Lopez Ties TD Record
Mick Cornett
Tuesday June 19, 2001
Ron Lopez threw 10 touchdown passes to tie the all-time Arena Football League record for TD passes in a game. Lopez was 26 of 38 for 366 yards. Plus, he had a few passes dropped. The game was still close in the fourth quarter (57-52) but the Wranglers pulled it out, 78-52. Lopez’s 10-touchdown performance came at a time when he was averaging fewer than three touchdown passes per game. Houston has only won two games this year but they are much better than their record indicates.
The game was played in Lubbock but still counts as a road win for Oklahoma. (As we all know by now, the Houston franchise is playing all of its home games at neutral sites.) The Lubbock crowd was decidedly pro-Houston giving the game a ‘road-atmosphere.’
Interestingly, both of Houston’s quarterbacks played at Oklahoma high schools. Starter Todd Hammel led Durant to a State Championship in 1983. When Hammel got hurt in the fourth quarter of the game against the Wranglers he was replaced by John Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald played his high school ball in Seminole.
The win gives the Wranglers a record of 4-6. They have four games remaining and three of them are at home.
This week’s game will be nationally televised from the Myriad on TNN. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. The Wranglers will be playing their arch-rivals, the San Jose SaberCats. Last year, Oklahoma beat San Jose in the Myriad 68-64 in a game that had 13 lead changes and ended on a goal-line stand at the buzzer. San Jose is considered one of the league’s best teams and is one of the favorites to win the league title. The ‘Cats have struggled recently, dropping two of their last three games, but still have as much talent as any team in the league. The Sabercats blew out the Wranglers in San Jose 73-17 on May 15. It will be interesting to see of Oklahoma can use last week’s eye-opening victory as a springboard to late-season success.
The Wranglers will need to win two of their last four games to have a legitimate chance of making the playoffs. Winning three of the four would give them a .500 record and almost assure them of a spot in the post-season bracket.
Mick Cornett was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2000 to 2001.
