Avengers End Skid with a Vengeance
by Tim Peterson
May 7, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Los Angeles Avengers
(Los Angeles) - The Avengers broke open a close game with a 28-8 blitz in the third quarter and went on to beat the Nashville Kats 73-56 Saturday night before 9,030 at Staples Center. The win snapped a six game losing streak for the Avengers as they improved to 4-11 on the year.
The Avengers set the tone early by recovering an onside kick on the opening kick off and turned it into three points on a Remy Hamilton field goal. Sonny Cumbie threw three touchdown passes and Rob Turner caught two in the first half to lead the Avengers to a38-28 halftime advantage.
Nashville was shut out in the first quarter but scored 28 in the second behind three scoring strikes from Clint Stoerner.
The Avengers came out in the third quarter with a vengeance and ran off 28 consecutive points. On the first possession, Cumbie hit Kevin Ingram for a nine yard score. On the next series, Anthony Derricks stepped in front of a Stoerner pass and turned it into a pick six running it back 20 yards for a touchdown.
Stoerner hit Tolliver on a nine yard strike just before the end of the quarter but the Avengers entered the fourth leading 66-42. It was a deficit that Nashville was unable to overcome.
"We got a little momentum finally going our way and we kind of rolled with it. That's arena football. Some times it goes for you and other times it goes against you," said Avenger Coach Ed Hodgkiss.
Make no mistake it went for the Avengers in this one. Derrick's interception of Stoerner turned out to be the lit fuse that led to the explosion.
"That's what we really needed. That's what we have kind of been missing is that one big play on defense. That was great play," Hodgkiss said.
After Alonzo Mix caught a 12 yard touchdown strike from Stoerner to cut the Avengers advantage to 66-50 in the fourth quarter, Cumbie hooked up with Turner again to nail it down. This time it was an 11 yard toss that Turner hauled in near the back of the end zone. Turner, who was named offensive player of the game, finished with 10 receptions for 96 yards and three touchdowns.
"Rob is a guy we wanted to get a look at. He's been with us for a couple of years and he hasn't got a lot of opportunities," Hodgkiss said. "He's done a great job in practice and he proved that he's definitely a guy that we should have in the future and he played well for us."
Turner got the call when Tony Locke was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury and responded in a big way.
"When anybody goes down it's up to the people behind them to step up and I was able to help my team and produce," Turner said. "Sonny (Cumbie) put up some good balls and the receivers were giving me the opportunity to get open so it was definitely a team effort."
For the Kats, Stoerner completed 14 of 19 passes for 357 yards and seven touchdowns but he was hurt by the interception by Derricks. Cornelius Bonner caught four passes for 119 yards and three scores.
Cumbie was 22 of 32 for 240 and five TDs. He also threw one interception but it didn't have an effect as it came with the first half coming to a close.
"I thought we played with a lot of purpose and a lot of emotion tonight," Cumbie said. "We were able to steal a possession by recovering that onside kick and that makes it a lot easier for the offense."
The Avengers will close out the regular season next week when they take on Las Vegas Saturday night at Staples Center.
N 0 28 8 14 56
LA 10 28 28 7 73
Passing: N- Stoerner 14-19-357-7-1, LA- Cumbie 22-32-240-5-1.
Total Yards: N- 374, LA 248.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 7, 2006
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- Austin clinches first playoff berth in franchise history with 57-38 victory over Grand Rapids - Austin Wranglers
- Harrell sets new single-season total TD record - AFL I
- Avengers End Skid with a Vengeance - OSC Original by Tim Peterson
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