SaberCat Turnovers Dim Playoff Hopes

“We obviously didn’t get it done tonight,”---Head Coach Darren Arbet

By Barbara Mason 6/23/12
Bay Area Sports Drive

It has been a struggle for the San Jose SaberCats on the road this season.  Dropping their third straight road game last Sunday against Kansas City the SaberCats hoped to get back on track at HP Pavilion as they took on the Spokane Shock Saturday night.  While this team is playoff bound, the struggle to win on the road is troublesome, and could make for a very brief post-season.  A loss against the Shock could put their playoffs on very shaky ground. 

It was not the start that San Jose had in mind nor would it turn out to be the finish.  After a Jackie Bates interception gave San Jose a golden opportunity to get a leg up in the first quarter, quarterback Mark Grieb fumbled away the ball.   Despite a couple of scores, a Fred Williams catch in the end zone and a rushing touchdown by Mark Lewis, the Cats found themselves trailing by a score of 35-14 with 5:09 left in the half.  Both teams would score before the half and would head to the locker room with the Shock leading 49-20.

 A 69-36 lead going into the fourth quarter all but sealed the deal for Spokane.  There would be no comeback for San Jose playing with a defense that had been silenced the entire game and an offense that would suffer 7 turnovers in this game. 

 The final score 90-63 revealed a team in distress, a team that seemed to be very disconnected, something that is not at all characteristic of SaberCat football.  One bright spot for the SaberCats was the return of a missed field goal by speedster Rodney Wright for 57 yards and the touchdown as the clock wound down.  One does have to remember however that San Jose did score 63 points.  Offensively guys were out there trying and succeeding to a point; it just wasn’t enough considering the lack of execution that prevailed all night.  And what happened to the defense that had dominated earlier this season?

The SaberCats have to right a sinking ship and they have to do it next week when they take on the Chicago Rush in a must win situation.   A loss will mean missing the playoffs for the second year in a row.  They have only missed the playoffs three times in team history and a loss would be devastating to this team.