SaberCats suck the Soul out of Philadelphia, 70-33

By Emily Zahner and Kahlil Najar

SAN JOSE, CA–Fresh off their convincing week one win over the newly formed Portland Thunder, the San Jose SaberCats cruised to an easy 70-33 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Soul late Sunday afternoon. In his very first start of his AFL career, Rookie Nathan Stanley impressed the Cats faithful with a spectacular game. Stanley completed 18 of 28, for 249 yards with 6 TDs and zero interceptions. Head coach Darren Arbet had nothing but praise for his QB, saying “this game is made for him right now.”  Stanley admitted to having pre-game jitters in his AFL starting debut, especially since he did not anticipate getting into the game so quickly in the season. After starting QB Russ Michna suffered concussion symptoms after the first game of the season, Stanley was told to be ready, and was given the start.

After giving up an early TD, the SaberCats bounced back to finish the first quarter 14-7. The two traded scores in the second quarter, and ended after the Soul pressured hard and earned a touchdown that carried the game into the half with the home team up by a small margin of 35-27. The rookie QB continued to impress, at the end of the second quarter, Stanley had thrown for four touchdowns, 123 yards and no interceptions. San Jose’s impressive defense gave the rookie the chance he needed to put his team ahead. “It’s really comforting to be able to rely on my defense, especially as a new QB”, Stanley said.

The third and fourth were all Cats. San Jose held the Soul completely scoreless in the third and the majority of the fourth. Newcomer Reggie Gray lit up the score sheet in the second half. After just one 24-yard touchdown in the first half, Gray posted 53 yards and 2 touchdowns in the second. Gray had 46 touchdowns last year with the Chicago Rush, and so far has wasted no time bringing those stats to San Jose. When asked about his home debut with the team, Gray stated “the atmosphere here was amazing. There were a few jitters but it’s special to be a part of such a great team”.

In their season opener last week, Philadelphia’s Derrick Ross instantly made a name for himself in their thrilling overtime loss to the defending AFL champions, Arizona Rattlers. Ross posted an impressive six touchdowns, with 12 carries for 46 yards. In week two, the SaberCats held him to only 34 yards with one touchdown.

With just a minute left in the game, Philadelphia managed to break through the SaberCats’ defense and cut the ever-growing lead down to 70-33.

San Jose heads to Pennsylvania next Saturday, looking to continue their strong start to the season against the Pittsburg Power, who were 4-14 last season.

Former Retiree earns Defensive Back of the Year

By Emily Zahner

August 13, 2013

SAN JOSE, CA—The San Jose SaberCats gave their fans another year worth watching, posting a record of 13-6 and making the post season once again. A crushing defeat the Arizona Rattlers saw the Cats eliminated and sent packing, but that wouldn’t be the last of San Jose in the news. The Arena Football League announced on Tuesday that SaberCats DB Clevan Thomas had been named the AFL Defensive Back of the Year, as well as being a First Team All-Arena Selection.

Clevan’s selection came as a shocker to some, as he had retired from the AFL in 2008. The Cats faithful weren’t surprised at all… and upon his return in 2013, Thomas posted an incredible year with the Cats. Playing in all 18 games for San Jose, Thomas blew the lid of all sorts of records, including a career and franchise-high 15 interceptions. Most notable, Thomas set a new AFL record with six pick-6; the previous record was four. Thomas picked up the final two in a win against the Chicago Rush.

San Jose’s star DB recorded 74 tackles and recovered two fumbles throughout the season. The Cats hope to see Thomas owning the field again next year.

SaberCats fail to upset Rattlers, eliminated from playoffs

August 4, 2013
US Airways Center
By Emily Zahner and Kahlil Najar

PHOENIX, AZ—The San Jose SaberCats were eliminated from the Arena Football League playoffs Sunday night, as they were defeated by the defending champion Arizona Rattlers 59-49. San Jose’s QB Russ Michna completed 20 of 36 passes for 238 yards and five total touchdowns (one rushing), but mistakes cost the Cats and Michna’s impressive play was not enough to move on to the second round.

