Superstar Meets Male Model; Who Will Win?
Matthew Pickut
Saturday May 19, 2001
The Firebirds are looking to rebound after a tough loss last week to the expansion Chicago Rush. The loss saw QB Raymond Philyaw’s first two interceptions of the season.
“It was a bad read,” said Philyaw, referring to one the picks. A bad read? Maybe, but I have seen him make that throw all season. My bet is that it was the pressure of Mother’s Day. It’s hard to find just the right gift for mom, isn’t it? This week with Mom taken care of Philyaw won’t make the same mistakes, I’m sure.
The Rattlers and Firebirds know each other well. The teams have played 11 times in the past nine years, including the quarterfinals of last year’s playoffs where Arizona ended the chances for the then-Albany Firebirds to repeat as AFL champions.
On defense, Indiana will face Rattler’s QB Chad May who threw for 302 yards and six touchdowns last week. Much of the chances for the Firebirds’ success rest on the return of DS Cedrick Walker who is listed as “probable” with a groin injury suffered last week (I think I’m going to list myself as “probable” for this week’s sermon, normally I’m just day to day but I’m feeling a uncertain this week). Walker helps anchor the defensive backfield that currently ranks third in the league in giveaway/takeaway margin. Rookie DS Cornelius Coe and the rest of the linebackers for the Firebirds will need all the help they can get as they try and contain arguably the best two-way player in the league, “Hunkie” Cooper.
Walker will have plenty of incentive to play this week as it’s his first match-up against his former team. Walker came over to the Firebirds during the off-season from the Rattlers where he made up half of the best defensive backfield in the AFL with Arizona DS Cecil Doggette. Walker played four years for the Rattlers racking up 266 tackles and 13 interceptions while defending 44 passes.
This week Arizona WR/DB Maurice Bryant will join Doggette in the backfield as they try to contain Indiana OS “Touchdown” Eddie Brown, WR/LB Greg Hopkins, and WR/DB Van Johnson. Brown, Hopkins, and Johnson along with FB/LB Leroy Thompson represent the business end of the league’s second highest scoring offense. In Brown, the Rattlers will have to try to defend the second leading scorer in the AFL this season.
If Philyaw can return to his previous form after his fourth quarter interceptions and the Firebirds can get back on track after a tough loss, we can expect a great Arena Football game this Sunday. At stake is a chance for the Firebirds to improve 4-2 and get back the momentum they had when they began their road trip.
Matthew Pickut is a pastor in northern Indiana and a long time AFL fan. He also writes for his own website: The Brown Paper Blog. He graduated from Taylor University in Upland Indiana (class of `96) with degrees in Biblical Literature and Sociology as well as a healthy respect for the medicinal properties of coffee.
