Albany Firebirds Top Orlando Predators in OT Thriller 62-59
April 29, 2024 - Arena Football One (AF1)
Albany Firebirds News Release
In what could be an incredibly early candidate for game of the year, Albany took down the Predators in an overtime thriller 62-59.
The inaugural game of the new AFL took place in Albany as the Predators traveled to take on the Firebirds. In what could be an incredibly early candidate for game of the year, Albany took down the Predators in an overtime thriller 62-59.
It was all Predators in the first half. The offense was scoring at will, and the defense was coming up with multiple takeaways. If you had seen just the first quarter, you would have thought the Preds were playing perfectly. The Preds' Bryan Robinson gets the honor of the very first TD of the year and the new iteration of the AFL. That TD would be followed by a big forced fumble by Joshua Jenkins on the following kickoff, leading to CJ Williams' first touchdown. Good play by Orlando was accentuated by rocky special teams and blunders by the Firebirds. The end of the first half would have Orlando over Albany 45-29.
The second half was a complete 180 of the previous half's script. The Firebirds came out looking much cleaner offensively and dominated the defensive side. On the other hand, the Predators had lost their step in comparison to their foe. Much of the Firebirds' second-half success was directed by their QB, Jake Medlock. Medlock had not seen action in a professional football game since 2019, but he settled in firmly after the first half, rushing for three touchdowns and passing for one more. There has to be praise given to the Albany defense as well. After giving up 45 points in the first half, they locked it down and only allowed 14 in the second. The end of regulation sat tied at 59-59.
No better time than the first game of the year to brush up on your overtime rules. Overtime is sudden death, meaning the first score wins the game. The Preds would win the toss and receive to start OT. A big return would be eliminated by a holding penalty, and though they would drive, the Preds would ultimately not come up with the score.
When Albany got the ball, they would work down the field with ease, but the Predator defense would lock it down close to the end zone. Markus Orozco would then set up to walk it off for the Firebirds with a field goal. The ball goes up... and he doinks it off the upright! But they get it back! Coming off the upright live, one of the Predators touched the ball, and the Firebirds would get it back. Well, set them back up again because on fourth down, here comes Orozco to send it home. This time, Orozco would groove it down the middle, and Albany would take their first lead of the game for a 62-59 victory.
From the beginning, I can say that the Predators should have won this game, but the offensive production was not the same in the second half. That perfect play from the first would be plagued by costly penalties. Albany stepped up to the nth degree and battled hard to take it away from the Preds.
Major impact players for Orlando are Drew Powell, Jordan McCray, and Joshua Jenkins. Jenkins spent most of the night holding down the Firebirds' biggest weapon, Darius Prince. Prince would get one TD, but for guarding Prince, that is the best-case scenario. Plus, he came away with a big forced fumble early. Powell took hold of the game early, and if he would have continued his tear, the Firebirds would not have had a chance. McCray is likely the Ironman Player of the Game. He contributed well on both sides, that goes further than the one interception and one touchdown he ended with.
Major impact players for Albany are Jake Medlock and the entire Albany line. Medlock took over the second half with some designed runs and the ability to scramble, ending the game with three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns. The Albany line was instrumental in the Firebirds' ability to run the ball and put much pressure on Drew Powell in a quickly collapsing pocket.
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