"It's hard to win a football game."

The phrase is used routinely by coaches who have climbed the mountain top to win championships.  It's not difficult to win the last game; it's difficult to win any game.

Now the General Manager and Head Coach of the Bay Area Panthers, Darren Arbet fondly remembers his final season with the San Jose Sabercats in 2015, culminating with a championship in ArenaBowl XXVIII in his hometown of Stockton.  

San Jose trailed 33-27 at the half before going on a 34-0 run to seize control on the way to a 68-47 for the franchise's first championship since 2007.   As the top-seed, San Jose earned home field advantage.  However the game was moved because the SAP Center had already been booked with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.  Even with the last-minute scramble, the game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 9,115 at the Stockton Arena.   It was the fourth title for Arbet, who moved into second place for AFL playoff wins as San Jose became the first professional football franchise to win 20 games in a season.

In the record-setting season, the Sabercats had the AFL's highest scoring offense and best defense.  However, there were major challenges en route to the championship.

The Sabercats survived a fourth quarter comeback by Tampa Bay to escape with a victory in Week 3.
 
The following weekend, they needed to go back to Florida and left Jacksonville with an emotionally charged win against the team San Jose would face in ArenaBowl XXVIII.

San Jose clawed to a 70-58 over Cleveland in Week 9.  The Sabercats rallied from 14 points down in the first half as Erik Meyer threw for 406 yards and 9 touchdowns.  

"Erik's a great quarterback and he's going to go down as one of the best," Abet told the media after the game."  He's been an MVP in this league and having him back and healthy is a big plus for this team."

The wakeup call happened on June 13 when the expansion LA KISS left the SAP Center with a stunning 48-42 win in overtime.  The KISS had the league's worst record to pull off the biggest upset of the season.

"That game was a wake-up call to letting them know even though our bodies didn't feel good, we still have to compete and LA made one more play than us to win the game," said Arbet.  "We learned we still have to make plays.  After that game is when we got tough.  We didn't care about how our bodies felt.  We fought through it and played hard every game."

A month later, they escaped with a 55-49 win over Portland with the Thunder leaving San Jose with the confidence they could win with another shot in the playoffs. 

In that postseason matchup, the Sabercats sent a message with a 55-28 win to punch their ticket to the conference final.

Waiting there were the Arizona Rattlers, the three-time defending champions who had played in the last four ArenaBowls.  San Jose was on the ropes when Nick Davila connected with Kerry Reed on an 8-yard scoring pass with 40 seconds left for a 67-63 lead.  With one final shot, Erik Meyer connected with Reggie Gray on a 6-yard score with 8 seconds left, surviving a replay review for a 70-67 win.  Gray was named the game's MVP. 

"Arizona is always a well-coached team with Kevin Guy.  That game in Stockton was a fight to the finish and we were fortunate to end the night with a few more points than them.  Anytime you play a great team like Arizona and win, you have to enjoy those moments."

Although the game against the Rattlers felt like the championship, the coronation would come the following week with a win over Jacksonville.  It would turn out to be the final game in franchise history.

"I'll never forget that moment," said Arbet, who became the second coach in league history to win four ArenaBowls. "It's special. We won one in San Jose, one in Arizona, one in New Orleans. But for me personally, that was the neatest for me doing it in Stockton. It means everything to me, to be able to do it here with everything Stockton has been through."

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The Bay Area Panthers 2023 home games, with dates and matchups, are listed below

Sunday, March 26, 5:05 PM v. Arizona Rattlers
Sunday, April 16, 5:05 PM v. Tucson Sugar Skulls
Sunday, April 23, 5:05 PM v.  Northern Arizona Wranglers
Monday, May 8, 7:05 PM v. Vegas Knight Hawks
Saturday, May 20, 6:05 PM v. Frisco Fighters
Saturday, June 3, 6:05 PM v. Duke City Gladiators
Monday, July 10, 7:06 PM v. San Diego Strike Force

Season tickets for the Bay Area Panthers 2023 season are on sale NOW