San Jose SaberCats win ArenaBowl XXVIII 68-47
Joe Kauffman
Saturday August 29, 2015
The San Jose SaberCats win ArenaBowl XXVIII 68-47. This is the SaberCats 4th ArenaBowl title. San Jose used the best quarter in the history of the ArenaBowl to turn a 33-27 halftime deficit into a 55-33 lead, and from there, they just rolled to one of the biggest victories in the history of the ArenaBowl.
0:00 4Q - The San Jose SaberCats win ArenaBowl XXVIII 68-47. This is the SaberCats 4th ArenaBowl title.
1:00 4Q - WOOM! The San Jose SaberCats have the ball at the Jacksonville Sharks 11 yard line as the final minute of ArenaBowl XXVIII begins. The SaberCats hold an insurmountable 68-47 lead.
1:23 4Q - Terrence Smith scored his second touchdown of the 4th quarter, a 9 yard pass from Tommy Grady, as the Jacksonvile Sharks shrink the defecit to 68-47. The following onside kick attempt went out of bounds.
6:35 4Q - Reggie Gray scored on an easy 6 yard pass from Nathan Stanley to extend the San Jose SaberCats lead to 68-40. Stanley came into the game for Meyer. The quick one play drive followed a failed Jacksonville onside kick attempt.
8:35 4Q - The Jacksonville Sharks scored for the first time since 0:15 remaining in the 2nd quarter, as Terrence Smith scored on a 24 yard touchdown pass from Tommy Grady. The Jacksonville score ended a SaberCats streak of 34 straight points.
10:11 3Q - Two plays after a roughing the passer call that left him limping, Erika Meyer ran 23 yards for a touchdown to extend the San Jose SaberCats lead to 61-33. This one is starting to get ugly, as the SaberCats have scored 34 straight points. The Sharks have not scored since the end of the 2nd quarter.
14:10 4Q - Stop! The San Jose SaberCats have stopped the Jacksonville Sharks on three possessions, as well as a net recovery.
3:03 3Q - Net recovery! David Hyland caught a ball that took a long bounce off the posts and returned it 5 yards for the touchdown. The San Jose SaberCats are taking control of this game as they quickly extended their lead to 55-33. The SaberCats have now score 28 unanswered points.
3:59 3Q - Following a Jacksonville turnover, the San Jose SaberCats quickly took advantage, scoring a touchdown on an 9 yard touchdown pass from Erik Meyer to Darius Reynolds. The SaberCats extended their lead to 48-33. The SaberCats have score the last 21 points.
6:09 3Q - Turnover! Michael Lindsey fumbled the football and the San Jose SaberCats reccovered at the eight yard line.
6:47 3Q - Pick six! The San Jose SaberCats get the first meaningful turnover of the game as David Hyland intercepted an errant Tommy Grady pass at the 10 yard line and returned it for a touchdown on 4th and 29. The San Jose SaberCats take a 41-33 lead.
12:35 3Q - DJ Stephens caught his first pass for 26 yards and a touchdown as the San Jose SaberCats take their first lead of ArenaBowl XXVIII, 34-33. The touchdown pass was Erik Meyer's third of the game. The first drive of the second half took 3 plays for 45 yards.
FIRST HALF SUMMARY - ArenaBowl XXVIII has reached halftime. The Jacksonville Sharks have continued their streak of not trailing the entire postseason by scoring on all five of their possessions to take a 33-27 lead. The San Jose SaberCats will have a shot to snap that streak out of the blocks in the second half, as they will receive the opening kickoff.
San Jose was only stopped once in the first half, that coming on the final play of the first half on a Greg Reid interception.
Erik Meyer started off 7-of-7 passing, but he ended the half 11-of-20 for 135 yards and two touchdowns, both of which went to Reggie Gray. Joe Hills starred for the Sharks, catching six passes for 106 yards and four touchdowns, giving him a whopping 13 scores for the postseason. Tommy Gray went 11-of-15 for 175 yards and five TDs.
