Kickers` Game in San Jose Win Over Chicago
Tim Ball
Monday April 19, 2004
Of course that is also the definition of team – individuals working together to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done – and it was the difference between winning and losing for San Jose.
Chicago head coach Mike Hohensee never took his eyes off Keith Gispert as the powerful kicker boomed shot after shot the length of the field and off the nets during pre-game practice. Gispert ran up to Hohensee and mentioned the tight spots and the loose areas of the San Jose rebound nets.
Within five minutes of the start of the game, that practice paid off when Gispert’s first kickoff following Chicago’s first score, slammed into the top of the net sending San Jose’s top ranked kick-returner Rashied Davis, lunging to catch the line drive rebound flying over his head.
Davis had no hope to catch up to the ball and James Hundon quickly corralled the chaotic bouncing football just as the Rush players hit him full force, knocking the ball out of his grasp and off of the side boards. After the pileup of players was separated, so was possession of the ball from San Jose.
It took one play for Chicago to put San Jose in the hole they’d dug for themselves and would stay in for the entire first quarter. San Jose was denied a scoring opportunity for nineteen plays and would end the first quarter scoreless and down 14-0 to a confident Rush team.
“Their kicker knew what he was doing,” said Davis responding to a question about Gispert’s accuracy on kickoffs. “Each field has slightly different tension in the nets and he found the spots that were troubling when the ball struck them up high. There are only a few kickers that place the ball that well. He did a good job of spreading it around and he deserves a lot of credit.”
Wake up call
The nightmare of the first quarter came to an end for the SaberCats when QB Mark Grieb found WR James Roe on an eight-yard pass to start the second quarter. San Jose took 20 plays to march down the field for their first touchdown and PAT but it was also the first step in a comeback that would take the rest of the game to complete.
The SaberCats started that comeback on the next Rush possession and held them to a field goal keeping the score within reach 17-7.
“It was a rough game with a lot of penalties,” said Roe. “Both teams were coming at each other very hard. I can’t say that either team played as good as they could, but I’m proud of the way we answered the mistakes and overcame problems to win the game.”
One minute and 49 seconds later, San Jose was only three points behind, 14-17, as Grieb found OS James Hundon on two consecutive passes for a score and SaberCats K Dan Frantz made the extra-point.
Unfortunately for Chicago, after they answered back with an easy scoring drive stretching the score to 23-14, the talented Gispert missed the extra point. This allowed the SaberCats a silver lining in the dark clouds that covered the first half of a less than excellent outing. Fortunately for the SaberCats, Frantz nailed a 21-yard field goal as time expired making it 23-17 at the end of the first half.
With San Jose receiving the kickoff to open the second half, the game was back on track for the home team.
Going into the locker rooms with what can only be described as a sloppy first half with dozens of penalties and missed opportunities, both teams knew improvement was needed.
“There’s no doubt that we made far too many mistakes,” said Hohensee. “That was not the best performance of this team this season. Even though I feel we were in control most of the night we made some mistakes in the end that cost us the game. We showed what we’re capable of doing but the SaberCats proved why they are an excellent team.”
“You try to instill in the players that they are the ones that are going to turn things around,” said SaberCats head coach Darren Arbet. “There’s no denying that we did not play well in the first quarter but I’m proud of the way the players responded tonight.”
One more half
The second half of this game was taken over by the linemen. Both teams came out hitting hard and the intensity went up dramatically. There were several players on the turf by the end of the game, notably San Jose’s offensive specialist, as Hundon received a laceration to his forehead that forced him to leave the game.
“This was a great win,” said Hundon. “A little cut isn’t going to keep me from enjoying this one.”
Hundon and other SaberCats receivers were finding some daylight in the second half and it was the play of the linemen in the middle that was noticeably active.
“They kept pressing and forcing us to make perfect plays,” said center Dan Loney. “Our goal coming out for the second half was to establish a rhythm. The Rush was getting good pressure on Mark and that’s where the game was going to be decided. We have the most talented receivers in the league and once they start getting the ball it’s tough to beat us.”
In his first start of the season, Loney received the Ironman Award for his two-way excellence all night long. Protecting Grieb one play as center and attacking Chicago’s offense as nose guard on the next series kept Loney and San Jose having to dig deep on every down.
“If we linemen do our job it allows plays to be made,” continued Loney. “Chicago never lets up. They forced us to fight for every down. This was a big win, no doubt about it.”
“You have to trust the system and your teammates,” said SaberCats WR Fred Coleman. “You talk about what went wrong and what to do about it at half time and go out and execute the way you’re supposed to.”
“We matched up the whole game and fought through some mistakes and turnovers,” said Rush FB/LB Bob McMillen. “Coming out for the second half, we knew it was going to go down to wire and we never let up. I give credit to San Jose for doing what it took to get the win.”
Almost over… Almost!
Chicago took the lead in the fourth quarter 43-37 with nine and a half minutes in the game and almost took the heart out of San Jose on their ensuing drive.
Grieb hooked up with Hundon on a sensational 45-yard pass play that gave the SaberCats a first and goal on the one-yard line and the opportunity to take over again at 44-43. After stopping San Jose for no gain on the next play, a streaking Rashied Davis was stripped of the ball by Chicago’s James Baron and the ball rolled out of the back of the endzone for a touchback and turnover for the Rush.
With the opportunity to take time off the clock and take a commanding 13-point lead into the final minutes of the game, San Jose came up with the turnover that would cause Chicago to suffer the fate they had seemingly secured for the SaberCats.
On a third and one play, Philyaw was forced from the pocket and as he was being chased towards the sideline by several SaberCats defenders, threw a deep pass to the endzone that was intercepted by San Jose’s DS Omar Smith.
“I take the responsibility for the loss tonight,” said Philyaw to reporters after the game. “I made the wrong decision. I thought I had a holding call and a free play and let it fly into the endzone. It was my mistake and I take full responsibility.”
Philyaw’s class and honesty when other players would have answered scribbling blank-eyed reporters with clichés, was understandable on a night when referees needed penalty flag yo-yo’s to keep up with the intensity of the players.
Philyaw was not the only player to make mistakes on this night.
The SaberCats would take the lead 44-43 on the drive after the interception that grinded all but 45-seconds off the clock.
On the gutsiest call of the game, Arbet looked to rookie Frantz to go for an onsides kick. Slightly more than 10 yards after Frantz’s foot touched the ball, the excited kicker came out of the pile of furious players with the ball and seemingly the game in his hands.
Well, almost.
With 40 seconds left and with Chicago having only one time-out left, San Jose needed only rush the ball a few times to end the game. As the AFL’s all-time great in most offensive categories, Barry Wagner was called on to do the job of advancing the ball forward to run the time off the clock.
In the second gutsiest call of the game, Hohensee went for a strategic move and allowed his team to let Wagner score on his second run. This left the Rush with 33-seconds on the clock and the time to tie the game with a touchdown and a two-point conversion.
The SaberCats came at the Rush with everything they had on four straight plays and forced a turnover on downs giving the ball back to San Jose with 12-seconds.
Wagner ended it all with a run up the middle and a game between two proud teams came to an end.
“It’s too bad this game wasn’t on Sunday,” said Wagner. “No matter what happened, neither team gave up. You had two teams with the best record in the league and it lived up to promise.”
Tim Ball is a writer in the Chicagoland area. Married and father of three, his opinions on Arena Football reflects the positive aspect of the game as a family event second to none in pro sports.
