Mixed Bag of Players Beat Houston
Mary-Ann Williams
Sunday July 23, 2000
Facing the play-offs with four less players than they’d hoped -- with Alvin Ashley, Michael Ivey, Wayne Wade and Terry Grooms all out for the season, the Mustangs had to play it cool. Using new faces like Richard Jones and Tony Plantin, as well as players who have been seen but not heard from lately like Herb Duncan and Coco Blalock, Milwaukee took a little time getting into the groove.
“We were a little flat in the beginning,” Milwaukee WR/DB Kevin Huntley said. “Once we got acclimated, we did all right.”
 Herb Duncan, back after a nagging hamstring injury, scores a TD in the 2nd Quarter Image courtesy of Drew Kennedy |
Instead of hanging their heads, the Mustangs took control on the first play with an interception by newly acquired WR/DB Richard Jones, putting the ball on Milwaukee’s 22 yard line. Huntley, playing for an injured Gary Compton, made the series good with a one-handed catch in the end zone. The Milwaukee Mustangs had woken up.
“Milwaukee kept fighting,” Houston Thunderbears quarterback Robert Hall said of the Mustangs` sudden turn-around. “We never got in the groove [this season]…and when you have [three] turn overs, you don’t win the game.”
“We had to get ourselves motivated,” said Huntley.
Going into this game with numerous injuries and a desire to keep the players they had, Coach Rick Frazier knew that winning wasn’t everything this time. They had made the play-offs; it was time to make sure that they had a chance of winning when they got there. With so many integral players out, and no chance to replace any newly injured players outside of their roster, caution was the watchword of the evening.
“There was concern,” Coach Frazier said. “The concern wasn’t so much for how we would do in the game. It was just one of those things where I wanted to win, but as bad as I wanted to win, I wanted to get out without losing any players.”
 Kevin Huntley did well filling in for the injured Gary Compton Image courtesy of Kevin Sheller |
“Couple of nicks and bruises, but I think I’ll be okay,” said the stalwart player.
Frazier had asked his team for only two things, he said. “Relentless pressure on the their secondary, which [QB Kevin McDougal] and our guys gave. And pressure on their quarterback, which at least in the second half I thought we had.”
Though closer than they wanted, the game became a showcase for the new faces on board. Back-up receiver Kevin Huntley made four receptions for 28 yards and two touchdowns. Recently reactivated WR/DB Coco Blalock had an interception, while reactivated WR/DB Herb Duncan, voted Ironman of the Game, logged a TD off an on-side kick, and a 33-yard reception to boot. And Jones snagged one of the most important interceptions of the game.
 Despite another loss to end the season, Houston`s Gerald Dockery shows he still has a sense of humor. Image courtesy of Kevin Sheller |
Final score: Milwaukee Mustangs, 55; Houston Thunderbears, 46.
The win didn’t do much in terms of the play-offs, as they’d won the honor to play last week. But it did quite a bit to prove that they will be worth reckoning with when they get there. Injuries or not, this team is going to fight hard to get their due, and Friday night they showed that they have the depth to do it.
Mary-Ann Williams lives in Chicagoland with her four children, Carter, Jackson, Jeremy, and Riley Jade. As a freelance writer, she`s written articles for the Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and the Daily Herald. She also serves as editor of the AFL-side of Arenafan Online, and covers the Chicago Rush.
