San Jose SaberCats Are New Orleans Bound “This is a sweet opportunity to go in and win another Arena Bowl.”--- Quarterback Mark Grieb

By Barbara Mason Bay Area Sports/Raiderdrive.com 7/17/07

There was a lot of déjà vu going on at HP Pavilion Saturday afternoon as the San Jose SaberCats took on the defending Arena Bowl champion Chicago Rush.  Last year in an upset, San Jose lost to the eventual champion Rush 59-56 and were looking to pay back the favor.

Less than three minutes into the first quarter veteran Clevan Thomas got things underway when he intercepted the ball on the Chicago 11yard line giving San Jose their first possession of the game as well as their first turnover.  Chicago got their licks in when they forced a SaberCat turnover minutes later turning it into the first score of the game, 7-0.  At 2:39 #80 Ben Nelson tied up the game handling a pass from quarterback Mark Grieb in the end zone.  Just prior to the end of the first quarter, #19 Marquis Floyd delivered a punishing hit forcing turnover number two, picking it up and taking it down to the Chicago 11-yd line and San Jose was threatening to put up their second score of the game.

Minutes into the second quarter, #25 Matt Kinsinger waltzed into the end zone untouched for a 14-7 San Jose lead following a successful A. J. Haglund kick.  The SaberCats held Chicago three downs, forcing the Rush to attempt a field goal from the 5 that was blocked by #66 Troy Reddick. Seconds later, Matt Kinsinger ran in for his second touchdown of the game and the SaberCats had a 21-7 lead. 

Chicago’s next possession came up empty giving San Jose a golden opportunity to take a sizeable lead.  Chicago who was not in the conference final because of their ineptitude silenced the raucous crowd when they intercepted a Grieb pass at midfield.  A sideshow of turnovers ensued when Clevan Thomas intercepted a D”Orazio pass only to fumble it away.  The very next play resulted in a Marquis Floyd interception in the end zone and San Jose was back in business as the HP Pavilion sound meter was put to the test.  The SaberCats  #31 Phil Glover got his first score of the game and with one minute left in the half, San Jose held a commanding 28-7 lead.  It was at this point that Chicago made the decision to pull D'Orazio and #8 Russ Michna took over at quarterback for the Rush.  Michna came through completing a 3 yd pass from the three to Bobby Sippio pulling within two scores and the half ended with the score 28-14.

San Jose had won the coin toss electing to receive the ball in the second half. At 13:26 into the third quarter San Jose’s Ben Nelson put up his second touchdown of the game and San Jose led 34-14 when A. J. Haglund missed the extra point.  With 9:14 left in the third quarter, Chicago pulled closer when Joe Peters found the end zone and the score stood at 34-21.  When it looked as though San Jose had beefed up the lead, Rodney Wright fumbled the ball in the end zone and what would have been a sizeable lead became a Chicago recovery and an eventual score.  With 1:18 left in the third quarter, San Jose was looking at a slim 34-28 lead as well as knowing that they not only had to score on every possession but they could not afford another mistake of any kind. 

#17 Rodney Wright got the fourth and final quarter under way when he caught his first score of the game giving San Jose a little breathing room, 41-28.  Marquis Floyd gave the SaberCats a real boost when he intercepted his second time that afternoon giving San Jose renewed life and the opportunity to put some distance between themselves and the Rush. #80 Ben Nelson turned the turnover into points and San Jose took back control, leading 48-28 with 10:27 left in the game.  With six minutes and ten seconds left in the game Chicago continued to fight pulling within two scores, 48-35.  The Rush’s attempted on side kick fell into the hands of SaberCat Julius Gant who romped into the end zone for a 54-35 San Jose lead. Chicago was forced to take their final timeout with 1:25 left in the game. At one minute San Jose was still pouring it on as Ben Nelson caught his fourth touchdown of the game and it was next stop, “Big Easy” for the San Jose SaberCats.  The Chicago Rush came into this game with all they had, scoring with 26 seconds left in the game, the final being 61-49. You’ve just got to say, hats off to the Chicago Rush.  Despite losing quarterback Matt D’Orazio in the first half to injury, they continued to play close the entire game.  It was a game in which Rush back-up quarterback Russ Michna threw his first career touchdown pass.  It was the first time in his AFL career that Matt D’Orazio threw 3 interceptions in a game.  It was a game in which the Rush gave it their all but came up short; it just wasn’t enough as San Jose moves on to the title game against the Columbus Destroyers on July 29^th in New Orleans.

