SaberCats Calm Storm in Second Half, Win Fifth Straight 52-43
Griffin Aseltine
Saturday July 12, 2014
Despite clinching their ninth division title, locking up their #2 playoff seed, playing against a Tampa Bay Storm team with a winning record that had major playoff implications on the line, and the defense having arguably its worst game in a matter of months, the San Jose SaberCats still managed to give their fans a beauty on Fan Appreciation Night in their regular season home finale.
Improving to a 12-4 record, San Jose heads into its last two road games with its second five-game winning streak of the season. After scoring a season-high of 75 points last week in Los Angeles, and crushing Arizona’s hopes of a perfect season the week before, the SaberCats are arguably the hottest team in the National Conference right now.
“We knew Tampa would play hard with their backs against the wall,” head coach Darren Arbet stated following Friday night’s victory. “We were certain we would have to play our best for all four quarters to come out on top, and we did.”
Quarterback Nathan Stanley, who was merely a quiet backup at the start of the season, came out with a yet another solid performance that illustrated his impressive consistency, going 24-of-41 for 291 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions (although defensive penalties reversed two passes that could have potentially been ruled turnovers). Every bit of the receiving core did its part, with Rod Harper (83 yards in eight receptions plus one touchdown), Dominique Curry (49 yards in five receptions plus three touchdowns), Reggie Gray (38 yards in four receptions plus one touchdown), Jason Willis (33 yards in two receptions), and powerhouses Odie Armstrong (43 yards in three receptions) and Rich Ranglin (45 yards in two receptions) all being key contributors. On the ground, Dominique Curry tacked on two touchdowns in both of his rushing attempts.
“We’ve got a stud group of guys,” quarterback Nathan Stanley said when asked about his receivers. “Just about our entire receiving core can get the ball in their hands. They really make my job a lot easier.”
Despite maintaining a comfortable 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter, this matchup proved to be a fairly competitive one throughout the first half. Trailing 28-21 in the final minute of the second quarter, a 32-yard catch and scramble by offensive lineman Rich Ranglin immediately led to a game-tying 2-yard touchdown run by Dominque Curry, the primary star in San Jose’s game-changing streak of 21 unanswered points. On the first drive of the third quarter, a 9-yard touchdown pass to Curry gave the SaberCats their first lead of the night at 35-28. Then, a surprise on-side kick was recovered by Curry, who capped off the resulting drive with a 6-yard touchdown reception. In the middle of the fourth quarter, after Tampa Bay responded with a quick touchdown and Nick Pertuit’s ensuing field goal gave the SaberCats a 45-35 lead, Simeon Castille came up with a deep interception in the end zone, the only turnover of the night, which led to a 2-yard touchdown run by, once again, Dominique Curry, essentially closing the door for the Storm.
“We didn’t get as many stops as we had hoped for, but we did get the win,” cornerback Simeon Castille explained. “We got the on-side kick and that interception, which pretty much sealed the deal.”
Castille’s admittance on the defense not reaching its goals says a lot about Friday night’s performance. With only one turnover, and allowing the opposing offense to go 2-for-2 on fourth-down conversions, it is no wonder why one would argue how allowing 43 points would be considered a bad day for the SaberCats, even though it is generally considered well above average throughout the league. Coming into the playoffs, performing at the highest potential is something that San Jose will have to adjust to.
Speaking of adjusting and preparing for the playoffs, the San Jose SaberCats will have two more regular season games on the road before returning to the SAP Center for their first postseason matchup at home since 2008. Despite not having much to play for, it will be a key opportunity for San Jose to touch up on any flaws that could be costly during the big games in August.
“I think all three phases can get better coming into the playoffs,” Darren Arbet commented on improving his team. “These games in Philadelphia and Iowa will be important. We need to get better, and we are coming to play some football.”
Griffin Aseltine is an 18-year-old high school student and freelance writer who resides in San Jose, California. He has been fond of watching sports ever since experiencing the culture in his area shift a strong focus towards the San Francisco Giants following their World Series victory in 2010. Griffin became a San Jose SaberCats fan on the opening week of the 2012 season and has been a season ticket holder since 2013. He has contributed to First Stop Fantasy as a San Francisco 49ers writer since the start of the 2013 NFL season and has written for ArenaFan since the start of the 2014 AFL season. You can follow Griffin on Twitter @superduperm1.