Kats Weather the Storm; Claim Division Crown
Charliy Nash
Monday July 16, 2001
“They don’t think we’re going to get to their quarterback,” said Kats’ head coach Pat Sperduto earlier in the week, “We might not, then again we may, and if we do that will make it a long night.”
The long night started early, with two sacks on Tampa Bay’s first offensive series. Storm rookie QB Shane Stafford spent much of the night on the turf. “We figured if we kept hitting him he’d get frustrated. He started throwing the ball away. He started running.”
“We worked hard, we worked really hard,” said lineman C.J. McLain, “We came together as a team, and I think the main thing was we cut down on our mental mistakes. That’s what got us the game today.” McLain, Rupert Grant, Travis Reece, and Ben Crosland each recorded a sack.
Key Plays
The Kats started the scoring early. Their first play from scrimmage was a 25-yard pass from game MVP Andy Kelly to Cory Fleming for a touchdown.
After being stopped for touchbacks in earlier attempts, Tampa’s James Bowden ran back a second quarter kick for a TD. He had excellent blockers in front of him who seemed able to anticipate his every move. This quieted the crowd and gave the Storm a needed lift.
Less than a minute later Kats FB/LB Travis Reece answered with the play of the game. Reece took a handoff from Andy Kelly and ran up the middle for a team record 39 yard TD run. Reaching the endzone Reece made a “Lambeau Leap” straight up the padded wall. “That’s just excitement, I guess,” said the Ironman of the game, “Basically I had a great offensive line blocking for me all night long, that’s what really made me run. I can’t do anything without them. Those guys blocked their hardest and I just ran. I had the easy job; I just run the ball. They’re in the trenches, they’re blocking as hard as ever for me. Without them I wouldn’t have made [anything]. So I give all my thanks to them and to God Almighty for everything.”
Tampa’s James Bowden was stopped just short of the endzone as time expired in the first half. The ball popped loose and he batted it forward into the endzone, where a teammate recovered it. Touchdown? After conferring the officials disallowed the TD because under the one minute timing rules a fumble cannot be advanced from the point at which it came loose.
Tampa lineman Willie Wyatt was ejected from the game after a (very) personal foul against Kats’ center Pat Downey. “I had knocked Willie Wyatt down. I kind of turned to jog towards the play and he grabbed me and reached around and punched me in the testicles, so I went down,” said Downey, “That [Wyatt’s ejection] had an impact on the game because it affects their rotation on the line.”
Post Game Reaction
Rather than try to describe the atmosphere at The Alley after the victory, I’ll just let you hear it directly from the people involved.
Head Coach Pat Sperduto on the upcoming back-to back bye weeks and the playoffs. “Our guys have gone through too much to let up. We’re in a position now where we can play in front of 13, 14, 15 [thousand] of our friends, as opposed to somebody else’s friends.”
DS/WR Adrian Lunsford has played for five other teams in his eight years in the league, but Friday night was special for him. “This is the first time I’ve had a division title, right here. This is a big day for me. Now we’ve just got to continue the season one game at a time from here on out,” he said, “Everybody knows what’s at stake and we’re not going to put that to rest.”
Center Pat Downey played Friday night despite back problems. “It bothered me a little bit during the game, but it’s worth it! I sat down with coach Sperduto earlier this week and they wanted me to get a shot in my spine just to help me get through the week, because last week against LA I was hurting, and that helped tremendously. I couldn’t miss this for the world. Sometimes when the adrenaline’s flowing and you get into a game like this you can’t feel it, but I’m sure I’ll feel it tonight and in the morning.”
Commissioner David Baker commented on the game. “You had almost 14,000 fans [13,441] here tonight who were pumped and excited and I think that played a significant part in winning this divisional championship tonight. The crowd was really into this game.”
Nick Pappas, the senior consultant for sports medicine. “We’ve got a bunch of tough players, my associate [trainer] Bob Fresorger and our team docs have done a great job. I tell you what, it’s a lot easier when you’re winning to play when you’re hurt.”
GM Eddie Khayat was proud of the performance of his players. “You tell me who in the NFL is a better fullback than Travis [Reece]?”
Playoff Picture
The Kats now have 21 days to rest, recover, and see how the playoff seedings sort out. San Jose’s loss to Indiana has the Kats currently in the number two slot. They could move down if San Jose wins next week, but cannot fall below the fourth seed.
Schedule Conflict
If San Jose winds up hosting the Arena Bowl, they won’t be able to hold it at the Compaq Center. A World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event is scheduled there for Arena Bowl weekend.
Charliy Nash has covered both incarnations of the Nashville Kats, and now has make the 2 hour drive to Huntsville for an Arena Football fix. He also covers the Tennessee Titans as a blogger for nfl.com and still hopes this will eventually lead to a paying gig.
