By Brian Bohl
UNONDALE- John Walker needed to delve into his memory bank to recall the last time he intercepted three passes in a single game. The defensive back didn’t notch the feat during a four-year college career for USC, nor did he get the chance to get on the field after signing with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent two seasons ago.
Walker needed to think back to his days growing up in Van Nuys, Ca. to recall the last time he recorded a cornerback’s hat trick.
“High school was the last time I had three picks,” Walker said with a smile after his Dragons defeated Grand Rapids, 63-34, at the Nassau Coliseum Saturday night. “It’s kind of surreal. It won’t set in until I break the film down. There were a lot of mistakes I made in the game. I don’t feel like I played great.”
Rampage quarterback James MacPherson was harassed into throwing four interceptions and the Dragons’ (2-4) defense generated six turnovers overall. Billy Parker and rookie Levy Brown started the season as the primary cornerbacks and provided stellar press coverage for the second straight week.
But if Walker can dominate like he did for Birmingham High School in San Fernando Valley, coach Weylan Harding suddenly might claim a defense capable of overtaking rivals Philadelphia and Dallas in the Arena Football League’s Eastern Division.
Both the Soul and Desperados are off to 6-0 starts. The Dragons have three games remaining against both, losing the first meeting to Philly on the road earlier in the campaign. A 1-5 ledger would have put the Dragons in an early hole for a wild card spot; a predicament avoided thanks to an opportunistic offense and a strong defensive effort to hold Grand Rapids off the scoreboard through the opening two quarters.
“I describe it as kind of watching your kids run for the first time,” Harding said. “You see the talent, you tell them what you see, and you finally see those guys put everything together. It was like watching your kids take their first steps, but they took off on a dead sprint in the first half.”
Harding brought in Brown and Walker in the offseason to bolster a secondary that was frequently burned during a 5-11 finish last year. The coach also traded veteran receiver Mike Horacek for proven pass rusher Henry Taylor. Parker, a holdover on that group, now plays with two ball-hawking defensive backs and a defensive line capable of collapsing the pocket and forcing poor throws.
That strategy worked to perfection when Taylor recovered a MacPherson fumble and Grand Rapids couldn’t find the end zone for long stretches. That was the blueprint Harding employed in the offseason. Part two required an opportunistic offense.
Quarterback Aaron Garcia delivered on that front, throwing seven touchdown passes. All of the Dragons 21 first-quarter points came off turnovers, as Garcia made those defensive stops stand up, snapping a three-game losing streak by hitting Chris Anthony for four touchdowns.
Garcia looked fully recovered from leg injuries that kept the 37-year-old out of two games. The 8,211 fans might have held their breath after his quarterback sneak in the first half. Instead of an injury, Garcia recorded a rushing touchdown, giving him eight total TDs and earning him Offensive Player of the Game honors.
“We have to continue to get better as an offense or it won’t matter what they do,” said Garcia about the defense. “They played a great game last week and we came out on the short end. This is the first time that we were able to play two weeks in a row together and you can’t get in sync like that. Tonight, we had our timing down.”
The Dragons have 10 more regular season games to prove the results against the Rampage were more than just an aberration. Harding’s team hosts Columbus Sunday afternoon before heading to Tampa Bay the following week.