Howell's Blum at home playing arena football
Playing center for Ready Express
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

The most memorable games of Scott Blum's football career haven't been on the gridiron.

They've taken place in an indoor arena.

Blum, an ex-Howell High School All-State offensive lineman who went on to star at Rowan University, plays center for the Reading Express of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA).

The Express won the AIFA North Division title this year and played for the league title Saturday night in Florence, S.C., falling to the Lakeland Thunderbolts, 54-39.

"I've never played for a championship in football before," said the 6-3, 300-pound lineman.

The Thunderbolts scored 15 points in a 34-second span at the end of the first half to take a 33-20 lead and then held off an Express rally in the second to secure the five-point win. The Express finished the season at 16-3 while Lakeland went 14-2.

Blum called the team's win over Canton Legend in the North Conference championship game "one of the more memorable games" of his career.

Just four months ago, Blum didn't know he'd be playing football, let alone playing for a league championship.

At Rowan, Blum had earned All-Conference (New Jersey Athletic Conference) and All-ECAC recognition. Then, following his senior year in the fall, he was a Division III and Little College All-American. That raised more than a few eyebrows.

"After Rowan, agents said I could be a pro," he said. "I went to NFL tryouts and signed with the Austin Wranglers [Arena Football League]. I didn't want to stop playing football."

He was cut by the Wranglers, but remained undaunted.

"The first thing I thought was that they had a bad perspective of me," he said. "When they told me your services weren't needed, I thought, too bad, someone will need my services."

What he didn't know at the time was how quickly his services would be needed. Shortly after being cut by the Wranglers, the Express called and wanted him to try out for their indoor team.

"I didn't think I'd make it; the season started in two weeks," he said.

One of the difficulties for players from small colleges is that teams have a very short hook. When it becomes a numbers game, the small college players are the first to go. Blum noted that at practices, the small college players may only get two or three reps and they have to make the most of those limited opportunities. He did in Reading.

"I felt it was a good place for me," he said.

Blum, who graduated from Rowan with a degree in economics, is the manager of a Vitamin World store in Reading when he isn't practicing or playing for the Express. A typical week is practice Tuesday through Thursday evenings from 8 to 10 p.m. (all the players have other jobs). Friday night is either a walk-though for a home game (they play at the Sovereign Arena) or getting on a charter bus traveling to their away game.

"They treat us pretty well," said Blum, who pointed out that the busses all have beds and TV sets for the players.

Despite the obvious differences between the indoor game and outdoor - the size of the field and the number of players (eight compared to 11) - football is football.

"It's [arena football] two-times quicker than outdoor," Blum said. "It's all speed and quickness. It's football in its purest form.

"We only run eight or 10 times a game," he added. "It's about pass blocking. You have the same things as outdoor football, there's blitzing and stunts. Teams blitz 80 percent of the time. You have to make your reads quicker."

As the team's center, Blum is the player who calls the line's assignments. Decisions have to be made in the blink of an eye; that is why he spends a lot of time watching film of the opposition to get a feel for what they do.

A nice difference is the play book - it's not the size of Webster's Dictionary.

"We have 25 percent less plays," Blum said. "There are only so many plays you can run."

Blum said it did take some time to adjust to playing inside on a field the size of a hockey rink or basketball court. But after a full season playing indoors, he is right at home.

"Now, it feels natural, it feels like football," he pointed out. "The arenas are really loud."

Blum hopes that his play with the Express will catch the eye of the AFL or even NFL teams. But if it doesn't, he said he'd be more than happy to be suiting up for the Express next season and playing before partisan home crowd at the Sovereign Arena.