Rattlers face Renegade Houston, Injuries
Patrick Daly
Saturday May 5, 2001
Arizona has already seen injuries hit the team early in the season. Offensive specialist Calvin Schexnayder is still out and will likely miss the next two games as he recovers from a separated shoulder that he suffered against Los Angeles in the preseason, although he’s anxious to get back on the field. Quarterback Sherdrick Bonner is also expected to miss at least another two weeks due to the knee injury that knocked him out of the San Jose game two weeks ago. Hunkie Cooper has not suited up for practice this week, but he will be ready to go on Saturday.
Chad May gets his second start at quarterback this week after leading the Rattlers to a 49-21 victory over Los Angeles. May was efficient, hitting nine different receivers before giving way to quarterback Chad DeGrenier for mop-up duty in the fourth quarter. May will face a better defense this week, as Houston will attempt to keep the score low and force mistakes by the Rattlers offense.
The biggest question revolves around who will handle kicking duties this week. Kyle Pooler is currently out, recovering from abdominal problems related to past injuries. Meanwhile, Ignacio Brache filled in Los Angeles, but he could potentially be headed to mini-camp with the San Diego Chargers if they sign him. “We’ve had other kickers in,” said Head Coach Danny White. “If [Brache] doesn’t kick, we’ve brought a kid in yesterday, Will Schale. He kicked well.”
What will Rattlers look for against the ThunderBears? “They’re an explosive offense. Score a lot of points. They give you a lot of looks. A lot of speed,” said White. “The key is going to be getting pressure up front.”
Coach White also showed respect for the Houston signal-caller, Todd Hammel. “He’s not a very big guy,” said White. “I think getting our hands up defensively will be very important. We’ll try to bat some balls at the line of scrimmage and keep him from being able to see. If he gets back there and is able sit in the pocket and he can see the field, he’ll identify the weakness in our coverage very quickly because he’s so experienced.”
“They’ve got some young defensive backs,” said White about the Houston defense. “We’ll try to take advantage of that as much as we can, but we’ve got to have time. Keep Chad [May] protected. Let him set up and be able see and find his receivers.”
Overall, this is game that Arizona should win given their home field advantage and Houston’s constant traveling, but it’s certainly not a gimme. Because this is the third of four straight division games, the Rattlers need the win to improve to 2-1 overall and in the division before heading to Oklahoma next week.
Patrick Daly has been an Arena Football League enthusiast since he first stumbled across the late-night ESPN broadcasts and has followed the Arizona Rattlers since their inaugural season in 1992. He graduated from Arizona State University with an engineering degree and is currently a member of a web development team for Direct Alliance in Tempe. Patrick currently resides in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Arizona with his beautiful wife, son and a very large football helmet collection.
