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T.Over and out: Wranglers cut ties with Terrell Owens
Photo courtesy of Oladipo Awowale - The Allen Wranglers released wide receiver and co-owner Terrell Owens on Tuesday after he made it known that he would not play in the team's upcoming two-game road trip.
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
The most high-profile acquisition in IFL history is no more.
With just three weeks remaining in the regular season, the Allen Wranglers will soldier on without the services of Terrell Owens, releasing the former NFL wide receiver Tuesday.
With the Wranglers at 6-5 and battling for a playoff spot, Owens recently made his intentions known that he would not be playing in the team's upcoming two-game road trip against the Nebraska Danger and Everett Raptors.
Signing on as a player and co-owner of the second-year franchise in February, Owens will no longer maintain an ownership stake in the team.
On the field, the wide-out's short-lived career with the Wranglers comes to an unceremonious close after playing in eight games. During that span, Owens totaled just 35 catches (33rd in the IFL) for 420 yards (29th) and 10 touchdowns (22nd).
Off the field, Owens drew the ire of management after failing to make a scheduled appearance at Children's Medical Center at Legacy in Plano on May 3, despite appearing in the Wranglers' next three games.
"The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back for Mr. Owens was his no-show to a scheduled appearance at a local children's hospital with other Wrangler players and coaches," Benizio said. "It is not the desire of the Allen Wranglers' organization to disappoint fans by having our most notable player miss a scheduled appearance."
The local buzz surrounding the receiver hasn't exactly maintained a fever pitch since setting a franchise attendance record of 5,711 for the Wranglers' season opener on Feb. 25. Numbers at the Allen Event Center have since dipped to 2,651 for May 19's 74-73 setback to the Raptors and most recently, 2,899 for Saturday's 59-41 loss to the Wichita Wild.
"Our fans are amongst the best in the league," said Jon Frankel, Allen co-owner, "and it is impossible to maintain a player when even our fans notice and comment on a player's lack of effort both on and off the field.
"We need to do what is best for this team, our fans and this community."
Wichita serves Allen fourth loss in five games
Consider the Wranglers in must win mode for the next three weeks.
That's where the margin for error stood after Saturday's 59-41 setback against the Wild -- the team's fourth loss in five games and most lopsided defeat of the season.
What Allen, now 6-5, hoped would be a bounce-back effort after being shocked in overtime by the Raptors one week prior instead nudged the team closer to a .500 mark it has eluded since March 25, 2011, in the fourth game in franchise history.
In the case of Saturday, it meant playing catch-up for just over three quarters after the Wild seized their first lead with 1:46 left in the first behind a 2-yard touchdown run by Marcus Jackson.
Wichita wouldn't relinquish that advantage, with Jackson's score part of a 28-0 run by the Wild that bridged the first and second quarters.
With Allen claiming a 14-3 advantage behind a 1-yard touchdown run by Casey Printers, Wichita's Miknedric Harper triggered the rally by taking a Printers interception 32 yards to the house. Jackson's score, punctuated by a 1-yard touchdown run from Callahan Bright and a 14-yard touchdown pass from Phil Staback to Tim Simmons, gave Wichita a 31-14 -- a margin Allen trimmed to 31-21 by the break.
During that stretch, the Wranglers committed four of their five turnovers on the night, including two lost fumbles by running back Darius Fudge -- one of which came on the Wichita 1-yard line.
The other two takeaways came via a pair of Printers interceptions in what was a disastrous evening for the Allen passing game. Between Printers and backup quarterback Maurice Avery, the Wranglers combined for 36 passing yards on 6-of-25 attempts with one touchdown and three interceptions.
The Wranglers fell back on their ground attack with Printers, Avery and Fudge combining for 121 yards and four touchdowns. Avery scampered for a 5-yard score four minutes into the third to draw the Wranglers within 31-28.
That would be as close as the Wranglers got.
Wichita countered a 50-yard kickoff return touchdown by Ramonce Taylor with three unanswered touchdowns for a 59-35 lead with 4:40 left in the eventual 59-41 victory.
The loss dropped the Wranglers into a tie for third place with Wichita at 6-5. Lurking two games back is the Nebraska Danger, whom Allen will look to right the ship against in a 7:05 p.m. Saturday road tilt.
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