Detroit No Match for Hungry Rattlers
Brian Knapp
Monday March 10, 2003
Despite the loss of DS Mark Ricks to a hamstring injury, the Rattler secondary of Ricky Parker, Kelvin Hunter, and Randy Gatewood kept the Fury from gaining consistent momentum on offense.
Led by Gatewood, the Rattler “D” shined in the second quarter, holding QB Andy Kelly and the Fury to zero points. Gatewood picked off his fifth interception of the season in the second quarter, which gave Arizona a chance to take the lead, which they did. “He’s just playing well,” said head coach Danny White. “He’s playing well on both sides of the ball, having his best year ever.”
The Rattlers scored again following another interception, this time by WR/DB Orshawonte Bryant. The Rattlers scored again, giving them a 24-14 lead at the half. “We did better tonight,” White said. “We took advantage of several (opportunities), obviously, to be able to get up by over two scores.”
Arizona maintained its 10-point lead throughout the second half, never giving Detroit a chance to find a rhythm. Although Detroit did play with more intensity in the half, Arizona’s defense was too much for the Fury.
On offense for Arizona, it was the Bonner and Horn show. Rattler QB Sherdrick Bonner threw 4 of his 5 touchdown passes to OS Chris Horn. Bonner showed signs of his old self, scrambling from defenders and hitting his targets. “I felt like we were clicking,” Bonner said. “The only thing that could have stopped us was ourselves.”
Often times, Chris Horn seems to tally the numbers of two or three players combined. This was the story on Friday night as Horn lit up the Fury for 213 all-purpose yards, and 5 touchdowns. The most exciting of which came in the third quarter when Horn returned a kickoff 58 yards for the score.
Horn’s kickoff return gave the Rattlers a 17-point lead, and insurmountable momentum. “That was my first one, so it was nice to finally get one,” Horn said. “I think it helped the crowd really get fired up, and it was just awesome.”
The one dark area for the Rattlers this week was penalties. The Rattlers committed an inexcusable eight penalties for 60 yards. Small mistakes, such as encroachment on defense and false start on offense, gave Detroit too many chances. Luckily for the Rattlers, they were able to stop Detroit despite the small mistakes.
For the second week in a row, Rattler WR/LB Tom Pace played very well. “He’s a playmaker, that’s for sure,” White said. He’s got the kind of attitude we need more of. We need him to become infectious, we need more guys playing like he plays.”
Although his role diminished a bit this week, Pace made key tackles and receptions when he needed to. Some players are comparing Pace to his mentor, Chris Horn. “You can tell he’s got some great ability,” said Horn. “I think he’s got a lot of potential.”
If the Rattlers, who haven’t been over .500 yet this season, can play with as much energy and strength as they did this week against Detroit, look out. Arizona has never been a team to lie down, and with veteran leaders like Bonner, Gatewood, and Hunkie Cooper, the Rattlers will be a force to be reckoned with.
The Rattlers overcame the scrutiny that came with the OT loss to Dallas, and defeated Detroit in what some
dubbed as a must win. Arizona hopes to carry this momentum into week 7 where they will face intra-division
rival Colorado. “This week of practice was very intense,” Horn said. “It (the win) pulled us back to
.500, so from here we need to reel off a few wins in a row.”
Brian Knapp was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2003 to 2005.
