A seismic jolt to the AFL season, Thanks to LA
Manny Nunez
Sunday June 14, 2015
Nobody gave this team any credit. Not one soul had the LA KISS the chance to even think about competing against a San Jose Sabercat team who believe could be playing for its own destiny and dream of a perfect season. Beating Portland was hardly a thing to the writers and experts that know that one game does not mean it can completely change the entire landscape of your season. Even Las Vegas put this eam down, entering the game at 32-point underdogs and at one point were 45-to-1 odds at walking out victorious. Usually you see those kinds of spreads and money lines in lopsided college basketball or football games, but never professionally.
The only problem is, the LA KISS never seemed to get that kind of memo.
History was made in a much more different way. For the first time this season the LA KISS had won a game when trailing at halftime. They were 0-24 in games prior to last night. The LA KISS have managed to win consecutive games for the first time in franchise history. They have had only three prior opportunities to do so in about a year and a half. They also won their first road game since their franchise opener against defunct San Antonio.
They not only won convincingly, but the way it happened was all too unreal. Just hours prior to kickoff, it was announced that their quarterback savior Adrian McPherson signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. The torch was forcefully passed on to Danny Southwick, who already had a few starts under him. He may have been short on a few of his throws, but when connected, it looked like he never missed a beat.
San Jose became like a deer in the headlights when facing what has now become a much more revamped KISS defense. Sure they would beat them on the long ball, but that rarely happened when Erik Meyer was taken down five times. Play after play he and the rest of the offense felt the pressure, something they have never seen before. Aside from a sporadic comeback Tampa Bay gave them weeks ago, they weren’t used to needing to compete. The team looked uncomfortable.
The KISS could have walked home early as winners, but Meyer found Reggie Grey in the end zone with no time left. That confidence fell quickly after the KISS took down Meyer on back-to-back sacks, forcing a turnover on downs that had the KISS just sixteen yards away from a win. Two wins later, by the eyelashes of DeMarco Sampson, he somehow stayed inbounds along the baseline of the end zone.
However you draw this up, and in no matter what kind of sport or league this can happen, wins like this are a dime a dozen. In a game where even the risk takers felt as if there was no shot, last night could certainly well be a turning point.
Joe Windham put it best after the win against Portland: If we beat San Jose, we will come back to Los Angeles with crazed fan base, and I will always lead the bandwagon.”
Lucky for him, there is more than plenty of room before last night.