Piranhas Put Sting on Rattlers With Game-Saving Play at End

The Piranhas didn’t win the Super Bowl or even the Arena Bowl Saturday night. They simply won a regular-season game.

But their 48-44 last-second victory over division-rival Arizona had the 12,109 at the Pond on their feet and the players leaping into each others’ arms like they had won the Super Bowl.

“I hope it was exciting enough for you,” Piranha Coach Babe Parilli said. “If you can’t enjoy that, I don’t know what you can enjoy.

” . . . We’ve had guys that played in the NFL and they were extended to their limit tonight. They left it on the field.”

Some of the Piranhas’ joy can be attributed to their 3-0 record, which puts them a game ahead of Arizona in the Western Division. But most of it had to do with the way they won--stopping Arizona from scoring a touchdown on the game’s final play.

Even though Ian Howfield’s 38-yard field goal gave the Piranhas a 48-44 lead with 49 seconds left, the Arizona Rattlers controlled their destiny. The Rattlers, the Arena League’s highest-scoring team at 58 points per game--only had to go 45 yards in 49 seconds with three timeouts.

It took the Rattlers 39 seconds to go from their five to the Piranha eight. On Arizona’s first attempt to score, the Piranhas’ defensive line caused Rattler quarterback Sherdick Bonner to scramble and then hurry a throw that went out of bounds.

With two seconds left, Bonner appeared to have receiver Hunkie Cooper open at the goal line. But he had to reload when Piranha linebacker Sam Fernandez got in the way of his sidearm delivery. Bonner eventually threw a line drive over everyone’s head and the celebration was on.

“The last play I had a man wide open,” said Bonner, who completed 29 of 49 passes for 333 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. “I just overthrew it.”

Arizona Coach Danny White said Bonner had receivers open on both plays, but the last two plays did not decide the game. Instead, he pointed to his kicker, Andy Trakas, who missed an extra point and a 23-yard field goal with three minutes left.

“If we make that field goal, we don’t have to go for the touchdown at the end,” he said. “The field goal and the extra point was the difference in the game. [Trakas] has been perfect in the first two games. Everyone is entitled to an off night. He just picked tonight to be his night.”

Piranha receiver Adrian Jarrell has also been nearly perfect--catching 21 passes in two games. But Saturday was not his night either. He dropped a touchdown pass in the third quarter and then his fumbled kickoff set up Trakas’ field goal that would have given Arizona a 47-44 lead.

“We tried to give it to them,” Parilli said. “We got lucky.”

But they also made big plays. Rodney Mazion gave the Piranhas a 45-37 lead with 9:27 left when he returned a kickoff 57 yards for a touchdown. He also had an interception and was voted the game’s MVP for the second week in a row.

Howfield missed his first two field goals of the season but connected from 36 and 38 yards and did not miss an extra point.

“You have to give Anaheim credit,” White said. “They made the plays when they had to.”