Arizona-San Jose Battle Continues
Patrick Daly
Saturday August 4, 2001
While the rivalry began with Arizona grabbing a 9-2 advantage, San Jose has won the last three meetings, including the recent 73-63 win in week 13. The Rattlers kept that game close until a 25-0 run by the SaberCats, which included two safeties, broke the game open and gave San Jose firm control of the game.
In the season-opener for Arizona, the Rattlers lost quarterback Sherdrick Bonner late in the first half and then blew a 31-27 lead in the second half. Already with one game under their belts, San Jose was looking forward to sinking their teeth into the visiting Rattlers.
“They were more prepared for us,” said Arizona fullback/linebacker Bo Kelly. “We had a breeze through preseason. We were on cloud nine, like nobody could beat us. We had a bye and then we played them.”
The Rattlers earned another shot at the SaberCats with a big 52-44 win over Detroit in the first round of the playoffs last week. And thanks to a Chicago upset over Orlando, Arizona will make a shorter trip to San Jose rather than cross-country trip to Tampa.
“It feels great,” said Kelly about facing the SaberCats again this season. “After everything went down [we felt] like this was the team we wanted to play. We owe them a lot.”
“It’s a good opportunity for us,” said wide receiver/linebacker Chris Horn. “It’s the first time that we’re meeting San Jose in the playoffs. It’ll be a big game. Everyone is excited. We’re just going to prepare and try to play as hard as we can.”
After a disappointing run late in the season, the Rattlers stepped up their level of play last week. While Arizona didn’t completely eliminate mistakes last week, they played well enough to knock off Detroit.
“We’re going to try to not make some of the mistakes that we’ve made in the past few games,” said Horn. “We feel that we’ll be in pretty good shape against them if we eliminate some of the mistakes, especially turnovers. That’ll at least give us a chance to not beat ourselves.”
In addition to avoiding mistakes, the linemen and fullbacks will once again play a key role. The Rattlers didn’t record a sack on defense last week, but they did keep pressure on Detroit quarterback Scott Semptimphelter, which led to two interceptions and many errant passes. The line and fullbacks also gave Bonner plenty of time to throw and allowed him to find the open receiver.
“That’s our main goal for this week also,” said Kelly. “We hoping that we can keep [Sherdrick] Bonner safe—no hits on the quarterback—and get as much pressure as we possibly can.”
The Rattlers could also use solid play from the defensive backs to avoid let downs on big plays. Defensive specialist Cecil Doggette came up with some big plays last week, while Ricky Parker has struggled of late, but has still contributed. Parker pulled in an ill-advised interception 30 yards downfield on fourth and one last week, but the pick seemed to give him a confidence boost that could carry through to this week.
The injury bug will likely keep Rattlers lineman Wendall Gaines out of the game on Saturday as he suffered a knee and ankle injury that knocked him out of the game against Detroit. Doggette has not participated in a full practice in a few weeks, but he continues to get prepared with limited workouts during the week. Lineman Kelvin Ingram missed the game against Detroit, but is expected to play in San Jose.
San Jose has not been immune to injuries either. Offensive specialist Steve Papin missed time early in the season, but has returned. The SaberCats will be without their top receiver James Roe, as well as defensive specialist Tracy Perkins and linemen Sam Hernandez and Ken Talanoa.
Despite the injuries, San Jose quarterback Mark Grieb still has plenty of weapons in receivers James Hundon, Jerry Reese, Shalon Baker and Barry Wagner. Grieb has picked up where he left off last season, earning the league’s top passer rating after taking over for John Dutton.
Adding to the rivalry, Arizona fans won’t soon forget the departure of fullback/linebacker Bob McMillen and lineman Darrin Kenney. Both players left the Rattlers and signed with San Jose in the offseason after playing critical roles for Arizona in past seasons. However, in spite of San Jose’s gain, the Rattlers have plenty of experience in the playoffs and still have the talent to compete.
“I think our veteran players have played well in the playoffs,” said Kelly. “We know what we’ve got to do in the playoffs and we know that in the playoffs there is no tomorrow if you lose. We’ve got enough guys around here to know that’s the atmosphere that has to be.”
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.
