Big Win with Sizable Losses
Tim Ball
Sunday March 16, 2003
If you were at the SaberCats/Destroyers game Friday night, then you know.
The Destroyers were quiet during pregame warm-ups. Eerily quiet. San Jose came out fired up but strangely serious. Once this game started it was clear that there was something going on other than a football game. By the end of the game both teams were still quiet.
Buffalo quarterback Jeff Loots saw to it that fear was not on the field this night. His first pass went right for the jugular with a 45-yard touchdown strike right at San Jose’s strength. Before DS Clevan Thomas new what happened, OS Gunnard Twyner took the perfect pass from his quarterback and was gone.
“He (Thomas) may be the best I’ve ever seen at his position,” said Buffalo QB Jeff Loots. “Gunnard made a perfect cut on him and made a great catch. You can’t hold back if you want to win against San Jose and you can’t just rely on emotions. Unfortunately, they have a lot of weapons and we came up short tonight.”
In a show of respect towards Loots and Twyner, when asked if he had stumbled or misread the play, Thomas answered as a matter of fact, “I was just beat. Twyner made a great move inside and then outside and Loots put the ball right on his numbers. You could tell when they were warming up that they were going to come at us.”
Thomas answered right back by returning the ensuing Destroyers kickoff 54 yards for a touchdown. He would add another night of excellence to his arena career by running back two kickoffs and netting his eighth interception on the year. Thomas, not surprisingly, was named the games MVP.
Injuries and the injured
This game was not pretty. It was not a football game to be watched, it was a game to be endured. Total game time was two hours and thirty-five minutes in reality. In football time it is still in the minds and bones of the players. Some will not be returning next week.
The SaberCats players also treat the fans too so many home wins that most fans didn’t seem to notice why the slogan “The 50 yard indoor war,” exists in arena football. It’s reality.
OK, enough hyperbole. There were no cheap shots or cheating, this was a straight-up slugfest of a game that was not played for points but for something only football players understand.
While the SaberCats won the game, it remains to be seen who won the battle. This game saw hitting so fierce, that many players were knocked over the boards three rows deep throughout the game. Others were just knocked out.
Opposing players helped each other get back on the field only to bash each other moments later.
“There were some of the hardest hits I’ve ever seen,” said Barry Wagner. “That team came to play and they never let up. We were the better team tonight and we won, but it’s going to take awhile to get over this one.”
When asked why he was trying to pump up the crowd throughout the game, Wagner responded in true Wags’ style; “I don’t think the fans knew how tough this game was. It seemed like we were blowing them out and sometimes fans think we’ll always win, but this was a hard game on all of us. They need to be involved.”
Rookie of the year prospect WR/DB Rasheid Davis and DS Anthony Cobbs won’t be forgetting this game anytime soon. Davis reportedly sustained a broken bone in his foot and Cobbs was involved in a play that left him motionless on the turf.
From beginning to end, players were strewn around the field face down, grimacing in pain, or face up starry eyed. It seemed that when the outcome of the game was not in doubt, neither was the bravery of the players involved.
As usual, Davis was going all out from the start and Buffalo wasn’t about to let the young rookie get anything easy. Davis’ helmet was knocked off three times before he was knocked out of the game. “That was the toughest game I’ve played this year,” said Davis. “The score wasn’t that close but the intensity was there from the beginning of the game. The doctors think my foot is broken but I’m doing everything I can to make it back this season.” The injury to Davis has not been confirmed as a break, according to San Jose Director of Public Relations Phil Simon.
Cobbs was the recipient of the energy between the teams. “I was pursuing the play and got hit from two sides at once,” said Cobbs. “I received a concussion and was down for a while but I’m luckier then some other guys. You could hear the hitting from across the arena no matter how much noise there was. I am proud of how we played. We had a short week and were banged up from a tough game in Chicago and we won this game by playing hard. This was valuable lesson for our team.”
Too many stars
One thing is for sure. Buffalo was not beaten by the stars of last Sunday’s game in Chicago. No, they were beaten by a whole new cast. Though many costly penalties called back some scoring opportunities for the Destroyers, this was not the reason for the loss.
San Jose suffered many turnovers at the hands of Buffalo but that meant that the SaberCats got another chance just as fast. In San Jose there is always a player waiting for another chance.
WR/DB James Roe and Clevan Thomas received the games Ironman and MVP awards, respectively and FB Keala Keanaaina and FB Matt Kinsinger kept the SaberCats running game the talk of the league. While new star OS Aaron Bailey didn’t score this week it made no difference to the outcome. It was Roe’s turn today.
“The credit goes to (offensive coordinator) Terry Malley,” said a humble Roe. “He sees the plays that he thinks will work and sends them in. It’s not about who is going to score but about what plays he feels will work.” Roe finished with a career-high five touchdowns.
In the most entertaining play of the day, Kinsinger hurdled a Buffalo player and made it into the end zone on a sensational fifteen-yard run at the start of the second quarter. “No that’s not something I practice,” joked Kinsinger. “The guy went for a big hit and I made the right choice at the right time.”
In a great statement of what this type of game means to players, Keanaaina said it well. “This is the type of game that makes you feel like a football player. We were all going after each other. Now we see what we’re made of and we need these kinds of games.”
On the level of intensity of the game and the injuries sustained by his team head coach Darren Arbet knows this side of the game well. “We knew that Buffalo was going to come in tough,” said Arbet. “I’m upset about the loss of Davis and the injuries to other players, but we have a strong team and we showed it. We didn’t leave anything on the field and our guys played hard from the start. We won this game and that’s what it’s all about.”
That’s what it’s about
While the season grinds along and this game goes into the books, the SaberCats have something to remember. They won this game. San Jose beat a team that played them hard from start to finish. That is a victory worth something.
The only shame is that the Buffalo Destroyers do not sell out every home game. This team deserves better. Against the San Jose SaberCats on Friday March 14th 2003 Buffalo did not lose, they were beaten.
The old saying is true; it is not the dog in the fight, it’s the fight in the dog…
While young players like Davis put it on the line on every play and are not afraid of the outcome, there were veterans like Wagner and Loots to keep the fires burning.
This game will not go down as one of the best games ever played but one thing is certain, the players gave their best.
There were no celebrations or excuses after the game in the locker rooms or in the halls. There couldn’t be because the players left it where it belonged…on the field.
Tim Ball is a writer in the Chicagoland area. Married and father of three, his opinions on Arena Football reflects the positive aspect of the game as a family event second to none in pro sports.
