SaberCats Victorious in Home Opener
Daniel Frias
Sunday April 15, 2001
Bob McMillen bulldozed his way into the end zone to give the Cats their first Td of the game and a 7-0 lead. After that San Jose didn’t look back. They scored on virtually every possession to go into the half with a 31-3 lead.
The Cats defense didn’t allow a single TD in the first half. Even thought it was the night before Easter Sunday, nine year AFL veteran Tracy Perkins did not forgive. He broke up six passes and intercepted a pass in the second quarter to deny LA a TD.
Ex –Oakland Raider Todd Marinovich was ineffective against the ‘Cats ‘D.’ He was nine for 22 passing with 86 yards and no touchdowns in the first half. He did seem to get into a rhythm in the second half, throwing 158 yards on 14 of 27 passing and four touchdowns and almost making it a close game. Although it was good to see Todd playing football again after all these years, he was nothing like he was a decade ago.
Dutton on the other hand, was the MVP of the game. Completing 10 of 20 passes for 174 yards and four TD’s.
McMillen debut as a SaberCat
Bob McMillen, the RHINO of the AFL, scored two rushing touchdowns in his regular season debut with the SaberCats. I asked him how he thought he did in his debut. “Great,” he said. “It’s great to be in here and contribute right away.”
San Jose’s offense was not spectacular and the players felt they could have done better.
WR/DB James Roe said of their performance, “It was alright. We don’t have Jerry Reese but we did what we had to do.”
WR/DB Barry Wagner who scored two touchdowns in the game, felt the team had an off night. “Overall its pretty good, but we could do better,” he said. “We need to come out and play harder.”
And he’s right. They do need to come out and play harder. Especially against their next opponent, archrival Arizona, who they will host at home this Saturday.
Daniel Frias was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2001 to 2002.
