SLIDESHOW: Ogden Knights vs Wyoming Cavalry
OGDEN -- Making his indoor football start against one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the sport's history, Jeremy Glover took heed of the advice given by Ogden Knights coach Doug Coleman -- "To be the man, you have to beat the man."
Okay, Coleman's borrowing from Ric Flair, but you get the idea.
Glover isn't the man, yet, but he held his own with Wyoming veteran Matt Strand Monday night as the Knights dropped a 54-40 loss to the Cavalry before a crowd generously estimated at 1,200 at Golden Spike Events Center.
A product of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Glover posted solid debut numbers -- 250 yards passing with two touchdowns with an additional three rushing scores.
And he matched score for score with Strand, who overcame a shaky second quarter to lead the Cavalry to four consecutive scores to start the second half.
"You have to be able to compete with the best,"Glover "He's (Strand) has been doing this for a while."
It was the typical first-night experience for Glover. The indoor game is faster. The reads need to be quicker. The rules still don't make sense inside the red zone -- especially on opening night.
Still, Glover managed to get Ogden in the end zone on the opening drive, and a naked bootleg for one score and a dive for another kept the Knights on pace. He made plays on third down and fourth down to keep scoring drives alive and mixed up the dink and dumps with the occasional downfield play.
"Gotta get the ball out quick," Glover said. "Be on alert the whole time.
Coleman was pleased that Glover manufactured some early scores.
"That settled him down," Coleman said. "I have to figure out a way to slow the down game even more for him and how to get him to see the whole field.
In the first quarter, Wyoming looked like vintage Wyoming and Ogden a team still learning how to play the game.
The Cavalry ran just three plays, and scored twice on Strand passes to Brooks Charlton. Then illegal defense penalties on the two-point conversions allowed Wyoming a pair of second chances to convert -- and the Cavalry did.
"We have to cut down on the penalties," Coleman said. "Too many mistakes tonight."
Ogden's defense gave the Knights a window of opportunity.
Landrick Brody battled down a Strand pass on fourth down to end a drive, then Ogden took a 21-16 lead on Glover's keeper. Derek Patterson's pick gave the Knights a chance to go up two possessions.
But with Ogden driving, Glover fumbled and Jeff McNally scooped up the ball for a 27-yard touchdown to give Wyoming a 24-21 lead.
Ogden had a chance to tie at halftime, but Bryce Kennington's field goal was blocked by Rodney Wasche on the final play of the first half.
Glover had a 24-yard screen pass to Thomas Perez and a 25-yard deep strike to Adrian Conway in the second half.
Gerald Landry had seven catches for 107 yards for Ogden, which hosts San Jose Saturday night.
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