SaberCats Improve To 3-0 With 59-53 Win Over Force
May 5, 2002 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
San Jose SaberCats News Release
San Jose -- Three games. Three crucial stops. Three wins.
The San Jose SaberCats have begun to develop a winning pattern.
For the third consecutive week, the SaberCat defense used late-game heroics to earn a victory, this time stopping a Georgia Force drive with just under five minutes remaining to earn a 59-53 victory on Saturday at the Compaq Center.
San Jose trailed the Force for most of the game after falling behind 20-14 early in the second quarter.
Both clubs traded scores throughout the rest of the evening with the SaberCats never getting closer than 53-51 until they forced a Georgia field goal on fourth-and-10 with 12 minutes to play.
The Force's Scott Szeredy missed a 52-yard attempt and San Jose recovered the errant kick on its own 5-yard line.
On the ensuing play, SaberCat quarterback Mark Grieb completed a 45-yard touchdown pass to James Hundon. The two-point conversion pass from Grieb to Jerry Reese moments later provided the final margin of victory.
Hundon's fifth touchdown on the night tied a franchise record and it was Grieb's 150th career touchdown pass. Two weeks ago, the SaberCats opened the season with a 52-51 victory over Arizona when Clevan Thomas intercepted Rattler Sherdrick Bonner's pass with over a minute to play to preserve victory.
A week later on April 27, Bob McMillen returned an intercepted 46 yards for a game-winning 61-54 decision at Tampa Bay. For the second time in as many seasons, the SaberCats opened the season 3-0 and are the Arena Football League's lone undefeated team after Toronto dropped a 58-47 contest at Arizona.
On Saturday, San Jose looks to tie the franchise record for consecutive wins to open a season as they host Los Angeles at 7:30 p.m. After SaberCat kicker Daron Alcorn closed the Force lead to 20-17 with a with a 22-yard field goal midway through the second quarter, Georgia quarterback Kevin McDougal hit receiver Markeith Cooper on a 13-yard touchdown pass to open the Force lead to 26-17.
Grieb, who was knocked out of the game on the SaberCats previous possession, returned on the next series to complete a 15-yard touchdown pass to Hundon to close the gap to 26-24.
The rest of the night unfolded in similar fashion with both teams trading scores until San Jose had back-to-back defensive stops and offensive scores to close the game.
Grieb's 33 pass attempts on the night moved his career total to 709 and into first place on the SaberCats career chart.
Reese, Barry Wagner and Matt Kinsinger all had touchdowns on the night for the SaberCats.
Hundon finished the night with 184 receiving years.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 5, 2002
- SaberCats Improve To 3-0 With 59-53 Win Over Force - San Jose SaberCats
- Detroit Sinks the Destroyers 50-48 - Detroit Fury
- Phantoms Rattled by Mistakes - Toronto Phantoms
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