Arizona Hotshots (4-3) vs. San Antonio Commanders (5-2)
When, where: Saturday, 7 p.m., Alamodome
TV: 7 p.m., NFL Network
Last meeting: Commanders 29, Hotshots 25
Hotshots last week: Beat San Diego Fleet 32-15, Sunday, Tempe, Ariz.
Commanders last week: Beat Salt Lake Stallions 19-15, Saturday, Alamodome
Hotshots head coach: Rick Neuheisel
Hotshots general manager: Phil Savage
Commanders head coach: Mike Riley
Commanders general manager: Daryl Johnston
Commanders players with San Antonio ties: Running back Aaron Green (Madison High School / TCU), wide receiver Josh Stewart (College Station / UTSA), Joseph Zema (Melbourne, Australia / Incarnate Word).
Ticket information: (210) 944-0504
GAME PREVIEW
(The game notes are at the bottom of the story.)
SAN ANTONIO – All week, the Commanders said they didn’t dwell on the opportunity to clinch a playoff berth with a victory over the Arizona Hotshots on Sunday.
“Not really thinking too much about it,” quarterback Logan Woodside said. “We’re taking it one day at a time, one week at a time. We know this is a big game for us, but when you keep winning games, like Coach (Mike) Riley said, every game gets bigger. Yeah, it’s a big test for us. It’d be great be back here (at the Alamodome) in front of these fans again and to play.”
Woodside, who hurt his left shoulder in last week’s 19-15 win over the Salt Lake Stallions, pronounced himself good to go and will start his eighth consecutive game Sunday.
The Commanders (5-2) will put a four-game winning streak on the line when they play the Hotshots (4-3) in a rematch of AAF West Division opponents. San Antonio beat Arizona 29-25 in Week 5, racing to a 26-0 halftime lead before holding off a furious Hotshots rally.
Riley and Daryl Johnston, the club’s general manager, praised their players for staying focused during a week in which news broke that AAF majority investor Tom Dundon said the fledgling league could soon fold if it can’t reach an agreement with the NFLPA to use NFL practice players in its second season.
Johnston spoke to the team before Thursday’s workout.
“I was blown away by their practice today,” Johnston told reporters later. “They’ve always done what we’ve asked them to do. They’re such a class act. I couldn’t be happier for how they came out. We challenged them. It’s going to be hard.
“There’s going to be distractions because of the stories and the narratives that are out there, and just can you earn the right to win again this week, and the way you have the last four? They did a great job and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Riley has taken a pragmatic approach to dealing with the uncertainty about the future of the Alliance of American Football.
“What we’ve got right now is we’re going to make the most of each day,” Riley said. “Everything else is kind of out of our control. We’re obviously all hopeful, but our main focus is getting ready for the game, and then seeing what tomorrow and the next day brings.
“What we’ve tried to do is keep things consistent, have good practices. This is a great group of guys. They’ve practiced great. Worked at it hard. I think they’re excited about playing a big game.”
For the players, it’s been business as usual.
“I feel good,” Woodside said, when asked about his injured left shoulder. “I think I got like kind of a stinger. Good thing we had ‘Quise’ come in and make some plays and help us go down and score and win that game.”
“Quise” is backup quarterback Marquise Williams, who replaced Woodside with 10:36 left and the score tied 9-9.
"When I saw him hurt, he told me, 'Get ready to go,' Williams said, referring to Woodside. "When he said, 'Get ready to go,' I was ready to go. And he told me, 'Go finish it.' So I went and finished it.”
Williams, a North Carolina alum, directed the Commanders on a nine-play, 70-yard drive that he ended with a 36-yard scoring strike to running back Trey Williams on a swing pass. Williams threw to Greg Ward Jr. for the two-point conversion that put San Antonio up 17-9 with 5:24 left.
After Salt Lake stormed back to cut San Antonio's lead to 17-15 with a 21-yard pass from Josh Woodrum to running back Terrell Newby on the first play after the two-minute warning, Bausby picked off Woodrum's two-point conversion pass. Bausby didn't stop running until he crossed the goal line for two points the other way.
Woodside and Marquise Williams became fast friends in training camp and share a tight bond.
“He did a great job getting in there,” Woodside said of Marquise Williams. “I was happy for him, go down and make some plays, use his legs a little bit and played well.”
Impressed with Williams’ command of the offense last week, Riley said there’s a possibility he could rotate Woodside and Williams on Sunday.
“We feel real good about the opportunity, whenever we want to, to play Marquise,” Riley said. “It may not be a set rotation, but we feel great about playing him.”
Asked how he would feel about sharing time with Williams, Woodside said: “Whatever’s best for the team. That’s all I’m here for, is to win games.”
Notable: The Commanders needed Salt Lake to beat San Diego on Saturday to have a chance to clinch a playoff spot Sunday -- and the Stallions obliged, beating the Fleet 8-3 in Salt Lake City . . . San Antonio has won four consecutive games since losing to San Diego in Week 3 . . . The Commanders jumped out to a 26-0 halftime lead in their first meeting with the Hotshots in Tempe, Ariz., in Week 5 . . . Arizona's head coach is Rick Neuheisel, who quarterbacked the San Antonio Gunslingers during their two seasons (1984, '85) in the United States Football League. Commanders coach Mike Riley and Neuheisel have met five times as head coaches. Before this year, they split four games from 2008-11, when Riley was at Oregon State and Neuheisel at UCLA. Riley won the first two meetings and Neuheisel took the second two . . . Commanders punter Joseph Zema was named AAF special teams player of the week for his performance in the victory over Salt Lake. Zema, who played at Incarnate Word, punted five times for a 46.6-yard average. His longest punt was 54 yards and he placed one punt inside the 20. Zema also made two tackles, one of which stopped a potential touchdown on a punt return . . . San Antonio leads the AAF in sacks (21), takeaways (19) and interceptions (13). Linebacker Jayrone Elliott is No. 2 in sacks with 6.5, and cornerback De'Vante Bausby leads in interceptions with four . . . The Commanders lead the AAF in home attendance, averaging crowds of 29,176 in their first three games at the Alamodome. Their home attendance has increased with each game. A crowd of 27,857 gathered for the season opener on Feb. 9, and 29,176 were on hand for the second game eight days later. After playing four straight weeks on the road, the Commanders drew a crowd of 30,345 to their game against the Salt Lake Stallions last Saturday. The attendance is an AAF record . . . Each of the eight AAF teams plays a 10-game regular season . . . The top two teams in the East and West Divisions will advance to the playoffs, with the championship game scheduled for Saturday, April 27, at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco.
