SaberCats win second divisional matchup, 75-55 over Blaze

Saturday April 9, 2011

 SAN JOSE - The San Jose SaberCats (3-2) defeated the Utah Blaze (2-2), 75-55 for their second divisional win of the season thanks to a balanced effort on both sides of the ball. San Jose put together 311 yards in total offense with the defense forcing Utah to turn the ball over on downs three times on Friday night along with two turnovers. Owner/Head Coach Darren Arbet was happy with the effort his squad put together and hopes this is something they can build on heading into next week.

“We’re a young football team and that was a big win, it was a big time confidence builder, and we’re just going to get
better and better every week, the guys are starting to jell together now and hopefully we can make another jump next
week."

San Jose's offense was in high gear at the beginning of the game scoring a pair of rushing touchdowns as FB/LB Chad
Cook rushed for the first of his two rushing touchdowns of the quarter and WR Nichiren Flowers scored the first rushing
touchdown of his career. Utah answered with a 14-yard touchdown pass from QB Tommy Grady to WR Ernie Pierce and
a rushing touchdown to tie the score at 14 at the end of the first quarter.

After the first of WR Samora Goodson's career-high four touchdown receptions, the teams traded touchdowns putting San
Jose up 33-28. Defensive Player of the Game DL George Hypolite's first career forced fumble on fourth down shifted the
momentum in the SaberCats’ favor and gave San Jose the ball with seconds left on the clock.

He was pleased to see the defense execute against the Blaze tonight, “Collectively, in practice we saw some things that
we thought we could exploit and I was really proud that we took it from practice and transferred it over to the game.”

SaberCats QB Mark Grieb hit Samora Goodson for a two-yard touchdown pass to cap off a perfect 16-for-16 effort to put
San Jose up 40-28 at the half.

The third quarter opened with Grieb's nine-yard touchdown pass to Goodson who had a career high eleven receptions.
San Jose continued to put pressure on Grady highlighted by DL Adam Huebner's second sack of the year and
quarterback hurries throughout the game from DL Francis Maka, DL Chris Perri, and Hypolite. The third quarter ended
with San Jose leading 47-34.

The fourth quarter kicked off with two quick touchdowns including Goodson's fourth touchdown reception of the game.
The score remained the same until WR Chido Nwokocha scored his first career touchdown on a 30-yard pass from Mark
Grieb with just over three minutes remaining. Utah answered with a touchdown but was unable to stop Chad Cook, who
ran for a career-high four rushing touchdowns and a total of 33 yards as he recorded his fifth consecutive game with at
least two touchdowns. Cook's touchdown sealed the victory as San Jose notched a 75-55 victory over the Blaze.

The SaberCats (3-2) travel to Tulsa to take on the Talons (1-3) for their first ever matchup on Saturday, April 16 at 5:00
PDT.

Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game: QB Mark Grieb
Riddell Defensive Player of the Game: DL George Hypolite
JLS Ironman: WR Chido Nwokocha
NiFTy Playmaker of the Game: WR Samora Goodson
Cutter Catch of the Game: WR Alvance Robinson 35-yard pass from QB Tommy Grady
Spalding Highlight of the Game: DL George Hypolite sack and forced fumble in the second quarter

ABOUT THE SAN JOSE SABERCATS

The ArenaBowl XVI, XVIII and XXI champion San Jose SaberCats (3-2) opened the 2011 season against the defending
ArenaBowl champion Spokane Shock on March 11 with a victory as they returned to the Arena Football League
for their 15th season in 2011. They travel to Tulsa to take on the Talons (1-3) on April 16 as they look to move to
4-2. The SaberCats began play in 1995, playing their home games at HP Pavilion. Fans and sponsors can go to
www.thesanjosesabercats.com or call 408-673-3400 to sign up to receive the latest news and updates about the
SaberCats, as well as to purchase season and single-game tickets. Make sure to follow the SaberCats on Facebook and
Twitter for all the latest news on the team.