Saturday, Jul. 18, 2009

Banged up Fever not ready to concede anything just yet

By Ben Reynolds, Herald staff writer

If there was any question if the players and coaches have phoned in the season, take five seconds to talk to Tremayne Kirkland.

"I'm excited," the Tri-Cites Fever wide receiver said about tonight's game at Rio Grande Valley.

Kirkland's case may be a little different than most because he has had to sit and watch from the sidelines for the last six weeks with a hamstring injury.

But he says every one of his teammates still has something to prove.

"We are still auditioning for jobs somewhere," he said. "Whether or not we are here and it's for coach (Pat) O'Hara."

Kirkland, who has missed the last five games, will make his return tonight for a Fever team trying to end an 11-game road losing streak. Even more, the Fever, as a franchise, is trying to win its first game in three seasons in the month of July.

"I know it's getting old, but we just need to play hard and limit our mistakes," O'Hara said.

Despite being out since the first of June, Kirkland still leads the Fever in receptions (60), receiving yards (699) and touchdowns (13), and will play his first game with quarterback Colin Drafts.

But while Kirkland is healthy and gives the offense a deep threat it's been missing, the Fever is banged up along both the offensive and defensive lines.

Jake Forshey, Chuck Jones, Julian Riley, Baron Harrell and Jo'Artis Ratti will not play this week for a variety of reasons, leaving O'Hara with some patchwork lines on both sides.

The one area on the field that the Fever has managed to keep intact is the defensive secondary. And that unit will be put to the test tonight against a Dorados' offense that ranks first in the league in yards.

Rio Grande Valley (7-7) is putting up almost 330 yards of offense per game. In comparison, the Fever ranks last in the league, averaging just 217 yards per game.

Dorados quarterback Nick Hill is in the midst of a record-breaking season, leading the af2 in passing yards with 4,202 and has been in on 97 touchdowns (12 rushing, 85 passing).

His favorite target is Rod Windsor, who is tied for the af2 lead with 166 receptions -- the most single-season catches in league history. Windsor is second in the league with 52 touchdown catches and receiving yards at 2,111.

"They keep things pretty simple," O'Hara said. "But they are effective in what they do."

On the flipside, the Dorados defense ranks near the bottom of the league, allowing nearly 57 points per game.

However, the Fever has not scored 50 points in a game this season and crossed the 40-point plateau just three times. Two of those were wins.

"We need to finish strong," Kirkland said.

-- It looks like receiver Tommy Devereaux will play tonight, with Finas Rabb being moved to the practice squad with an injured shoulder.

-- Former Fever quarterback Ryan Porter was injured last week in Central Valley's loss to Stockton. Earlier this week, the Coyotes picked up another former Fever quarterback Jimmy Collins, and he will likely play this week. He is the third former Fever quarterback on Central Valley's roster this season (Porter, Collins and Joe Ayoob).

-- With Stockton's win last week, it clinched the final playoff spot in the National Conference.