Opportunity Knocks for Coco Blalock
Marc Viquez
Wednesday July 18, 2001
“He’s hard to cover. He’s got a lot of shake and bake to him, sure hands, tough and good ability to stop on a dime and get into full stride very quickly. He’s got a lot of talent,” said New Jersey head coach Lary Kuharich.
Blalock started his career with the Madison Mad Dogs of the Indoor Football League in 1999. He then headed an hour east to Milwaukee and played part time with the Mustangs last season. He finished the year with 3 receptions for 47 yards and 1 reception before signing with New Jersey in May of this year.
He progressed slowly, but steadily, since his debut against Detroit May 11 and has turned it up every chance he gets. It seems as if all that was need was the opportunity to showcase his talents. “The key thing is opportunity. I was blessed to come here to New Jersey from Milwaukee and get a chance to play. I am glad that coach took a chance on me,” said Blalock.
Blalock first stepped up in a close loss to Florida. His 7 receptions for 80 yards and 1 touchdown almost gave New Jersey the win. He then did one better the next week against New York with 9 catches for 130 yards (157 yards on kick returns) and 2 touchdowns. Those two games set up the scene against Indiana this past week as fans got to see signs of things to come.
Blalock used some fancy footsteps to swerve and turn past defenders to return a missed field goal 54 yards for a touchdown. He high stepped it again later on a kick return for a touchdown, only to have it called back. His sly and quick maneuvering seem to add a little punch for a New Jersey team that led most of the way for a change.
This then set up the final climax as a short toss from QB Connell Maynor wound up 24 yards down the road for the game-winning touchdown. It was another quick move that got Blalock away from his defender. “Determination and winning. I am tired of losing and I wanted to give our team a spark,” said Blalock. That spark lead New Jersey to its second win of the season.
Overtime may have been avoided if it had not been for the ball getting tangled in the web. With the game tied and two seconds left in the game Blalock waited impatiently for the ball to fall into his hands so that he could get the chance to make something happen. “That ball stayed up there for four seconds, because if I got the ball (I’m not cocky) I would have tried to make something happen,” said Blalock. It was a situation that he wanted to be in. “The best predicament to be in if you are a true athlete. You want to be the one to make the play.”
Blalock finds himself the go-to-guy on a team that is confident that they can close out the 2001 season with wins at Toronto and Tampa Bay. The season has been painful to watch for the most part, but you would not have been able to tell from the last three home games. The play of Blalock and others, along with the team coming together as a unit, has given fans a little optimism towards the end of the season.
A fan of the sport since 1990 Marc has covered both the New Jersey Gladiators and Cincinnati Swarm (Af2) for Arenafan Online. Marc now resides in Indianapolis after graduating with a Masters in Sports Management from Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind. When not at a Firebirds game Marc can be found traveling the Midwest covering sports for various Internet and print publications.
