Cobras Look to Start Winning Streak Against the Destroyers
Chuck DiLullo
Friday February 13, 2004
The Columbus Destroyers opened up with a come-from-behind 54-48 victory on the road versus the Indiana Firebirds. The Destroyers scored 26 points in the fourth quarter that included two interception returns for touchdowns.
The Destroyers are led by rookie quarterback Ryan Vena who passed for 202 yards and four touchdowns in his A.F.L. debut. Vena played for current Cobras defensive coordinator Ron Selesky in af2 in Albany and posted 14 wins in an expansion season.
Selesky understands the challenges that Vena presents, especially when dealing with a short week of practice.
“Ryan is a mobile quarterback, much more mobile that Glen Guantt (the Desperados quarterback the Cobras faced in week 1),” said Selesky, “we had plays designed for him in Albany that would allow him to run draws from anywhere on the field. We need to get consistent pressure on him and have to stop his rhythm early in the game so he can’t get into a groove.”
The Cobras defense played a strong game against the Desperados, holding them off the board in the fourth quarter while forcing three Dallas turnovers. “The defense played very consistently, had very few blown assignments and had good pass rush intensity the whole game,” said Selesky. “Veterans like Otis Moore and Robert Stewart played very strong while newcomers Travis Reece and Wes Stephens performed well, each recording a sack, but our strength came from our performance as a unit building on the success of training camp and our scrimmage versus Georgia.”
A key factor in the Destroyers victory against the Firebirds was the contribution of their special teams. Sedrick Robinson had 75 return yards, including a 57-yard return for a touchdown in the third quarter, and CoCo Blalock contributed a 40-yard return that led directly to a touchdown in the first quarter. The Cobras struggled on special teams against the Desperados yielding a 57-yard return for a touchdown and a blocked field goal attempt.
“Special teams are treated as a collective effort by the coaching staff,” said Selesky. “Simply put, we have worked on correcting those problems this week in practice.”
Not only looking for their first two-game road winning streak in two years and their first 2-0 start since the 2001 season, the game versus the Destroyers marks their first divisional match up in the realigned Eastern Division. The Cobras face the Destroyers at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus tonight and open their home schedule against the Arizona Rattlers the next week.
Chuck DiLullo works for a manufacturer of process control instrumentation as a sales engineer. He has been a fan of professional, college and high school football since he could walk. Chuck is originally from Philadelphia and he became a huge Arena Football League fan while living in Buffalo. Chuck has lived in Charlotte since 2000 with his wife & three children.
