Wranglers,and Austin, Are Here to Win
Christopher M. Duchene
Monday February 23, 2004
When asked if he was surprised by his team’s early start to the season, Foster had this to say: “I wouldn’t say I’m surprised. I told my guys if we played good football we’d have a chance to win this game.”
Amid Harleys, smoke, fireworks and a real wrangler riding a white horse, the Austin crowd welcomed the Storm into their home only to send them out with a screaming defeat… literally.
With seven seconds on the clock and his team down 56-48, Storm QB Shane Stafford and his team sat on the Wranglers 5-yard line. The arena was so loud you couldn’t even hear your neighbor. Chants of “de-FENSE, de-FENCE” filled the Erwin Center.
On fourth and goal, Stafford threw up a Hail Mary for their last chance at an overtime. Wrangler DS DeRon Jenkins ruined those hopes by breaking up the pass and sending the ball to the turf. The crowd erupted in a frenzy. Sunday in Austin you got a feeling that this is how football should be. Fun and excitement down to the last second. No walking out with minutes left in the game, or even getting up to go buy a snack. In this league, the game is not out of reach until the clock reaches zero.
“I felt the crowd was a big factor there in the end,” Foster said in his post-game press conference. “I just want to thank the fans because they were there for us today.”
Former Storm QB John Kaleo lit up his former team for six touchdown passes. Leading receivers Darryl Hammond and Shannon “Skinny” Culver racked up five of those touchdown passes.
After the game I asked Foster what things he hoped to improve on. “I do think there is always room for improvement,” Foster said. “I can improve as a coach and we can always improve on working together as a whole. The biggest thing is that with every time we are on that field together, we take advantage of that time to improve as a team.”
As for making ArenaBowl plans in Austin this year, Foster said, “We have 14 more games to play this year. This season is not a sprint. It is a marathon. Come talk to me after 14 games then we’ll see where we’re at.”
Yep. The season is a marathon and anything can happen. Even for a start-up team like the Austin Wraglers if the show against the Storm is anything to go on.
Christopher Duchene is from El Paso, Tx. He currently lives in Austin, Tx and is a Freshman at Austin Community College majoring in Sports Management. After college he hopes to attend law school where he will study sports law hoping one day to become a successful sports agent.