Coach Darren Arbet sensed that his team was going on prior to the game.  “I had a great feeling coming into the game.  We had a great week of practice.  Our guys were really focused.  They wanted to play Chicago and they got what they wanted and they were focused and played hard today,” he said.  He gave kudos to the San Jose fans for their support this entire season knowing that they had a lot to do with this year’s success.  “Anytime you can play in this building when the crowd is loud like it was today, it’s tough on the other team.”

The defensive effort in this game was off the charts with four interceptions, 2 by Clevan Thomas and 2 by Marquis Floyd.  The defense knew that they would have to step up in order to get by Chicago and they did exactly that.  Floyd saw this game as a rivalry after last year’s loss to the Rush and he wanted some sweet revenge.  “We wanted some pay back after last year.  We got it and took care of business,” he said with a grin.  “We just stayed the course and stayed together and we made stuff happen in the fourth quarter.  We are going to enjoy this win and then come back and get ready for Columbus.”

Wide receiver Ben Nelson was impressed with the way his defense came out in today’s game.  “They were getting all those stops and interceptions.  That kept us in it the whole time and we were able to maintain that thirteen, fourteen point lead.  Thank goodness for our defense today,” said Nelson.  He finished the game with 7 catches for 75 yds and 4 touchdowns.

Quarterback Mark Grieb threw 6 touchdowns and was 27 of 37 with 1 interception.  He finished the game with 291 yards.  He was in complete accordance with Ben Nelson when it came to the performance of the defense.  “The defense played great and the offensive line played great, all five of those guys including Julius.  (Julius Gant scored his 1^st career postseason touchdown.)  They gave me time to throw the ball and my receivers did what they do,” he said.  “This is a sweet opportunity to go in and win another Arena Bowl.” 

James Roe became the 6^th player in AFL history to record 100 postseason receptions.  He had 10 catches for 108 yards.  “It’s amazing.  We practice so hard and finally get half of our dream accomplished so we’ve just got to finish,” he said.  “Our defense played tremendously well and they stepped up to the plate and they kept us in it.  Our offense finally clicked and we were able to make some plays at the end.  It was a great team victory,” he said with a smile. 

It seems so long ago that the team was starting a brand new season and struggling a bit in the early goings, losing to both Chicago and Georgia back to back.  Slow starts are no stranger to San Jose however the brilliant coaching staff seems to have the uncanny ability to “fix” whatever ails.  They have always been able to turn things around which speaks volumes of the SaberCat organization.

Playing at home meant so much to the team especially with this being the conference finals.  It was a way to say thank you in a big way to the loyal San Jose fans.  “Getting the chance to hold up the conference championship trophy was all worth it,” said James Roe.  “So now, we’ve got one more task.  One more time, that’s all that matters now.”

There has been expressed surprise seeing that the Columbus Destroyers got past Georgia coming into the playoffs with a 7-9 record, reminiscent of the Rush’s scenario last year.

“Right now they (Columbus) should be flying high with a lot of confidence so it should be very interesting,” Roe said.  Columbus is not to be taken lightly considering the stir they have made in this year’s playoffs.

On July 29^th the San Jose SaberCats will take the field in New Orleans hoping to bring home their third Arena Bowl Championship after having won in 2004 and 2002.  The game will be televised on ABC with kick-off scheduled for 3:00pm.