature for us.”

For most of the players, football practice is a second income, not the first.

Many of the Warriors work jobs in Cheyenne or Northern Colorado when they’re not practicing. Suiting up is a pastime, not a way to make a living.

At least that’s the way it is right now. And that’s where Ware comes in.

Yes, playing indoor football in Cheyenne today isn’t a full-time job for the players. Tomorrow is another story.

“My job as a coach is to try to get these guys to the higher level. Whether they feel they’re good enough or not, I give guys the NFL experience,” Ware said.

“I’m going to put a great deal of mental pressure on them. I’m going to give them an upper-level feel and find out what guys can truly play at the upper level and what guys can’t.

“I want these guys to leave here and say, ‘You know what, we just experienced what a higher-level football team is going to go through.’”

The sprints are finished, and it’s back to running plays.

West calls it “muscle memory.” The more the Warriors repeat the plays, the more natural executing them will become when the games start.

Ware doesn’t mind when a player stops a play to ask questions. He would rather have his team get it right once than keep making the same mistake over and over again.

There’s plenty of criticism after each snap. There’s also plenty of praise.

More importantly, there are no more sprints.

“I don’t think he’s really demanding too much. He’s a winner. He just wants us to practice like winners, and that’s what we have to do,” receiver Mazi Ogbonna said.

“We have to pick it up to his pace so we get a better feel for exactly how things are done in this offense.”

The message has gotten through.

Alex Riley is a sportswriter for the WyoSports Cheyenne bureau. Follow him on Twitter at @alexrileysports. Contact him at ariley@wyosports.net.

By Alex Riley
ariley@wyosports.net | Posted: Friday, March 15, 2013 11:39 pm

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – B.J. Sperry and Mike Benedetto heard the message loud and clear.

It was never specifically directed at them, but every time Cheyenne Warriors general manager Alton Walker talked about bringing in new talent for the 2013 indoor football season, the defensive line duo knew they were part of that conversation.

Walker repeatedly said he was unsure if any player from the franchise’s inaugural season would be invited back for a second year.

That meant Sperry and Benedetto were on the chopping block if they couldn’t prove they belonged.

“We knew we didn’t want to have the same type of season,” Benedetto said. “We needed better results, and to get better results, we had to perform in the gym. We hit the gym hard. A lot harder than we did the year before.”

The duo spent the entire offseason working on two things – conditioning and technique. And they had the perfect person to motivate them in both.

Sperry’s brother, Kory, is a tight end for the Arizona Cardinals. If there was anyone who could pass along information on what it takes to make it in professional football, he was the guy.

“I talked with my brother, and he was like, ‘Listen, man, you’ve got to get serious. It’s still professional ball,’” B.J. Sperry said.

“I didn’t just want to be another player. I wanted to be a threat. I wanted to be someone people have got to prepare for each week.”

Kory Sperry gave his insight on how to make moves past an offensive player. He showed B.J. some of the secrets to beating blockers so that he could get into the pocket and disrupt a play. B.J. passed that intel along to Benedetto as the pair trained together.

The improved work ethic was something Warriors coach Damon Ware took notice of.

“We want to get those guys more experience, get them coached up better and better, and get more game experience,” Ware said.

“This is kind of a perfect fit for them right now to be able to get more experience, get more coaching and continue to develop.”

When Cheyenne opened training camp Friday, Benedetto and Sperry were leading the way.

Every stretching exercise was a chance to show how serious they were taking this season. Every drill was an opportunity to demonstrate what they had learned and continue to gleam more knowledge.

Benedetto admits that the team took things “lightly” during last season’s training camp. And it showed as the team got off to an 0-8 start.

This time around, it’s different. More importantly, they’re different.

“If you don’t have your legs, if you don’t have your lungs, it’s tough – especially playing in Cheyenne at 6,000 feet. It’s not easy to go out there and run four quarters and play an entire game,” Benedetto said.

“This year, there’s no way that’s happening. We’re expected to get a ring.”

