Will the Wranglers Respond Against Carolina?
Christopher M. Duchene
Friday March 5, 2004
For 60 minutes, the Wranglers and Crush battled play after play until that final whistle blew. You could tell by watching the game that no side was going to be intimidated by the opposition. The game basically came down to one or two big plays, and because the Crush converted on those plays, they won the game.
We are three games into the Wranglers inaugural season and there have been three close games. Before losing to the Crush, the Wranglers had squeaked by both the Predators and the Storm. They fell just short of squeaking by the Crush.
Despite the loss last week, this Sunday the team has to set that aside and come to play if they expect to beat the Carolina Cobras.
The 2-2 Cobras will come into the Erwin Center riding a two-game losing streak. Interestingly, the two games losses were at home, while the two wins were on the road. This doesn’t bode well for Austin.
Quarterback John Kaleo and his legion of receivers, including Darryl Hammond and Shannon Culver, will have to step up if they want to hang with the Cobras, who have been putting up big offensive numbers so far this season behind the arm of Matt Nagy.
If this game goes down to the wire, the crowd in Austin may end up being the difference between a win and a loss. If the Wranglers can beat the Cobras, they will be sitting in good shape heading into week six of the AFL season with a 3-1 record.
Even though we’re only in week five, this game will affect both teams. If the Wranglers can get the win and jump to 3-1, confidence will be back on their side and who knows what their record will be four or five weeks down the road. If the Cobras lose, that will be three in a row and the team will have to start asking serious questions.
It’s a big game for both teams early in the season, and I look for the two teams to play as if it may be their last game. Sunday in Austin, I’m looking for fireworks.
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.
