Revenge will Play a Part in Buffalo vs. Carolina Rematch
Tom Ando
Saturday June 16, 2001
In week four when the two teams matched up, Buffalo jumped out to a 19-point first half lead, only to watch the Cobras come back to win 59 to 57.
“To be honest with you, it was one that we thought we should have won. That thing slipped right through our hands,” said Destroyers Head Coach Ray Bentley. “We missed five extra points and a chip shot field goal. Do the math. That’s eight points. We lost by two, so we felt maybe that we had played better than them, but didn’t win the game and that was one of the few times that that’s happened to us. Usually when we lose we stink it up pretty good. That wasn’t the case in this one so we feel that there’s something out there that was maybe snatched away from us, and we want to get that back. There’s definitely some added incentive in this game, aside from the fact that it’s a national TV game, aside from the fact that it’s about first place, aside from the fact that it’s a divisional contest. This is the Carolina Cobras and they took something from us earlier and we don’t dwell on that, we don’t necessarily spend too much time on it, but we are well aware of it.”
After the loss in Carolina, Buffalo cut Nate DeWolfe and signed their fourth kicker of the season, Brett Gorden, who has played well for the Destroyers thus far. Gorden is ecstatic to be a part of the Destroyers’ winning trend and looks forward to continuing the execution the team has had so far.
“We’re doing great,” said Gorden. “I love all of the guys. I don’t think they’ve won three in a row yet, so hopefully we can get this one and break that streak.”
This week’s game will feature a match up of two of the league’s elite quarterbacks: The Destroyers’ Jim Kubiak and the Cobras’ Fred McNair. Kubiak has thrown for 2,563 yards and 45 touchdowns so far this season; seven of those touchdowns came against Carolina in week four. McNair has thrown for 1,826 yards and 38 touchdowns; five of his touchdowns came against the Destroyers.
“Fred McNair has not thrown an interception in 269 attempts. That’s remarkable,” said Bentley. “He just does a good job of taking care of the football, and to me, Carolina is the type of team that will just plug along and let you beat yourself.”
“I think he’s (McNair) doing a super job with his team,” said Kubiak. “I think he’s a great athlete. I think a lot of him. I think he’s one of the top quarterbacks in the league.”
At least this time Kubiak and the Destroyers will have the Buffalo fans on their side.
“I love playing at home. It’s like a tradition, you’re not supposed to lose at home, and I think we’re finally starting to realize that,” said OS Willie Latta. “I love home games, I look forward to the fans. They’re great. It’s kind of like motivation. It gets you pumped up.”
Kickoff for the game is at 3:00 ET, as the Destroyers look to continue their home streak to eight.
"Touchdown" Tom Ando is a free lance writer from South Buffalo, NY and has been covering the Arena Football League in one capacity or another since the 2000 season, when he was 17 years old. Tom Currently writes for Sports & Leisure Magazine in Buffalo covering the NLL's Buffalo Bandits and NCAA Division I football. In 2001, Tom was the only writer in the country to cover the Houston "Travelin' " Thunderbears, where he befriended his mentor John F. "Hondo" Hahn.
