Wranglers Perform Well Despite Loss
Mick Cornett
Tuesday May 15, 2001
I don’t think I remember a night when the officiating crew was forced to rule on so many tough calls. On two separate occasions, players on both teams stopped playing, believing the play was over. Then, after a second or two of relaxation, one of the players would realize that the whistle had not blown and play would continue. Both turned into big plays for the Rattlers.
Oklahoma’s Carlos Johnson returned to the lineup for the first time this season and became the focus of another controversial play. Johnson went over the middle and jumped high to snag a pass from Ron Lopez. Instead of returning to earth, Johnson was caught in mid-air and spun like a baton by the Arizona defenders. By the time Johnson finally hit the turf, the ball was long gone and the Rattlers had recovered.
Arizona was on the receiving end of a controversial call at the end of the first half. With :08 to play, Rattler quarterback Chad May took the snap from the four-yard line and rolled out to the right. He completed his pass to Hunkie Cooper at the one-yard line but Kusanti Abdul-Salaam knocked Cooper out of bounds short of the goal. The first half clock expired which infuriated the Rattlers who felt they should have had time remaining.
Considering the opponent, Oklahoma’s offense played its best game of the season against Arizona. But still, the Wranglers have yet to score 50 points in a game and are averaging less than 40 points a game.
That could change this week. The opponent is Toronto and the Phantoms are having a tough time on defense. They’ve allowed 70 and 62 points in their last two games. This will be a winnable road game for the Wranglers who need to stop the losing skid as soon as possible
Mick Cornett was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2000 to 2001.
