NEW ORLEANS – Call it the second season, if you will. Call it a return home, if you will.
The New Orleans VooDoo host the Cleveland Gladiators in their home opener Saturday night at 7 p.m. You can watch the game on Pelican Sports Network and listen to the game on Rush Radio 99.5, WRNO and at www.wrno.com.
The VooDoo opened their season on March 14 at Tampa Bay, losing to the Storm 62-57. In a strange scheduling quirk, the team enjoyed a bye week last week, though head coach Pat O’ Hara is not complaining.
“Normally, you would never want a bye just one week into the season,” O’ Hara said. “In this case, it benefits us due to the number of significant injuries we have.”
In the loss to Tampa Bay, starting quarterback Kurt Rocco went down in the third quarter with a shoulder injury and did not return. Reserve quarterback Ryan Perrilloux injured his throwing thumb on his first play from scrimmage but continued to play despite a small fracture.
Perrilloux will start against Cleveland with Rocco in reserve.
“I hope we don’t need to use Kurt,” O’ Hara said. “We would like to get him healed up more. Ryan has some discomfort but he is tough and ready to go.”
Perrilloux is thrilled with the opportunity.
“I feel I am ready,” Perrilloux said. “I am working through the thumb problem and I am excited to start and play before the home crowd. What I discovered in my first indoor game is that it is very fast, that you have to make quick decisions. Like in the outdoor game, you have to understand and read coverages.”
In addition, the VooDoo are banged up at wide receiver with starters Chase Deadder and Quorey Payne both out. Deadder is nursing a severe ankle sprain suffered in the Tampa Bay game while Payne is still rehabbing a sore Achilles.
To bolster the position, New Orleans welcomes back Carlese Franklin, who played for the team in 2011. Franklin signed this week and has practiced with the team. Additionally, New Orleans has placed defensive back Andre Kates on recallable assignment.
The return home refers to a return to Smoothie King Center, formally New Orleans Arena, which the VooDoo have called home since 2004. The VooDoo opened last season at the arena, defeating Orlando 51-45 in overtime before playing eight home games in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome due to renovations at the arena, truly lacking a home field advantage.
“The Superdome is a very nice facility but it is not ideal for Arena Football,” O’ Hara said. “The fan experience and noise that can help a home team simply was not a factor. We know it will be in the arena.”
New Orleans and Cleveland last met on June 1, 2013 in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome as the VooDoo beat the Gladiators 69-40. Rocco was 22-of-31 for 250 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions and Castile had three touchdown catches for New Orleans. The VooDoo forced four turnovers, picking off quarterback Chris Dieker three times. They sacked Dieker five times, including two by Marlon Favorite.
Dieker was 27-of-42 for 239 yards with four touchdowns and the three interceptions. Dominick Goodman had 12 catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns while Franklin of had seven receptions for 74 yards and a score and returned eight kickoffs for 168 yards against his former and now current team.
Dieker finished 27-of-42 for 239 yards with four touchdowns but three interceptions and was sacked five times. Goodman had 12 receptions for 85 yards and two scores while Franklin had seven catches for 74 yards and a score and returned eight kickoffs for 168 yards in his return home. Dieker finished 27-of-42 for 239 yards with four touchdowns but three interceptions and was sacked five times. Goodman had 12 receptions for 85 yards and two scores while Franklin had seven catches for 74 yards and a score and returned eight kickoffs for 168 yards in his return home.
The VooDoo are 4-0 all-time over Cleveland, but Coach Pat O’Hara says Cleveland will be tough.
“Cleveland is a much improved team from last year,” said O’Hara. “They beat Pittsburgh in Week 1, and their quarterback is playing at a high level. They’re playing well defensively and shut down Pittsburgh in the second half.”
Dieker had a monster performance in Cleveland’s season opening 63-53 win over Pittsburgh. he completed 24-of-36 passes for 251 yards and five touchdowns with just one interception and rushed eight times for 29 yards and four touchdowns as well, earning league MVP honors for the week.
Tyron Lewis had seven receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns, Tyrone Collins had eight catches for 65 yards and a score and Goodman had six catches for 29 yards. Defensively, Dominic Jones led the Gladiators with seven tackles while Willie McGinnis had a half a sack. LaRoche Jackson and Mario Norman each had an interception.
In the loss to Tampa Bay, Rocco completed 17-33 for 251 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions and ran for a score.
In his AFL debut, Perrilloux was 12-of-17 for 109 yards with a touchdown He also rushed for two scores but lost a key fumble that was returned for a touchdown. L.J. Castile led the receivers with 10 receptions for 169 yards and four touchdowns while Deadder had 10 catches for 95 yards and a score before going down in the third quarter.
Defensively, the VooDoo recorded three sacks, including two by linebacker Mike Alston and one by Xavier Brown. Eddie Moten was outstanding in the secondary, leading the team with five tackles and intercepting a pair of passes.
The kicking game struggled as a whole, with low snaps, shaky holds and a rookie kicker who rushed things a bit. O’ Hara is changing holders this week, going from Perrilloux to Skyler Green.
“We had some low snaps but we struggled with some holds and Taylor (Russolino) struggled with rushing his kicks a bit,” O’ Hara said. “He has to slow down a bit but he is a rookie.”
New Orleans committed four turnovers in the loss to Tampa Bay which proved fatal.
“We had the interceptions, the fumble which was returned for a touchdown and the bar ball on the kickoff that we should have recovered which they scored on,” O’ Hara said. “That said, we still scored 57 points and had a chance to win. I am encouraged by that but we must clean things up.”
Perrilloux concurs.
“You cannot make the mistakes we made and expect to win a game anywhere, especially on the road,” Perrilloux said. “If you turn the ball over, you lose. We will put a premium on ball security this week.”
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