Rivalry Week in Arizona
Patrick Daly
Friday July 12, 2002
It’s taken five straight wins over the Rattlers for San Jose to make it a respectable rivalry in a series that the Rattlers still hold a 9-7 lead. However, like any good rivalry, toss the history and current records out the window.
“You’ve got to take every game on it’s own merit,” Rattlers head coach Danny White said. “The last time we played them, we should’ve won the game, but we didn’t make plays at the end and they did. You’ve got the ball on their five-yard line with less than a minute to go—we were one point down—we should win that game.”
Other than the Tampa Bay-Orlando rivalry, this game represents one of the best rivalries around. When San Jose joined the league in 1995, former Rattlers defensive coordinator Todd Shell took the head coaching job with the SaberCats after spending three seasons in Arizona. During his four-year tenure in San Jose the SaberCats managed only one victory over Arizona, but with two division battles each year a rivalry was born. Now that head coach Darren Arbet has guided the SaberCats to their third straight division title, the rivalry has intensified.
“Anytime that you have two elite teams in the league that are in the same division, it’s going to be a rivalry,” White said. “You play each other twice a year. I don’t care whether it’s baseball or basketball or football. That was the Cowboys-Redskins rivalry, the Packers and the Bears. It’s all the great rivalries. The best ones that really have meat to them are the ones that are divisional opponents.
“They have players on their team that used to play for us. That adds fuel to the fire. It’s like the Rodeo-Chediski fire, there’s a lot of fuel in this one. And the wind’s blowing the wrong way, and it’s hot and dry, and the weather’s not cooperating. You add it all together and you’ve got a rivalry.”
Even though San Jose has locked up the division title, a first-round bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Rattlers still view this as a big game.
“San Jose week is always different for us as far as the intensity level in practice; the focus level goes up,” Rattlers receiver Chris Horn said. “When you’re playing your archrival, all of that stuff kind of follows. It’s a lot of fun for us as players to play in games like this. Everything picks up a notch, including the fans. They know. They can sense that it’s a big game. Their intensity level goes up as well.”
That San Jose is chasing an impressive milestone marks an obvious difference in the rivalry this season. At 12-0, the SaberCats are two wins away from accomplishing what no other AFL team has ever done: complete the regular season undefeated. However, for many Rattler players, the focus is not on ending San Jose’s streak, but it’s certainly an added bonus.
“I think what they’ve done is remarkable,” Horn said. “In pro football, to go 12-0 is a great feat. I don’t necessarily think that we’re focused so much on that they’re undefeated and we want to be the first team to beat them. It’s just the fact it’s San Jose. It’s a big game. They’re in our division and we want to beat them. That’s our main focus, but, at the same time, it doesn’t hurt to be the first team to beat them either.”
In San Jose, the SaberCats have found a quality defensive specialist in rookie Clevan Thomas. The potential Rookie of the Year leads the team with six kicks returned for a touchdown and has allowed San Jose to make adjustments in the defensive backfield. With Anthony Cobbs holding down the other defensive specialist spot, in addition to Barry Wagner and Omarr Smith playing both sides of the ball, the SaberCats have succeeded in shutting down opponents by turning turnovers into big plays.
“Other than all of the veterans, he’s been the one new guy that’s really added to the team,” White said of Thomas. “He has allowed them to play Omarr Smith as a third DB. They’re just solid back there. Cobbs on the backside—they complement each other very well. Cobbs is an excellent backside corner—he doesn’t have the quickness and the cover speed that Clevan Thomas has, but they complement each other very, very well. Then you put in Barry Wagner and Omarr Smith. Those are four quality players.
“It’s going to be hard getting any mismatches against them. Our guys are going to have to get open. They’re going to have to make great catches—they’re going to have guys hanging on them—but they’re going to have to make plays.”
Horn and OS Maurice Bryant will have to continue to play key roles in the Rattlers’ offense. Over the past three games since Bryant was activated, Horn and Bryant have combined for 43 catches, 479 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. With Bryant now figuring more prominently in the offense, opposing defenses are forced to decide whom they can focus on.
“It’s good to have us both out there,” Horn said. “We both can get past the defense at any given time. The defense knows that and I think with both of us in there it puts them on their heels a little more. They can’t be as aggressive. You just never know. The week before, Maurice had all the statistics, and then last week I ended up with them. That’s just the way it goes. It keeps defenses off balance a little bit, so I think we’re a pretty strong team that way.”
