Wranglers 60, Renegades 54.
How did it happen? How did a team, who started the season with zero wins and three losses, come back and win eight of their next 11 games and be in first place in the division?
The Wranglers opened up their season with a couple of bad losses, one of them coming at the hands of their latest opponent, the Lubbock Renegades. In that game, the second of their three opening losses, the Wranglers gave up 75 points. In addition, the team couldn’t keep up with Lubbock’s high-powered offense, while the Wranglers defense couldn’t stop anyone.
So what happened?
Let’s take a closer look.
The first major change the Wranglers made was to add quarterback Andy Hall. He started game four, and hasn’t relinquished his role as the Wranglers field general since. Without Hall, the Wranglers highest point total (in the first three games) was 48. With him, they have scored more than 60 points three times. Most importantly, Hall commands attention in the huddle. Players seem to trust him and they truly believe he will get them to the end zone. The Wranglers are second in the league in total offense, averaging 291.6 yards/game this year, and I don’t think anybody is questioning Hall’s emergence has been a big reason for this dramatic turnaround.
Secondly, Austin has developed a running game. This sounds a bit strange for arena football because most of the points come through the air, but the Wranglers are fifth in the league in rushing with 38.3 yards/game and have scored 23 rushing touchdowns. With a good rushing game, opposing defenses have to be aware that the Wranglers might run the ball and not just rely on Hall’s right arm. A classic example was when the Wranglers played the Corpus Christi Sharks on June 14. Kamau Jackson ran for three scores, including the winning touchdown late in the game.
Lastly, the Wranglers have found a kicker. His name is Keita Iizuka. He’s not setting the league on fire or even connecting on half of his field goals (made five of 17, or 29%), but he’s connected on 65 of 79 extra points for an average of 82%. In addition, he’s made a few touchdown-saving tackles. But, what’s most telling is that Keita keeps his head under pressure. In this week’s game against the Renegades, he connected on a 38-yard field goal as time expired to send the game into overtime, which the Wranglers eventually won.
So, all of the pieces seem to be falling into place. And it’s happening at the best possible time with only two games remaining in the season.
There’s a question on the Wrangler’s website that asks the following: “How many games will the Wranglers win in 2008?”
The overwhelming answer?
Championship baby!
Maybe that’s a bit premature, but with the team playing with so much confidence, one can always hope.
This article appears in July 18 • 2008.