Wranglers Rev Up for a Winning Season
David Delfeld
Thursday January 27, 2005
Undaunted, Wrangler’s head coach Skip Foster made a bundle of free agent signings that should put Austin over the hump and into the playoffs this year. The top new faces to join the Wranglers have to be lineman Bryan Henderson, receiver Ira Gooch, and QB John Fitzgerald.
Both the offensive and defensive lines had a dramatic makeover when former Arizona Rattler star Bryan Henderson was signed in October. Last season he earned all-AFL team honors, thanks to great stats such as 8 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 1 blocked kick, and 15 tackles. Henderson and his fellow OL/DL star Tom Briggs will bring much needed pressure on opponent’s QBs and block well for Wrangler QB Bobby Pesavento or John Fitzgerald.
Another great coupe was the signing of former Voodoo receiver Ira Gooch. Due to a tough injury last season, he only played four games. However, in those games he compiled excellent stats with 28 receptions for 419 yards and 7 touchdowns. Gooch is currently competing for the starting OS position with Tacoma Fontaine.
Yet another former Voodoo came down to Austin this summer. QB John Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald threw for 3,432 yards, 61 touchdowns (7 of those 61 came when the Voodoo beat Austin 63-59), and had a QB rating of 97.45. Despite leading the Voodoo to an 11-5 season and playoffs, there was one stat that may have prevented Fitzgerald wearing a Voodoo uniform this season. He threw a stinging 15 interceptions. Austin hopes he can find a cure for his interception bug and provide much needed leadership. Fitzgerald is competing with former Colorado Buffalos star, Bobby Pesavento, for the starting job. Even if Fitzgerald does not get the starting spot, he will still be a major asset as a great mentor and back up to Pesavento.
Along with these top three new faces, Austin re-signed some of last year’s stars including Tom Briggs, Aaron Humphrey, Charlie Davidson, and Cedric Walker.
The Wranglers kick off their season this Sunday at 11 am in the Frank Erwin Center against Jon Bon Jovi’s and the Soul.
David Delfeld was a writer for ArenaFan Online during the 2005 season.
