Burn Win Season Finale, Fall Short Of Playoffs
Published on July 29, 2007 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Boise Burn News Release
KENNEWICK, Wash. - The Boise Burn came up short of reaching their ultimate goal for their 2007 arenafootball2 season, missing out on a chance to play in postseason action by four points. Needing to beat Tri-Cities by at least 14 to win a tie-breaker and qualify for the playoffs, Boise fell short, beating the Fever by 10, 52-42. Louisville won earlier on Saturday, forcing the Burn to win by at least two touchdowns to advance. Even though they lost the game, Tri-Cities qualifies as the eighth seed in the American Conference.
Boise jumped out ahead just 4:44 into the first quarter when BJ Rhode found Ahmad Harris in the end zone from 9 yards out and the early 7-0 lead. Tri-Cities answered 2:30 later, as Colin Drafts, making his first af2 start, connected with J.R. Thomas (Schutt Offensive Player of the Game) from 14 yards out tying the game. On the ensuing Boise possession, Ruschard Dodd-Masters returned a Rhode interception 27 yards for the score and the Fever owned a 14 -7 lead.
Both teams exchanged scores in the second quarter. Bart Hendricks got the Burn to within one on a 1-yard TD run, but Boise missed the extra point. The Fever took an eight point lead on an 11-yard strike from Drafts to Robert Garth. With 2:30 left in the half, Rhode found Casey Allen (Cutters Catch of the Game) for a 20-yard TD. A Hendricks to Corey Dodds two-point conversion tied the game at 21. With just five seconds left in the half, Drafts found Deontre Johnson in the end zone from 14 yards out giving the Fever a 28-21 lead at the break.
Boise dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Fever 19-0. Hendricks connected with Joe Critchfield for an 8-yard score, Caleb Spence recovered a fumble in the end zone on the ensuing kickoff giving Boise a 33-28 lead, and a Rhode to Allen 28-yard connection gave Boise a 12- point lead going into the fourth quarter.
Tri-Cities scored 1:40 into the final quarter on a Leroy McFadden 1-yard TD run. 3:40 later, Ahmad Harris found paydirt for the second time giving Boise a 46-35 lead, and after the Burn stopped the Fever on downs, Emmett White put Boise up by 17 with a 6-yard run with six minutes left in the game. Boise's defense got the ball back on downs again, and the Burn were looking to put the game away and clinch a playoff spot. But on first and ten from the Fever 16 yard line, John Fields sacked Rhode, forcing and recovering the Boise QB's fumble. Tri-Cities drove down the field and scored on a Thomas 24-yard TD with 4:55 left to go in the game. That made the score 52-42, and Boise was unable to get the ball back for a final chance at scoring another touchdown. With under a minute left, the Burn appeared to have stopped Drafts on third down for no gain, but the officials kept the clock rolling and the season was over for Boise.
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