SaberCats Silence the Soul
“We harped all week on getting defensive turnovers,”---- Jamario O’Neal

By Barbara Mason 04.22.11
Photos by Al Reyes
Bay Area Sports Drive

Friday night the San Jose SaberCats welcomed an old nemesis to HP Pavilion.  The last time the SaberCats played the Philadelphia Soul it was for the Arena Bowl Championship back in July of 2008.  The Soul prevailed despite an impressive comeback charge by San Jose that came very close to turning the tide.  Are the San Jose SaberCats looking for a little retribution?  Probably not.  That was then and this is now; a new season for San Jose and now that they seem to be on track, what is on their minds right now is to continue their winning streak that now stands at two. 

When the Soul was unable to advance the ball in the opening drive of the game, San Jose took advantage of the stop.  The SaberCats first series resulted in a touchdown off a run by #26 Chad Cook and the early 7-0 lead.  The Soul tied up the game when #2 Donovan Morgan made a circus catch in the end zone for the 7-7 score.  San Jose’s second series was quick and to the point as Quarterback #16 Mark Grieb found #18 Nichrin Flowers all alone inside the Soul ten for their second touchdown of the game taking the lead 14-7.  This would be the final play of the first quarter as the clock expired.  

As the second quarter got underway, Philadelphia moved downfield and was finally able to bulldoze their way into the end zone thanks to the running ability of Daniel Ross.  When the Soul missed the extra point attempt San Jose retained a slight edge 14-13.  A quick strike by Mark Grieb in their first series of the second quarter turned in his 2^nd touchdown of the game finding #5 Chido Nwokocha who beat out a blanket coverage by the Soul.  This extended the lead to 21-13.  Philadelphia continued to match San Jose scoring on their second series of the quarter still trailing by one 21-20.  With 2:14 left in the half, the SaberCats turned in their second rushing touchdown of the game from the one yard line, the score now 28-20.   With 45 seconds left in the half the Soul was faced with a 4^th and 10 which forced a punt. The SaberCats had their second hold of the game hoping to score one more time before the half came to an end.  Unable to score the touchdown, #2 Juan Gamboa came in to attempt the field goal.  The kick was good and San Jose extended their lead to 31-20 as the half came to an end. 

San Jose took the second half kickoff turning that drive into a touchdown increasing their lead to 38-20.  The straw that broke the camel’s back came when the SaberCats #15 Jamario O’Neal intercepted the ball deep in Soul territory scampering into the end zone for the score and the 45-20 lead.  The Soul was headed for their 5^th loss in a row unless they made some drastic changes.  A third stop of the evening by San Jose did not help Philadelphia’s cause as San Jose took over on downs.  With 2:29 left in the third quarter Mark Grieb threw an interception something you don’t see very often and the Soul had their first turnover of the game.  Philadelphia quarterback Justin Allgood threw for a touchdown the very next play and the score stood at 45-27 as the Soul continued to play catch-up.   

The fourth quarter opened with a San Jose possession that Mark Grieb turned into another passing touchdown finding #5 Chido Nwokocha in the end zone.  Nwokocha held onto the ball despite flying over the wall and the score was extended to 52-27.  The Soul answered and the score stood at 52-34.   A rushing touchdown by San Jose sent the score soaring to a 59-34 lead.  The Soul would have to score 3 unanswered touchdowns and a field goal to take the lead and with 7:06 left in the game, they were running out of time.  Both teams were able to score on their next possessions and the score stood at 62-41 with 3:23 left.  

While Philadelphia got uncomfortably close with two unanswered scores, San Jose was able to close out the game as Mark Grieb ran into the end zone with 19 ticks left on the clock.  The final score was 68-61 for San Jose’s 3^rd straight win and a 5-2 record. 

“We harped all week on getting defensive turnovers,” said Jamario O’Neal after the game.  “It just so happened that I got that pick to the house and it was a huge play.  Like the coach said at halftime, make plays on defense and get stops and that’s what we did,” he said.  Jamario feels that the team is headed in a most positive direction.  “We are on track, our defense is definitely gelling.” 

Coach Arbet was happy for the most part with the team’s performance although felt that they didn’t finish the way they had wanted.  Philadelphia got a little too close for comfort but as Arbet said, “a win is a win and we’ll take it.” 

San Jose now has a bye week to look at film and more than likely talk about finishing games.  The SaberCats started this game in great fashion and was sailing mid-way through the final quarter before things got out of hand.  The team is looking more confident and comfortable with each other and as O’Neal said definitely gelling.  Their next opponent will be the Arizona Rattlers in two weeks, Saturday May 7th. They will be playing at HP Pavilion in another home game; kickoff will be at 7:30.   

SEE PHOTO GALLERY>>