Representatives from the Warriors stopped by Pine Bluffs Elementary March 12th to talk to the students about bullying and to encourage them to do well on their PAWS exams. After watching a presentation by the sixth grade class about bullying, Alton Walker, Mystie Walker, and Mazi Ogbanna applauded the kids on their anti-bullying efforts and added some more tips for them. As Mystie explained, “We don’t make fun of people for learning the playbook more slowly or not running routes as well. We help each other to get better because we are a team, just like everyone that goes to school here is on the same team.” She went on further to explain that people are all different, and the more you can help each other the better off everyone will be.

Receiver Mazi Ogbanna next encouraged the students to really work hard on their upcoming PAWS exams. He explained to them that no matter how good you were at sports, you can’t play unless you do well in class. He explained the process of going to college to play sports works, and that if your grades aren’t up to par that you wouldn’t be able to move on to the next level of your athletic career. Mazi asked the students to listen to their teachers and parents, because they are the people that will help you advance in life.

Alton gave the students background on his playing days. He explained that no matter what level you play on, be it the NFL, CFL, or DIFL, you have to be able to learn things quickly and pass a test on the subjects that were taught to you. He told the kids about having to take tests about the playbooks for the teams he played for, and that if you didn’t do well on the test you wouldn’t be able to play. He also explained how much he was helped by players that had higher skill levels and more experience than he had. He used this explanation to reinforce the concept of teamwork. Alton posed a question to the assembly about the meaning of team, which a student in the back correctly identified as “Together Everyone Achieves More”.

After the presentation the team representatives answered any questions that the students had, shook their hands, and signed autographs. After a tour of the school, Alton and Mazi went out to the playground to play with some of the younger students.

Said Principal Sue Stevens about the Warriors visit, “The kids were really excited to see real football players, and to have a chance to talk with them and hear what they had to say about doing their best and bullying.”

During their visit Alton, Mazi, and Mystie signed a Warriors game ball for the students. The school decided that they would raffle the ball off to the kids for their “buzz bucks”, which they receive for good behavior. The lucky winner was Beau Scarborough, who will also be attending the home opener on March 30th against the Northern Colorado Wolf Pack.

• Alton signing the ball

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/100_0410-1024x768.jpg
  

• Mazi signing the ball

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/100_0411-768x1024.jpg
  

• "Buzz bucks" drawing for Warriors game ball

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/IMAG0215-577x1024.jpg
  

• The lucky winner!

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/IMAG0216-577x1024.jpg
  

• 100_0409

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/100_0409-1024x768.jpg
  

• 100_0408

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/100_0408-1024x768.jpg
  

• 100_0407

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/100_0407-768x1024.jpg
  

• 100_0406

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/100_0406-768x1024.jpg
  

• 100_0405

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/100_0405-1024x768.jpg
  

• 100_0402

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/100_0402-768x1024.jpg
  

• 100_0401

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/100_0401-1024x768.jpg
  

• 100_0418

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/100_0418-1024x768.jpg
  

• 100_0417

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/100_0417-768x1024.jpg
  

• 100_0416

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/100_0416-1024x768.jpg
  

• 100_0415

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/100_0415-1024x768.jpg
  

• 100_0414

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/100_0414-768x1024.jpg
  

• 100_0413

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/100_0413-1024x768.jpg
  

• 100_0412

  http://cheyennewarriors.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/100_0412-1024x768.jpg
  

Registration is still open for the Walker Sports Management flag football league. The league will be held indoors at the Cheyenne Ice and Events Center on weekdays. Teams can be comprised of all men, all women, or co-ed. Team fees will be $350/team. The rules will be similar to indoor football, with 8 players on the field at a time for each team. For more information please contact the Warriors office at (307) 369-2807. Registration forms can be picked up at the Warriors office at 113 W 17th Street in Cheyenne or at the Cheyenne Ice and Events Center.

Teams must be registered no later than March 29th!