Jacksonville Sharks 61, Pittsburgh Power 35
The Power entered Consol Energy Center Friday night trying to avoid an 0-2 home start while playing host to the Jacksonville Sharks to start Week 2. It didn't take long for the scoring to begin as the Sharks received the opening kickoff and scored two plays later on Jeff Hughley's 27-yard touchdown reception. The Power responded soundly on their opening drive, marching down the field in an eleven play drive that ended in P.J. Berry's 11-yard touchdown reception. The Sharks scored on their next possession to take a 13-6 lead, but this time the Power were unable to match with a touchdown of their own. Jordan Jefferson got sacked and fumbled to give the Sharks the ball at their own one; Dusty Bear, who was filling in for the injured Renderick Taylor, would punch it in to make it 20-6. The Power defense would make a couple of stops to keep the game close and the offense followed suit to only go into halftime trailing 34-21. Pittsburgh held a great opportunity to pull within one possession by getting the opening drive of the second half and did so on P.J. Berry's two-yard touchdown run. The fans at Consol would see the Power defense come up with a big goal-stand to hand the ball back to their offense with a chance to tie, or take the first lead on the night. Just when Shane Austin and the Power looked poised to score Austin under-threw his intended receiver Mike Washington and Micheaux Robinson jumped in-front of the pass for the interception. Bernard Morris would lead his Shark offense down the field and called his own number on fourth and goal to score, putting the Sharks back up by two scores. Any chance of a Power comeback ended on the third play of the fourth quarter when Jefferson was picked off by Terrance Smith on a deep ball in the Jacksonville end zone. Dusty Bear would score his second rushing touchdown on the ensuing drive to give the Sharks their largest lead of the night with ten minutes left to play. Both sides traded scores on the following possessions and Micheaux Robinson ended the game with an interception-return touchdown to secure the 61-35 Jacksonville win, moving the Sharks to 2-0 on the young season.
Stat Leaders:
Jacksonville (2-0) Pittsburgh (0-2)
Bernard Morris 26-37 248 yds 4TD, Jordan Jefferson 12-22 171 yds, 2TD,
33 rush yds, 2TD 2 Int, 10 rush yds, TD
Dusty Bear 13 rush yds, 2TD P.J. Berry 7 rec, 101 yds 2TD, Rush TD
Jeron Harvey 12 rec, 93 yds, TD Mike Washington 7 rec, 81 yds
Jeff Hughley 8 rec, 83 yds, 2TD Sergio Gilliam 10 tackles
Micheaux Robinson 7 tackles, 2 Int,
1 Return-TD
Jerry Turner 6 tackles (4TFL), 3 sacks
Sharks Defense: 6 sacks, 3 Int, Fumb.Rec
Arizona Rattlers 77, Utah Blaze 49
The first wild west game of the season featured a rematch of the 2012 National Conference championship, but despite a different venue we saw the same outcome. On their opening possession the Rattlers were driving down the field until Nick Davila's third pass got tipped at the line and intercepted by David Hyland. Cliff Dukes said "anything you can do, I can do better" and he did when he jumped up and tipped Tommy Grady's first pass which he caught and returned for a touchdown to give Arizona the early lead. Jeremy Kellem sparked what would be a Rattler feast when he recorded the second interception of Grady on the following Utah possession. Davila would connect with former-Blaze Tysson Poots for his first passing touchdown to extend the lead to thirteen. Grady and the Blaze offense would finally get things going on their third series and scored their lone points of the first quarter on a spectacular jump-ball catch by Mario Urrutia. The teams exchanged touchdowns on their next possessions, but Maurice Leggett stopped the trend when he came up with the Utah defense's second interception of Davila in the middle of the second quarter. Tommy Grady would find Chase Deadder for a three-yard touchdown to take advantage of the opportunity and give Utah its first lead. Both sides went back-and-forth which led to the Rattlers leading 33-28 at the half. The feast of Tommy Grady really took off on the opening possession of third quarter when Virgil Gray stepped in front of Grady's third-down pass and returned it 22-yards for the touchdown, putting Arizona up by twelve. Grady would come out and throw four straight incompletions on Utah's next series, resulting in a turnover-on-downs. Odie Armstrong would score on a one-yard touchdown run three plays later to give Arizona its largest lead of the game. It didn't get any better for Tommy Grady and the Blaze offense, as Grady would throw his fourth interception of the night three plays later to Antron Dillon. Nick Davila would cash-in two plays later when he found Kerry Reed for an eight-yard touchdown to extend the margin to 53-28. Marquis Floyd capped of a dominant third quarter by Arizona when he became the next Rattler to intercept Grady. Arizona outscored Utah 20-0 in the the third quarter and the defense recorded three interceptions and allowed Tommy Grady to complete only 3 of his 14 pass attempts. Davila would hit Jared Perry for a 13-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter and never looked back. Arkeith Brown would have a 52-yard interception-return touchdown to put the exclamation point on a dominant divisional-win by the Rattlers.
