Panthers Check Renegades Into The Bates Motel

The Michigan Panthers improved to 4-2 on the year as they defeated the Arlington Renegades 28-27 in front of 7,428 excited fans at Ford Field.

 

For the Panthers, taking on a winless Renegades team, a lot of people thought this would be an easy game. However, if you watched Arlington this season, you knew that they were perhaps the greatest 0-5 team of all time. Coming into Sunday’s contest, the Renegades had lost three of their games on a last second play, they had the most prolific passing game in the league, and they still had an outside shot of getting into the playoffs. 

 

This whole setup just seemed like a perfect trap game for the Panthers, but somehow the Cardiac Cats did it again, as Michigan won their 4th game of the year, mostly off the leg of league darling, Kicker Jake Bates.

 

Backup QB Danny Etling was making his second start for the Panthers as EJ Perry continues to recover from a hamstring injury. Much like last week, Etling and the Panthers offense was able to get off to a quick start, marching down the field in large part due to quick releases and fantastic timing by Etling. Siaosi Mariner brought in the touchdown reception, and Wes Hills ran in the one point conversion, and Michigan was off to a quick 7-0 lead. 

 

After that, the teams traded field goals, first with Arlington kicker Jonathan Garibay hitting a 39 yard field goal, and then Jake Bates connecting on a 43 yard field goal. Before the 43 yard field goal, Bates nailed a 55 yarder but an offsides penalty kept the drive alive. 

 

In the second quarter, Arlington proved why they are a dangerous team that nobody should sleep on. First, they controlled the ball and the clock when they put together a 13 play drive that ate six minutes off of the clock and resulted in a Dae Dae Hunter rushing touchdown. Then, with 1:36 left in the second quarter, they took the ball 68 yards down the field and increased their lead to 17-10 when TE Sal Cannella caught a 19 yard touchdown.

 

However, that left the Panthers 29 seconds to get into Jake Bates range, which is pretty much anywhere on the field. A 16 yard pass to Trey Quinn and a 7 yard rush by Matthew Colburn set Bates up for a 60 yard chip shot, and the Panthers closed the gap, heading into halftime down 17-13.

 

For as good as the Panthers passing game was in the first half, the run game was fairly non-existent, and that carried into the third quarter. Michigan ran a lot of QB-RB option runs throughout the first three quarters with very little success. Hills and Colburn were able to rip off a few small runs, but nothing longer than 7 yards for either running back. Based on previous weeks, this looked like it was going to be the downfall for Michigan. When they can’t sack the quarterback (Michigan only had one sack this game) and when they can’t get their traditional running game going, it tends to result in losses for the Panthers. 

 

Fortunately for the Panthers, they were able to control the 3rd quarter, much as they’ve done all year. A Panthers drive seemed doomed when Etling threw an interception early in the quarter, but that was negated by a pass interference call. Then, a 44 yard field goal by Bates was taken off the board when Arlington committed yet another special teams penalty, this time a Roughing the Kicker call. However, the Panthers once again could not capitalize on the drive extender, ultimately settling for a 29 yard field goal, and the score was 17-16 Arlington after three quarters.

 

Arlington tried to put the game away when their first drive of the fourth quarter ended with Javonta Payton took an end around to the house and extended Arlington’s lead to 24-16 with 12:45 left in the game. 

 

For whatever reason, the Panthers have decided to save their best playing for the fourth quarter. Following the Renegades touchdown, Michigan put together a five minute drive but was again kept out of the end zone. Jake Bates came back onto the field to hit his fourth field goal of the game, this one a 49 yarder, and the Panthers kept the game close at 24-19. 

 

It was at this point that the Renegades made the first of two critical errors. On their next drive, the Renegades faced a 4th down and 1 from their own 46 yard line. Instead of punting the ball and relying on the defense to keep Michigan out of the end zone, like they had done the entire game minus the first drive, they tried to rush for the first down and were stuffed. It was reminiscent of when St. Louis pulled a similar move in week one, electing to go for a fourth and goal instead of kicking the field goal. That play changed the momentum in week 1, and it happened again in week 6.

