The 2008 Georgia Force had a rollercoaster of a season. After starting the season 3-5 with tough losses to Tampa Bay, Dallas and Orlando (twice), they were able to win seven out of their last eight games, which included big come-from-behind victories over Philadelphia, New York and Chicago (all playoff teams). So coming into the second round of the playoffs against the Cleveland Gladiators, you would think that the Force would dominate. They were going to take it to Cleveland and move on to play the Philadelphia Soul in their third National Conference Championship in four years, right?
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, as the Gladiators stunned the Force by beating them 73-70 (see page 16 for full results). Now it is the Gladiators – a team few expected to be here – that will move on to face Philadelphia.
So what happened? Why was Cleveland able to make big plays against a solid Force defense?
“Ultimately, these plays get back to the players on the field,” head coach Doug Plank said. “I thought [Cleveland] came out and played extremely well. There were times that we had them backed up in certain situations where they had to convert first downs and they did it. They met the match today.”
WHAT NOW?
The Force started the season unsure of what to expect after losing bigtime receivers Chris Jackson and Derek Lee to free agency. That led to them looking for the right nucleus of receivers for Chris Greisen to work with – which also led to them losing three of their first four games. Everything changed when they signed rookie Tiger Jones, however, who helped lead the team to victory in their next two games. Still, after two heartbreaking losses to Orlando and Arizona, it looked as if their season was in danger.
A huge win over New Orleans and a thrilling victory against Philadelphia in the next two weeks then sparked a spectacular seven-game win streak, helping the Force achieve their second consecutive Southern Division title. But now that the season has officially come to a close, Plank is disappointed in the final outcome.
“I don’t think there’s anybody in that locker room that feels we had a successful season,” Plank said. “There’s a lot of pain and remorse of what took place today because I did truly feel that we were capable of much more than we showed today.”
ALWAYS NEXT YEAR
With the season now over, the players have now turned in their equipment and will prepare themselves for next season. Though not satisfied with the way that they played on Monday, Plank still showed his appreciation.
“I personally thanked them for the efforts that they gave throughout the course of the season,” Plank said. “So many players in that locker room contributed in one form of fashion, helping us win games this season. It’s incredible to think that it’s over.”
The Force had higher expectations for themselves in 2008, but thanks to a great coach in Plank and great nucleus of players, they will remain contenders for years to come.
Jones can be reached at bjones@scoreatl.com.
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