After claiming victory at their inaugural game last weekend, the St. Louis Bandits travel to the Queen City this weekend for American Arena League (AAL) sanctioned play.
The Bandits (1-0) face the Charlotte Thunder (4-0) Saturday at Bojangles’ Coliseum for a 7:30 pm Eastern kickoff (6:30 pm St. Louis time). This season, St. Louis competes in AAL Midwest Division while the Thunder plays in the AAL South.
The Bandits notched a 61-30 triumph over the Central Illinois Royals in a non-league tune-up last Saturday at Family Arena in St. Charles. (RECAP) The first-time endeavor for the local arena rep saw eight-person configurations tested on both sides of the ball.
Most impressive for the Bandits was their second-half performance. In the indoor area of play (50 yards) that usually results in high scoring, St. Louis’ defense held the Royals to a solo touchdown in the second half.
At the offensive forefront was the seven-touchdown passing performance from Bandits quarterback Donovan Porterie (6-5, 225), who displayed the poise and precision that is expected by a team leader (271 yards thrown with zero picks Saturday.)
Also impressive was the multi-purpose performance from Antonio Bray (5-9, 170), who hauled in three touchdown receptions and romped for an end zone run for a four-score output.
Wide receiver Dee Washington (6-4, 205) had a pair of touchdown catches while position mates Cole McDaniel (6-5, 219) and Levi Shetler (6-5, 212) each had solo catches.
Assisting on the offense were linemen Lawrence Smith (6-4, 335) and Ryan Bublka (6-9, 335), fullback Isiah Mathis (6-1, 250) and a host of others.
On the other side of the ball, Bandits defensive backs Dominique Patterson (5-11, 203), Treavor Pugh (6-2, 198), Kelvin Rodgers (6-2, 190) held the opposition’s aerial attack at bay while defensive ends Ralph Harvey Jr. (6-4, 258) and Devon Williams (6-3, 285) secured the outside while lineman Chris Gillete (6-5, 315) and others created chaos in the trenches.
Combined with the special teams output fronted by place kicker Drew Pearson (five points), the Bandits overall recorded a very solid opening game.
That being said, the team will have to play at higher levels Saturday if they want to keep that record unblemished because they are facing a high-scoring foe with numerous games in hand.
Charlotte (2-0 in AAL play, 4-0 overall) has collectively outscored their opponents, 261-39, which includes this past Saturday’s 64-6 non-league triumph over the Georgialina Lions. They’ve notched AAL South wins over division mates Pennsylvania and Tampa.
Live coverage can be found on the Thunder’s official Facebook page.
The Bandits next play at Family Arena on Saturday, May 1 against Pennsylvania Union. Tickets are $11-$33.
For more information on Bandits football, go to their official website.
Arch City Media will have a recap of Saturday’s game posted Sunday afternoon.
