Destroyers Face the Soul
K.E. Schlosser
Saturday February 21, 2004
For the Destroyers, this is a must have game as they look to rebound from their heart breaking loss to the Carolina Cobras last week after opening the season on the road with a victory over the Indianapolis Firebirds. The games is equally important to the Soul as they are looking to pick up their first victory after losing two highly competitive games at home to the New Orleans Voodoo and on the road against the Dallas Desperados. While the Destroyers lost on the last play of the game last week in a competitive game that they gave away both literally and figuratively, the Soul also lost a heartbreaker after mounting a second half 23-point comeback to take the lead only to see the Desperados also score on their last possession to win as well.
Both the Destroyers (1-1:0-1) and the Cobras (0-2:0-1) are winless in the Eastern Division so this early season divisional contest carries a lot of weight. A Destroyers victory guarantees they remain in second place behind the division leading and currently undefeated Carolina Cobras. A Destroyers loss will create more questions then provide answers. If the Destroyers are looking at making the playoffs this year, they need this win to put some wind back into their sails before returning home next week to face the Dallas Desperados in their first nationally televised game.
Keys to this week’s game are simple; turnovers and field position. The winner of both battles will most likely be the team to come out on top. A quick glance through the box scores and the standings of the AFL will show that the teams who don’t turn the ball over while creating turnovers are the teams at the top looking down on the rest of the league. Would it have made a difference in last week’s game if quarterback Ryan Vena hadn’t thrown an interception that was returned for a touchdown or Sedrick Robinson didn’t fumble after picking up a key first down in the second half?
What will take place Saturday night depends on who comes to play and who makes the plays. Coach Bruce likes to say he will see what this team is made of, Saturday night we will start to get a better idea.
Game Notes:
Jason Collins-Baker has been put on the injured reserve. Tony Locke has been activated from the practice squad to take Collins-Baker’s spot on the active roster. For Locke, a rookie from Ohio State, this will be his first Arena Football League after spending last year with the af2’s Cincinnati Swarm.
Sedrick Robinson is quickly establishing himself as one of the AFL’s premier kick returners after returning a kickoff for a touch down in each of the first two games. For the season, Robinson has returned 6 kicks for 192 yards with 2 TD’s.
Quarterback Ryan Vena continues to shine in his rookie season as he has completed 41-56 passes for 458 yards with 9 touchdowns and 1 interception.
