Moment of Truth for Terry

The moment of truth is upon Barons’ new head coach James Terry, as the team prepares to faceoff against the rival Stockton Wolves tonight at 7:00 pm in the Reno Events Center downtown.

Barons General Manager Tim Pierce said they brought in Terry specifically to take down Stockton.

Sure, Terry led the Barons to beat the Las Vegas Cobras and the Sacramento Warriors, but the Barons organization has acknowledged that these victories are expected and purely practice.

Judging by the scores (113-32 against Vegas and 113-23 against Sacramento), it’s obvious that the Barons were barely challenged in those victories.

“To bill these games with semi-pro teams as professional indoor football games is ethically questionable and borderline criminal,” Reno Gazette Journal sports columnist Dan Hinxman wrote on Monday.

A few other things to consider are that nobody is forcing these teams to come out and play, the Barons have been on the bad end of injuries in both occasions, and some Sacramento players expressed their gratitude after the game.

Here is what one player wrote after the game via a Facebook post on the Reno Barons Fan Page wall.

“HELL OF A CLASSY TEAM FELLAS!!! we WARRIORS totally appreciated you having us this past weekend, it was a great experience learning the game of indoor football and have fun doing it at the same time… we are grateful for your management to bring us in and let us play you! …,” Walter Killian, no. 52 on the Warriors, said.

Not every Sacramento player felt the same gratitude as Killian though, as no. 4 (who could not be reached for comment) broke down during the game, and started beating on the helmet of Barons’ defensive back Ryan Johnson who just returned an interception for a touchdown.

In addition to the full-team brawl that ensued, Sacramento’s frustration was further conveyed throughout the outing by their drab expressions and vulgar talk toward the Barons’ sideline.

Scheduling teams who can hold their own against the Barons has been an obstacle, and Stockton has had similar issues with scheduling worthy opponents in their third season of operations.

“The Stockton Wolves showed up ready to play football. They only wish their scheduled opponents would do the same thing,” Record Staff Writer Scott Linesburgh wrote.  “For the second time in their first four home games, a team didn’t show up and left the Wolves scurrying to find an opponent.”

This is a situation that the Barons are all too familiar with, as they have done the same on two occasions as well (game one and game five).

The Wolves and the Barons both compete as independents (unaffiliated with any league) so they handle all of their own scheduling, and it’s fitting that they are both the best competition each team has had up to this point in the season.

Barons’ have beaten every other opponent by at least 50 and held the Wolves to their worst scoring total (57 pts.), win margin (38 pts.), and defensive performance (30 pts. against) of the season.

But that was when the Barons operated with Anthony Bartley as head coach.

The Barons cited the poor performance of the team when they fired Bartley, and the Barons had only lost to Stockton. So as the new head coach, Terry should be sweating.

When interviewed, Terry touted that he is undefeated as a head coach with a 7-0 record (now 8-0). Two of those were with the Barons, and the other six were with a team that he says he owned and operated in Youngstown, Ohio.

Terry also said he has the Barons practicing less than they were under Bartley. A strategy that he said was more effective because he packed “more work in three 90-minute sessions a week than Bartley had them doing in 5.”

Bartley refutes these claims saying that the team is now simply practicing more on their own time. But light will shine on whether the decision to let Bartley go was a good one tonight at 7:00 pm when the Wolves return to Reno.

This week’s game will be “Emergency Services Day.” Any emergency service member that presents a badge and buys a ticket will get one extra ticket free.