By Aaron Wilson
A lot was riding on the line for the Houston SaberCats on Saturday night.
They were clinging to first place in the Western Conference division.
They were mired in a two-game losing streak.
Yes, they needed a win. Badly.
Mission accomplished, on all fronts.
The SaberCats manufactured a gritty comeback win over Nola Gold, earning a narrow victory in the Battle of the Bayous themed match before a raucous ‘Experience it Live’ crowd.
The 17-15 win improved the SaberCats’ record to 6-3 overall and maintains their first-place status.
“All of this, against our neighbors,” said Pita Anae-Ah Suh, who scored a try in the first half by powering through the Gold defense. “We knew we needed to get our season back on track. Happy to get the win. It wasn’t the prettiest, but we’re happy. We’re just taking it week by week, day by day, game by game. That’s how we’re seeing it.
“We just take each week as it comes. I just think the boys showed some good play to hold on. We were desperate, and the team just came together. Just unit, just fight for each other.”
Despite an early score from Ah-Suh, the SaberCats fell behind 12-5 by halftime.
They took control in the second half with Sam Tuifua scoring on a breakaway try followed by a conversion from Max Schumacher in the 46th minute.
A previous try from Taulatasi Tasi positioned the SaberCats to get back in control of the lead one week after a road loss to the Miami Sharks that was preceded by a loss to Los Angeles.
“It feels great, man, it feels good,” Seimou Smith said. “After losing to Miami, we had to come together as a team. We had a team meeting and we just asked ourselves: ‘Do we really want it? Because we understood the next eight games are going to be huge and crucial. We gave the analogy of Mount Everest. This game was like the bottom level of Mount Everest.“We just have to keep getting better every game and moving forward until the finals. Our defense is great. At no point, were we really under pressure and thought we were going to get scored on, you know? That first try from them, it was a wake-up call.”
Tuifua’s athleticism and instincts made a difference. He led the team with 107 meters made.
Emmanuel Albert led the SaberCats with 15 tackles, one more than teammate Johan Momsen.
The SaberCats, in a recurring issue, are leaving points off the board in the kicking game.
Overall, though, they were just pleased to snap their losing streak.
“We feel very good now,” Tasi said. “We spoke all week about ourselves and how can we come back from the two losses. We’re proud of the effort and proud of our boys. I think we’ve just got to have fun with it, just keep enjoying ourselves and hope for the best. We’re just going to keep going.”
Veteran Justin Basson, celebrated by the team after the match for his 50th Cap milestone, put the win into perspective.
“Every game is about coming together step by step,” Basson said. “We just keep doing better.”
