LA Offense Smashes Records Against Austin
Mike Chanpong
Friday April 9, 2004
Avengers head coach Ed Hodgkiss took full advantage of Austin’s defense.
“Against man coverage we expect to score every time,” he said after the game. “Very few people show us man coverage. [Austin] did and we responded well against it.”
That’s an understatement. Two team records were set during Los Angeles’ offensive explosion. The 81 points set a franchise record, and offensive specialist Chris Jackson scored 44 points on seven touchdowns and a two-point conversion to break his own team record for most points in a game. Quarterback Tony Graziani put up some gaudy numbers as well, throwing for 332 yards and eight touchdowns.
When asked about the record setting outburst he directed, Graziani was quick to praise his teammates. “They played man to man and our receivers did a good job of getting open,” he explained. “The line gave me a lot of time…everything was just clicking today.”
Coach Hodgkiss also attributed Chris Jackson’s success to the way the Wranglers played him.
“He was always against man coverage and that’s what he excels against,” said Hodgkiss.
Graziani agreed.
“It felt like last year,” he said with a smile, recalling Jackson’s record setting season in 2003. “It was one of those things where I just throw it up to him and he makes plays for me.”
Hopefully for Los Angeles, Graziani and Jackson can pick up where they left off against Austin this week when the Colorado Crush visit the Staples Center. The Crush, just 2-14 in last year’s inaugural season, are 6-3 this year and find themselves solidly in playoff contention.
In fact, if the playoffs started today, the Avengers would draw the fifth seed and would face Colorado, who would be fourth. What a difference a year makes for the Crush, whose remarkable turnaround has made them one of the league’s most surprising teams.
“The Arena League is getting to the point where you have to look out for every team,” said Avengers defensive lineman Al Lucas. “There are no slouches in this league.”
Certainly that proved to be the case for Austin, who managed to put 70 points on the board against the Avengers. If it wasn’t for the record-setting performance on offense, it could very well have been a different story for the Avengers.
Still, Lucas is confident that the Avenger’s are poised for a big second half.
“It’s just one of those things where we want to try and get everybody healthy for this run that I think we’re going to make.”
Mike Chanpong is a freelance writer living in Hollywood, CA. In addition to
sportswriting, he also works in television production. This is his second
year covering the Los Angeles Avengers for ArenaFan.
