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Firecats confident despite three-game losing streak
Today's game
Florida Firecats (8-4) at Daytona Beach ThunderBirds (2-11)
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Ocean Center, Daytona Beach
TV: www.af2.beyondsportsnetwork.com
Radio: WWCN/770 AM
Of Note: Florida has beaten expansion Daytona Beach a combined 96-41 in two previous meetings. The only two teams in af2 will meet again in Germain Arena on the final weekend of the regular season. ... Florida has lost three straight, its longest skid since the 2002 season. ... The ThunderBirds, who lost five straight to start the season, have lost six in a row since beating Manchester and Albany in back-to-back weeks, dropping them to the bottom of the American Conference standings.
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You only thought the Firecats were reeling.
True, Florida, thanks to a gut-wrenching 59-56 loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday night, is riding their longest losing skid in six years -- three straight.
True, the team likely won't earn homefield advantage throughout the American Conference playoffs, a goal within reach prior to its latest loss.
But the way the schedule shakes out, the Firecats (8-4) are in prime position to enter the postseason as a No. 2 seed, not bad all things considered.
And their confidence is high.
They made the five-hour road trip to Daytona Beach, where they will meet the expansion ThunderBirds at 7 tonight, knowing there is something to build on.
They look at the loss to Wilkes-Barre, the top team in the conference, for what it was -- a sure victory that they couldn't quite finish.
"On offense," Bouis said, "is where we learned the most. It was really good to get to the 50-point mark against one of the best teams in the league."
If only they'd kept it coming.
After building a 56-35 lead that had Germain Arena rocking, the Firecats allowed Wilkes-Barre to run off 24 straight points -- the final three at the buzzer.
"We'll be fine," Bouis said. "We've just got to focus on playing four quarters."
Much of the promise, to be sure, is thanks to the return of star receiver Magic Benton, who made 14 catches for 188 yards in his first game this season.
That helped the Firecats finally break through on offense, helping get them to 50 points in a game for the first time in two months.
It was quite a turnaround from the two weeks prior to that, when Florida combined for just 67 points in losses to Manchester and South Georgia.
Don't be fooled by the standings, either.
Although the South Division leader is South Georgia by one-half game, the Wildcats will not play again until next weekend. The Firecats can forge a tie atop the standings by beating Daytona Beach and would then control their destiny the rest of the way.
Florida and South Georgia have played thrice this season and will not meet again. The head-to-head tiebreaker goes to the Firecats should it come to that.
It sets up nicely if Florida can finish the season with wins against Daytona Beach, Boise (7-6), Tennessee Valley (8-5) and finally the ThunderBirds once more. Especially if Thomas Carroll and Chris McKinney, two of the team's top players, can get healthy soon.
"It's a great place for us to be," Bouis said, "considering the way we've played the last few weeks."
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