First Round Breakdown: Arizona Ridge Riders vs. Carolina Cowboys
By: James Youness
PUEBLO, Colo. – In the sport of bull riding, risk will always be part of the equation.
Anytime you pair a man with a nearly 2,000-lb. animal athlete and let them bounce around the dirt for a while, physics is going to kick in.
So are injuries.
Each of the eight PBR Camping World Team Series teams have endured some bumps and bruises throughout the league’s 10-event regular season, no doubt.
But not quite to the extent that the No. 6 Carolina Cowboys have.
“Coop’s (Cooper Davis) had a messed-up knee all year and Josh (Frost) has been in and out, it’s just been tough. We didn’t know if we were going to have Daylon for the Championship. If it can happen, it seems like it’s happened,” Head Coach Jerome Davis shared.
“I feel like we were really starting to pull together at the end (of the regular season), I’m feeling good going into Vegas. We’ll have Daylon coming back. Sage’s hand is good (since dealing with a minor injury dating back to the team’s homestand event in Greensboro, Northa Carolina). Cooper’s doing good. Trey (Kimzey) should be good, Josh is feeling pretty good now, so I feel good rolling into Vegas. I feel like we’re as healthy as we’ve been since Cheyenne, or pretty close to it.”
Executing more than 20 personnel transactions since the 2023 PBR Teams Draft in Fort Worth, Texas, (signing, releasing or designating riders to and from Injured Reserve, Protected Roster and Reserve Roster) as the team traversed the injury-plagued regular season, Carolina managed to survive the campaign.
RELATED: 2023 PBR Teams Championship Bracket
Now, days before the 2023 PBR Camping World Team Series Championship is set to begin inside T-Mobile Arena Oct. 20-22, the Cowboys expect to get their ace back, as Swearingen is expected to dance with Lights Out during a rematch in Friday night’s opener.
As one of the league’s anticipated favorites ahead of year two, adding one of its heaviest hitters back to the lineup is a good way to both put its 11-17 record in the past and get the organization back on track to achieving its ultimate goal.
“The whole team is just gritty tough. They don’t quit getting on, and that’s the deal. When we put this team together, I wanted those tough guys who rodeoed for a living and knew how to ride a bull both ways. Tough guys,” Davis offered.
“Yeah, they’re good to go but their hip is jacked up, their knee is jacked up, their hand won’t stay in a bull rope, but that’s just the way they ride and how they do it and their riding is starting to come together.”
Family men at home, warriors on the dirt. But first and foremost, this weekend?
Competitors. Cowboys. And maybe even Champions?
As far as Colby Yates and the No. 5-ranked Arizona Ridge Riders are concerned, who have dealt with some injuries of their own, including seeing star Nick Tetz ruled out for the duration of the PBR Teams season, they just want to finish one spot higher than last time around.
RELATED: Nick Tetz sees PBR Teams season cut short, aims for Saskatoon return
Dropping the final game from the inaugural 2022 season to the eventual champion Nashville Stampede, it wasn’t so long ago that the team was two qualified ride scores away from lifting the gold buckle themselves.
Just like the Cinderella Story Stampede last season, Arizona didn’t need a first-round bye in order to advance to Championship Sunday’s final showdown.
After starting the season with an 0-7 record, it was rather apparent the organization may not be competing for a bye in year two either. But sometimes a little warm-up is just what the boys need.
“With us coming us in there and getting that first day in there under our belt and being ready for that second day, like ride-ready, since we had already been on some bulls, I think that was a big thing,” Yates shared, reminiscing to last year’s runner-up run.
But after seeing the team win 13 of its final 21 regular season games, with guys like Keyshawn Whitehorse and Chase Dougherty coming alive as the year progressed, it’s not about what happened last year.
It’s all about what the guys in the locker room want to do THIS year.
“We talk about it and we have to continue to get stronger. Ride more bulls, be more consistent. Everybody knows that,” Yates shared.
“They’re all trying as hard as they can, that’s all we can ask from them, so ultimately, we need to get past one or two rides and we need to get back to three and four rides in order to dominate.”
Without a doubt, there will be some fiery outs throughout what could quickly become a back-and-forth battle between two juggernauts that just haven’t had things pan out in perfect fashion so far.
But at the end of the day, and game, it could come down to a third all-time pairing between Whitehorse and Twisted Feather.
Originally besting the bovine for 86.5 points last summer, he was most recently dispatched in a heartbreaking 7.56 seconds. Not saying it WILL come down to this matchup, but with all of the roller coaster rides both of these teams have witnessed this season, we sure aren’t ruling it out.
With the 2023 PBR Camping World Team Series set to conclude inside T-Mobile Arena Oct. 20-22, PBR.com is breaking down each first-round matchup, concluding with the No. 5 Arizona Ridge Riders taking on the No. 6 Carolina Cowboys!
Regular Season Record: Arizona (13-15) | Carolina (11-17)
Regular Season Qualified Rides: Arizona (42) | Carolina (44)
Regular Season Ride Percentage: Arizona (42-for-140: 30%) | Carolina (44-for-140: 31.4%)
Regular Season Rides Per Game Average: Arizona (1.5) | Carolina (1.57)
Regular Season Series: Arizona (1-3) | Carolina (3-1)
One month into the 2023 PBR Camping World Team Series campaign, Arizona and Carolina had met twice, but neither contest was particularly close, with the Cowboys picking up huge 178.5-0 and 262.5-0 victories over the Ridge Riders. Meeting for a third time in mid-September, the black and white squad were able to produce two rides in making it a competitive match, only to be dethroned by an epic 91-point ride from Sage Steele Kimzey as the ultimate difference-maker.
