Bryant Leads Rattlers Over Los Angeles, Into Semifinals
Brian Knapp
Friday June 11, 2004
The former Portland State Viking had a breakout game in Arizona’s quarterfinal win over Los Angeles Sunday, recording a franchise playoff record 13 catches for 126 yards and three touchdowns. Not bad for a player who only recorded five receiving touchdowns during the regular season.
“I’m basically doing the same things I’ve been doing,” Bryant said. “I’ve just had some more opportunities to catch the ball today.”
Bryant was asked midway through the season to give up the offensive spotlight and move to DS in an effort to aid a wounded secondary. O-B proved that he was up to the task, racking up 36.5 tackles and three interceptions.
Bryant’s move to DS seemed to ignite the play of his teammates, with players such as DS Kelvin Hunter and Ricky Parker stepping up their games. Hunter, who was a question mark early in the season, has proven to be a valuable asset in the Rattlers’ nine game win streak.
Hunter has also had the Avengers number all season, knocking away QB Tony Graziani’s pass as time expired in Los Angeles, and then picking off Graziani this week along with two pass break ups.
Parker is second on the team in tackles, and is the undisputed vocal leader on defense. Parker has a knack for getting in receivers’ heads and forcing them to make costly mistakes. The Rattlers will rely on Parker to shut down Colorado OS Damien Harrell, who has carried the Crush on his shoulders into the semifinals.
As for Bryant, his stint at DS wouldn’t last much longer with untimely injuries to OS Siaha Burley and WR/DB Randy Gatewood, and Bryant was ready to help pick up the slack left by the team’s leading receiver (Burley) and last year’s Ironman of the Year (Gatewood).
Bryant took his chance to shine and ran with it, playing a major role in the Rattlers’ eight-game win streak to end the regular season.
“I feel like I’m doing the best I can,” Bryant said. “I’m no Randy Gatewood, but I am my own person and I do the best that I can. Gatewood is always there to help me out so if I have a question or a problem he is always there for me.”
Heading into their first round match-up with the Avengers, Rattler head coach Danny White decided to sit Gatewood for one more week to nurse a broken arm he suffered May 1st in Los Angeles.
Burley and Bryant made sure Gatewood would be able to play at least one more game, combining for 254 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns.
WR/LB Tom Pace added a quiet two touchdowns, and remains a fan-favorite in Phoenix. Both touchdowns by Pace came at crucial times for the Rattlers. The first came on a third and goal as Pace followed a huge block by Bryant and dove into the end zone. Pace then snapped a 15-0 Avenger run with an 11-yard touchdown reception that would ultimately deflate any hopes of a Los Angeles comeback.
Bryant would tack on a 35-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds remaining to put the final touches on an outstanding performance.
“We’ve been trying to keep ‘O’ a secret,” White said. “I think the secret’s out.”
Turnovers
Heading into the quarterfinal match-up between Arizona and Los Angeles, the Avengers were +15 turnover ratio to the Rattlers’ +5. The Rattlers, however, won the turnover battle by a 3-1 score on Sunday. While Bonner’s fourth quarter interception allowed Los Angeles to creep back into contention, an early fumble by Avenger superstar Chris Jackson was the turning point in the game.
“We had too many mistakes, either with offsides, fumbling the ball, or interceptions,” Avengers head coach Ed Hodgkiss said. “With those kinds of mistakes you can’t win a regular season game, let alone a playoff game.”
Mr. Clutch
Rattlers K Nelson Garner, who booted a 49-yard momentum shifting field goal last week in San Jose, converted all eight of his extra points against Los Angeles and hit an18-yard field goal to give the Rattlers a two-score advantage in the first half.
Brian Knapp was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2003 to 2005.
