Cavs are ready to travel

By DAVID BUCK
Star-Tribune staff writer

As it turns out, there is an advantage to playing in the West Division of the American Indoor Football Association.

The West, with three expansion teams this year, was considered one of the weaker divisions in the AIFA. Wyoming crushed its opponents early in the season and didn't get close games until late in the year.

Despite those drawbacks, Cavalry coach Dan Maciejczak thinks the distance between Casper and road games in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah will help Wyoming in Friday's AIFA Bowl II against the Florence Phantoms in Florence, S.C.

"I think that is a help for us that we've had longer trips this year," he said. "So that we know what it's like to have to leave and drive on a bus for 19 hours, or fly and get to somewhere else a long ways away and play a game of football."

The Cavs had seven road games this season, with the closest an 8-hour bus ride to Utah.

Wyoming has the advantage of flying most of the way to South Carolina, though some bus rides are still in line. The Cavs practiced at the Casper Events Center on Monday and will practice there again today before leaving for Denver at midnight. Wyoming has a morning flight out of Denver to Atlanta on Wednesday, then they will take a bus from Atlanta to Florence. The Cavs practice Wednesday night in the Florence Civic Center, the site of Friday's game, have meetings and practice on Thursday, and play in the championship on Friday.

Though Wyoming is playing for the league championship, it has less time to prepare than it did last week when the Cavs had two weeks to get ready for Mississippi and the Western Conference title game. Maciejczak said he likes having less time to prepare.

"All season long we've only had one week, so I was a little bit nervous with two weeks because you want to get work done, but you don't want to get burned out," Maciejczak said.

Back with the regular time between games, the Cavs are also trying to prepare for this game like they did in the regular season.

"What we do has been working all year, so no need to really change anything because nothing is broke," Cavs linebacker Jeff Main said. " ... I think what we have works, and it's got us to where we are at right now."

Now all the team needs to do is get to Florence.

Contact sports reporter David Buck at (307) 266-0596 or david.buck@trib.com

AIFA Bowl Tracker

AIFA BOWL II: Wyoming at Florence (S.C.), 5:45 p.m., Friday, Florence Civic Center.

RECORDS: Cavalry (13-3); Phantoms (12-4).

TEAM SCHEDULE: Wyoming will practice at the Casper Events Center today before leaving for Denver at midnight. The team has a Wednesday morning flight from Denver to Atlanta then will take a bus to Florence. The Cavs will practice Wednesday and Thursday at the Florence Civic Center before playing Friday's game.

WESTERN EDGE: Cavs coach Dan Maciejczak said playing in the West Division with long road trips prepared Wyoming to travel to Florence.

HE SAID IT: "I think that is a help for us that we've had longer trips this year, so that we know what it's like to have to leave and drive on a bus for 19 hours or fly and get to somewhere else a long ways away and play a game of football." -- Maciejczak.