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Central Valley Coyotes three game win streak cut short

May 15, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Central Valley Coyotes News Release


The Central Valley Coyotes (4-2) were unable to extend their three-game win streak as they committed five turnovers and allowed 33 fourth-quarter points to fall to the Rio Grande Valley Dorados (3-3) 61-51 at Selland Arena in front of a crowd of 2,256.

"The turnovers really came up and got us tonight," Coyote quarterback Juston Wood said. "They were able to take control when the game counted."

The Coyotes started on the right track with an 11-yard touchdown to WR/DB DeRonn Finley, who earned "Offensive Player of the Game" honors to tie the game at seven.

Rio Grande regained the lead, 14-7 when QB Josh Kellett found Craig Cole for a 19-yard touchdown reception. It would be the Dorados last score of the half as the Coyote defense held them on the next three possessions.

WR/LB Wes Borba cut the Coyotes deficit to one after a 20-yard touchdown reception, but Central Valley was unable to tie it as a John Gockman field goal hit the left upright.

After a goaline stop by the Coyotes defense late in the second quarter, Gockman would redeem himself to hit a 26-yard field goal to give the Coyotes a 16-14 at the half.

The second half was when the Dorado defense took control.

On the Coyotes opening drive, WR/LB Deorrick Henry took a 36-yard interception in for a score to give Rio Grande Valley the lead back, 22-16. FB/LB Chris Robinson ran in a fake extra point to give a 21-16 advantage with 12:55 left in the third quarter.

Coyote QB Juston Wood caught fire, scoring on three consecutive possessions, including 24 and 34-yard touchdowns to Finley. The second score gave the Coyotes a 36-28 edge early in the fourth quarter.

Dorado QB Josh Kellett cut the lead to 36-34 after a two-yard rush for a touchdown while the Coyotes extended their lead to four in an unconventional manner when Marvin Brown returned a 55-yard interception on the two-point conversion to make it 38-34.

The Coyotes offense would begin to unravel, turning the ball over on three of their next four possessions.

Two were interceptions by Rio Grande Valley's Travis McAlpine who earned "Ironman of the Game" honors.

The first was an acrobatic grab that gave the Dorados the ball while nursing a 40-38 lead. On the prior play, Wood was hit hard by "Defensive Player of the Game" OL/DL Ben McCombs, who nearly jarred the ball loose on what was ruled as incomplete pass.

"We just weren't the same after that point," Wood said. "It wasn't that I was hurt, but it just turned the momentum around."

The Dorados defense capitalized on all three fourth-quarter turnovers by posting two more Craig Cole touchdown catches and another Josh Kellett rushing touchdown to give the Dorados a 47-38 advantage with 3:24 left in the game.

The final interception by McAlpine was capped with Cole's fourth touchdown of the night that put the game out of reach, 61-45.

Finley added his fourth score as time expired to pull the Coyotes to 61-51.

The Coyotes, who still maintain a share of first place in the West Division, will play the first of two consecutive road games when they travel to Amarillo this weekend to take on the Dusters. Kickoff is set for 5:00 (Pacific) and can be heard on ESPN Radio 1430 AM.



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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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