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Destroyers Turn Corner: Franchise Has Never Produced More Than Six Wins in a Season

Posted on: Saturday, 1 April 2006, 15:00 CST

By Bill Rabinowitz, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

Apr. 1--The Destroyers have a chance to match a franchise record for victories in a season tonight.

Don't break out the champagne. Certainly, the Destroyers won't.

Since joining the Arena Football League in Buffalo in 1999, the Destroyers have not won more than six games in any season. They won only five games in their first two seasons in Columbus.

Heading into their road game tonight against the Dallas Desperados, the Destroyers (5-4) appear to have turned the corner. Their defense has allowed the fewest points in the league. Their offense has rebounded from a slow start.

The team's focus is on the future. Six victories is nothing more than a milepost on a longer journey.

"I think it probably means a lot more to the people who've been a part of this franchise for three years, because it's not significant to me," Destroyers coach Doug Kay said. "Six wins is certainly not significant. I guess it depends on where you set the bar."

But a victory over Dallas (7-2), coming on the heels of wins by a combined margin of 118-41 over Philadelphia and defending champion Colorado, should persuade skeptics that the Destroyers aren't the losers they've always been.

"We thought (beating) Philly might (silence doubters) when we held them to 20 points, but then again we're the Columbus Destroyers," defensive specialist Jerald Brown said. "Look at the history of the Destroyers. We don't have too many wins. We still don't get the same hype of the other teams that have the same record. We use that as motivation, sort of like the NCAA Cinderella teams."

So the Destroyers are arena football's version of George Mason?

"That's us in a nutshell," offensive specialist Carl Bond said.

Dallas defeated Columbus 52-38 on Feb. 11 in Nationwide Arena in what might have been Destroyers quarterback John Kaleo's low point of the season. He completed only 15 of 38 passes and threw two interceptions.

Since then, Kaleo's performance has improved as he has developed confidence in his receivers. Kaleo missed practice Tuesday because of a flulike illness but was back for the remaining practices.

A victory tonight would pull the Destroyers to one game of the Desperados, who are in first place in the National Conference's Eastern Division.

Though it's a bit early for any talk of must-wins, the National Conference is far tougher than the American. Of the nine teams in the National Conference, the expansion Kansas City Brigade is the only one not above .500. Kansas City's only win came in week four against the Destroyers.

It's safe to say Columbus is a different team now.

"I'm a football coach, so I'd like to be further ahead," Kay said. "I think in some aspects we've turned the corner as far as believing in ourselves, but I think that whole process takes time. If you put 27 new faces together, for all of them to all of a sudden believe in themselves, it's not going to happen right away. Maybe that's starting to happen. It's all a process, and this league is so unforgiving. It's so volatile."

For once, the Destroyers are on the fun side of that roller coaster.

brabinowitz@dispatch.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

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Source: The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

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