Mustangs Tame Predators
John Hoh
Saturday January 22, 2000
The name on the outside of the building is the TD Waterhouse Centre. Inside, patrons who buy tickets to the local Predator games call it The Jungle. To Orlando quarterback Craig Whelihan, it must have seemed like a wet, damp jungle. In a sloppy game marred by turnovers, no one was victimized more than Whelihan who threw two interceptions to Gary Compton for touchdowns as the Milwaukee Mustangs tripped up the defending Arena champions, 45-42. Gary Compton summed it up by stating: "We opened a lot of people’s eyes tonight."
The game was ugly from the start. Orlando fumbled on its first possession and saw the Mustangs recover. The gift was returned immediately as Gary Compton coughed up the ball trying to squeeze extra yardage. In all, 11—count ‘em, 11—turnovers were committed in the first half alone! Orlando had five. Milwaukee had five fumbles and an interception. It could have been worse as Whelihan had trouble handling snaps all half. Did Dave Kreig sign on as Predator QB coach?
Orlando did get out to a 14-point lead, but the Mustangs weren’t ready to be put to pasture just yet. A Siaha Burley bumble of a missed Hamilton field goal attempt led to a Mustang TD tally. After the Preds scored another seven spot, a stalled Mustang drive led to a Hamilton field goal try—which was no good. The recovery by Orlando was fumbled again by Burley.
Another Pred turnover gave Milwaukee the ball and a chance to tie. However, poor time management left one second on the clock and Hamilton was sent in to get the ‘Stangs to within four.
The two teams traded touchdowns to keep the game close until Gary Compton took over—defensively—in the fourth quarter. Two interceptions of Craig Whelihan passes by Gary Compton and a gallop to the end zone each time led to a 45-28 Mustang lead.
"I was watching Craig during the game and I noticed he was focusing his eyes on his receivers," said Compton. "The first [interception] I knew he would throw it, but I was lucky on the second."
Coach Frazier addressed the game plan, "We tried different looks for Whelihan to see if we could get him to hold the ball a second longer so our pressure could get to him. When you got a guy who`s thinking about the coverages, that`s when he starts making mistakes."
The Mustangs have a comfortable 45-28 lead, right? Wrong! This is Arenaball. The game isn’t over until the game is over.
Jay Gruden calmed his pupil down enough so that Orlando could pull to within 45-42. And Orlando was ready to score when—Siaha Burley fumbled the ball trying to dive into the end zone! RB/LB Lawrence Lewis recovered with 24 seconds left to play. Wrap it up, file the story, stick a fork in it; this game is done. Except a funny thing happened on the clock’s march to 0:00. The ‘Stangs could only drain 12 seconds and had to kick! Orlando’s last gasp, however, ended when Siaha Burley fielded Hamilton’s missed field goal but couldn’t get out of bounds before time expired.
Mustang quarterback Kevin McDougal went 11 of 25 for 62 yards, throwing no interceptions and no TDs. I doubt it often happens that a QB throws for no TDs and his team wins.
As for the prospects for the Mustangs? According to Compton, "We don`t give up. We`re still fighting."
Milwaukee continues its fight at the Indiana Firebirds (7-3) this coming Saturday. They hope to avenge a humiliating season-opening loss to the transplants from Albany.
John L. Hoh, Jr., is a free-lance writer from Milwaukee who grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, as an avid Dolphins fan. He followed Arena Football since its inception, at one point watching tape-delayed games on low-powered WAV-TV in Waukesha. His happiest day was when Milwaukee was awarded the Mustangs franchise; his saddest when the Mustangs were contracted out of the league. John is married to his wife Maija (13+ years) and has a young son, Matthew. John pines for the return of the Arena Football League to Milwaukee.
