Steeldogs Pick Up First Win of 2005
May 28, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Alabama Steeldogs News Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Breathe easy Birmingham, the streak is over.
The Steeldogs throttled the No. 2 Green Bay Blizzard, 55-26, to pick up their first victory in 301 days. Birmingham had not won a football game since July 31, 2004, when they defeated Macon, 50-31.
This is unbelievable, Steeldogs head coach Bobby Humphrey said. You know, these guys have played their hearts out all year long, and tonight things finally came together for us. These young men truly deserve this win.
Remarkably for the Steeldogs, it was the defense that played the biggest role in securing the first victory of the season. The leagues statistically worst scoring defense shut out the Blizzard in the second half, putting the clamps on QB Johnny Turman and receivers Troy Mason and Robert Garth.
The game looked early on like an old-fashioned arena football shootout. Each team matched the other score-for-score through the first two quarters. Birmingham found the end zone first following an early Blizzard turnover. OS Detronn Harris squirted past the pylons from five yards out to give the Steeldogs an early 7-0 lead.
Green Bay answered with a 21-yard pass from Turman to Brent Holmes to knot the game at 7-7. Then, Turman put the Blizzard on top with a 23-yard pass to Mason. The extra point failed, but Green Bay owned a 13-7 advantage. That missed extra point would wind up as the difference maker in the first half, as the two teams traded scores throughout the rest of the half, with the Steeldogs taking a 27-26 halftime lead on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Linn to Harris with five seconds remaining in the second quarter.
The Blizzard never again crossed the goal-line.
The Steeldogs secured momentum right out of the gate in the second half, as Harris ran back the opening kickoff 50 yards, giving Birmingham their biggest lead at eight points. Tawfiq Ramsey added a two-yard touchdown scamper to give the Steeldogs a 41-26 third quarter advantage.
The fourth quarter was also completely dominated by the Steeldogs, as Herman Bell opened the final frame with a magnificent 21-yard touchdown catch to expand Birminghams lead to 48-26. Milas Randle capped off all scoring with a seven-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
Linn finished 20 of 31 for 209 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Bell caught nine passes for 104 yards and one score. Harris caught six passes for 51 yards and one touchdown and returned four kicks for 89 yards and a score. The reigning af2 Offensive Player of the Week ran the ball three times for seven yards and a touchdown.
Turman completed 14 of 35 pass attempts for 192 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Robert Garth caught five passes for 68 yards and a score.
For the first time this season, the Steeldogs swept the post-game awards, as Herman Bell won the games Ironman award, Detronn Harris the Offensive Player of the Game award and Keon Mainor the ADT Defensive Player of the Game honor.
The win is the fiftieth for Steeldogs Head Coach Bobby Humphrey, who received an impromptu cold shower from a couple of Steeldogs teammates has the clock hit triple zeroes. Humphrey is the leagues all-time winningest head coach.
The attendance at the BJCC Arena was 4,967.
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