Destruction in the Desert

Devastation in the Desert
by T.G. Balun
The Desert Fox

When the season started the fans of the Arizona Rattlers were pumped, and sports writers were expecting big things from the team. And then the reality of starting a lot of rookies set in, and they were blown out in their first two games. In the third week against powerhouse Los Angeles they almost pulled off the upset of the year, but again fell short, and a quarter of the way thru the season were the only 0-4 team. Then it began to jell for the club. Despite the multiple injuries of Lamar Burton, the team came back through adversity to win 5 of its next 6 games to put them right back in the playoff hunt.

With momentum on the Rattler's side, the last place the Minutemen wanted to visit was Desert Sun Stadium. With a team cranked up and a healthy star quarterback, it seemed like things were on the up for Arizona. However when on the third play of the game starting cornerback Glenn Thomas went down with a broken foot, it seemed like a bad omen. Feet and ankles have been the bane of the Rattlers this year it seems, and with an already weak passing game, the rest of the secondary would have to step it up to make up for Thomas' absence.

On Arizona's first possession, Lamar Burton showed his stuff, completing all four of his passes, including a 15 yard TD to Stanley Noble for the first score of the game. An extremely late hit on the play by Butch Nasta however dislocated Burton's elbow, putting him out of action. Despite protestations by both players and staff, the referees failed to see the late hit, instead focusing on the pass interference in the end zone by SS Pat Williams.

With two key stars knocked out just one series into the game coach Miral Billings could be heard on the sidelines exhorting his players to step it up and overcome, overcome the injuries like they had done all season long. His inspiration was effective, as he became a constant cheerleader the rest of the game. With rookie General Barton at the controls, the troops were able to keep it close, in part due to Jim Washington's fine defensive play. With three QB sacks in the game, he also made up for DT Nate Thompson's absence in the middle, by clogging the running lanes repeatedly. The potent Boston running attack was kept in check for most of the game as they kept Brian Barrett to merely 72 yards in regulation.

Midway thru the 4th quarter with Boston up by 3, once again Billings on the sidelines exhorted his players and they responded, scoring twice in the final six minutes to take a 7 point lead with 2:42 left. Two consecutive sacks by Washington and LB David Wilson put the Minutemen in a deep hole with a 3rd and 16. In a bind Boston pulled one from deep in the playbook as Stock completed an unlikely deep pass to FB Ogden for the first down to Arizona's 7 yard line, where they punched it in to tie it up with a mere 0:12 on the clock. Despite the key injuries, Arizona still had hope, taking Boston to Overtime. Winning the toss and choosing to receive, Jim Martin continued his fine play on special teams, returning the ball to the 50 yard line. Arizona was in fantastic shape to move into field goal range for the win. A five yard run by Barton however was called back as Martin went from hero to goat with a late hit that cost the Rattlers 15 yards. On 3rd and 19 in overtime, Randall Kolquitt did what will surely be the most debated topic this week, going conservative and running the ball rather than risk an interception. Punting it into the endzone rather than kicking it was the result.

Blowing their chance on offense, it was now up to the defense. In trying to contain a star, you can only be successful at it for so long. The Rattlers were successful at containing Brian Barrett for four quarters, but in overtime when it counted, he rushed for 29 yards on the final drive to put the Minutemen in range of a score. To win the game, they chose the same play that got them to overtime, a TD pass to the fullback. Boston had pulled it out.

The Rattlers were physically and emotionally drained after this one. With a surge in recent weeks they had their sights set on the playoffs. They were twice in position to win the game and costly plays burned them both times. What's more, they have lost two of their key players for possibly the remainder of the season, CB Thomas with a broken foot, and QB Lamar Burton with a dislocated elbow. The Rattlers plan on filing a grievance with the league for Butch Nasta's illegal hit. When the league reviews it look for Nasta to be hit with a stiff fine on this one.

The worst part of the whole deal is the other teams in playoff contention that needed to win won, leaving Arizona with the task of having 4 teams ahead of them for the wildcard spot with a mere 5 games remaining, and with their star quarterback out for the year.