Saturday, Jun. 06, 2009

Banged-up Fever gives ball to Inoue

By Ben Reynolds, Herald staff writer

Pat O'Hara hasn't had any luck finding a cure for his atrocious offense stateside, so he has enlisted some international help.

The Tri-Cities Fever coach is turning to Japanese quarterback Tomotsuna Inoue tonight in Stockton in hopes of providing some kind of spark and consistency to the arenafootball2 league's worst offense.

Inoue is the fourth quarterback to start for the Fever (1-8) this season.

"It's no secret," O'Hara said, "we have got to play better offensively."

Inoue, who was acquired in a trade with Amarillo, played nearly three quarters last week in a 61-20 loss to top-ranked Spokane.

After throwing two second-quarter touchdowns, Inoue and the Fever offense went scoreless in the second half. He finished 14-of-26 for 182 yards with two scores and one interception.

Inoue, who speaks limited English, says he is grateful to O'Hara for the opportunity to start.

"I have to do the best I can," Inoue said.

Inoue steps into a tough situation if the Fever was healthy. But it's not.

Leading receiver Tremayne Kirkland and utility player Chris Hemphill did not make the trip to Stockton because of injuries.

Kirkland, who leads the team with 60 catches for 699 yards and 13 touchdowns, is hampered by a sore hamstring. He is coming off one of his best games of the season with eight catches for a career- high 137 yards.

Hemphill, who had four catches and a pass breakup, is suffering from a contusion in his knee.

Both are listed as day-to-day.

Emery Beckles, Finas Rabb, Chase Reed and Ray Little are all expected to see time at receiver. The four have combined to catch just 56 passes for five TDs.

"We're going to need some guys to step up," O'Hara said.

Since beating the Lightning for its only win of the season May 9, the Fever has scored just 48 points in two games -- losses to Boise and Spokane.

There are 18 teams in the af2 that average more than 48 points per game.

Stockton has gone the other way since losing to the Fever. The Lightning has won two of its last three games, and quarterback Chad Cavender has settled in nicely.

The rookie from Sioux Falls University has thrown for nearly 900 yards and 20 touchdowns.

If the Fever can somehow find a way to walk out with a win tonight, it will have won the season series against the Lightning. It is the only season series the Fever can win this season.

"We just have to do the basics," O'Hara said. "We need to be consistent."

w The Fever's last road win came May 24, 2008, at Stockton. Quarterback Tali Ena threw for 202 yards and four touchdowns in a 44-21 win. The Fever has since lost eight straight road games.

w Fever nose guard Chuck Jones will make his second start in two weeks. Jones was activated from team suspension last week after missing five games.

w The Fever was assigned quarterback Colin Drafts earlier this week. Drafts, who nearly led the Fever to an upset of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the 2007 playoffs, was released from Amarillo earlier this week. O'Hara said he is unsure if Drafts will return to the Tri-Cities at this point.

w The Fever was assigned defensive back Nickolas Patterson (6-foot-1, 208 pounds) from Ohio State. He is expected to play tonight.

w Defensive back/linebacker Kwame Agyeman has been activated from the practice squad.