Lack of Call Changes Course of Game

Mick Cornett
Sunday June 18, 2000

With the losing streak now at five, the Oklahoma Wranglers have several people vying to take the blame for the mid-season collapse.

"I think we`re a poorly coached offensive football team," says head-coach, and offensive coordinator, Bob Cortese. Of course, to be fair, Cortese was also the offensive coordinator at the beginning of the season when the Wranglers averaged 63 points a game and jumped into first-place. Obviously something is not the same and Cortese knows it. "Until we can get it meshing, we`re not going to win any football games."

The Wranglers lost at Arizona last Thursday by a score of 42-28. Oklahoma quarterback Ron Lopez (19 of 34 for 294 yards and four touchdowns) seemed to outplay Rattler quarterback Sherdrick Bonner (16 of 33 for 185 yards and four touchdowns). But Lopez threw two balls that were intercepted and one of them was returned for a 48-yard touchdown. It was that controversial game-breaking play produced by Arizona`s Cedric Walker that spelled the difference. Walker and Wrangler receiver Bobby McGowens collided and McGowens fell down without a flag thrown. With McGowens sprawled on the carpet, Lopez`s pass went straight to Walker who went the distance and claimed game MVP honors in the process.

While the Wranglers may have had a gripe about the lack of a call (accounts differ), it seemed like an outrageous injustice at the time because the referees had not called a single penalty on an Arizona player all night while calling 11 penalties on the Wranglers. In a season that has turned south largely because of turnovers and penalties, the play symbolized much that has gone wrong for this team.

Melvin Phillips pulls one in. Image courtesy of Mike Wright

Before the game, Cortese said that he would have a `quick hook` on Lopez meaning that if his quarterback didn`t play well he would bring in backup Jeff Loots. Loots never put on his helmet. Indeed, Lopez looked sharp most of the game. His other interception was a ball thrown into the endzone that hit the receiver`s hands just as the defender arrived. The ball deflected straight up into the air where it was caught by Rattler defensive back Andre Goines. Lopez now has a league-leading 13 interceptions and knows it`s a primary reason this team isn`t winning games. When informed that five of the interceptions had come on `tipped` passes, Lopez responded "that`s still eight too many." The league record of 19 is well within reach with five games to play.

Lopez figures to start again this week when Iowa comes to Oklahoma City Saturday night.

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Iowa is on a five-game winning streak behind the phenomenal play of quarterback Aaron Garcia. He has 62 touchdown passes and is on track for a league record 96 TD strikes. The Iowa franchise is in first place but is in financial trouble. The team expects to lose a million dollars this season. Iowa was off last week.

Oklahoma will play Arizona on Monday, July 3 and ironically, the Rattlers are off this week. The scheduling quirk forces the Wranglers to play teams coming off idle-weeks back-to-back. And since Arizona`s last game was against Oklahoma, in a sense, the Rattlers will actually have had three weeks to prepare for the Wranglers.

 

The opinions expressed in the article above are only those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts, opinions, or official stance of ArenaFan Online or its staff, or the Arena Football League, or any AFL or af2 teams.

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Tough Run to Playoffs for Wranglers 7/11/2001
Wranglers Can`t Start Winning Streak 6/26/2001
Lopez Ties TD Record 6/19/2001
Wranglers Losing Style is Baffling 6/11/2001
Wranglers Mid Season Report Card 6/6/2001
A Perfect Game Makes for Wranglers Win 6/3/2001
Phantoms Demolish Wranglers 5/21/2001
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