SaberCats Not Only Opponent for Fury
Neal Ruhl
Saturday February 7, 2004
The big play of the game was an Andy Kelly interception that was returned by SaberCat defensive lineman Chuck Reed 38 yards for a touchdown as the Fury were going for a score of their own to take a 35-28 lead right before the end of the first half. Instead, San Jose took the seven-point lead into the locker room. The SaberCats then extended the lead on a James Hundon five-yard touchdown pass from James Roe on an option pass during the first possession of the second half. San Jose never looked back en route to the victory.
“It’s frustrating because it wasn’t like someone was out there taking it to us,” said Fury head coach Tom Luginbill, who lost his debut as a head coach in the Arena Football League. “I know we are right there with them talent wise. It’s not like I’m walking away from the game saying, ‘man, I need to get better players.’ We know we are right there with them. I said all week it’s gonna come down to turnovers and the kicking game. We lost both battles tonight, and therefore, we lost the game.”
The SaberCats averaged 26 yards per kickoff return, which is more than half the field in the arena game.
The Fury’s fate was officially sealed when, while trailing 44-35 in the fourth quarter, Sam Hernandez recovered an Andy Kelly fumble at the Fury three-yard line. San Jose then parlayed that into a three-yard Matt Kinsinger touchdown run on the next play. That was the final nail in the coffin for Detroit.
“Any time you make mistakes in this league, especially against one of the better teams in the league like them (San Jose), you’re gonna lose,” said Fury quarterback Andy Kelly. “Unfortunately, I made too many mistakes tonight. There were some throws that I should have made and didn’t, but the thing I liked is that we never quit, no matter how many we got down. What we have to do now is forget it, and go beat Arizona next week.”
The Fury travel to the valley of the sun to face the Rattlers next Friday.
Unleashing the Fury
On a positive note, Fury FB/LB Cameron Chance was named the games “Ironman”… Michigan State’s own Dawan Moss scored on a four-yard touchdown run… Fury WR/LB Junior Lord had a root canal procedure only 10 hours prior to kickoff.
Neal Ruhl lives in the Metro Detroit Area where he has covered the Detroit Lions as well as the Motor City Bowl.
