Allen Craine III

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The FireHawks had three first-half turnovers and also turned the ball over on downs in (another) shaky first-half performance.

Still, thanks, to defensive and special teams touchdowns, Fort Wayne leads 35-28 at halftime.


Brandon Walker-Roby led off the game with a kickoff return for a touchdown. Walker-Roby fielded the ball deep in the end zone, but officially was given only a 50-yard return. He was able to get to the right sideline and turn on the speed.

Later in the half, Allen Craine III hit Chicago quarterback Ron Ricciardi as he threw it, sending the ball wobbling from his hand. Linebacker Tramaine Carter easily grabbed the interception and raced into the end zone from about 17 yards out.

But, again, Fort Wayne's offense has been largely unimpressive.

On its first three possessions, Fort Wayne lost a fumble, threw an interception and turned the ball over on downs.

Kota-Carone Colors' 2-yard touchdown on a quarterback sneak came after Fort Wayne got the ball on a short field, at Chicago's 16-yard line. Colors ran two plays for 16 yards. Later in the half, Colors rushed for a 5-yard touchdon.

But the passing offense hasn't been particularily sharp. Receivers have twice dropped easy passes -- Zach Rainey's produced the interception -- but Colors has misfired on some, too. He did make a good decision late in the half, giving Justin Wynn a chance on a jump-ball that produced a 12-yard touchdown. Colors' two-point conversion run game Fort Wayne the lead at halftime.

Colors was 6 of 12 for 57 yards in the half.

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100425/SPORTS0602/304259887

Generating a pass rush hasn’t happened consistently enough for the FireHawks.

But defensive coordinator and former Freedom defensive lineman Lamar Martin thinks he has some talent to develop.

Most of Fort Wayne’s options up front aren’t true defensive linemen, Martin said.

Starting defensive ends Andrew Shrock and Allen Craine III have been converted from other positions. Shrock played linebacker, and Craine was a running back, Martin said. So Martin has been working with the players on technique and pass-rush moves.

“In this league, we need pass rushers. We don’t need a traditional defensive lineman who can take up space and control the gap because they’re not coming to your gap anyway,” Martin said. “We need guys who can pass rush and get pressure on the quarterback. So we’re converting a lot of guys to defensive end. There’s a lot of ground-up teaching that’s going on right now.”

Entering Saturday’s game with Chicago, the FireHawks were last in the CIFL with only four sacks through the first three games. League-leader Cincinnati has 15.

But Martin sees potential in Shrock and Craine, who start alongside indoor football veteran Alf Fertil.

Martin likes that Shrock can play any of the three line spots. Shrock has shown a high-motor during games and typically does a good job applying pressure.

But Craine, who is from Atlanta, could have the most potential, Martin said.

“Allen is very athletic and explosive,” Martin said. “He’s our most talented guy. He’s our fastest guy. He’s our most athletic guy. He’s in the quarterback’s face every play. We just have to eliminate wasted movement with him.

“By the end of the season, I can guarantee he’s going to be unblockable.”

Brandon Williams also been impressive as a change-of-pace player who doesn’t have much experience at end. But he’s had an effect, using his quickness to get to the quarterback and his athleticism to keep chasing.

Against Chicago, Williams played on the line sparingly in the first half, but he forced an interception when he hit quarterback Ron Ricciardi as he was throwing. The ball floated into the air right to linebacker Tramaine Billie, who returned the interception 15 yards for a touchdown.

Coach Willie Davis also signed a new lineman for Saturday’s game. Vincent Price was part of the rotation.

http://www.journalgazette.com/article/20100605/SPORTS0602/306059961/1210/SPORTS06

Stacy Clardie | The Journal Gazette
Andrew Shrock attributes his high motor to his high school days playing running back for West Noble when he’d keep his legs churning to pick up extra yards.

Now, for the FireHawks, Shrock is using his energy to frustrate opposing quarterbacks as a defensive end.

Shrock leads Fort Wayne (5-4) with five sacks, tied for fifth in the Continental Indoor Football League, and his 9.5 tackles for a loss rank sixth in the league.

Even if he’s not racking up statistics, he’s still causing havoc.

“I like everything about Shrock’s game,” said FireHawks coach Willie Davis, whose team plays at winless Chicago (0-9) in the regular-season finale tonight. “He has a high energy level. He makes plays. If you watch him, he never takes a play off. He may not make the sack, but he causes pressure and constantly is flying after the ball.”

Shrock, who played at Manchester College for one year before giving up college football and transferring to IPFW, said he initially practiced at linebacker for the FireHawks in training camp. But late in camp, he was moved to defensive end. The transition wasn’t easy early, Shrock said.

