Defense gets the job done
Turnovers, stops lead Rattlers’ rout
The Rattlers ran only seven plays in the first half Saturday and scored 49 points.
That is how efficient the offense was and how dominant the defense was in another Arena Football League blowout Saturday night at US Airways Center.
The defending ArenaBowl champion Rattlers once again made the statement that they plan on being the hunter, not the hunted, this season, dismantling another West Division opponent, this time the rival San Jose SaberCats 73-47 before 7,156 fans.
“It’s a big win, yes, but we don’t want to make too big a deal out of it, because there’s still a lot of football left,” coach Kevin Guy said.
A week after intercepting reigning league MVP Tommy Grady five times and sending him to the bench early in the fourth quarter in a 77-49 win in Utah, the Rattlers sent 18-year veteran Aaron Garcia behind the sideboards for good in the final quarter.
They intercepted Garcia three times, sacked him twice and made him miss on 17 of his 42 passing attempts.
Defense made an immediate impact, with Marcus Pittman sacking Garcia then Cliff Dukes getting a hand on a pass. Marquis Floyd intercepted the tipped ball and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown in San Jose’s first possession.
The Rattlers looked like they knew San Jose’s playbook inside out.
In the second quarter, Kerry Reed gave Arizona a 35-14 lead after intercepting a Garcia pass and returning it 43 yards for a score.
“Garcia has 15 plays, and we know all of them,” Guy said. Not all was joyous. The Rattlers (3-0) put star receiver Maurice Purify on injured reserve earlier in the day after he had surgery (for what Guy termed an upper-body injury) on Friday.
During the third quarter, receiver Tysson Poots, who caught the Rattlers’ first two touchdown passes, limped off the turf. He did not return. Guy did not know what Poots’ status would be for next week’s game in Spokane, the last in a three-game gauntlet of West Division teams.
The Rattlers offense bogged down some in the third quarter with Poots out, but Kerry Reed finished with five catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns, and Rod Windsor caught a 20-yard touchdown pass.
The Rattlers have beaten their first three opponents by more than at least two touchdowns and have scored 216 points.
“If we keep getting hurt, the pace is going to slow down,” Guy said. “But right now the defense is making a lot of plays.” San Jose Arizona