OS James Hundon’s 5 TD’s Lead SaberCats past the Force 59-53
Tim Ball
Monday May 6, 2002
Offensive specialist James Hundon earned the MVP award the old fashioned way: hard work, very hard work. In a game that didn’t have the typical feel of an Arena Football game (i.e. QB’s and receivers racking up points at will) Georgia and San Jose looked each other in the eye and went at it. Through it all Hundon came up big with Force defenders hounding him on every catch.
“They made it tough on us tonight. They had a good rush and weren’t allowing a lot of time to go deep,” said Hundon. “I just tried to be patient and let things come to me.”
It was a surprise long ball of 45 yards after Georgia failed to score on their first possession in the fourth quarter, that finally gave the SaberCats the lead with 11:10 left on the clock. “The backs were not giving us the inside lane so we went for the sideline in the end zone,” said Hundon, who made the game winning catch with Force defenders close at hand.
Fumbles, penalties and punishment
The first possessions of Georgia and San Jose witnessed multiple rushing plays, with San Jose (yes, San Jose) scoring their first touchdown on a run by Wagner. Both teams suffered from penalties, fumbles, pressures and sacks all night as the intensity of the linemen going head to head caused too much turmoil for either quarterback to feel comfortable.
Quarterback Mark Grieb was a clear target from the start. On San Jose’s second drive in the first quarter, Force defenders forced Grieb from the pocket and spun the lithe quarterback 360 degrees dead in his tracks. Unfazed, Grieb tried to run the ball and was smothered by tacklers. Grieb responded to the ensuing face mask penalty by throwing three consecutive passes, including Hundon’s first of five touchdowns on the night.
On San Jose’s first possession of the second quarter, Grieb was stripped of the ball and Georgia recovered for a touchdown. Next possession Grieb was shaken up on a roughing the passer penalty with 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Two plays later Grieb suffered an injury while attempting to recover another forced fumble by the same Georgia linemen called previously on the roughing penalty. John Dutton came in to replace Grieb and restored calm by throwing to (of course) Barry Wagner for a field goal positioning short pass.
Grieb returned on the SaberCats next possession and answered Georgia’s two-play scoring drive with a two-play scoring drive of his own, followed up by a two-point conversion to bring San Jose to within two points 24-26. The battle wore on and the half ended with the SaberCats down 36-39.
Fans and Players Unite
After an uneventful third quarter, the fourth quarter started with Georgia in the lead 53-51 and the San Jose bench alive with excitement. In another example of what can only happen in Arena Football with fans sitting right behind the bench, the players and fans were firing each other up… I went and sat one seat behind the players as a wave started in the Arena. The players and spectators refused to accept a loss.
Several players pointed to a group of seven adolescents in the upper deck who were dancing and waving signs as excitement was building in the Compaq Center. Mike, Tim, Nic, Jason, Nate, Aaron and Kaitlyn, none old enough to drive, knew the SaberCats were coming back.
“They’re gonna win,” said Mike. “We went to the first game and we’re gonna’ go to all the home games!” The kids roared their approval while Mike’s dad, Bill, explained the emotions. “They love the SaberCats.”
Fourteen minutes and 46 seconds in an Arena Football game is a very, very, long time to score a touchdown. That is unless you have to battle the SaberCats defense and 13,000 of their friends. Led by Shalon Baker’s big hits, (Baker is a fan favorite returning from injury) the Force went four and out with Georgia kicker Szeredy missing a 52-yard field goal attempt. Grieb didn’t disappoint the San Jose faithful. After missing his first pass to Jerry Reese he shocked the Force secondary, who had played tough all night, with a bomb to Hundon for the lead they would not relinquish.
Nine minutes and 49 seconds is also a very, very, long time in this game to score as well. With the SaberCats defense taking charge, the resulting Force possession resulted in three penalties, one on San Jose for a Force first down, one sack, three incomplete passes and a missed field goal attempt (from 47 yards out) that gave San Jose the final possession and the win.
“It took us awhile to get it together,” said SaberCats head coach Daren Arbet. “Georgia did a good job on kickoffs. Field position had a lot to do with the flow of the game for both teams. I’m glad we came away with the win; it was a tough game. Hundon came through for us tonight. If he keeps playing like that we’re going to win a lot of games.”
With this win San Jose remains the only undefeated team in the AFL at 3-0. The Los Angeles Avengers come to the Compaq Center Saturday May 11th. Game time is 7:30 pm pst.
The SaberCats fans are waiting…
Tim Ball is a writer in the Chicagoland area. Married and father of three, his opinions on Arena Football reflects the positive aspect of the game as a family event second to none in pro sports.
