SaberCats Fall Just Short of Handing Arizona Its First Loss
Griffin Aseltine
Sunday April 13, 2014
For the third week in a row, the San Jose SaberCats looked relatively sharp on the field, keeping up with their opponent and showing the potential to pull it out. Yet, they still found a way to end the night in disastrous fashion. After facing three teams in a row with winning records, San Jose has now dropped from a promising 2-0 record to a losing 2-3 record. The SaberCats have not had a record below .500 since the 2011 season, when they finished with a 7-11 record.
Perhaps the most frustrating part of what looks to be an ugly record is the fact that all three losses were by a combined total of 19 points. With a one-point loss in Pittsburgh just two weeks ago, a 12-point loss against Spokane that had the potential to go the other way, and now a six-point loss to Arizona, the SaberCats are essentially two plays away from a 4-1 record. The team is arguably in its best state since its 2011 reboot, but due to the lack of the ability to close games out, the record does not show that.
“Arizona is a good football team. That’s why they’ve won the last two championships,” head coach Darren Arbet admitted after the game. “It’s a tough loss, but we’re not going into a corner and hide. We just have to watch our team grow.”
Russ Michna showed a key improvement over last week’s returning performance. While his completion percentage was roughly the same (27-of-42) and his yardage and touchdown statistics were lower (284 yards and five touchdowns), the one aspect of which he improved was that no interceptions were thrown by the San Jose quarterback on Saturday night, compared to three picks last week against Spokane.
“I like Russ,” Arbet said when asked about his starting quarterback. “I thought he played well, and he really made some great throws.”
Key receivers that helped out with Michna’s performance included Reggie Gray (13 receptions for 122 yards and three touchdowns), Jason Willis (four receptions for 68 yards and one touchdown), Rod Harper (seven receptions for 70 yards), and Dominique Curry (15-yard touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter).
In terms of rushing, Odie Armstrong had a relatively solid first night with the SaberCats, running for 25 yards in nine attempts and one touchdown. Curry also had one-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.
“We’re simply two good teams,” receiver Reggie Gray said following Saturday night’s matchup. “It simply came down to who had the last possession.”
The SaberCats started the game with possession, and jumped off to a 7-0 lead after an 18-yard Jason Willis touchdown reception. From then on, it was a back-and-forth shootout. In the second quarter, San Jose failed to convert on 4th and 11, giving the Rattlers a 33-28 edge coming into the second half.
In the middle of the fourth quarter, the SaberCats appeared to have the game in hand when a Curry interception off the uprights eventually led to his own 15-yard touchdown reception that gave San Jose a 48-43 lead. On its next offensive drive, however, it was held to a 19-yard field goal by Nick Pertuit which gave it a mere two-point advantage. With seven seconds left remaining in the game, the Rattlers took a 57-51 lead after a 7-yard touchdown pass from Nick Davila to Tysson Poots. Nathan Stanley came in for the SaberCats for the final play of the game, but his Hail Mary pass fell incomplete.
During the fourth quarter, receiver Reggie Gray had a huge 13-yard completion near the sideline, but ended up on the ground in pain after the play. “My chest didn’t feel right. Felt like something was out of place,” the star receiver said when asked about his injury. “I was in pain, but I began to feel better during evaluation. We’ll see if I’m ready for next week. One thing is for certain: it takes a lot to keep me off the field.”
Another story on Saturday night was not just the huge rivalry between the two teams, but how the officials responded to the harsh, brutal conditions of the rivalry. A total of 26 penalties were called during Saturday night’s matchup, of which 18 were on San Jose. While not many of them were controversial to the point where the officiating should be criticized, it is pretty much safe to say that the referees did not allow these two teams to have their rivalry play out in its typical fashion that both fanbases would have preferred to see.
After the disgust that was left in the SaberCats’ mouths after Saturday night’s loss, one slight bit of good news lays ahead, and that is the fact that the schedule will tone down into a very winnable one over the next few weeks. Starting on Friday night, San Jose will return to Portland and have the opportunity to take its anger out on its new division rival. After a dominant 64-34 victory back in Week 1, the SaberCats know that next week is the perfect opportunity to get back on track to a winning record. If they end up being upset and lose for a fourth time in a row, however, throwing in the towel could be a possibility for many fans.
