July 27,2014
San Jose Sabercats Press Release
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The
San Jose Sabercats (13-5) finished the regular season with a win over the
Iowa Barnstormers (6-12), 72-43, on Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines in front of 8,051 fans. Quarterback
Nathan Stanley returned to form with a 314-yard and six-touchdown performance, and wide receiver
Reggie Gray
earned his Big Play nickname with three receiving scores and one
kickoff return for a touchdown. SaberCats wide receiver Ben Nelson,
playing his first game since May of 2012, picked up six catches for 105
yards in his return.
Hitting the turf first, Barnstormers quarterback
Carson Coffman quickly moved the offense down field for a touchdown, finding wide receiver
Julian Williams
on a nine-yard out route to put the home team up 7-0. After a fumbled
handoff attempt by San Jose was recovered by the Barnstormers, Coffman
snuck into the end zone from one-yard out to extend the Iowa lead to 14
late in the first quarter.
Opening up the second quarter in the red zone, fullback
Odie Armstrong
got the SaberCats on the board with a one-yard run to trim the Iowa
lead to 14-7. The San Jose defense came up big on Iowa’s next
possession, with key pass breakups by defensive backs
Simeon Castille and
Ken Fontenette, and a fourth down sack from defensive end
Joe Sykes gave the ball back to San Jose. After an impressive 33-yard catch-and-run by offensive lineman
Rich Ranglin, quarterback
Nathan Stanley
got into the end zone from one-yard out to tie the game at 14. On the
next offensive play, SaberCats defensive back David Hyland ripped the
ball away from Iowa wide receiver
Darius Reynolds
to give the ball right back to the offense. Making good on the short
field, Armstrong would find the end zone for the second time to give San
Jose their first lead of the night at 21-14. The SaberCats defense
would continue to disrupt the Barnstormers, forcing their second
turnover on downs with one minute remaining in the half. One play later,
Stanley looked deep for wide receiver
Reggie Gray,
and connected on an incredible diving catch from 32-yards to put San
Jose up 28-14. After recovering an onside kick attempt, Coffman wasted
little time finding Reynolds on the 12-yard fade route to bring Iowa
back within seven points. Gray would continue his big second quarter,
returning the ensuing kickoff to the Barnstormers ten-yard line followed
by a nine-yard touchdown reception to put the SaberCats back up by 14.
Ending the first half, Iowa kicker
Ross Gornall knocked through a 43-yard field goal attempt to bring the halftime score to 35-24 in favor of the road team.
The SaberCats offense continued to click to start the third quarter, as
Stanley found Gray for their third touchdown connection of the night.
Coffman responded for the Barnstormers, finding Reynolds in the back of
the end zone for the score. On the ensuing drive, Stanley found wide
receiver
Dominique Curry
from ten-yards out to put the SaberCats back up by 18 at 49-31. Hoping
to keep pace, Coffman looked deep on Iowa’s next possession, but
Fontenette picked him off at the San Jose ten-yard line.
SaberCats wide receiver
Jason Willis,
celebrating his 34th birthday, picked up his 12th touchdown of the
season to put San Jose up 56-31 early in the fourth. The Barnstormers
wouldn’t go away just yet, as Coffman connected with leading receiver
Marco Thomas for a score, but SaberCats linebacker
Francis Maka
would block the extra point to keep the score at 56-37. However,
Stanley continued to execute, throwing his 50th touchdown of the season
to Curry, his 25th receiving score, for a 26-point advantage late in the
fourth quarter. Hyland would take down Iowa returner
Mervin Brookins in the end zone for a safety, and Iowa would tack on a late touchdown by wide receiver
DeJay Lester to bring the final score to 72-43 in favor of the SaberCats.