Rattlers Contain Fury, Advance to Next Round
Patrick Daly
Monday July 30, 2001
Credit the Arizona linemen for sucking it up and making the difference. When lineman Wendell Gaines went down in the first half, the remaining six linemen kept the heat off of Bonner and forced Semptimphelter to run for cover. While Rattlers wide receiver/linebacker Hunkie Cooper earned the game MVP honors, linemen Brian Drummy, Mark Tucker, Joe Burch, Sebastian Barrie, Oscar Sturgis and Stacy Evans got the job done.
In addition to the linemen themselves, the linebacker/fullback spot also figured into the mix as Bo Kelly, Greg Gales and John Peaua added protection on offense and pressure on defense. Arizona didn’t record a sack, but the pressure force Semptimphelter to throw before he was ready, leading to incomplete passes and two interceptions.
“That was the difference in the game I think; our pass rush,” said Rattlers head coach Danny White, whose playoff record improved to 13-6. “I didn’t feel like we were as efficient offensively as we could have been. We had an interception, which was critical. We should’ve been in control of the game a little bit more on the offensive side of the ball. Fortunately, our pass rush was the difference tonight.
“That’s what you’ve got to have in the playoffs. You’ve got to have those guys up front jell and come together.”
“Our line was depleted,” commented Cooper. “We had six guys to go. They stepped up and they went hard. We won at the line of scrimmage and we won the football game.”
Detroit came into the game ready to fight with a playoff attitude. The Fury needed to win their first ‘playoff’ game last week just to make the post-season and came away with a big victory over Indiana. Even when Arizona built a twelve-point lead early in the second half, Detroit kept up the fight.
“They didn’t lay down,” said Cooper about Detroit’s performance. “They played tough until the end. We rallied together. We capitalized on a few mistakes.”
“Detroit came out playing hard,” said White. “We knew they would. They were a team that’s on a roll. They had a lot of momentum. They beat some great teams this year. They played well tonight. You’ve got to give them all the credit in the world.”
Given the playoff atmosphere, it was not surprising that the level of intensity was very high. Hits were harder and shoving matches followed many plays. Some of the extra-curricular activity could be cause for alarm, but it showed emotion that the Rattlers players had been missing during the season.
“It doesn’t concern me too much,” said White. “I think it’s a good thing. We just have to make sure we control it. In this game, you can’t ever get a guy kicked out of a game. I want guys to be competitive. I want them to be feisty, but I don’t want them to play down to other teams that do that kind of stuff because they [feel they] have to.”
“The intensity of the hitting was up about 15 notches,” said wide receiver/linebacker Chris Horn. “It’s the playoffs. Guys are playing with everything they’ve got and they’re leaving it on the field because it could be their last game. You’ve got to go out and play absolutely as hard you can and hope good things happen.”
Horn, who normally hands out big hits, was at the receiving end of a few shots by Detroit. The worst was a hit received during a failed two-point conversion attempt by Detroit that was broken up by Rattlers defensive specialist Cecil Doggette. Horn grabbed the tip from Doggette and was laid out by a Detroit receiver, but came right back for more.
“Tomorrow morning is going to be tough rolling out of bed,” said Horn. “I think the worst one was where they went for the two-point conversion. I didn’t see that guy coming. I still don’t know where he hit me.”
The missed two-point attempt allowed the Rattlers to maintain a 46-44 lead late in the fourth quarter. Arizona took the ensuing kickoff and marched downfield before facing a critical fourth and goal play with under a minute remaining in the game. Rather than settle for a field that would only provide a five-point lead, White rolled the dice and went for six. The result was a touchdown toss from Bonner to offensive specialist Maurice Bryant.
“I was pretty confident in the play we had,” said White about the fourth down call. “The field goal still doesn’t put us up by a touchdown.
“It was set up because we’d been running him across the field all night. Maurice has not been a guy that we’ve gone to as much in the clutch this year. It’s usually been Hunkie or Chris Horn or Randy Gatewood. Those are really the hands guys. It was a good confidence boost for him to catch the ball in a clutch situation like that.”
Kicker Kyle Pooler, who returned to the team on Thursday, missed the extra point, giving Detroit a chance to tie the game on their final possession. However, Cooper intercepted a Semptimphelter pass on Detroit’s final drive and sealed the win for Arizona.
Once again, White was on the field for both offensive and defensive play calls. In the past, he stayed on the field only when the Rattlers were on offense. However, like he did in Milwaukee last week, White was on the field for defense.
“It’s really not anything different from what we’ve always done,” said White. “I call most of the plays anyway, through the headset. When you’re out there and signaling the plays it’s different. You’ve got a little bit more to think about. The only difference was me being out on the field. We’ve been missing some game management. Timeouts being called at the right times. Communicating with the defensive backs in long yardage situations. It’s really not as big a change as it looks.”
With the regular season behind them, the Rattlers are now 1-0 in the playoffs. Their next game will be on the road, either in San Jose or Tampa. Since Indiana beat Carolina on Sunday, Arizona will face San Jose for the third time this season, which will give Rattlers a shot to avenge their 0-2 record against the SaberCats in 2001.
“It’s a one-game season every week,” stated Cooper. “We’ve got the first one under our belts.”
Patrick Daly has been an Arena Football League enthusiast since he first stumbled across the late-night ESPN broadcasts and has followed the Arizona Rattlers since their inaugural season in 1992. He graduated from Arizona State University with an engineering degree and is currently a member of a web development team for Direct Alliance in Tempe. Patrick currently resides in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Arizona with his beautiful wife, son and a very large football helmet collection.