Stat Leaders:
Arizona (2-0) Utah (1-1)
Nick Davila 21-30 285 yds, 7TD, 2 Int Tommy Grady 19-37, 195 yds, 4TD, 5 Int
Jared Perry 6 rec, 96 yds, 2TD Mario Urrutia 11 rec, 172 yds, 3TD
Tysson Poots 8 rec, 92 yds, 4TD Chase Deadder 6 rec, 66 yds, 3TD
Maurice Purify 3 rec, 51 yds Maurice Leggett 8 tackles, Int
Garrett Lindholm 1-1 fg (23) 8-11 pat
Rattler Defense: Fumb. rec, 6 int,
3 Return-touchdowns
San Jose Sabercats 65, Orlando Predators 62
For the second week in a row the Predators nearly had a road victory and the Aaron Garcia-led Sabercats found a way to come out victorious. The Sabercats began the second quarter with a 21-14 lead in what appeared to be a shootout after a first quarter that saw five possessions result in five touchdowns. The trend would change on the final snap of a seven minute, nine-play, 34-yard drive when Clevan Thomas intercepted Kyle Rowley's pass that was intended for Josh Bush in the end zone. Aaron Garcia would find Jason Willis for an eight-yard touchdown on the next series to gave San Jose a 14-point lead. Kyle Rowley would be qucik to answer, throwing a nine-yard touchdown to Prechae Rodriguez to get the defecit back to seven. After both sides traded touchdowns, the Predators defense came up with a big stop at the end of the half to keep it a seven-point contest. Orlando had a golden opportunity at the beginning of the second half to tie the game, and took advantage by going on a five-play, 45-yard drive that ended on Amarri Jackson's seven-yard touchdown catch to tie the game at 35. After a quick Sabercat touchdown, Kyle Rowley went deep to find Prechae Rodriguez for a 35-yard touchdown to retie the game at 42. Marcus Everett would intercept Garcia on the following possesion which gave the Preds a chance at their first lead of the night, but it would be spoiled when Clevan Thomas came away with his second interception of the night to give the ball right back to Aaron Garcia, who quickly answered by finding Huey Whittaker for a 34-yard touchdown to put the 'Cats back up by a touchdown heading into the fourth quarter. Rowley would answer by leading the Predators on a seven-play, 40-yard touchdown drive that cut the Sabercats' lead to one; extra point was missed. For the second week in a row the Predators were invovled on a lead-changing interception, this time they were the ones on the beneficionary end. Simeon Castille was the man who made the interception that allowed Orlando to take the fourth-quarter on Amarri Jackson's 34-yard touchdwon reception with 9:23 left to play. The Sabercats would recover the ensuing onside kick, but despite having six tries to score from inside the red zone were unable to score. After consecutive defensive stops it looked like Orlando would be leaving HP Pavilon with a win until Jabar Fletcher made a huge play on fourth down, sacking Rowley in the end zone for a San Jose safety to make it a four-point game while being set to receive the ball. Aaron Garcia would get the Sabercats in the end zone by finding Jamarko Simmons for a six-yard touchdown to cap off a quick three-play drive that put San Jose up by three with 54 seconds remaining. Orlando would recover San Jose's onside kick and took over at the seven-yard line. Kyle Rowley answered on fourth and goal, completing a four-yard touchdown pass to Amarri Jackson with 35 seconds left to regain a four-point lead. Orlando elected to kick it deep, and it did not pay off. Mervin Brookins caught the kick and returned it all the way, 58 yards, for the gamewinning kick-return touchdown. Kyle Rowley and the Predators would give themselves one final chance to win it, but on third and goal from the two, Clevan Thomas would save the win by intercepting his third Rowley-pass of the night. Two weeks in a row a Sabercat has stepped up and made a clutch scoring play to earn a win, while on the flipside this is the second consecutive game that Orlando held a fourth quarter lead and was unable to make a play at the end of the game to win.
