SaberCats Snap Jacksonville Winning Streak
“We got embarrassed last week,”-----Head Coach Darren Arbet

By Barbara Mason 07.01.11
Bay Area Sports Drive
 

Winning streaks are meant to be broken and losing streaks eventually come to an end.  That was the situation that the San Jose SaberCats faced as they took on the seemingly unbeatable Jacksonville Sharks at HP Pavilion Friday night.  The Sharks came into this game on a 13 game winning streak while the SaberCats have been struggling losing their last seven games.  With a 5-9 season record, sitting in the basement of their division is something that San Jose is not accustomed to.  Prior to the collapse of the then existing league, the SaberCats dominated not only their division but also the playoffs winning three Arena Bowl championships.    

It took Jacksonville only 3 plays to get on the board leading 7-0 in the early goings of the first quarter.   San Jose answered when veteran quarterback #16 Mark Grieb found #73 Mark Lewis who plowed his way into the end zone to tie up the game at 7.   As the first quarter came to a close, San Jose was playing Jacksonville even tied at 14. 

A fumble by the SaberCats in the second quarter gave the Sharks the turnover that in arena football can be a game changer.   Jacksonville turned that fumble recovery into pay dirt taking a 28-14 lead mid-way through the second quarter.  Undeterred, San Jose fought back taking the ball inside the Shark 5.  Mark Grieb found #80 Ben Nelson in the end zone for the score now trailing 28-21.  

The ensuing kickoff was a questionable on-side kick that was recovered by Jacksonville.  The Sharks took little time to find the end zone for a 35-21 lead.   With 56 seconds left in the half, Mark Grieb threw an interception giving Jacksonville the opportunity to very nearly put this game away.  With 14 seconds left in the half, Mark Grieb found #11 Marco Thomas to pull within 2 scores.  Taking the kick in the second half there was the opportunity for San Jose to pull within one score.  Despite a fumble and an interception, there was still opportunity for the SaberCats to win this game.  

The second half opened with a James Roe touchdown.  The SaberCats now trailed by a single score.   The seemingly impenetrable Sharks stumbled early in the third quarter when they fumbled the ball and San Jose recovered.  Going for the score a long Mark Grieb strike was picked off by the Sharks and the opportunity to tie up the game was squandered, something you just can’t do against a team like Jacksonville.  The Sharks turned that pick into 7 and San Jose was again looking at a two score deficit, 49-35. 

Minutes later #26 Chad Cook scored a catch and run touchdown to pull back to within one touchdown 49-42.  San Jose needed another turnover and that’s exactly what they got.  In the blink of an eye, Jacksonville fumbled away the kickoff in the end zone that was recovered by San Jose for the score and the tie game 49-49. 

The ensuing kickoff resulted in yet another fumble by the Sharks and the recovery by San Jose.  Jacksonville was indeed rattled with back to back turnovers.  With 53 seconds left in the third quarter San Jose took the lead with a Grieb to Roe strike in the end zone for their first lead of the game 56-49.   This game was a perfect example of why arena football is so entertaining and fun, and why the comeback is always possible. 

The Sharks went back to work tying up the game at 56 and it became a game of possession; last team to score would be the victor.   The SaberCats took back the lead with Mark Grieb running four yards into the end zone, 63-56.  With 6:37 left on the clock the fans were treated to a real nail biter.    A major blown assignment by Jacksonville gave San Jose yet another turnover in their end zone and the SaberCats were back in business with five minutes left in the game.  Again Mark Grieb looked to Ben Nelson and number 80 did not fail turning in his second touchdown of the game and a 70-56 lead.   With 1:00 left in the game Jacksonville scored now trailing by a single score 70-63.  The SaberCats were not done as Mark Grieb found Chad Cook who romped into the end zone all but putting an end to Jacksonville’s 13-game winning-streak.  San Jose capped it off with a Grieb to Roe touchdown for the 83-70 final.   

Head Coach Darren Arbet was understandably proud of his team’s effort.  “We got embarrassed last week.  Those guys took it personal and they came out focused.  It was a wake -up call for the whole team,” he said. 

And so the Jacksonville Sharks came into the “Shark Tank” and left with their fins between their legs, their winning streak halted at 13.  The San Jose SaberCats played the kind of football that we are all used to seeing; winning football, consistent, fast, accurate and intelligent.  They played the brand of football that wins divisions and playoffs.  The SaberCats will play one last home game next Saturday against the Orlando Predators in an effort to take their season record to 7-9.  Each game is now crucial since San Jose is still in the playoff hunt.  While a few other teams have to help out, winning out the season is the destiny that the SaberCats themselves control.  They will finish the regular season games on the road against the Spokane Shock and the Tampa Bay Storm. 

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