Hotshots head to Salt Lake in rematch
The Arizona Hotshots and the Salt Lake Stallions will pass another benchmark for the Alliance of American Football on Saturday: the league’s first rematch. The two teams debuted against each other just two weeks ago, with the Hotshots notching their inaugural win, 38-22.
The Stallions are 0-2, having lost to Arizona and to Birmingham, both on the road. They’ll play their first game at home, and Stallions coach Dennis Erickson hopes to hand the Hotshots their first loss.
Much of that will come down to quarterbacks. Last week, Hotshots John Wolford threw for 194 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. It was a slow start, as both touchdowns came in the second half of the 2018 comeback win over Memphis. Despite a step back from his performance the previous week against Salt Lake — 275 yards, four touchdowns and AAF offensive player of the week honors — coach Rick Neuheisel elected to stick it out with Wolford instead of putting in backup Trevor Knight.
“As is always the case, there’s always a lot of opinions about quarterbacks,” Neuheisel told media in Memphis after the game. “And there were a couple guys who came to me and said, ‘Hey, maybe we let him sit and put Trevor in.’ Because Trevor is obviously very capable. And we’ve still really (high) aspirations for Trevor and (third-stringer) Jack Hennigan as well.
“But there was nothing in his demeanor that showed any panic. There was nothing in his demeanor that showed any self pity. Or, lack of confidence. And I said, ‘I’m riding with this guy.’ “
For the Stallions, the player under center has been less clear. In two games, three different quarterbacks have seen action, with punter Austin Rehkow sneaking in an attempt, too. Quarterbacks Austin Allen, Josh Woodrum and Matt Linehan are a combined 32 of 67. Allen leads the pack with 114 yards and 15 completions on 31 attempts. As of Thursday, all three were still on the Stallions’ roster.
Roster moves
While a goal of the league is to develop players, that doesn’t mean there won’t be roster changes to help the team win. This week, the Hotshots made a few. They added guard Blake Muir and defensive tackle Dylan Winn to the active roster.
To make room for the lineman, the team waived running back Larry Rose III and tight end Bryce Williams.