Kicking game woes

By Mike Condon

Correspondent

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Kenneth Black era got off to a rousing start last night for the Cedar Rapids Titans.

Unfortunately for the Titans, there was nothing special about their special teams play.

Cedar Rapids beat Omaha in touchdowns, 7-5, but failed to convert extra points on six of their seven tries while new Omaha kicker Gary Cismesia coverted all his PAT attempts, plus all three of his four field goal tries as Omaha came on strong in the second half to down Cedar Rapids, 50-44, before another capacity crowd at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

Black was impressive in his first start as the Titan quarterback, throwing for three scores and running for another in the first half, but the lack of a kicking game again proved costly to Cedar Rapids as the Titans fell to 2-5 in Indoor Football League play. The win boosted Omaha to 3-4 and kept the Beef in contention for a playoff spot in the IFL's United Conference.

Cedar Rapids tried PAT kicks after their first two touchdowns. Both of Mike Polaski's tries sailed wide. From that point on, the Titans opted for two-point conversions and failed to convert any of them until Andre Crenshaw ran one in on the Titans' final TD in the fourth quarter.

Despite the PAT woes, the Titans had a chance to win, driving to the Omaha 15 in the final seconds. Black's pass on the final play of the game was in the hands of former UNI standout Johnny Gray, but was knocked away by a pair of Omaha defenders.

Cedar Rapids was able to overcome the lack of PATs through the first half, but couldn't keep matching the Beef after the break. Omaha scored first in the third quarter when lineman Joseph Lara fell on a fumble in the end zone to put the Beef up 26-24. Special teams hurt the Titans again on the kickoff as Cismesia squibbed the ball and it was recovered by the Beef near midfield. On the next play, Omaha quarterback James McNear hit Allen Burrell with a 27-yard scoring strike. Cismesia's kick made it 33-24.

The Titans were behind 50-36 when Cismesia nailed a 32-yard field goal with 5:10 remaining. But to their credit, the Titans kept fighting. Black hit Everett Roberts with a 20-yard TD pass and Crenshaw's PAT run cut the gap to six. Cedar Rapids then held on defense, forcing a 51-yard field goal try by Cismesia that went wide with 1:14 left, giving the Titans a final shot.

Black drove the team down the field, but his last-ditch pass to Gray fell incomplete.

The Titans also lost another linebacker in the game when Vernard Wilkins went out early in the second half with a knee injury. He was seen on crutches on the field after the game and his status for next week wasn't known after the game.

Cedar Rapids started fast as Black connected with Eric McCain on a 25-yard scoring pass on the first play and scored on a 12-yard run on the last play of the first half to give the Titans a 24-19 halftime lead.

Black was thrust into the spotlight this week when the Titans released Willie Copeland at midweek. Coach Kyle Moore-Brown said he wanted to get a spark on offense and Black provided it. Unfortunately, the defense didn't come up with the big plays as they have in the past few games. They didn't force any turnovers and couldn't come up with a key stop in the second half until Omaha's final drive.

The Titans will be in search of their first road win next Saturday when they travel to Reading, Pa. Cedar Rapids doesn't return home until May 12 when they host Reading.