SaberCats Claw Their Way Out of the Shark Tank with a Big Victory
Leanne Cozart
Monday May 20, 2013
The San Jose SaberCats achieved a big win on the road defeating the Jacksonville Sharks (6-3) with a score of 57-36 on Saturday night, improving their record to 6-2 for the season. With half of the season left to play, the SaberCats currently sit two games behind the National West Division leaders the Arizona Rattlers (8-1).
The turning point of Saturday’s matchup was when turnovers in the first two series of the second half dug the Sharks into a 21-point hole that the SaberCats capitalized on. In a game where you must go score for score, the Sharks were the first to flinch and they couldn’t quite make the strong comeback they needed to cut the deficit. The Sharks were unable to come within two scores of the SaberCats within the final quarter of the game giving the ‘Cats a clean victory against a good team that was at once undefeated throughout six games before embarking on their recent three game losing streak.
For the SaberCats, this four game winning streak says volumes about the impact quarterback Russ Michna has had on the field since joining the team in week six.
Wide receiver Fred Williams explains why the team’s been clicking since Michna’s arrival on Saturday’s Comcast SportsNet postgame interview, “The chemistry is good. He’s willing to take time with us and get on the same page and it’s our job to adjust to him and get him up to speed. We’ve just been taking our time, going in and studying film and just been making it happen.”
Michna finished the night completing 16-of-23 passes for 258-yards and five passing touchdowns. This physical and mobile quarterback also had two rushing touchdowns and didn’t have a single interception for the night.
Williams led the team with eight catches for 155-yards and two touchdowns and wide receiver Jason Willis brought in two catches for 46-yards and posted one score against his former team. Wide receiver and linebacker Huey Whitaker brought in three touchdowns for the night, two on aerial strikes and one on the ground.
The SaberCats offense came out on top of the score board with big help from their dominant defense’s performance as they forced three turnovers.
Whitaker, the J. Lewis Small Playmaker of the night, contributed to a momentum swaying interception to change the tide of the game. In the Comcast SportsNet postgame interview Whitaker reflected on his interception, “I think I kind of snuck up on him. I tried to bait him into throwing it a little bit and he fell for the bait so I just capitalized.”
Whitaker‘s aggressive and smart style of play helped shut out the Sharks offense throughout the entire third quarter to give his team the edge to win the game.
Defensive back Clevan Thomas had a big play intercepting Sharks quarterback R.J. Archer bringing it back for 21-yards. Defensive lineman Jason Stewart was another game changer as he got the ball loose from the hands of a Shark player and the ‘Cats were able to jump on it allowing their offense to take the field to bring in another touchdown.
This week marks the fourth straight week that the SaberCats defense had held their opponents to less than 40-points.Defensive back J.C Neal led all players with seven solo tackles for the night making his presence known to the Sharks receiving corps. Both defensive impact players Francis Maka and Jabari Fletcher recorded 1.5 sacks, marking the ‘Cats fourth consecutive game sacking the opposing quarterback.
The SaberCats proved that they can capitalize on any opportunity given to them as they pounced on any sign of weakness the Sharks displayed in Saturday’s triumphant victory. The SaberCats have faced a lot of adversity this season undergoing a quarterback change just four weeks ago, yet they haven’t shown any signs of suffering due to the adjustment. Instead they’ve continued to stay the course, as Fred Williams said in his postgame Comcast SportsNet interview, “We can be great, all we have to do is continue to take it one week at a time, make sure we stay healthy and just keep playing SaberCats football.”
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.
