Buffalo Defense Seals Win On Final Play
April 6, 2003 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Buffalo Destroyers News Release
(UNIONDALE, NY)- The Buffalo Destroyers defense held the New York Dragons high powered offense out of the end zone in the final minute of the game to take a 46-39 victory in front of 9,064 fans Sunday afternoon at Nassau Coliseum.
"Right now, I don't have enough words to describe how well our guys came together and fought for a full 60 minutes," said Destroyers head coach Ron Selesky. "We came in with a new quarterback, new receivers and new linemen and we came up with a total team effort.
The Dragons got on the board first with QB Aaron Garcia hitting OS Mike Furrey for a 17 yard touchdown. After a missed extra point, the Dragons lead 6-0. Buffalo took the lead midway through the first on a WR/DB Jarrail Jackson three yard touchdown run, taking a 7-6 lead. New York closed the first half with Garcia connecting with Furrey again, this time for 16 yards and after the two point conversion, were up 14-7 after the first period.
Buffalo QB Chris Sanders, making his first career AFL start, hooked up with OS James Bowden early in the second period for a seven yard touchdown. After Buffalo held New York on a fourth down and 10, Sanders tossed another touchdown to Bowden as Buffalo went ahead 19-14. Garcia came back with his third touchdown pass, this time to WR/DB Damien Groce to go back ahead 20-19. Buffalo regained the advantage with 13 seconds left in the half on a WR/LB Sir Mawn Wilson one yard touchdown run. The Dragons had one more chance at the end of the half, but Garcia was picked off by WR/DB Chuck Wesley and Buffalo took a 26-20 lead into the locker room.
New York opened the second half with Furrey scoring on a two yard run, but Buffalo FB/LB Juan Long caught a screen pass and rumbled 32 yards for the touchdown to go back up 33-27. After another Buffalo stop on defense, Sanders pass bounced off the goal post into the hands of Wilson for a 12 yard score. Buffalo took a 39-27 lead into the fourth quarter.
Garcia tossed his fourth touchdown of the game to close the gap to 39-33 early in the fourth quarter. On the ensuing drive, Sanders and Bowden connected for a third time to extend the Buffalo lead to 46-33. Furrey caught his fourth touchdown of the day from Garcia from 18 yards out to close within a touchdown at 46-39. Buffalo OL/DL Donovan Arp came up with a big sack inside a minute as the Destroyers defense forced three incomplete passes by Garcia in the final 10 seconds to earn their first division win of the season.
Sanders finished the afternoon 21 of 36 for 213 yards five touchdowns. Wilson was Ironman of the Game with five catches for 54 yards one touchdown and had one rush for one yard and a touchdown. He also added four tackles on defense. Bowden garnered Game MVP honors with seven catches for 65 yards and three touchdowns. DS Dwaine Carpenter led the defense with six tackles and DS JoJo Polk added 5.5 tackles.
"I'm excited to get a big win on the road," said Sanders. "I was a bit nervous on the first drive but knew this was a game we had to put points on the board and our defense did what they needed to do to help us out.
Buffalo (4-6) heads down south to face the Orlando Predators next Friday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m. The Destroyers return home Saturday, April 26 to host the Indiana Firebirds at 7:00 p.m. at the HSBC Arena. Mini packs and group tickets are on sale now, call the Destroyers ticket office at 716-881-4444! Single game tickets can be purchased online at tickets.com and at all tickets.com locations including Tops Friendly Markets or by phone at 1-888-223-6000.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 6, 2003
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