When Marcus Coleman was a freshman at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, he faced one of the biggest questions of his young life.
Track or baseball?
“I had to decide whether I was going to do football and track, or football and baseball,” said Coleman, the Sugar Skulls’ first-year head coach. “I couldn’t do both so I picked and ended up running football and track.”
Coleman has been thinking about baseball; his Sugar Skulls will visit Hi Corbett Field for eight charity events this month. A Sugar Skulls player will be paired with two UA baseball players for batting practice, and each trio will be scored based on where their hits land on the field. The events are open to the public.
Coleman won’t participate, but he’s sure he’d hold his own on the diamond. Coleman was once nearly as good at baseball as he was at football — and he went on to play in the NFL.
“Half of the family said I was better at baseball than football, and vice versa. Even my mom says I should’ve played baseball,” he said.
The Sugar Skulls have lost four straight games and are sitting in seventh place at 3-5 in the Indoor Football League. Only the top six teams qualify for the playoffs, and Tucson can get back into the race by beating San Diego on Saturday night at Tucson Arena.
“We’re polishing some things up and we’re taking this like we have to go on a run,” Tucson defensive back Micah Eugene Jr. said.
The Sugar Skulls have looked like winners in spurts. Four times in its last five game, Tucson has been leading or tied with its opponent in the second half. Tucson blew a 17-point lead in the second half last week and fell 61-58 to the Iowa Barnstormers, who scored five fourth-quarter touchdowns including a blocked field goal that was recovered in the end zone.
Tucson has surrendered 644 yards over its last two games.
“Not enough focus and paying attention to detail. We’re not watching enough film and we’re blowing coverages,” Eugene said.
The Sugar Skulls boast the top offense in the IFL, but have been turning the ball over too often.
Tucson’s four consecutive losses have all included either turnovers, blocked field goals or defensive secondary breakdowns that led to easy touchdowns.
“We’ve been making too many mistakes and shooting ourselves in the foot,” said Coleman. “It’s not just one specific spot, it’s the team as a whole.
“You have to learn how to win. We have to teach these young men how to stay motivated. You relish the chance to face adversity. As the youngsters say, ‘You have to keep grinding through.’”
Tucson has beaten San Diego (1-7) twice already this season by a combined score of 116-75, but the Strike Force will look different on Saturday. Quarterback Jihad Vercher replaced starter Derrick Bernard three weeks ago..
“They’ve actually gotten better from the first two times we played against them,” said Coleman. “They look a lot better. They’re one of those teams where you can’t take them lightly because of their record. You still have to come out and ball, and they have the weapons to beat us.”
Now the question becomes: Can the Sugar Skulls cross the finish line with a win?
“I told the guys, ‘If you play a complete a game and play complimentary football, we can play with anyone in this league let alone win,’” said Coleman. “We have to play 65 minutes. We no longer play 60 minutes, we play 65. That’s the mindset we’re playing with. We’re playing 65 minutes.”
Sweet nothings
- Kick returner Treydonte Hill is on the short-term injured reserve list. The Sugar Skulls added wide receiver and return specialist Jeremiah Harris to replace him. Harris had been released by the Orlando Predators of the National Arena League. Tucson also added defensive back Kasey Johnson.
- The Sugar Skulls went winless in the month of April after opening their inaugural season with a 3-1 record in March.
