“It was a team win, we have their (offense) backs when they stumble just like they have ours,” said defensive back Ken Fontenette. “We’re a close knit group. We know there’s going to be mistakes, it’s how you respond.”

The SaberCats didn’t have the smoothest victory but they continued to respond to adversity as they worked as a team to maintain the edge. This win marks the fifth consecutive victory for the SaberCats as well as the fifth consecutive game where the defense has held opposing offenses to under 40 points.

The SaberCats were resilient in their efforts all night on both sides of the ball however, the battle was shaped by the way the defenses executed as between the two teams there was a total of ten defensive stops. The continuous shift of momentum kept both teams eager to take advantage of each other’s mistakes, but in the end the ‘Cats were the ones who made the final defensive stop that mattered.  In his post-game interview Coach Arbet said, “The defense has played well five weeks in a row, they’re on fire right now.”

 

Quarterback Russ Michna had yet another solid performance completing 22-of-38 passes for 246 yards and four touchdowns. Michna’s top target was wide receiver Fred Williams as they connected on ten catches for 124 yards and a score. Wide receiver Huey Whitaker brought in six catches for 46 yards and a touchdown alongside wide receiver Jason Willis who had five catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns.  

With an early advantage after capitalizing on Michna’s interception during the ‘Cats first possession of the game, the Blaze had the first stab at putting points up on the board. SaberCats defensive back Clevan Thomas responded when he intercepted quarterback Tommy Grady on a fourth down in the SaberCats’ end zone. The SaberCats swung on this momentum shift and responded with a touchdown to take the lead for the first time of the night with 21-14 on the board. The Blaze’s offense responded with a touchdown but failed to make the extra point attempt which wound up being the difference in the one point loss, giving the SaberCats the lead 21-20 concluding the first half.

The second half started with the ball belonging to Utah when Thomas picked off Grady for the second time of the night (8^th interception for the season) and returned it 50 yards to the house, giving the SaberCats a 28-20 advantage.

The SaberCats defense responded to the Blaze’s third quarter big defensive stops with their own intensity when defensive back JC Neal forced a fumble that linebacker Francis Maka recovered. This allowed Michna to return to the field and convert to pull away from the Blaze with an improved score of 35-27 marking their only offensive score in the entire second half.

After three downs of incompletions on the Blaze’s final possession of the game, Fontenette had a game changing pass break up on a fourth down attempt with 11 seconds remaining, giving the ‘Cats back the ball to run out the clock and secure the 35-34 victory. 

Fontenette shares his thoughts about that big play, “We know that twenty-two is their best receiver so we knew that Grady was going to go to him. Regardless of if he has a pocket or if he steps up and scrambles, he’s coming back to twenty-two. So I didn’t really see anything, just was in the right place. It’s always a constant battle to be in position and that was the story the whole night.”

Coach Arbet said about Fontenette following the game, “He played well. We like to play him in the middle. We feel he’s one of the best in the league right now and it showed there on that fourth down play coming up with that knock down.”

The combination of Fontenette’s impact plays with his team-high of nine-and-a-half tackles combined with Thomas’s two interceptions and three pass break ups was what kept the momentum on the ‘Cats side.

Following the big defensive battle, Coach Arbet reflected on Thomas’s big plays, “He’s unbelievable, he’s a leader of this team. He’s been elected to the hall of fame already, there’s a reason why. Came back after a lay off and he’s doing it better than ever.”

Defensive back JC Neal had one tackle for loss and a forced fumble (second of the season) contributing to the SaberCats intensity on defense.  Linebacker Francis Maka had one-and-a-half tackles for loss and had a big fumble recovery (seven total for his career) as well as a sack. Defensive lineman Terrance Carter also brought in a sack contributing to the hard fought defensive battle against the reigning MVP Grady. 

Grady finished 24-for-48 with 291-yards and four touchdowns in the ‘Cats lair. The Blazes’ defense had five stops in the game and held Michna to 72 yards and one score in the second half completing only 7-of-19 passes. 

San Jose maintains second place in the West Division sitting one-and-a-half games behind the 8-1 Arizona Rattlers and a half-game ahead of the 7-3 Spokane Shock. The SaberCats will look to get their second division win of the season by avenging their week five loss to the Shock next week in Spokane.

 “It was really important for us to get that first win inside the division and now we have another one next week in Spokane that we have to get ready for,” said Arbet.

 “How they came in here last time and really disrespected us, they danced on us,” said Fontenette. “I think that’s fueling a lot of people going into next week. But this is what you want, this is everything you want going into next week, we have a five-game winning streak. It’s in Spokane you know it’s a great football atmosphere, a big divisional game and to keep us in second place. It’s going to be big football next week, Arena Football at its best.” 

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.