July 20th, 2013
By Emily Zahner and Kahlil Najar
SAN JOSE, CA – In the second-to-last game of the regular season, two
of the hottest teams in the AFL met at the newly named SAP Arena in
San Jose, and were destined to put on a high scoring battle. The San
Jose SaberCats (12-5), currently ranked fourth in points per game,
played host to the Philadelphia Soul (12-5), currently ranked third.
The SaberCats and the Soul were both on win streaks of four and six
respectively coming in to the game Saturday night, and the night
wouldn’t be over without a streak snapped. The Soul, the reigning
American Conference Champions, have also won six consecutive road
games. History had favored the home team in the season series, but the
Soul were in it to snap streaks tonight, coming away with a 65-43 win.
The win tonight extended their current win streak and consecutive road
win streak to seven games.
On the 44th anniversary of the lunar landing, the Soul’s play was out
of this world as they left their footprint on the SaberCats undefeated
record against American Conference teams. The SaberCats looked out of
sorts in the first quarter, as the Soul took an all-too-easy 21-0 lead
after multiple miscues from the kickoff return. The Soul continued to
surge, going up 27-0, but a strong second period by the Cats brought
the score back to 27-21 heading into the half. It looked like the Cats
were building momentum, but a last second field goal at the end of the
second silenced the crowd and halted the Cats attack. The Soul
continued their dominant play, shutting out the Cats in the third,
increasing their commanding lead to 44-21. The Cats tried to give
their fans something to cheer for on fan appreciation night tallying
22 points in the fourth quarter, but would ultimately fall short to a
score of 65-43.
Russ Michna had an impressive game, despite the loss, by completing 15
of 37 passes, good for five touchdowns. The majority of Michna’s
throws were hauled in by James Roe, for three touchdowns on 70 yards
receiving. Huey Whittaker had 106 all-purpose yards, of which 81 yards
were receiving, and the other 25 were an interception return for a
touchdown, San Jose’s last score of the night.
The SaberCats conclude the regular season next weekend, Saturday July
27th at 7:30PM, against the Chicago Rush.
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