Snakes v. Cats: A Tale as Old as Time

Aug. 8,2014
By CHRIS HOPKINS
The San Jose Sabercats and Arizona Rattlers have faced off twice in the ArenaBowl (XVI, XVIII) and have been bitter conference rivals throughout their existences, but have never faced each other in a “Conference Championship” game.
During the 2014 regular season, the two teams played against each other three times with Arizona winning the series, 2-1.
Unfortunately for the Rattlers, they will never remember the two wins because they’ll never forget the one loss.
On June 27, the Rattlers traveled to San Jose riding an 18-game winning streak dating back to last season. In their previous matchup, Arizona knocked out the San Jose starting quarterback, Russ Michna forcing rookie Nathan Stanley to take over the reins on offense. Stanley would be the starter the remainder of the season. And in the game against Arizona on June 27th, he was brilliant. Behind three first half touchdowns from Stanley, the SaberCats were able to jump out to a 34-point first half lead and never looked back.
In the weeks following the game, the two teams went in different directions to finish the season.
San Jose would ride the momentum by winning three of their last four games and locking up the Pacific Division, their first division title since 2008. The wave of momentum carried through the AFL Quarterfinals as the SaberCats put together the most dominant performance of the week by dismantling last year’s League MVP Erik Meyer and the Spokane Shock, 55-28.
Arizona, on the other hand, lost three of four contests to finish out the season and lost their aura of invincibility. The team’s vulnerability was tested last week as the Portland Thunder—who went 5-14 in the regular season—took the defending champs to the wire.
The Thunder were actually in position to win the game, but quarterback Kyle Rowley lofted a pass on their final drive that fell right into the hands of Arizona defensive back Marquis Floyd to secure Arizona’s fourth straight Conference Championship appearance.
Now everything comes full circle as these bitter rivals meet to decide who’s going to the ArenaBowl.
“It’s obviously a big rivalry week,” said Arizona defensive end Cliff Dukes. “It just so happens it’s in the Conference Championship too.”
This is San Jose’s first trip to the Conference Championship since winning the American Conference, but falling short in ArenaBowl XXI in 2008.
Coach Darren Arbet and his team are looking to get back to the glory days.
“San Jose has been a great franchise for many, many years and pride comes into play,” said Hall of Fame coach Mike Dailey. “They want to get back to winning championships and there’s a lot of pride there.”
The Rattlers are looking to become the second franchise in AFL history to reach four straight ArenaBowls and looking to complete only the second three-peat in AFL history, as well. In order to do this, Arizona has to find a way to slow down the San Jose pass rush, which had a disruptive day in their last meeting.
The San Jose defensive line features Jason Stewart, who finished the season second in the League in sacks with 12.5; the 2012 Riddell Defensive Player of the Year, defensive end Joe Sykes; and Francis Maka, who is the glue of the defense and had a fumble return for a touchdown in the last game against Arizona.
“The lineman are going to play their butts off. San Jose has a good defensive line and a good overall team defense so we have to limit our miscues and play Rattler football in the Snake Pit,” said Arizona quarterback Nick Davila.
Outside of the trenches, one of the best matchups comes on the outside between the San Jose secondary and the Arizona receivers.
Arizona has always been able to overwhelm teams with their platoon of receivers, but San Jose is equally as deep with talented defensive backs. Along with reigning (and ageless) Riddell Defensive Player of the Year Clevan Thomas, players such as Ken Fontenette and David Hyland have been able to step up week after week.
“Everybody knows that we play man-to-man and that won’t change,” said Fontenette, who hauled in two interceptions last week. “If the receivers are going to make plays, we have to make sure that they have to be great to make those plays.”
The eternal chess match continues on the other side of the ball, as the Arizona defense will look to rattle rookie quarterback Nathan Stanley.
Despite being a rookie, Stanley has never really looked like a first-year player this season. Since taking over for Russ Michna in Week 12, the offense has not skipped a beat.
In the 15 games Stanley played, he completed 60 percent of his passes for 2,436 yards and 50 touchdowns.
On the June 27th game against Arizona, Stanley—who was only making his fourth career start—completed 14-of-22 passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns, seemingly outplaying his counterpart, Nick Davila.
Therefore getting to Stanley early will be key for the Arizona defense.
“Just get to him,” said Cliff Dukes. “We need our DBs to buy us some time so that we can get to him. Everybody is a little squeamish when they have bodies falling at their feet.”
Stanley is ready for the pressure that Arizona will be deploying on him.
“What makes Arizona so good is their pass rush,” said Stanley. “If we slow the guys down up front we should be all right. “
Arizona head coach Kevin Guy and San Jose head coach Darren Arbet are very familiar with each other. Besides playing one another multiple times a year, Guy served as the defensive coordinator for Arbet in San Jose from 2006-07, helping San Jose capture the ArenaBowl title in 2007.
Now, the two coaches will square off again to decide who represents the National Conference in ArenaBowl XXVII. Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPN2.