San Jose loses heartbreaker, 54-48 to Pittsburgh
Sunday May 15, 2011
SAN JOSE – The SaberCats suffered their second road defeat of the season, 54-48 to the Pittsburgh Power, following a 31-yard touchdown pass to WR Jason Willis from QB Bernard Morris with 0:14 remaining in front of 7,333 at CONSOL Energy Center. The loss dropped the SaberCats to 5-4 at the midway point of the season.
Owner/Head Coach Darren Arbet was disappointed with the defeat. “We didn’t make the plays we needed to tonight and I take full responsibility for the loss and we just need to get better moving forward.”
San Jose got off to a slow start, yielding scores on the first two drives to Pittsburgh as QB Bernard Morris found wide receivers Jason Willis (15 yards) and Mike Washington (13 yards) to give the Power an early 14-0 advantage. San Jose responded with 21 unanswered points, including one of FB/LB Chad Cook’s three rushing touchdowns, helping him break the SaberCats’ single-season record for rushing scores in a season (20) which was originally set by WR/DB Barry Wagner (18) in 2003. Wide receivers Ben Nelson and James Roe, who saw his first action of the 2011 season, posted a receiving touchdown each during San Jose’s stretch, making it 21-14 as the first quarter expired. The SaberCats offensive flurry was ignited by takeaways on their defense as DB Jamario O’Neal notched his second interception of the season, followed by a DL Francis Maka fumble recovery off of a failed snap.
Pittsburgh responded as National Guard MVP of the Game WR Mike Washington hauled in two touchdown receptions, totaling 12 receptions for 120 yards and four touchdowns on the night. At the tail end of the first half, Pittsburgh stuffed a San Jose offensive drive at the goal line to hold the score at 34-33 heading into the half.
At the start of the second half, the two teams exchanged scores, with Roe posting his second touchdown of the game, followed by Cook’s record-setting rushing score. The San Jose defense held the Pittsburgh offense to only one touchdown as the two teams headed into the fourth stanza.
The final quarter saw both teams turn the ball over on downs, with San Jose driving deep into Pittsburgh territory with under 1:00 remaining in the game. The Power came up with another goal line stand giving their offense the ball in the final minute before QB Bernard Morris connected with WR Jason Willis with 0:14 remaining to seal the victory. The SaberCats put together a last second drive, but came up short when a grab from WR Burl Toler near the goal line wasn’t enough as time expired.
The SaberCats defense forced four turnovers on the night, the second largest total on the season. San Jose WR Ben Nelson posted five receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown, passing the 6,000 receiving yard mark for his career. DB Eddie Moten posted his third interception of the season and is now tied for the team lead with WR/DB Mervin Brookins, who saw significant time at wide receiver where he posted single-game career highs with six receptions for 72 yards.
San Jose (5-4) travels to Salt Lake City next Saturday to take on the Utah Blaze (4-3) for their second matchup of the season at 6:00 PDT. The SaberCats defeated the Blaze 75-55 on April 8 at HP Pavilion in San Jose and it will mark the eighth time the two franchises have met with San Jose holding a 6-1 advantage over Utah.
National Guard MVP of the Game: Pittsburgh WR Mike Washington
Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game: San Jose QB Mark Grieb
Riddell Defensive Player of the Game: San Jose DB Eddie Moten
JLS Ironman: San Jose FB/LB Chad Cook
NiFTy Playmaker of the Game: Pittsburgh WR Mike Washington
Cutter Catch of the Game: WR Mike Washington’s tipped pass for a touchdown in the second quarter
Spalding Highlight of the Game: WR Jason Willis’ 31-yard touchdown reception with 0:14 remaining
ABOUT THE SAN JOSE SABERCATS
The ArenaBowl XVI, XVIII and XXI champion San Jose SaberCats (5-4) opened the 2011 season against the defending ArenaBowl champion Spokane Shock on March 11 with a victory as they returned to the Arena Football League for their 15th season in 2011. They travel to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Blaze (4-3) for their second matchup of the season as they look to move to 6-4. The SaberCats began play in 1995, playing their home games at HP Pavilion. Fans and sponsors can go to www.thesanjosesabercats.com or call 408-673-3400 to sign up to receive the latest news and updates about the SaberCats, as well as to purchase season and single-game tickets. Make sure to follow the SaberCats on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest news on the team.