Stat Leaders:
Orlando (0-2) San Jose (2-0)
Kyle Rowley 26-46, 373 yds, 9TD, 3 Int Aaron Garcia 22-36 288 yds,
Amarri Jackson 12 rec, 209 yds, 5 TD 7TD, 2 Int
(Predator debut) Jason Willis 8 rec, 98 yds, 3TD
Preache Rodriguez 8 rec, 98 yds, 3 TD Huey Whittaker 6 rec, 75 yds, TD
Simeon Castille 7 tackles, Int 7 tackles
Jamarko Simmons 4 rec, 35 yds, 3TD
Mervin Brookins Game Winning KR-TD
Tampa Bay Storm 69, Cleveland Gladiators 47
Both teams entered St. Pete's Forum on Saturday night trying to avoid an 0-2 start, but came in with different intentions. The Storm were coming off a tough, late loss to divisional-rival Jacksonville, while the Gladiators wanted to have a better showing after getting crushed in their home opener by Spokane. Brian Zbydnieski had a much better start in week 2, leading the Gladiators on a seven-play, 45-yard drive that lasted 5:04 to start the game and ended on Derek Steiner's 3-yard touchdown run. Adrian McPherson had a fabulous debut, rushing for five touchdowns in week 1, but in week 2 he did his damage through the air. Tampa Bay's opening drive spanned for seven-plays and ended on McPherson's one-yard touchdown run. Cleveland would lead 13-7 after a fast-paced first quarter. After recovering a fumble on the last play of the first quarter Cleveland had a great opportunity to give themselves and early two-possession lead, but was squandered on the first play of the second quarter when Zbydnieski's pass was intercepted by Chris Smith. Two plays later McPherson would find Joe Hills for a 34-yard touchdown to retake the lead. The first half was tightly contested and a back-and-forth battle until the Storm successfully recovered their onside kick in the final minute of the half with a one-point lead. McPherson would then lead the offense on a four-play, 40-yard drive that took 49 seconds and concluded Michael Lindsey's 18-yard touchdown catch. Rashard Barksdale would record an interception on the final play of the half, which allowed the Storm to have an eight-point halftime lead. In desperate need of a stop, the Gladiator defense came through on the opening possession of the second half by forcing four straight incompletions and giving their offense great field position. Brian Zbydnieski responded by throwing a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Wilson on the next play to pull the Gladiators within one early in the third quarter. The Tampa Bay defense returned the favor on their next series by forcing and recovering a Dominic Goodman fumble which led to 15-yard touchdown reception by Greg Ellingson to make it a two-possession game. A ten-play, seven-minute drive that Tampa Bay used to start the fourth quarter produced nothing, as McPherson fumbled while he was being sacked on a first-and-goal play. The Gladiator defense had once-again stepped up with a stop to give themselves a chance to tie the game, but two plays later Zbydnieski would loose a fumble; giving it right back to Tampa Bay. Adrian McPherson would find Michael Lindsey two plays later for an eleven-yard touchdown, giving the Storm a 55-41 lead midway through the fourth. The Storm defense would make another stop and McPherson one again answered two plays later, this time throwing a 27-yard touchdown to Joe Hills to make it a three-score game with 3:50 remaining. The margin would be too much for Cleveland to overcome and the Storm got their first win of 2013.
