Dorados face undefeated Talons

Rio Grande Valley Dorados coach Marty Hammond said arenafootball2's top-ranked Tulsa Talons are every bit as good as their ranking would indicate.

"They are a pretty good football team," Hammond said. "They are undefeated for a reason."

The defending league champion Talons are 6-0 and lead the af2 in scoring offense (65.7 points per game) and passing yards (1,626), just to name a few of the categories in which they top the league.

"I'll be honest when it comes to numbers and we are the best team quote unquote, I don't pay attention to any of that stuff," Talons coach Mitch Allner said. "We are only six games into the season. It doesn't mean a whole lot at this point."

For the first time this year, RGV (2-3) will be a true underdog at 7 tonight when it arrives at the Tulsa Convention Center.

"I don't mind being the underdog, people not giving us much of a chance to win" Hammond said. "I think last year it was kind of the opposite most of the time when we were expected to win all the time."

Tulsa, which is only one of two undefeated teams left, is also riding a 14-game win streak that date backs to last season, a run that the Dorados are familiar with.

RGV had their 14-game regular season winning streak snapped four weeks ago against Corpus Christi.

"I try not to think about (the streak)," Allner said. "The most important thing is the next game we are playing."

The Dorados, who ended a three-game skid last week with a win over Corpus, will try and put a halt to the Talons' winning ways.

An opening that Hammond said he sees with Tulsa is that the Talons have made mistakes and have fallen behind in games. Last week, Tulsa had to rally, scoring 21 unanswered points to beat Bossier-Shreveport.

"They are not unbeatable or anything like that," Hammond said. "They are undefeated but they are not so good that nobody is going to beat them.

"They do make mistakes. That has been there Achilles heel all year. Just like us, they have made mistakes. Hopefully, we can turn that corner and not make mistakes."

A win against Tulsa would mask the Dorados' slow start this season and put them back on the league radar.

"It is kind of a measuring stick because you are going up against a team that is undefeated to see where you are," Hammond said. "But at the same time if we don't win, it's not like we are not going to make the playoffs. It is a measuring stick but by no means will it determine our future."

EXTRA POINTS: Tulsa leads the series against the Dorados 2-3. ... The Dorados' Anthony Chambers' 199 yards receiving against Corpus last week is the second most all time in a single game by a RGV receiver. Former receiver Dwight Counter had 217 yards three years ago against Tulsa.

Peter Rasmussen covers the Rio Grande Valley Dorados for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4448.