Destroyers Coming to Take It
Tom Ando
Saturday May 25, 2002
“That sounds like a good idea to me,” said Bentley. “So that’s what our intent is.”
When Bentley’s Buffalo Destroyers head to Van Andel Arena Saturday night to face the World Champion Rampage, there will be a lot on the line as one team will walk away with a 4-2 record, while the other will be even at 3-3.
With six players playing against their former team, the tension will be so thick that you won’t be able to cut it with a machete. It will also be a homecoming for Bentley.
Rampage Offensive Specialist’s Terrill Shaw, Kenyatte Morgan, and Steve Smith both spent time in Buffalo, and Buffalo’s Thomas Bailey, David Caldwell, and Juan Long all spent time in Grand Rapids. You can bet vengeance will be in the air.
“That’s always a special deal for a player to go against his former team,” said Bentley. “So that’s going to lend to having some highly motivated players out there for this ball game, and that’s going to make for an exciting football game.”
As far as the homecoming for Bentley, he doesn’t see it as a distraction as much as a chance to visit with some old buddies and his family, particularly his Mother, who will be celebrating her 60th birthday.
 Fred McNair has taken charge of the Destroyers` offense Image courtesy of |
The Rampage are coming off of a 64-45 win in Carolina that saw Smith catch five touchdowns replacing Shaw in the lineup.
“(Smith) is just playing outstanding. He was with us the previous two years, and could never quite break into the lineup,” said Bentley of the one time practice squad player. “But he’s done a great job there in Grand Rapids, and I know what a great guy he is, so he’s going to be trying to prove a point to us that we never should have let him go.”
Rampage quarterback Clint Dolezel has been spectacular, but sporadic as times this season throwing for 27 touchdowns, but also eight interceptions. Nonetheless, Bentley is preparing his team as if Doelzel was at the top of his game.
“If he gets hot, he’ll beat you single handedly,” said Bentley.
Getting hot will be a task for Dolezel, as he will face off against what many consider the hottest secondary in the league. Carlos James and Bret Cooper have been silencing receivers all season, and with Corey Johnson now teaming up with Dwaine Carpenter in the defensive specialist position, the Destroyers have forced four interceptions in the last two weeks.
“You can see them doing little things each week where you can see their communication is improving and they both have a good feel for what the other guy’s going to do,” said Bentley. “And they can help each other out more and more, so I think they’re just scratching the surface as far as how good they can be together.”
The Destroyers are going for their third straight win -- something that they couldn’t accomplish in three tries last season. Anytime QB Fred McNair and OS Lamont Cooper step on the field, a win is possible.
McNair has thrown for 22 touchdowns this season with just five interceptions, and with six more yards will pass into sixth place all time in that category. Destroyers Ironman Eddie Brown will make fifth place all time in tackles with his next one, and Lamont Cooper just passed 5,000 yards receiving last week. He also returned his fourth kickoff of the season for a touchdown.
But for the Destroyers, stats come second.
“I told Lamont, ‘Man, it don’t even matter to me.’ As long as we come out with that W, I’m, satisfied,” said McNair. “I said, ‘Lamont, every time you take that ball of the net, I wish you bring it back every time.’ It doesn’t matter if I throw for 100 yards or if I throw for 300 yards, as long as we get a win, I’ll be pretty much satisfied with everything else.”
For the Destroyers, winning this season has been through the running game.
“I think it’s always big. I think it’s an underestimated facet of arena football,” said Bentley of his second-ranked rushing attack. “It’s certainly a point of emphasis for us. We feel like we need to run the football to establish physical tempo of the ball game and also control the rhythm of the ball game.”
The other key that Bentley sees for winning this game is limiting mistakes. Last week the Destroyers had ten penalties and four turnovers in a 49-46 victory over the Toronto Phantoms.
“Grand Rapids is a sound, well-coached football team, so they just wait for you to make a mistake and they capitalize on it,” said Bentley. “I think for us to have an opportunity to win the game, we have to really limit our errors, and if do that, I think we have an excellent chance.”
"Touchdown" Tom Ando is a free lance writer from South Buffalo, NY and has been covering the Arena Football League in one capacity or another since the 2000 season, when he was 17 years old. Tom Currently writes for Sports & Leisure Magazine in Buffalo covering the NLL's Buffalo Bandits and NCAA Division I football. In 2001, Tom was the only writer in the country to cover the Houston "Travelin' " Thunderbears, where he befriended his mentor John F. "Hondo" Hahn.