Stat Leaders:
Cleveland (0-2) Tampa Bay (1-1)
Brian Zbydnieski 23-34 246 yds, Adrian McPherson 25-38 362 yds, 8TD
4TD, 3 Int 31 rush yds 2TD
Derik Steiner 28 rush yds, 2 TD Joe Hills 10 rec, 155 yds, 3TD
Dominic Goodman 6 rec, 57 yds, TD, Greg Ellingson 5 rec, 95 yds, 2TD
Rush TD Michael Lindsey 5 rec, 55 yds, 2TD
Jonathan Wilson 9 rec, 106 yds, 3TD Rashad Barksdale 8 tackles, Int,
Cleveland D: 3 sacks, 2 fumb. rec Forced fumb.
Iowa Barnstormers 48, New Orleans VooDoo 34
A matchup of 1-0 teams on CBS Sports Network provided us with a fantastic primetime affair on Saturday night. The first quarter saw each team move quickly down the field to exchange touchdown drives. J.J. Raternick put the Barnstormers up 14-7 with a two-yard touchdown run to cap off an eight-play, 43-yard drive that spanned five minutes. Kurt Rocco and the VooDoo tried to match with their own seven-play, five-plus minute drive, but back-to-back incompletions ended the attempt. Iowa would follow with a nine-play, 44-yard drive that resulted in a one-yard touchdown catch by Marco Thomas on fourth-and-goal to make it a two-score game. Both offenses remained in control for the rest of the half; Iowa held a 28-20 advantage at halftime. The VooDoo had the opportunity to erase the defecit, or cut it to one on the opening possession of the third quarter, but Ter'Ran Benton made another big play by hitting Rocco on a scramble to force a fumble. It appeared the VooDoo defense would come up with another big stop in-front of the GraveYard crowd, but J.J. Raternick had other ideas on a fourth-and-fifteen when he hit Darius Reynolds in-stride for a 36-yard touchdown to put Iowa back up by fourteen. The next Iowa offensive series wouldn't end as fortunate as Eddie Moten recorded his second interception on the season when he picked off Raternick around midfield with four minutes left in the period to give New Orleans another chance to tie the game. Kurt Rocco would throw back-to-back incompletions to end the follwoing series, but the VooDoo defense would make a consecutive stop, recording a first-down sack and back-to-back incompletions on third and fourth down to keep it an eight-point game. New Orleans started the fourth quarter with their third chance to tie and Kurt Rocco made a great throw on fourth-and-ten to find Courtney Smith for a 13-yard completion down to the Iowa four-yard line. Rocco's next throw produced a very opposite result, as Errik McIntosh stayed at home to make a fine interception which preserved the eight-point lead. J.J. Raternick would go deep and find Darius Reynolds for a 39-yard touchdown just two plays later to extend the lead back to fourteen points with 8:56 left in the fourth. Donovan Morgan would snag a 16-yard touchdown catch, his first of 2013 and as a member of the VooDoo, to pull New Orleans back within seven. The Barnstormers would recover the following onside kick and went on to score four plays later on Raternick's fourth-and-goal touchdown run. New Orleans needed some "NOLA" magic trailing by fourteen with just 54 seconds to work, but any dreams of a comeback ended when Ter'Ran Benton came through again with a big play, intercepting Rocco's deep ball on fourth down to seal the deal. Iowa would run out the clock and starts the year with a 2-0 record that has both wins coming on the road and as the surprise front runners in the Central Division.
