Cobras Fall To Predators 70-42
Published on February 21, 2003 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Carolina Cobras News Release
Former Cobras quarteback Connell Maynor stepped in for an injured Jay Gruden and led the Orlando Predators to a blowout win with a 70-42 victory over the winless Carolina Cobras. Orlando improves to 4-0, while Carolina falls to 0-4.
Gruden went down with a broken ankle on the first play of the second half with Orlando clinging to a 34-28 lead. On the same drive that he replaced Gruden, Maynor threw his first touchdown pass, a 22-yard completion to Rashad Floyd. The score sparked a 22-0 third quarter, in which Maynor ran for two more touchdowns.
Maynor finished the game 7-of-11 for 122 yards passing and two touchdowns. He added four carries for 29 yards and two touchdowns. Before his injury, Gruden finished the first half 12-of-22 for 154 yards and three touchdowns. The two main targets for the duo were Charlotte native and Wake Forest graduate Thabiti Davis (7 receptions for 77 yards and one touchdown) and Travis McGriff (4 receptions for 89 yards and two touchdowns).
Robert Hall completed 24-of-38 passes for 242 yards and 5 touchdowns for the Cobras, who kept the game close in the first half. Bernard Holmes had 11 receptions for 92 yards and one touchdown, along with nine kickoff returns for 181 yards. Van Johnson caught 5 passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns in his debut with Carolina after signing earlier this week. Jamaal Garman added two touchdowns on three receptions for the Cobras.
Things looked grim for the Cobras early, as Orlando¹s Kenny McEntyre returned a Hall interception for a touchdown on the first play of the game. The Cobras scored on the ensuing possession, and the two teams traded touchdowns throughout the half. Carolina trailed by just six, 34-28, at the half.
Coming off the bench to replace Gruden on the first series of the second half, Maynor threw two touchdowns in the second half and ran for two more. He hit Floyd on the first drive and had touchdown runs of 11 and 10 yards later in the third quarter. He added a touchdown in the fourth quarter, finding a wide open Travis McGriff for a 48-yard score.
After leading by six at the half, the Predators outscored the Cobras 36-14 in the second half. Carolina had 130 yards of total offense in the first half, but managed just 90 yards in the second half, including minus-10 yards for the third quarter.
The Cobras remain winless with the loss. They travel to Grand Rapids next Friday to take on the Rampage, then return home on March 9 to face the Las Vegas Gladiators.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from February 21, 2003
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