But when the final Championship Sunday of the regular season rolled around, Arizona decided it was time to change things up. After all, what better way to give your team some momentum heading into the postseason? Seeing Josh Frost return from injury (posting an 86.75-point ride aboard Juju) and team up with Kimzey (who provided a rank 90.5-pointer atop Snap Chatter), Arizona needed a pair of flashy scores to get the job done. A perfect task for Eduardo Aparecido and Chase Dougherty, who went on to post 90 and 88.25-point scores, respectively, as the Ridge Riders ended their series against Carolina in the win column, 178.25-177.25.
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July 25: 178.5-0 (Carolina W)
Aug. 26: 262.5-0 (Carolina W)
Sept. 22: 178.25-173.75 (Carolina W)
Sept. 30: 178.25-177.25 (Arizona W)
Team MVP: Arizona (Nick Tetz) | Carolina (Cooper Davis)
While Arizona’s Vitor Losnake and Nick Tetz each ended the regular season with matching 10-for-25 records (40%), the 2023 season marked year two for Losnake, as the talented Brazilian had already introduced himself in fiery fashion last season, regularly providing sparks for his team. The case for Tetz as the team’s MVP can easily be made in the fact that the team signed him on May 22 as a free agent. Entering this year with no 5-on-5 experience (and not too many events as a regular in the U.S. in general, as the Calgary, Alberta, native typically spent his days competing in the PBR Canada World prior to getting his shot in PBR Teams). Arizona was involved in more than its fair share of close calls throughout the season, but more times than not, Tetz would show up with a rank effort, able to help will his team across the finish line. Even when the spirited rider isn’t on a bull, he’s been one of the most vocal, supportive and kind guys the tour has, and has been more than a welcomed addition to the Ridge Rider locker room. Unfortunately for Tetz and Arizona alike, the talented youngster was ruled out of this weekend’s championship competition with injuries sustained in Fort Worth, Texas at PBR Rattler Days.
With 2022 World Champion Daylon Swearingen missing a majority of the regular season slate with an injury, it was 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis who stepped up for the checkered flag squad this season. Racking up a favorable 14-for-24 record (58.3%) and sporting one of the best smiles in the business, Davis could be singlehandedly viewed as the reason why Carolina managed even a No. 6 seed in an injury-ridden campaign. Ending his second trip around the PBR Teams circuit, the 29-year-old finished No. 4 overall in the MVP race en route to producing nine more qualified rides than the team’s next two top riders (Josh Frost: 5-for-13, Boudreaux Campbell: 5-for-18). Riding above 50% this season, quick math says Davis will find the 8 Friday night, but with the Cowboys averaging 1.57 rides per-game, will Frost, Kimzey, Campbell and company be able to rise to the occasion and help secure a first-round win for the Richard Childress-owned entity?
Game 1 Outlook: The only game on Friday night to feature teams who finished next to each other in the regular season standings, fans are set to enjoy a good ole Game 1 between the No. 5 Ridge Riders and No. 6 Cowboys. Coming out of the season with 42 (Arizona) and 44 (Carolina) qualified rides, it truly doesn’t get much closer for a pair of teams who didn’t imagine they’d be in the bottom half of the standings come this year’s championship. Hell, after seeing Arizona finish last year’s tournament as the runner-up and see the Cowboys execute some offseason trades and transactions to ensure they’d be primed with one of the most talented roster in the league, both teams had hopes of securing a bye.
As things sit right now, Daylon Swearingen is currently expected to give it a go for the Cowboys. Just 3-for-8 on the season as the talented rider has continued to battle the injury bug, odds for the entire tournament, let alone the first game of the weekend, must be affected if the Piffard, New York, native enters the chutes with a helmet on and a bull to ride. With Davis prepared to lead things off for Carolina, Frost will look to keep things going in the No. 2 spot before seeing Swearingen make his triumphant return in the middle of the lineup. A familiar face in Trevor Kastner (3-for-8) will then be tapped in the No. 4 spot, leaving seven-time PCRA Champion Sage Steele Kimzey (4-for-9) to close things out for the Cowboys. Knowing they’ll be challenged by plenty of top-tier talent across the chutes, Carolina will need three ride scores to get the win Friday night.
As for what Yates and Paulo Crimber have cooking for Arizona after getting a taste of what the championship meal looks like the last time they entered T-Mobile Arena? Well, that’s the tricky part, as any of the team’s five riders set to compete in Game 1 are more than capable of ripping off a 90. Dealing with some injuries of his own this season, Chase Dougherty (4-for-12) has come alive as the fall season turned, now 3-for-6 in his last three events, including a 91.75-point dance with Ivy League Sept. 16 and a favorable 88.25-point go during his final out of the season (in which Arizona picked up its only regular season win of the season over Carolina). With Dougherty set to kick things off for the Ridge Riders, he’ll be flanked by Eduardo Aparecido (8-for-24), Vitor Losnake (10-for-25), Luciano De Castro (2-for-6) and closer Keyshawn Whitehorse (3-for-21), who have each taken turns being the hero for Arizona so far. A team which feeds off momentum, specifically when the No. 1 spot converts, fans shouldn’t be surprised if the Ridge Riders make another lengthy run in Vegas, beginning with an opening night win over Carolina.
Regardless of which team finds themselves with a lower score following Game 1, they’ll have one more opportunity to keep their championship hopes alive courtesy of Friday’s Last Chance Game, as the losers from Game 1, 2 and 3 will compete head-to-head, with just one team earning the right to continue riding on Saturday, Oct. 21!
Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media
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