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Avengers Hold Off Sabercats 71-69
By Greg Lee February 22, 2005 |
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The Sabercats last ditch, come from behind effort was thwarted for the second week in a row as the `Cats fell to the Los Angeles Avengers 71-69 at the Staples Center on Sunday. San Jose jumped out to a 14-3 first quarter lead, but the wheels came off in the second quarter when the Avengers outscored the `Cats by 27 points. The second period catastrophe was fueled by an uncharacteristic fumble by James Roe deep in Avenger territory and two interceptions of Mark Grieb by the Avengers’ Greg Hopkins. Tony Locke, who had been signed from the practice squad earlier in the week, found himself on the receiving end of three first-half touchdown passes for Los Angeles. New Avengers’ quarterback John Kaleo, who was acquired to replace their explosive signal-caller Tony Graziani who departed for Philadelphia in the off-season, torched the Sabercats for seven touchdowns and 327 yards on 22-38 passing. Kaleo becomes the third quarterback (out of four) to throw for at least seven touchdowns against the defending Arena Bowl Champions. The defeat sinks the `Cats to 1-3 on the season, matching the worst four-game start in franchise history-dating back to 1996. Offensively, Mark Grieb matched his career high of 31 completions and threw for 399 yards-the third highest game total in franchise history. Grieb also threw seven touchdowns but could not overcome his first half turnovers. In the game, Barry Wagner hauled in his 950th reception to become the AFL’s career leader. The Sabercats made the game interesting in the closing minute, notching two touchdowns in eight seconds. Grieb connected with Roe for a 41 yard score. The `Cats recovered the onside kick and Rahied Davis and Grieb combined for a 38 yard score to pull within six points with 52 seconds, but San Jose could not complete the comeback. The `Cats have the week off, but return to action on March 6th when they take on the Predators in Orlando. |
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