Post by 50yardfan on May 19, 2011 22:58:47 GMT -5
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STOCKTON - The Stockton Wolves showed up ready to play football. They only wish their scheduled opponents would do the same thing.
For the second time in their first four home games, a team didn't show up and left the Wolves scurrying to find an opponent. On Saturday, the San Diego ThunderCats were replaced by the Stockton Hurricanes, a local semi-pro outdoor franchise that lost the exhibition to the Wolves 80-20 in front of a crowd of 1,000 at Stockton Arena.
Both teams came out determined to put on a good show for the fans, but Wolves head coach Bennie King said he was disappointed in the situation.
"It does look bad and it's very frustrating," King said. "We did what we could to avoid this, but we do thank the Hurricanes for coming in and giving us a game."
The Wolves were able to get the Las Vegas Cobras to replace the Utah Stealth when it backed out of a contest at Stockton on April 17, the same day that the ThunderCats pulled out of a game at Reno. King said he spoke to San Diego coach Justin McKenzie several times this past week.
"I talked to Justin on Monday and Wednesday and emailed him on Thursday, and everything was on. Then he texted me on Friday and said he wouldn't have enough guys to give us a game," King said. "That was it. No prior notification ... nothing."
McKenzie could not be reached for comment Saturday.
The Wolves announced the new matchup before the game, and there weren't any boos. Randy Jahoda of Tracy was attending his first game and said the change didn't bother him because, "It's still a game; it doesn't matter. It's fun; I'll come again."
Season-ticket holder Mark Kinney of San Jose agreed.
"What's great is that the Hurricanes showed love for the city and came out and put up a battle," he said. "But the Wolves are trying to make a business model that works, and when another team doesn't show up, it doesn't help."
The Hurricanes have an 8-0 record in the Central Valley Football League and play their home games at the Lodi Grape Bowl. Hurricanes coach Aaron Johnson said he received a call from King on Friday night, and he accepted the game even though his team had never played under arena rules.
"We thought it would be a good opportunity for us, and we wanted to support the Wolves," he said. "We had the referees explain the rules to us before the game and got ready to play."
Scott Linesburgh at (209) 546-8281 or slinesburgh@recordnet.com
STOCKTON - The Stockton Wolves showed up ready to play football. They only wish their scheduled opponents would do the same thing.
For the second time in their first four home games, a team didn't show up and left the Wolves scurrying to find an opponent. On Saturday, the San Diego ThunderCats were replaced by the Stockton Hurricanes, a local semi-pro outdoor franchise that lost the exhibition to the Wolves 80-20 in front of a crowd of 1,000 at Stockton Arena.
Both teams came out determined to put on a good show for the fans, but Wolves head coach Bennie King said he was disappointed in the situation.
"It does look bad and it's very frustrating," King said. "We did what we could to avoid this, but we do thank the Hurricanes for coming in and giving us a game."
The Wolves were able to get the Las Vegas Cobras to replace the Utah Stealth when it backed out of a contest at Stockton on April 17, the same day that the ThunderCats pulled out of a game at Reno. King said he spoke to San Diego coach Justin McKenzie several times this past week.
"I talked to Justin on Monday and Wednesday and emailed him on Thursday, and everything was on. Then he texted me on Friday and said he wouldn't have enough guys to give us a game," King said. "That was it. No prior notification ... nothing."
McKenzie could not be reached for comment Saturday.
The Wolves announced the new matchup before the game, and there weren't any boos. Randy Jahoda of Tracy was attending his first game and said the change didn't bother him because, "It's still a game; it doesn't matter. It's fun; I'll come again."
Season-ticket holder Mark Kinney of San Jose agreed.
"What's great is that the Hurricanes showed love for the city and came out and put up a battle," he said. "But the Wolves are trying to make a business model that works, and when another team doesn't show up, it doesn't help."
The Hurricanes have an 8-0 record in the Central Valley Football League and play their home games at the Lodi Grape Bowl. Hurricanes coach Aaron Johnson said he received a call from King on Friday night, and he accepted the game even though his team had never played under arena rules.
"We thought it would be a good opportunity for us, and we wanted to support the Wolves," he said. "We had the referees explain the rules to us before the game and got ready to play."
Scott Linesburgh at (209) 546-8281 or slinesburgh@recordnet.com