Jersey Flight with a rough landing with 45-42 loss to the Carolina Cobras.
The Jersey Flight start the NAL season with a 0-1 record
On May 28th there were eighteen flights that arrived at Trenton-Mercer airport, however; there was one flight that landed in Cure Insurance Arena six miles to the southwest in Downtown Trenton, NJ.
After two years of taxi-ing on the runway due to COVID-19 the Jersey Flight were cleared for takeoff and landed in Trenton on May 28th to face the Carolina Cobras.
The Jersey Flight play in the National Arena League with teams up and down the East Coast of the United States.
The crew of the Flight consists of players who are playing for the love of the game, and or trying to make the next step or make it back into the NFL. Quarterback for the Flight and New Jersey native Warren Smith is a gym teacher during the day, and an Arena Football player by night.
Both teams haven’t played in two years, and it showed early on with fumbles, and penalties, but the game close throughout and was a great reintroduction to Arena Football in the Capitol city.
The first quarter of play consisted of both teams scoring a rushing touchdown and turning the ball over.
In the second quarter the offensive battle was heating up as QB Warren Smith ran for a touchdown for the Flight, James Summer caught a touchdown for the Carolina Cobras, and the first half ended with a respectful touchdown by Jared Dangerfield. The Flight were winning 20-16 at the half.
The second half of the game was very turbulent, and we definitely had to fasten our seatbelts. A story about New Jersey wouldn’t be complete without an Atlantic City connection and the second half was dominated by a pair of former Atlantic City Blackjacks recievers. Kendrick Ings of the Carolina Cobras, and Tyron Laughinghouse of the Jersey Flight dominated the second half.
Ings the former Atlantic City Blackjacks star carried the Cobras on his back with four receiving touchdowns in the second half. His former teammate Tyron Laughinghouse was the main pilot for the Flight in the the second half with two pivotal touchdowns. One was a freak catch in the third quarter that put the Flight up 28-23, and another was a game tying catch that tied the game up 42-42.
The game was all tied up and appeared to be heading into overtime into Carolina kicked a field goal at the end of the game and left Trenton with a W.
Even though the Flight lost there was still a lot of positives as well. The defense looked really well against a good Carolina team. Tyron Laughinghouse and Jared Dangerfield look like they could be a dynamic wide receiver duo and a force against defenses across the NAL.
Next week the Flight play against the 2019 AFL Champions the Albany Empire in a battle against Capitol cities. Albany was one of the most complete teams in the AFL, and they have a fanbase that travels well to away games. Next Friday should be a great matchup in Trenton.
Flight Notes:
Warren County, NJ: Flight Quarterback and New Jersey native Warren Smith has played Arena Football all over the country. He’s played in Spokane WA, DC, Richmond, Tampa, and Baltimore. For the past two arena seasons he has been able to stay in the Garden State playing with the Atlantic City Blackjacks, and the Jersey Flight. When asked about what it’s like playing in New Jersey, the Lacey Township native responded with “ It’s great playing here. Mom and Dad get to come and watch the games. I played all over the country, and my parents don’t always get to make the games. It’s great having family and friends come out to the games. Plus I get to sleep in my own bed.”
Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City: Friday was a mini reunion of sorts for the 2019 Atlantic City Blackjacks team. The Blackjacks only lasted one year due to the AFL folding, but they were received well in Atlantic City and AC was remembered fondly by players. Former Blackjack Quarterback Warren Smith is now the QB for the Flight, and he’s reunited with WR Tyron Laughinghouse. The Flight also hired former Blackjacks Offensive Coordinator Shane Stafford as their Quarterbacks coach.
Former Blackjack WR Kendrick Ings played his first game back in the Garden State last night and when asked about his time in AC he responded with “ I miss Atlantic City that was a great fun year, and I was mad we had to fold, but I love Atlantic City".”
Turfs Up: Maine has given us Stephen King, great seafood, and now it has given us the turf that the Jersey Flight use for their home games. The Maine Mammoth were a member of the National Arena League in 2018 and are now no longer in the league. The Jersey Flight now use their turf, and it came the day of the game.
According to Flight Coach and GM Terry Foster when they rolled the original Flight turf up “It wasn’t something that they wanted to use with their new branding”. The Flight looked for new turf and it got to Trenton early in the morning on game day.
Shake it off: Friday was an important day in getting things back to pre-pandemic conditions in New Jersey. It was the first day in over fourteen months that New Jerseyans were not required to wear a facial covering indoors. Friday also marked the first day that many of the players on the field played a real game of football in two years.
Quarterback Warren Smith said he was a “little anxious to get back out there, but it’s like riding a bike you get back on it and play some football”.
The Flight play next Friday night against the Albany Empire at 7pm at the Cure Insurance Arena in Trenton, NJ.
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