The Tacoma Fontaine Show
Christopher M. Duchene
Tuesday March 23, 2004
But as head coach Skip Foster, and every football fan, knows injuries are part of the game. Who would step up in place of Hammond? Well, rookie WR/DB Tacoma Fontaine out of SW Missouri St. was chosen to come in and contribute. The team felt Tacoma’s presence right away; Fontaine is the kind of receiver that is just difficult to match up with once he gets into open field.
Then only a week after Hammond’s injury another key contributor to the Wrangler’s team went down with an injury. OS Skinny Culver went down and again Foster was forced to make a decision of who would replace another key player on the offensive side of the ball. And again, Foster looked to Fontaine.
His first chance to shine was against the Indiana Firebirds, in a game where only a token Wranglers’ force seemed to show up in Austin. Fontaine was the exception, making an impression with fans as well as his teammates despite a big loss.
Thursday night on the road against the Detroit Fury, with Hammond and Culver still out of the lineup, The Tacoma Fontaine Show: Part 2 began.
The rookie brought in 7 catches, 205 receiving yards, and 5 touchdowns. His stats are what you could call a sneak preview, because to truly understand Fontaine’s performance Thursday night, you had to see the entire show. The Wranglers coming off that disappointing loss at home against Indiana last Sunday came into Detroit looking for a win; and that’s what they got.
Committing fewer turnovers, fewer penalties, and fighting hard every play, the Wranglers got back on track in Detroit, winning 70-58. Every time the Wranglers needed a big play, they looked to Fontaine. The rookie caught pass after pass, scored touchdown after touchdown, every time the Wrangler team needed something. Most coaches believe that if you can’t stop a certain player, your best bet is to contain him, but on this night I’m not sure if anyone in the league could have even contained Fontaine.
Despite the Wranglers having a huge offensive performance against the Fury, Detroit didn’t ever go away. And the Fury ultimately decided the game through mental errors. A late fumble on a kickoff return became the Fury’s undoing, giving the Wranglers a multi-possession moment.
Thursday night the Wranglers showed that, yes, they do have the leadership to respond from a defeat. The determination that this team has shown behind Foster has been unbelievable. Not once have I heard any player or coach make any excuses for any mistakes they have made so far in this season, even they though they very well could have with the injury situation they are in right now.
With an attitude like this, the team can only get better and Foster told an Austin local television station after the game, “We need Darryl Hammond back in this lineup.” If Hammond and Culver come back soon, the Wranglers could be looking at a possible chance to win the National Southern Division Title by year’s end.
Next Sunday the Wranglers are at home against Bon Jovi and his Philadelphia Soul. At the moment Austin is one game behind New Orleans, though they’ve yet to meet on the field. Just like every team every season, the Wranglers hold their future in their own hands, and Austin fans should be ready for some good football very soon.
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.