 

Michigan immediately capitalized on the turnover on downs when Danny Etling scrambled for 40 yards and took the ball all the way down to the Arlington 6. Two plays later, Wes Hills pounded the ball in from the goal line, which seems to be becoming a specialty of his. The two point conversion failed, but Panthers had retaken the lead, 25-24, with 3:44 to go. 

 

Arlington seemed determined to get this win, and with the game winding down, they were marching down the field. With 1:08 to go, the Renegades were facing a 2nd-and-9. They were already in field goal range (it would have been a 50 yard kick), and the Panthers only had one timeout remaining. Traditional football logic dictates that Arlington should have run the ball on second down, forcing Michigan to take their last time out, then run the ball again on 3rd down, allowing the Renegades to go for the game winning field goal with nearly no time remaining. 

 

Instead, Arlington QB Luis Perez attempted a hard count, and when it looked like the Panthers had jumped offsides, he hiked the ball and attempted what he thought was a free play, with a long pass down the sidelines falling incomplete. However, no penalty was called, and since Arlington was out of timeouts, they could not challenge the no-call. They ran the ball on 3rd down, and Michigan used their last timeout. Garibay hit the 48 yard field goal to put Arlington back on top 27-25. However, there were 59 seconds still left in the game, instead of the approximately 19 seconds that would have remained had Arlington run the ball on second down. 

 

Well, 59 seconds is an eternity for the Panthers, and when Marcus Simms returned the ensuing kickoff all the way to the Arlington 46 yard line, they were already in field goal range. If that wasn’t bad enough, Arlington committed a facemask on the play, moving the ball 15 yards closer to the 31. Danny Etling ran for two more yards, setting up the ball right in the middle of the hash marks. With three seconds to go, Jake Bates came on to connect on his 5th (technically 7th) field goal attempt of the game, a 42 yarder to win the game.

 

The one point victory for Michigan gives them a 3 game lead on Houston and Memphis for the second playoff spot in the USFL division. With only four games remaining, including rematches with both of those teams, the Panthers control their own destiny, and should be making the playoffs for a second straight year.

 

After the game, TE Sal Cannella stressed how this Arlington team does not feel like an 0-6 team. Arlington can hang with anybody in the league, however they just can’t seem to get over the hump. Cannella is a positive guy and a clear leader in the locker room. Whatever happens for the Renegades moving forward, they can rely on him to be a positive force for the team.

 

In the post-game press conference, Renegades Coach Bob Stoops implied that the no-call on that play had cost Arlington the game, which is ridiculous seeing as the penalty would not have resulted in a first down, and Arlington still could not have totally killed the clock without the first down. Stoops is right, in the sense that that play did ultimately cost Arlington the game, but it wasn’t the refs, it was his own staff’s playcalling. 

 

We got the chance to speak to CB Nate Brooks and QB Danny Etling on the field after the game. When asked to describe this game in one word, they both came up with the same answer: Win. 

 

Next week, the Panthers (4-2) travel to Washington to take on the DC Defenders (3-3). That game will air on ESPN on Sun. May 12 at 12:00 EST.

 

Next week Arlington (0-6) will host the Memphis Showboats (1-5). That game will air on ESPN on Sat. May 11 at 1:00 PM EST.

 

*Side note* It can’t be stressed enough how much of a hero Jake Bates has become for this Panthers team. Not only does he make ridiculously long field goals look easy, but he does it in a way that resonates with the Michigan population. He is humble, he tends to avoid the spotlight, and just wants to do a good job to help his team win. There isn’t an ounce of ego in that young man, and he has completely endeared himself with the Panthers fans. When Michigan was stopped short in the first quarter, the fans started to cheer before the field goal team even took the field, because they knew Jake Bates was about to make his appearance. 

 

There is no doubt that several teams will be inviting Bates to tryouts this summer, but the Lions could use a kicker, and I can’t think of a more appropriate ending to this story than Jake staying right here in Detroit and kicking in the stadium where he still remains perfect.