“The first two, three games, yeah, I went hard every play, but I wasn’t getting anywhere,” Shrock said. “I made some tackles, but something wasn’t working right. Then we slowed stuff down in practice, and we want back to fundamentals, not necessarily going full speed, but more working on what you should do here and here, always remembering to do two, three moves. I learned that you’re not going to beat them the first time ever on a play. So not only going hard the entire play but constantly trying something different while you’re moving. I definitely picked that up.”

Shrock credits defensive coordinator Lamar Martin, a former defensive lineman with the early Freedom teams. Martin has worked on not just using the players’ speed but on countermoves to get to the quarterback.

Shrock also said he’s better because he’s playing with one of the league’s best lineman, Allen Craine III, and having two consistent speed rushers helps fuel both players’ success.

“He constantly gets better,” Davis said of Shrock. “He’s an unsung hero who always does something good for you.”

http://www.jg.net/article/20100423/BLOGS15/100429728
Defensive coordinator Lamar Martin talked about his unit after Wednesday's practice.


Here's some of what we discussed:

Is the defense where it should be going into Week 4? That's hard to say. We haven't played horribly as a defense. We've given up some things we shouldn't give up, so we can obviously play a whole lot better. But, no, we're not where we should be. We're still trying to fill certain spots. We've got a pretty solid defense. But are we where we should be? No. We have some changes, some ins and outs. We've got a core group of guys and then we've got some guys that float in and out. In order for this to be a great defense, we need to have a core group of guys that are week-in, week-out, together.

It's important to get that continuity where everybody knows each other. Exactly. And know exactly where the guy is going to be without talking about it so much. One of our biggest problems is communication. In the secondary, we're not getting beat very often as far as guys just getting beat. (It's) miscommunication things, one guy that he was over top and vice versa. Up front, we're up and down. Last week was our best game up front. But we gave up 49 points. But we played our best game defensive line the whole season last week.

It can be tough when the offense puts you in tough positions. We've still got to make them kick. If they kick field goals, things are a lot different.

Who are the best players on the line right now? Are you still weeding through that? We're still weeding through. Alf (Fertil) does a great job at nose. (Andrew) Shrock is an all-around guy. He can play all those positions. Allen (Craine III) is very athletic and explosive. He just never played defensive line before. He's our most talented guy. Allen is from Atlanta, has been a running back his whole life and now he's a defensive lineman. He's our fastest guy. He's our most athletic guy. He's in the quarterback's face every play. We just have to eliminate wasted movement with him. By the end of the season, I can guarantee he's going to be unblockable.

You worked a lot on technique, individual one-on-one stuff. Has it been that way all season? We've been up and down, but we've been working technique every day because there are so many guys, for example, Shrock is a linebacker. He's a converted defensive end. A lot of these guys aren't true defensive end. In this league, we need pass rushers. We don't need a traditional defensive lineman who can take up space and control the gap because they're not coming to your gap anyway. We need guys who can pass rush and get pressure on the quarterback. So we're converting a lot of guys to defensive end. There's a lot of ground-up teaching that's going on right now.

One concern would seem to be a lack of leaders. There really aren't veteran guys. As of right now, no one has stepped up and taken that by the reins. We'll have a guy hold onto it for a second. We have a leader on defense (Tramaine Billie). We have not found our offensive leader yet.

It has to be the quarterback, don't you think? It has to be.

Anything else? I'm excited about the progress. I think we're going to make strides. We're a young team. We're not a true team yet.

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100426/BLOGS15/100429600

Craine III making right moves
Stacy Clardie | The Journal Gazette
Allen Craine III came from Atlanta to Fort Wayne, assuming he would continue playing running back.


That's all he'd ever played, including with the Georgia Mustangs of the North American Football League and the Georgia Bandits of the Deep South Football League. Both are semi-pro outdoor franchises.

But when Fort Wayne coaches saw Craine III's quickness, he was moved to defensive end.

"It was very surprising because I showed up here 6-2, 225 and go against 300-pound guys," Craine III said. "I was thinking, 'How am I going to win this battle up front?' "

He's figured out a way.

Craine III has one sack and three tackles for a loss, according to the CIFL statistics, but has been a much bigger presence than those statistics suggest.

He consistently puts pressure on the quarterback and has created several turnovers because of it. Last week, it was Craine III's hit on Chicago quarterback Ron Ricciardi that led to Tramaine Billie's interception.

"I just went out and used my God-given abilities to do what I can and help the team win," Craine III said. "Use my quickness, use my hands. Coach (Lamar) Martin has taught me to use my hands a lot more, get past the tackles. I get double-teammed a lot, learn how to split those double teams."

Martin expects Craine III to be "unblockable" by the end of the season. Martin continues to teach Craine III moves and counter-moves and wants him to eliminate wasted movement.

"He our most talented (defensive lineman)," Martin said.