For the Rattlers, injuries have made the defensive backfield situation a bit interesting throughout the season. Most recently, Cecil Doggette suffered an injury during an interception return against Los Angeles last week, while Ricky Parker is recovering from a cheekbone injury that he suffered in Buffalo. Both players have practiced this week, but whether or not either one plays may come down to a game day decision.
Arizona is fortunate to have insurance in DS Derek Stingley, and both Jerrick Bledsoe and Kelvin Hunter are ready to go on Friday. Stingley came up with some big plays in the second half of the game in Los Angeles and he’ll figure prominently in the game on Friday.
“Fortunately, we’ve got pretty good depth at that spot. Jerrick Bledsoe is ready to play. Kelvin Hunter is just dying to play. Both Ricky and Cecil practiced [on Tuesday]. Neither one was at full speed, but they practiced enough and played hard enough for all of us to believe that they’ll be ready for Friday.”
Sherdrick Bonner earned his third Offensive Player of the Week award of the season this past week, his second in two weeks, and he continues to show how important it is to have a good quarterback running the offense. After leaving the game against Indiana three weeks ago, Bonner has lit up two reasonably tough defenses in Buffalo and Los Angeles. Although, the fact that Bonner has come back strong from what appeared at first to be a bad injury is a credit to his toughness and leadership, two qualities that make the Rattlers a better team.
“I think it’s a shot in the arm,” White said. “I think it’s a real confidence boost. The players see that and I think Sherdrick has been able to bounce back for one reason, and that is he believes in this team. He believes this team has a chance to be as good as team as we’ve ever had here. He doesn’t want to miss any of it. He wants to be part of it. I think that is something that the other players see and it’s very, very contagious. So it can do nothing but help our confidence. The young guys look at that and say, ‘I’ve got to do whatever I have to do to be part of this team. I want to be part of it.’
“Leaders are unselfish players. You can look back through the history of sports and you’ll find that on great teams, the guys who were getting the spotlight were unselfish. You look at the guys that were getting all of the credit and they were, for the most part, unselfish, team-oriented players. I’m a real proponent of that.”
Strangely, a loss to San Jose might actually benefit the Rattlers in the long run. San Jose has developed a history of struggling in the playoffs, a problem that might not be help by an undefeated regular season record. The Rattlers are concerned about maintaining the second seed in the playoffs, which would mean the two teams would not meet until the ArenaBowl should the seeding remain as is.
“We might be better off, in the long term, losing this game,” White said. “Just let them think they’re still dominating us and then get them in the ArenaBowl. If that was the trade-off, if I knew that by losing this game we would win the ArenaBowl, I would take it. You hate to ever say, ‘I would lose this game intentionally,’ but that’s a good trade-off. Nobody will remember that San Jose beat us in the regular season if we win the ArenaBowl.”
In all seriousness, the Rattlers would like nothing more than to beat San Jose and end their five-game losing streak to the SaberCats, especially in front of the home crowd. With so much on the line, the Rattlers would love nothing more than to see a sellout for this final regular season home game.
“That’s what we’re hoping for,” Horn said. “Our fans are awesome. I think you can see that when we go on the road. Other teams’ fans don’t seem to pack it in as much as we do and I’ve noticed that they’re not as educated and involved in the game as our fans are. Our fans are unique—they’re special—and we’d love to see a sellout.”
Players to watch
DS Derek Stingley, Arizona—Stingley has seen action in only two games this season, but he’ll figure prominently in the Rattlers defense with the question marks about Doggette and Parker readiness for Friday.
OS James Hundon, San Jose—Hundon has lit up the scoreboard with 31 touchdowns this season, which ties him with Chris Horn for the league lead going into this weekend. In less than two full seasons, Hundon has become an integral part of the high-powered San Jose offense.
OS/WR/LB Chris Horn, Arizona—Horn has changed roles a few times this season, but continues to be a major offensive force for the Rattlers. Paired with the talented Maurice Bryant, Horn gives quarterback Sherdrick Bonner a strong go-to receiver.
WR/DB Barry Wagner, San Jose—Whether you look at his record in Orlando or San Jose, Wagner has been the prototypical Ironman. He can beat you on offense, through the air and on the ground, or make you pay on defense.
Patrick Daly has been an Arena Football League enthusiast since he first stumbled across the late-night ESPN broadcasts and has followed the Arizona Rattlers since their inaugural season in 1992. He graduated from Arizona State University with an engineering degree and is currently a member of a web development team for Direct Alliance in Tempe. Patrick currently resides in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Arizona with his beautiful wife, son and a very large football helmet collection.
