Wranglers News and Notes: Week 3
Mick Cornett
Friday May 5, 2000
Cortese is only carrying two quarterbacks and is trying to find another. He pursued trade-talks with an east-coast team but didn`t want to give up a front-line starter for a back-up. This week, he is checking out the abilities of would-be rookie Justin Fuente. Fuente grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and played at the University of Oklahoma for two seasons before transferring to Murray State and becoming a small-college star quarterback. He was not taken in the NFL draft and is interested in the Arena Football League. Fuente is considered `above-his-years` in his ability to read a defense and make the right play, but his arm-strength is only slightly above average. Bob Bees is currently the Wranglers backup quarterback. His play was sporadic in two-quarters of pre-season action.
The Wranglers depth at receiver and Lopez`s ability to find the open man are the two main reasons Oklahoma leads the AFL in scoring at 63 points per game. Offensive specialist--and the AFL`s MVP for week two--Carlos Johnson received extra attention from the Avenger defense Monday night so Lopez once again found ironman Bobby McGowens for three touchdowns. Two of his TD catches were extraordinary. Melvin Phillips and Kusanti Abdul-Salaam are also getting open and hitting big plays.
The Wranglers made ESPN`s blooper-reel Tuesday morning. During Monday`s game, Abdul-Salaam was running for a potential touchdown when McGowens peeled back to block a defender that was trying to get Kusanti from behind. Instead of making the block, McGowens decked teammate Abdul-Salaam with a shoulder-high collision that sent both players to the carpet. The receiving corp figures to get even stronger when ironman Brian Greene returns from his knee injury. Greene is running and cutting in practice and scheduled to come off the injured list for week five.
Fullback/linebacker Ron Perry deserves an extra pat on the back for his ironman performance Monday night. Starter Travis McDonald was pulled from the starting lineup with an ankle injury just hours before the game. Cortese asked Perry, who`s generally the backup, if he could play the entire game. Perry responded with two rushing touchdowns. He missed only one play in the game (a kickoff).
The Wranglers easy schedule has helped them claim a fast start. They are 3-0 but their opponents are a combined 1-8. Oklahoma is heavily favored to beat winless L.A. in Oklahoma City Friday night...
Mick Cornett was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2000 to 2001.
