Crucial Offensive Errors Sting SaberCats in 73-62 Loss to Spokane

Griffin Aseltine
Saturday April 5, 2014

After Friday night’s frustrating loss at home, the SaberCats dropped to an infuriating 2-2 season record just after starting off 2-0 in dominant fashion. To add salt to the wound, they currently trail the all-time series against division rival Spokane Shock with a record of 2-5. As a matter of fact, this 73-62 loss happened to be San Jose’s fourth loss in a row against Washington’s infamous AFL franchise. As unfortunate as it is, one would probably be correct in saying that the Shock has San Jose’s number as of right now.

Russ Michna was finally cleared to play from his Week One concussion, although it was a game time decision. On paper, 28-of-43 for 352 yards and eight touchdowns may look impressive, but three interceptions tacked on prove to be a killer statistic, especially in an offensive-based league.

Despite sitting out for nearly three weeks before returning to the field, Michna took full responsibility for the end result. “I expect to be in the end zone every possession. When we aren’t, it’s a disappointing night. I want to say there’s rust, but that’s not an excuse for our team.”

Ironically, rust appeared to be the primary factor that led the SaberCats into an inescapable hole. On San Jose’s first offensive possession, a failed third-down conversion attempt to Rich Ranglin immediately led to a fourth-down interception by Terence Moore, which summed up the faults and errors of the night.

Other key turnover plays included a Jason Willis fumble early in the second quarter that was returned for a touchdown by Bryan Nnabuife, as well as a second interception by Moore on the first possession of the second half. A third interception by Terran Sanders ended up being the final play of the third quarter as well as the final turnover of the game.

While the Shock managed four turnovers throughout the night, San Jose only had one that occurred towards the end of the first half: a fourth-down sack by Jason Stewart that led to a fumble recovery by Terrance Carter. While the SaberCats took advantage with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Gray, the turnover was immediately canceled out by a 55-yard kickoff returned for a touchdown by Terran Sanders, ending the first half with a 49-35 score in favor of Spokane.

When his three interceptions are taken out of the equation, Michna’s night from a statistics perspective does not look so bad. Key receivers included Rod Harper (12 receptions for 177 yards and two touchdowns), Reggie Gray (eight receptions for 75 yards and five touchdowns), and Jason Willis (six receptions for 90 yards).

On the other side of the ball, Erik Meyer’s impressive play was highlighted not just by his performance in the air (19-of-28 for 258 yards and four touchdowns), but also his running game (12 attempts for 31 yards and four touchdowns).

“He got MVP for a reason,” SaberCats head coach Darren Arbet admitted. “He’s a good football player. We took away what Spokane does best, but Myers took off and made plays as a result.”

Assisting Erik Meyer were receivers Mik Washington (three receptions for 171 yards and three touchdowns), Rashaad Carter (seven receptions for 55 yards and one touchdown), and Adron Tennell (three receptions for 32 yards).

Perhaps another key story of the night was the controversial officiating that debatably had an effect on the game’s ultimate outcome. In the middle of the first quarter, an 11-yard pass to Shock receiver Rashaad Carter on third-down appeared to be short of the first down marker by about one yard, resulting in a potential fourth-and-one play where the SaberCats are able to force a turnover. Instead, the play was ruled a first down and was not challenged by head coach Arbet. On the ensuing play, Carter made a second consecutive catch, this time in the end zone for a touchdown that gave Spokane a 14-0 lead.

Towards the beginning of the fourth quarter, Spokane faced a crucial fourth-down attempt at the goal line. Erik Meyer took the snap and reached as far as he could to break the end zone plane. The play was then ruled a touchdown, but this time, Arbet threw the challenge flag. The play was reviewed, but ultimately stood due to inconclusive evidence. Negative reception and extreme displeasure roared from the crowd, arguably the worst displeasure in the building that night.

Despite luck not being in San Jose’s favor, head coach Darren Arbet still feels there’s hope in his team. “We have to just get back on track. I have faith in these guys that they can get it done. We’ve just got to close the book on this game.”

Indeed they do, but that’s easier said than done. Next Saturday, the SaberCats will have home-field advantage once again, but they will be playing against the two-time defending ArenaBowl champion Arizona Rattlers, which is more than likely the last team that they would like to face at the moment. One slight glimmer of hope for San Jose is that they have managed to beat the Rattlers for the past two seasons at home, a trend that they would very much like to continue.

Even if things don’t turn out positively, however, there is always the fact that the following weeks appear much simpler for the SaberCats in terms of their schedule, with inaugural franchises Portland Thunder and Los Angeles Kiss coming into play with very beatable squads.