THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
3:21 P.M. EST

Coming down to the end of the season, injuries have started to take their toll and it showed on both teams as we noticed some of their normal starters were out and they had low numbers dressed on the sideline.  It showed with us too as a lot of our starters didn’t practice and a couple of injured players didn’t make the trip with us.  Also, Coach Tracey has grown superstitious lately because of the things that have happened to the team in the past, so he wanted as many starters taken out the moment the game looked decided.  It was another reminder of the unexpected crazy coincidences that have plagued the team in the past. The game started with the “O” on the field... read more as Carlstad shuts out Goteburg >

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
8:42 P.M. EST

Remembering how bad we beat the Bulls the last time we played them was kind of a good and bad thing...  Bad because players remember scores and tend to overlook teams...  Good because we should try to match that performance.  We were pretty confident in what we should be able to do against them, but our head coach was worried about the guy’s enthusiasm coming into the game. We loss the coin toss and Stu took the ball first.  They had a new QB who was a run/pass option... read more about this second match-up between the Crusaders and Bulls > 

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
11:24 A.M. EST

It was a huge week, as we were going up against a rival team, the Mean Machines out of Stockholm who were also tied for 1st place in the league.  The rivalry has been going on for years and you could feel the tension all through pre-game.  This was a huge game in terms of respect, bragging rights, and the standings.  This game was a milestone for one of our veteran receivers Kalle Flogman as it marked his 100th career game in the Super Series; it also was the first game of my fellow former Bishop Jez Davis. read more about Ced and Jez's first game together since departing Wesleyan >

MONDAY, AUGUST 25
6:10 P.M. EST

After 3 weeks off, injuries to some key players, traveling 9 hours, and playing short-handed, we were afraid of how this game may play out.  Also, we did not know if the Limhamn Griffins had made any new additions to the team like they did in the 2nd half of the season last year when they went on to win the championship.  Some players had to step in and play a lot more snaps than they were used to playing... read more about the Crusaders 45-14 victory >

TUESDAY, JULY 15
12:19 P.M. EST

Coming into the week, facing the Tyreso Royal Crown for the second time, we had a lot of things to prove.  The first time we played it was both teams’ first game, and I had only been and the country 4 days and been able to practice with the team 3 times.  Our defense shut them out in that game and wanted to prove it wasn’t it a fluke, but we only managed to score 20 points because we stopped ourselves with penalties and mistakes.  Offensively, we had 15 penalties and found ourselves in 3rd and more than 20 on more than 2 occasions.  Since then, both of our teams have improved... we averaged just under 40 points a game and the most they have allowed was 35.  This also would be our offensive coordinator's last game with the team (due to prior engagements), leaving me to fill the position.  So I also had something personal to prove as the transition would be starting with this game, and he would be on the sideline only as a consultant. read more about the Crusaders second shutout of Tyreso and Ced's first game as OC >

THURSDAY, JUNE 19
12:15 P.M. EST

We didn’t know much Goteborg going into the game and had limited film on them. Basically, we're going to have to go on what we had heard from other coaches who had faced them.  We started out the game slow holding ourselves back with penalties, miscommunications, and dropped passes on our first two drives.  Our 1st score came on a 1-play drive as a QB keeper got us on the board from about 50yds out.  From there, we rolled on offense and scored on our next 3 drives.  Our defense gave up 2 scores, keeping Goteborg drives alive on penalties on 3rd and 4th downs, but we blocked one of their extra points and returned it for a 2pt score, so we went into the half up 24-12. Once again we challenged ourselves to play a perfect 2nd half... and we came close!  read more as Ced rushes for over 200 yards >

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4
2:42 P.M. EST

Saturday we played the Stu Northside Bulls, a team who’s been struggling to begin the season and are at the bottom of the league standings.  It was stressed all week during practice that it was important for us to find our rhythm again and run on all cylinders as a team. To get us back on the right track, we did a lot of competing sessions in practice during the week.  Coach emphasized the importance of competing. I think as players we really responded to that as we had a solid week of preparation. We started the game off with the ball, and immediately went to work scoring on our 3rd play of the drive -- a run by our back Marcus, thanks to some great blocks down field by our line and wide outs.  We went on to score on 2 of our next 4 possessions, the last of which I threw my 1st pick... read more about the Crusaders 70-6 win >
 

MONDAY, MAY 26
11:20 A.M. EST

We gave one away this weekend. We played in Stockholm against the Stockholm Mean Machines, a team who has been at the top of the Swedish Super Series league for a long time and a big rival of the Crusaders. I felt good going into the game coming off of our bye week and knowing how big this game was going to be. There were three undefeated teams heading into the weekend, and we were two of them looking to establish ourselves atop the Super Series League with Arlanda, the other undefeated team who has started hot to begin the year. Stockholm would provide us with the first real test against a team who could compete on our level. In Sweden, the commitment level in football is not the same as it is back home, so some of the organizations over here are better than others and put more into it. Carlstad and Stockholm are top notch organizations and compete for the Super Series Championship year in and year out. Both have the support system and players in place to be successful. It's a numbers game over here, and Stockholm has a large team -- their roster alone is bigger than the two teams we've already beat combined. We started the game pretty well offensively scoring TDs on 3 of our first 4 possessions. read more as the Crusaders suffer their first loss >

THURSDAY, MAY 22
6:54 A.M. EST

The bye week had good timing even though it came only two weeks into the season.  It allowed us the chance to install more of the offense, as we were very basic the first two games.  Injuries were also able to be treated more effectively, as some players were able to rest and recuperate.  During the week, we just worked on getting ourselves better.  A lot of time was spent on individual play during practice, going over things we needed to improve on.  There was no time spent on our upcoming opponent.  The week went smoothly and seemed to be very productive as new formations and plays were added. We awakened Saturday morning to snow... read more about bye week activities >

MONDAY, MAY 12
6:32 A.M. EST

Game 2 was our premiere home game against the Limhamn Griffins (the defending champs), who reside about 8 hours away from us.  This is also the team that ended the Crusaders' season just 8 months ago in a tight 9-6 overtime game with a last-second field goal in the championship round.  In the short time we’ve been here, coach and I must have heard at least 6 different stories about last year’s game that was still fresh on everyone’s mind. So all week in practice it served as extra motivation.  “They have something that’s ours” was drilled into everyone’s head… We arrived at the stadium to find most of the team waiting as others pulled in beside us. There wasn’t much talk, just head nods and regular game day questions of “are you ready?” and “how you feeling?” The offensive starters were introduced as we all ran out of the tunnel to white smoke (something Warner and I weren’t told about).  It wasn’t a large home crowd, but they made up for it with their enthusiasm... read more as the Crusaders take on the rival Griffins > 

SUNDAY, MAY 4
7:11 P.M. EST

We played against Tyreso Saturday in Stockholm, which is a little over three hours from Carlstad. The team met at our practice facilities that morning and the bus left at 8:00 AM for a 3:00 PM kickoff. The trip was no different than if we were playing a game in the States, other than the fact that a couple of our players had elected to meet us at the field in Stockholm. We drove about 3 hours with guys sleeping and watching movies until we stopped for our pre-game meal at a restaurant just outside of Stockholm. After a pasta lunch, we left and arrived at the field just before 1:00. There was a Junior game being played on the field when we got there, and we were watching that and checking out the facilities, which were pretty nice. There were a couple of other fields around the complex, and all of them were field turf including the game field... read more as Cedric leads the Crusaders to a 20-0 win over Tyreso >