HALFTIME - Greg Reid intercepts an Erik Meyer pass as time expires in the first half. The Jacksonville Sharks hold a 33-27 lead at halftime, but the San Jose SaberCats will receive to start the second half.
0:15 2Q - Joe Hills scores again. His 8 yard reception from Tommy Grady was his 4th touchdown pass of the game. Hills has racked up 106 yards on 6 catches. The Jacksonville Sharks regain the lead 33-27.
0:41 2Q - Erik Meyer scored ona 6 yard run and the San Jose SaberCats tie up the score at 27-27. The touchdown followed two incomplete passes and was also the third time in the game that the SaberCats scored on third and goal.
1:00 2Q - WOOM! The one minute warning follows an onside kick attempt by the Jacksonville Sharks. The San Jose SaberCats will have teh ball 1st and goal at the 6 yard line when play resumes.
1:13 2Q - Joe Hills scores his third touchdown of ArenaBowl XXVIII as the Jacksonville Sharks retake the lead 27-20. The quick score followed an onside kick attempt by the San Jose SaberCats.
3:03 2Q - Oddie Armstrong scored on a run from 1 yard out and the San SaberCats tie it up at 20 apiece . The drive was 9 plays for 45 yards and included a run by QB Erik Meyer that set up the Armstrong TD.
10:14 2Q - Joe Hills scores a 29 yard touchdown pass from Erik Meyer as the Jacksonville Sharks extend the lead to 20-13. The PAT is blocked by SaberCats DE Donte Paige-Moss. Hills 82 yards leads all receivers thus far.
13:02 2Q - Reggie Gray scores his second touchdown of the game on a 3 yard pass from Erik Meyer. The SaberCats trail 14-13. Gray has 5 receptions for 56 yards and 2 touchdowns.
End of 1Q - The San Jose SaberCats are threatening to score, having a 1st and goal at the Jacksonville 2 yard line when play resumes at the start of the 2nd quarter. Both quarterbacks looked sharp during the first 15 minutes. The Sharks hold a 14-6 lead.
3:20 1Q - Tiger Jones went over the wall in the end zone but held onto the 15 yard pass from Tommy Grady to score a touchdown, extending the Jacksonville Sharks lead to 14-6.
7:59 1Q - Reggie Gray caught an 18 yard pass from Erik Meyer, but Nich Pertuit missed the PAT. After one possession each, the Jacksonville Sharks hold a slim 7-6 lead.
10:31 1Q - The Jacksonville Sharks take the early lead as Joe Hills catches a 23 yard pass from Tommy Grady to take a 7-0 lead. The Sharks took 6 plays to go 48 yards for the score.
7:14:PM ET - Kickoff! ArenaBowl XXVIII is underway. The San Jose SaberCats kick deep to the Jacksnville Sharks, who have to fall in the ball in the end xone for a touchback.
7:04PM ET - Coin toss! The Jacksonville Sharks call heads. The coin lands on tails. San Jose wins the toss and defers to the second half. ArenaBowl XXVIII will be underway shortly.
6:56PM ET - The lights have gone down in the Stockton Arena. The National Conference champion San Jose SaberCats are being introduced to the crowd amid smoke, pyrotechnics and the SaberKittens.
6:50PM ET - The Jacksonville Sharks take the field.
6:45PM ET - We are now just 20 minutes away from kickoff of ArenaBowl XXVIII. Both teams have returned to the locker rooms, and on the field the pre-game pyrotechnics are being set up.
6:30PM ET - Welcome to ArenaBowl XXVIII! We are just 35 minutes away from kickoff at the Stockton Arena, as the San Jose SaberCats host the Jacksonville Sharks. The SaberCats are on the field finishing up theri warm-ups, and both teams are making their final preparations for what should be a fantastic duel. Our staff at ArenaFan is excited to bring you wall-to-wall coverage of the biggest game of the season!