SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (February 26, 2001) – San Francisco Head Coach Jim Skipper said Demons’ quarterback Mike Pawlawski could be lost for as long as three weeks after suffering a neck injury during Sunday’ 16-9 loss to Las Vegas at Pacific Bell Park.
Another former California product, Pat Barnes, will start Saturday night against the Birmingham Thunderbolts here in a 5:00 p.m. PST contest. Barnes played the final 10½ minutes of the Demons’ second loss in four games against the Western Division-leading Outlaws.
“I just had a feeling something wasn’t right with Mike,” Skipper said. “I could tell he was probably hurt worse than he was letting on. The turnovers we were having just weren’t like him. I had to make the decision to get Pat in there and see if we couldn’t tie the game. I’m confident Pat will play well as our starter.”
Pawlawski suffered two turnovers in the first 18 minutes of the second half,
including only his second interception in 172 passes this season. He had
completed 25 of 35 passes for 223 yards, but had lost two fumbles after being sacked. He was injured helping make the tackle on the interception in the third quarter.
Pawlawski leads the XFL in all passing categories and has thrown for 1,023 yards and seven touchdowns, completing 64.5 per cent of his passes. He had paced San Francisco to a 9-6 halftime lead against Las Vegas and the Demons’ 81-yard march to the end zone in the second period and Mike’s 13-yard scoring toss to tailback Brandin Young was the first touchdown allowed by Las Vegas this season.
He will be re-evaluated following extensive rehabilitation of the injury in 2-3 weeks, head trainer Andrew Weeks said Monday. Weeks said Pawlawski had suffered a similar injury in 1999 and had surgery to correct a previous fracture.
The only other quarterback on the Demons’ roster is Oteman Sampson, a two-year Canadian Football League veteran who has been in the Demons’ camp for two weeks.
The San Francisco-Birmingham game will not be televised live nationally as originally announced, the Demons have been informed. NBC, one of the owners of the XFL, has decided to broadcast the Los Angeles at New York-New Jersey game instead. Like contests at Orlando and Memphis, NBC will air cut-ins on the game at Pac Bell Park throughout that telecast.