Coming in to tonight’s game, every favored team had advanced to the next round, creating an opportunity for the SaberCats to become the first upset of the playoffs. Last season, the Arizona Rattlers dealt the SaberCats a heart breaking defeat, but on the backs on QB Russ Michna and wide receivers Jason Willis and James Roe, the Cats clawed their way back into the post season to find some revenge. With the top two scoring teams in the league, this first round game was expected to be high scoring and intense. With the odds against them, the Cats would turn the ball to Michna, who began this game with a successful 4-0 record against Arizona.

In the first possession, the Cats struggled and prevented from building the momentum they were looking to carry into this game. San Jose was unable to make any forward progress, and on the turnover, the Rattlers took no time to get the first score, going up 7-0 just seconds into the game. It didn’t take the Cats long to get on the board, as the next possession they were able to convert for a score. At the end of the first, the game was tied 14-14, but it took less than two minutes into the second for the Rattlers to score again. After questionable officiating and physical play, the first half came to a close with the Rattlers leading 28-21.

A potential turning point of the game for the Cats occurred in the third quarter when Arizona’s kicker Garret Lindholm missed the opportunity for a field goal and defensive back Clevan Thomas returned the miss 49-yards for a San Jose touchdown. This turned the momentum to the Cats, and one score later, they had brought the score to 35-35. Arizona’s QB Nick Davila faltered, and threw an interception to Huey Whitaker who returned the pick-6, giving San Jose their first lead 42-35. Arizona kept pressing, and at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the score was tied 42-42.

In the fourth, the Cats turned the ball over at the one yard line that the Rattlers managed to return to regain the lead, and it was all Rattlers from there. Russ Michna had to take matters into this own hands, running for the touchdown with 3:27 left in the game, shortening the deficit to 56-49, but it wouldn’t be enough. More mistake by the defense cost San Jose, and Arizona punched their ticket to the next round with a final score of 59-49. The San Jose SaberCats end their thrilling season 13-6.

No Rush… Cats cruise into post-season

July 27th, 2013
SAP Arena
By Emily Zahner and Kahlil Najar

SAN JOSE, CA—In the last game of the regular season, the San Jose SaberCats (13-5) hosted the visiting Chicago Rush (10-8) in what promised to be a high caliber playoff-type game. Both teams were looking to end the season on a high note and carry the winning momentum into the post season. San Jose came out victorious, taking the win 65-40. Carried by a spectacular performance by QB Russ Michna and wide receivers Jason Willis and James Roe, the SaberCats erased all memory of last weeks’ 65-43 loss to the Philadelphia Soul.

After a kickoff return for a touchdown by the Rush, the first quarter was all SaberCats. Clevan Thomas picked off Carson Coffman one yard into the Cats end zone with less than a minute to go in the first, and returned it for a pick-6. This gave Thomas the franchise record of 14 interceptions this season for San Jose, and he wasn’t even close to being finished. By the end of the first, the score was 23-14 SaberCats. Late in the second, Thomas almost had his 15th, but the ball just tipped his fingers, giving the interception to teammate JC Neal. Going in to half, San Jose lead Chicago 37-19, carrying all the momentum. The third was a low scoring quarter, as both teams only completed one score, bringing the score to 44-26. In the fourth, Clevan Thomas brought the fireworks, hauling in another pick-6 that brought the franchise record to 15. This was his sixth of the season, making him the record holder for the most pick-6 in a season. The Cats finished strong in the fourth, sealing their 16th victory of the season by a score of 65-40.

For the first time playing against his former team, Russ Michna had a night for the ages. Michna completed 19 of 24 passes, averaging 13.5 yards per throw. With five touchdown completions, the SaberCats QB extended his streak to seven games in which he has thrown five or more TDs. Michna would be replaced by backup QB Mitch Mustain late in the fourth, presumably giving him some rest prior to the playoffs. On the other side, Chicago’s QB Carson Coffman struggled. While he threw 20 for 36, for 223 yards with two touchdowns, he was picked off three times and was sacked four times.

The SaberCats begin their 2013 Post Season next Sunday against the Arizona Rattlers in Phoenix, AZ. The Rattlers are 15-3 this season, number one in the West Division of the AFL.