Stat Leaders:
Iowa (2-0) New Orleans (1-1)
J.J. Raternick 15-30 253 yds, 4TD, Kurt Rocco 23-46 259 yds, 4TD,
Int, 2 rush TD 2 Int
Marco Thomas 9 rec, 86 yds, 2TD, Donovan Morgan 7 rec, 75 yds, TD Rush TD Rush TD Derek Lee 7 rec, 96 yds, 2TD
Darius Reynolds 3 rec, 80 yds, 2TD Eddie Moten 5 tackles, Int
Errick McIntosh 10 tackles, Int
Jason Simpson 9 tackles, 3 pbu
Spokane Shock 76, Chicago Rush 61
For the second Sunday afternoon in as many weeks the Spokane Shock went on the road and took care of business verse an inferior opponent. The score was tied at fourteen midway through the first quarter when the Shock defense made the first stop of the game by forcing three consecutive incompletions by Carson Coffman. Erik Meyer would throw his third touchdown pass to his third different receiver on the next play to give Spokane a 20-14 lead; the extra point failed. The Rush would answer two plays later when J.J. Payne scored his second touchdown of the quarter on a six-yard run to make it 21-20. Spokane broke the game open in the second quarter on two of kickoff plays. Terrance Sanders returned the esnusing kickoff 55 yards for a touchdown to begin the second quarter and give the Shock a six-point lead. Chicago would answer with a six-play, four-and-half minute drive that ended on Reggie Gray's two-yard touchdown reception. Erik Meyer continued the touchdown-trading by leading the Shock on a seven-play drive that lasted five minutes and ended on Jeffrey Soloman's two-yard touchdown run. The Shock would find themselves leading by two scores after Paul Stevens had a net recovery on the ensuing kickoff and returned it for a touchdown; Kenny Spencer's kick bounced off the bottom of the iron and went straight to Stevens who went three yards untouched into the end zone. At the end of the first half the Rush had a chance to pull back within one score, but were unsuccessful when Coffman's last pass, intended for Reggie Gray, was overthrown out of the back of the end zone. Erik Meyer would lead Spokane down the field on their first series of the second half and found Adron Tennell for a six-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 55-34. The Shock's three-score lead was too insurmountable for the Rush who were unable to get any closer than fourteen points for the remainder of the afternoon. The Rush defense failed to record a stop, allowing Spokane to score ten touchdowns on eleven possessions with the one scoreless trip being used to end the game.
Stat Leaders:
Spokane (2-0) Chicago (0-2)
Erik Meyer 26-34 yds, 7TD, Carson Coffman 25-39, 294 yds, 7TD
10 Rush yds, TD J.J. Payne 11 rush yds, 2TD
Adron Tennell 10 rec, 118 yds, 3TD Rodney Wright 8 rec, 128 yds, TD
Jeffrey Soloman 6 rec, 95 yds, 2TD, Reggie Gray 9 rec, 93 yds, 4TD
Rush TD Jorrick Calvin 9 tackles
Steven Black 6 rec, 48 yds, TD Rush D: 0 takeaways, 0 sacks, 1 PBU
Paul Stevens 6 tackles, net recovery-TD,
2 PBU
Terrance Sanders 6 tackles, kick-return TD
Week 2 Players of the Week
Offensive Player of the Week: Adrian McPherson, Tampa Bay QB
- McPherson scored a total of ten touchdowns in the Storm's first win of the season. He completed 25 of 38 passes and threw for 362 yards and eight touchdowns, while also rushing for 31 yards and two touchdowns on three carries.
Defensive Player of the Week: Jerry Turner, Jacksonville D-Line
- Jerry Turner single-handedly caused havoc all night for both Power quarterbacks. He recorded four tackles for a loss and three sacks to headline a dominating performance by the Shark defense. The Sharks are now the only 2-0 team in the American Conference.
Playmaker of the Week: Amarri Jackson, Orlando WR
- Despite his team losing, Amarri Jackson shined in his Orlando Predator debut catching 12 passes for 209 yards and five touchdowns. It clearly appears that Kyle Rowley and Jackson have developed a sound chemistry which should pay dividends throughout the year.
For more on any of these six games, or the Arena Football League go to:http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-footbl/sched/afl-a-footbl-sched.html
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