HIDALGO - After a rough month-long road trip on which they managed just one win in four games, the Rio Grande Valley Dorados can click their heels three times and thank their lucky stars for their return to Dodge Arena in Hidalgo.
"It's going to be nice to get back home," Dorados quarterback Nick Hill said. "Usually you play a lot better at home and we've got five out of our last six games at home, so it's going to help."
RGV's homecoming will come against the one of the hottest teams in arenafootball2, the Bossier-Shreveport BattleWings. The Dorados (6-4) and the BattleWings (6-5) will clash for the third time this season tonight at Dodge Arena in Hidalgo, where RGV is a perfect 3-0 on the season. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
When the two teams last faced each other on May 22 in Bossier City, La., the BattleWings were a 3-4 team that had stumbled out of the gate and was just starting to set things straight. The Dorados entered that game as one of arenafootball2's top teams at 5-2. The BattleWings surged to 28 second-quarter points and beat the Dorados 76-59.
The BattleWings have been one of the league's hottest teams over the past month. Bossier-Shreveport has scored 76 or more points and won in four of its past five games with the lone loss being a 63-56 setback to the South Georgia Wildcats on May 30.
"We've been playing a little bit better, executing a little bit better across the board," BattleWings coach Jon Norris said.
"We've just kind of reached a little bit of a peak offensively and defensively and these types of peaks are tough to maintain and we know that, especially against a team like Rio Grande."
Bossier-Shreveport quarterback Andrico Hines has been on fire over the past five games, completing 65.1 percent of his passes for 1,272 yards and 33 touchdowns to just three interceptions.
The Dorados have been just the opposite over the past month after dropping three straight road games to the Stockton Lightning, the BattleWings and the Amarillo Dusters before a 51-48 victory at Corpus Christi ended the slump.
"That felt good," Hill said. "I mean any time you can a win, it feels a lot better running from a win than it does from a loss. So, we've still got some things we've got to work on. We've got a tough stretch of games coming up, so we've just got to be focused and take it one game at a time."
Hill and the Dorados offense will get a boost tonight from the return of star wideout Rod Windsor, who sat out last week's game against the Sharks after suffering a high left ankle sprain two weeks ago at Amarillo.
Windsor has had Bossier-Shreveport's number this season. When the Dorados beat the BattleWings 58-49 on April 18, he hauled in 18 catches for 207 yards and three scores. Windsor scorched Bossier-Shreveport again last month with 15 catches for season-highs of 224 yards and seven touchdowns.
"Well, Rod Windsor's definitely a guy that you cannot stop," Norris said. "You have to try to find ways to slow him down a little bit. He's a very talented player. We know we're not going to stop him. We can only hope to slow him down."
The Dorados defense is coming off one of its best showings of the season. RGV totaled a season-high five sacks last week against Corpus Christi while holding Sharks rookie quarterback Sedale Threatt to just 186 yards and two scores. Dorados linebacker Valentine Chude thinks the defense will be able to carry over some momentum.
"Of course we will," Chude said. "We don't lose at home. You've got protect your house. That's like an extra thing to do. You've got to protect your house and don't lose at home."
Stephen K. Lee covers the Rio Grande Valley Dorados for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442.
