Bledsoe Hat-Trick Seals Win
Patrick Daly
Monday May 6, 2002
 Tempers flared in Arizona Image courtesy of |
“It was really embarrassing with all of the extracurricular stuff and the things that went on,” said White. “That stuff doesn’t need to happen. The game was way too long as it was and then that stuff happens.”
For the second straight week, the Rattlers managed to hang onto a game that they should have put away at many points throughout. Instead of capitalizing on four Toronto turnovers with an easy win, Arizona allowed the Phantoms to stay close until the Rattlers came up with a shutout in the fourth quarter.
“We knew we were going to have to outscore them,” said White. “When we got up early in the game we all got pretty excited. We got optimistic, then found a way to let them right back in the game. You’ve got to give them credit, they weren’t just going to give up.”
“We started off well,” said Rattlers defensive specialist Ricky Parker. “We just have to work on finishing. There was point to where we could have really taken advantage of the game. We let them back in it. That’s why we have to do better at finishing. That’s the type of team they are, they get ahead and they finish. They had to play catch up and they got frustrated.”
Bledsoe and Parker each made their share of plays, but Bledsoe’s three-interception performance tied a team record last equaled by Randy Gatewood in 1996. Even in league dominated by offense, it’s defensive stops that can make the difference.
“He made plays and he gave up some plays,” said White. “But I would say, for a defensive back in this league, to break even is pretty good. I’d say he probably more than broke even. That’s pretty good.”
“We needed to step up real big with Cecil Doggette out another week or so,” said Bledsoe. “I think once they fell behind, once we got their number, I think that’s when it started to come out. I think the coaches did a great job tonight to put us in a position to make plays.”
“We just picked up the pace a little bit,” said Parker. “It was rough—we blew one coverage—but everything else they pretty much earned. They caught a touchdown on me. I didn’t think he caught it, but he caught it. That’s just how this game is. They’re going to score, but you just have to try to make more plays than they do. And that’s what we did. We just turned it up and tried to confuse them a little bit.”
The return of offensive specialist Maurice Bryant and lineman Wendell Bryant also made a difference for the Rattlers. Gaines recorded the first sack this season against Toronto quarterback Chad Salisbury and forced a fumble that was recovered by lineman Sebastian Barrie. Maurice Bryant posted seven receptions and three touchdowns in his first appearance of the regular season.
Chris Horn, who earned Ironman of the Month honors for April, continued to make key contributions as he filled the receiver/linebacker and offensive specialist roles at different points in the game. Horn scored the final two touchdowns of the game, including a 16-yard score on third and 14 that gave the Rattlers an 11-point lead with 47 seconds left to play. Hunkie Cooper sprang Horn with a key block that allowed him to get down the sideline and into the endzone.
“Another guy that played well tonight is Orshawante Bryant,” said White. “He turned around and played defense when we weren’t really expecting him to play much defense. In the fourth quarter, I don’t think his guy caught a ball. That’s a big, big plus for us if he can be a solid two-way, which, the last two weeks, all indications are he can.”
The Rattlers, having improved to 2-1, now travel to Georgia to face a Force team that gave San Jose a good run on Saturday night before falling to the SaberCats. Arizona will then return to the road to face a strong division opponent in the Dallas Desperados. Although the Rattlers would prefer to be 3-0 at this point, they needed the win at home to knock off the Phantoms to keep pace with San Jose.
“That’s another reason this was an important game for us,” said White. “It’s important because they were 2-0. We’ve got a short week. We’ve got a Friday [game] with travel. We needed to win this one at home. Everything was in our favor and it’s not going to be the next couple of weeks.”
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.
