Critical Breaks break Mustangs
Mary-Ann Williams
Monday June 19, 2000
The Mustangs have spent three years waiting for the break that will turn them into champions, according to head coach Rick Frazier. “I swear to you that if we could just get a few …critical breaks, we’ll turn these football games around. The last couple of years, it seems like every critical call has gone against us.”
But breaks aren’t given, they’re earned, and the Mustangs didn’t earn many chances Friday night.
Having possession of the ball only 20 minutes compared to the Orlando’s 40 wasn’t a gift from the refs. Playing even with Orlando for the first half, the Mustangs came back from the half-time break to be soundly spanked by two expected gadget plays and a string of penalties.
Game MVP Sean Riley said, “They did a couple of trick plays, which we knew they were going to do, and we failed to stop them.”
Barely into the second half, Orlando nearly lost possession of the ball after a weak drive toward the goal-line. Lining up for a 56-yard field goal attempt, the ball was instead tossed to WR/LB Ty Law and brought down the field to the 9-yard line and a first down. Soon after, WR/DB Brett Cooper ran it in for a touchdown, and with kicker David Cool nailing the extra point, the score was 23-13.
 Joe Douglas dives into the end zone during Friday night`s game Image courtesy of Drew Kennedy |
With no penalty called, the Predators found themselves on the 3-yard line trying for a touchdown. And try they did, for nine plays, seven penalties, and eight full minutes. Finally on fourth down, after a long and arduous battle, Maynor ran the ball in for a touchdown and a well-deserved rest for his offensive linemen.
The lengthy struggle wasn’t too much for the young Mustang team, though. O’Neal says, “It’s never too much. We get paid to do a job, and that’s not to let them in the end zone.”
Coach Frazier said, “That’s a waste of a damn good defensive game plan…Give me 12 downs from the three; I promise you we’ll get it in.”
 A frustrated O`Neal explains what went wrong against the Predators Image courtesy of Drew Kennedy |
While the on-side kick was questionable, two other plays that Coach Frazier cited as part of his team’s downfall had nothing to do with bad officiating. A fumble by Cooper in the second quarter was clearly his mistake. And with only 0:11 left on the clock to end the first half and no time-outs, Mustangs quarterback Kevin McDougal held on and accepted a sack instead of throwing the ball away.
“There’s no excuse to take a sack and run the clock out, knowing full well we’re out of time-outs,” Frazier lamented about McDougal’s blunder. “Certainly the last thing Tom and I both told him [was to] throw the ball away, don’t take a sack…Anything but a sack.”
With the play-off spots coming up for grabs, and Milwaukee believing they deserve one, mistakes like that take on new meaning. It wasn’t just a lost game, but more proof that Milwaukee isn’t play-off material. Though they’ve argued that playing seven number one teams in ten weeks has skewed their record, if they make it to the play-offs, it’s those teams that they’ll face.
O’Neal maintains that his team is ready, despite their miserable record. “We believe we’re better than our record…We’ve got a better chance than anyone, because we’ve got the talent.”
Maybe Riley says it best, “Anytime you have breakdowns, missed tackles…bad breaks against us, that’s heartbreaking. I mean, you can’t win a football game like that.”
And you can’t win football games waiting for things to go your way. Time for the team to step up and take responsibility, and maybe, with less luck and more hard work, make it to the play-offs.
Mary-Ann Williams lives in Chicagoland with her four children, Carter, Jackson, Jeremy, and Riley Jade. As a freelance writer, she`s written articles for the Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and the Daily Herald. She also serves as editor of the AFL-side of Arenafan Online, and covers the Chicago Rush.
