The same thing happened to Pan American Games medalist Olan Coleman, who led the league in kick returns for touchdowns and added 19 receiving touchdowns, to top the team in scoring and also become an IFL all-star.
But when the playoffs hit last Saturday, the Barracudas’ often-overlooked secondary emerged from the shadows and grabbed the spotlight.
Greg Brown, Roderick Knight and Rolandus Johnson intercepted a total of five passes and each scored a touchdown against the Alaska Wild last week to propel the Barracudas (9-6) to a semifinal game against the Corpus Christi Hammerheads at 6:05 p.m. Saturday in Robstown.
But Barracudas coach Chris Duliban insists that last week’s 71-18 win over the Wild wasn’t so much of a breakout game for the secondary.
“Those guys have been solid all year,” he said. “They’ve played like they’ve been together for 2-3 years.”
To an extent they have. Johnson and Knight are original members of the Barracudas. Brown, a Killeen Ellison product, debuted with the Barracudas at the beginning of the season and felt at home right away.
“It’s funny. Our coaches joke about it because we seem like we’ve all played together before,” Brown said. “That’s all it really takes though is two of the guys who have played together or three total guys who have played the game before and have a feel for how each other are. We have that natural feel. I know where Rod Knight is going to be. I know where RoJo is going to be.”
The secondary never really got noticed before last week, though. The Barracudas, while being the second-best scoring team in the league, have also struggled to contain teams defensively, allowing 53.9 points per game - third worst in the league. And opponents have scored 65 touchdowns in the air against CenTex, fourth worst in the league.
Perhaps that's why of the nine IFL all-stars the Barracudas have, only three are defensive players - Knight being the only member of the secondary.
The IFL knew that it wasn’t hard to throw against the Barracudas, but they sent a message last week that that’s no longer the case.
“I think it’s because we were all healthy,” Brown said of the game. “We work well together when we are all healthy and we’ve been banged up all year. I’ve missed games with a hamstring injury, Knight’s had leg problems, and RoJo has had some problems. We are all healthy and when we are, we play great as a unit.”
And it was important for the Barracudas to prove that last week.
“We always believed that we are pretty talented,” Knight said. “But just to come out and show our fans what we are really capable of was important for us. I think that proved that we are going to be a pretty tough opponent.”
And part of finding that proof came from challenging each other.
“We are always in competition,” Knight said. “We always want to see who can have the most picks, who will have the best stats at the end of the game. That pushes us all to work harder and have a better game.”
Knight leads the team with 11 interceptions, two returned for touchdowns. But against the Wild, Brown and Johnson each had two, to Knight’s one. And that’s where the competition tends to get fun.
“When I see Rod Knight get an interception, I am like I either have to get one or double it,” Brown said. “Last game we were on RoJo because he hadn’t scored a touchdown by halftime, and me and Rod had one.”
It didn’t matter to them that Knight’s touchdown technically came on a missed field goal when the Wild tried a pooch kick to a receiver. Knight caught the kick and scored. So to the secondary, it was counted as a score. It mattered only that Johnson hadn’t scored.
So Johnson wasn’t about to let his secondary mates hold that over him. With 5:15 left in the game, he intercepted a pass in stride, turned, found an opening and scored on a 30-yard return, 8 yards longer than Brown’s touchdown.
Johnson could have been content with the interception, which in itself had secured the Barracudas’ win. But that’s not how these guys function. They want the ball. When they get the ball, they want to score. And if they aren’t getting either, they get a little restless.
“I always get antsy,” Knight said. “I always want the ball thrown my way. I always want an interception. I always want to run one back no matter what.”
Added Brown: “The first thing you think is ‘catch the ball.’ Once you come down with it, you are looking for your blocks and, yeah, you are trying to get to the end zone. I’m not trying to go down. We like to make a series of moves to get to the end zone. If we get there, good. If we don’t, at least get close enough where it’s easy for the offense to score.”
And with a healthy and emerging secondary joining an already powerful offense, the Hammerheads may be well aware of what is heading to Robstown on Saturday night.
“We see each other in practice and we can say we are OK,” Brown said. “But when you get in a game and play as a group, then you see guys around me, you can’t help but think ‘Man, we have some pretty good talent on this team.’”
