SaberCats Impact Players Make All the Difference in Victory Against VooDoo
Leanne Cozart
Sunday April 28, 2013
With a third of the 2013 Arena Football Season in the books, the SaberCats are happy to get back to their winning ways as they defeated the New Orleans VooDoo with a score of 57-38 in Saturday’s matchup. In this road game, there were quite a few SaberCats that stepped up on both sides of the ball and made all the difference to ensure this week six victory that improved their record to 3-2.
Impact Offensive Player: Russ Michna
Quarterback Russ Michna made a statement to his team and San Jose fans as he executed at a high level completing 23-35 passes for 312 yards and six touchdowns. Michna only had one interception for the night which is a vast improvement from the SaberCats previous game average of three interceptions under the leadership of Aaron Garcia. Three of Michna’s touchdowns were impressive bombs for more than 30-yards, proving that he’s still got his accurate arm and downfield vision. Not bad for a quarterback who came to San Jose to practice with his new teammates for only a week after not being active since the 2012 season.
Impact Defensive Player: Clevan Thomas
The SaberCats defense was flying around on Saturday night and making game changing stops to give their offense a big hand in sealing the win. Ball hawk Clevan Thomas ended his two game interception drought when he picked off VooDoo quarterback Zack Eskridge for his fifth pick of the season. Clevan did a great job disrupting the VooDoo’s offensive momentum throughout the night.
All-Around Impact Player: Huey Whitaker
Huey Whitaker stepped up as an Ironman posting two offensive touchdowns as well as a pick-six on the VooDoo’s first drive while playing linebacker. Whitaker proved that he’s gelling well right away with the newly acquired quarterback Michna, which is a great sign for the future of the SaberCats.
Returning Home
The SaberCats will be returning to San Jose’s HP Pavilion to take on the 1-4 Cleveland Gladiators next week. With another week of practice under his belt, Russ Michna said in the Comcast SportsNet post-game interview, “We’re going to be better next week, I promise.”
Leanne is a freelance sports journalist residing in the San Francisco Bay Area as she finishes up her Mass Communication, Media Production B.A. at Cal State University, East Bay. This will be her second season as a correspondent covering the San Jose SaberCats.
