Friday, May 2, 2003 | 10:27 a.m.
Once this year's most vaunted offense in the Arena Football League, the New York Dragons will try to keep their playoff hopes alive without two of their stars this weekend against Las Vegas.
MVP candidates Aaron Garcia and Mike Furrey, two main components to the Dragons' attack, will miss Saturday's 7 p.m. game against the Gladiators at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Eastern Division leader Las Vegas (7-6) downed New York, 46-45, in the teams' earlier meeting, but the Dragons (5-8) will look much different this time. Coming off a convincing 58-45 victory against Detroit, the Gladiators also have changed.
"It started at the beginning of (last) week," Gladiators fullback/linebacker Chris Pope said. "We were more focused going into that game. We knew what we were up against and what we had to do."
Garcia is on the Dragons' injured reserve after being arrested for suspicion of DWI a week ago on Long Island. Garcia absorbed a blow to the head and bruises when the car he was driving struck a median on the Northern State Parkway.
A leading candidate for league MVP, Garcia posted big numbers in the first 12 games. Garcia, a two-time AFL offensive player of the year, still leads the league with 86 TDs and ranks second in passing yards at 3,757.
"With the loss of their quarterback, it's going to be kind of difficult for them," Pope said. "If we can jump on them, that will help us out."
Walter Church, a rookie signed Thursday off the practice squad, will make his first AFL start against Las Vegas.
The Dragons also will be without Furrey, the league's top receiver, for the rest of the year. Furrey signed a free-agent deal with the St. Louis Rams this week and hastily left the Dragons.
Furrey and Garcia developed the top connection in the league this season, with Furrey tying the AFL single-season record for touchdown catches at 46 in just 13 games. Furrey leads the league in receptions (108), receiving yards (1,574) and scoring (288 points).
New York is tied for the 12th and final playoff spot, but would currently lose the tiebreaker. At present, the Gladiators have the eighth playoff spot, and would earn a first-round home game by winning the division. Las Vegas can finish as high as the top four, which would merit a first-round bye, or as low as out of the playoffs.
The Gladiators view last week's victory as the beginning of a four-game mini-season that will determine their fate.
"We're labeling the win with Detroit 1-and-0 right now," Pope said.
Las Vegas sprinted to a 14-0 lead before Detroit ever ran an offensive play last week. The Gladiators are looking for a similar start Saturday.
"That's exactly what we're trying to do, just try to get to them early," Pope said. "Maybe we can get to their quarterback and that should give us momentum."
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