Dorados Hold Off Dawgz ...Now Face The Law

April 26, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Rio Grande Valley Dorados News Release


DORADOS HOLD OFF DAWGZ ...NOW FACE THE LAW

44-41 WIN OVER OKLAHOMA CITY MOVES THE DORADOS IN A SECOND PLACE TIE

HIDALGO, TX: April 26, 2004 – The arenafootball2's (af2) Rio Grande Valley Dorados pleased a boisterous 5,600 standing-room only crowd Saturday night at the Dodge Arena by blocking a 27-yard Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz field goal attempt as time expired on the final play of the game to hold onto a 44-41 victory. The Dorados now have to put the highlights aside and prepare for their next contest Saturday night on the road against the rival Laredo Law.

It was a "Jekyll & Hyde" first half for the Dorados, as Oklahoma City sprung out to a 21-7 lead in the first quarter, but the Dorados responded in the second quarter. Dorados quarterback Will Burch hit Preston Hartfield for a seven yard touchdown pass and Hartfield's second touchdown of the game 38-seconds into the second quarter to cut the Dawgz lead to 21-14. Oklahoma City scored on a Daryl Richardson one-yard run on the ensuing possession, but Peter Martinez missed the PAT placing the Dawgz lead to 27-14. The Dorados closed out the second quarter with a pair of scores to tie the contest. Burch found University of Houston product Kendall Williams, who was playing in his first game for the Dorados, for a 20 yard touchdown and on the following kickoff, Spencer Conley forced Kris Peters to fumble the return and Nicholas Davis recovered for the Dorados on the Oklahoma City nine-yard line. Rio Grande Valley only needed one play to tie the game, as Burch found Mike Duncan in the endzone for a nine-yard touchdown and Duncan's only reception of the game. Eric Houle missed the PAT and the score remained tied at halftime 27-27.

The two teams traded touchdowns in the second half, until Houle nailed a 21 yard field goal after Hartfield picked off a Craig Strickland pass and returned it to the Oklahoma City 15-yard line. The field goal gave the Dorados their first lead of the game (37-34), but it would not last for long. Strickland produced the games longest scoring drive, which was 45-yards, capping it off with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Al Hunt to regain the lead 41-37. Hunt received the game's US Army Ironman honors after catching 8 passes on offense for 116 yards and picked up 2.5 tackles on defense. The Dorados would come back and connect for their second consecutive touchdown by Manwell Talbert. Talbert, who bulldozed his way through a Dawgz defender for a one-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, wrestled the ball away from Sean Love for a six-yard touchdown reception to put the Dorados ahead 44-41 with 4:11 remaining. Strickland, last year's af2 championship game MVP as a member of Tulsa, tried to manufacture a scoring drive that would give the Dorados no additional time to work with. He ran into problems though. The Yard Dawgz line had not given up a sack all season until the 34-year old Elsa, Texas native Danny Perez broke through the line and tracked down Strickland. Facing third down and 11 yards to go, Strickland found Hunt for an eleven-yard gain and the inches he needed to get a first down, placing the ball at the Dorados 12-yard line with under a minute remaining. Strickland found Hunt again, but he fumbled at the one-yard line. Hunt was able to recover his own fumble setting up first and goal at the one-yard line with 27-seconds remaining. On first down, Timon Marshal rushed the ball to the left side, but hit a sea of blue led by Nicholas Davis resulting in a three-yard loss. Oklahoma opted to pass the ball on second-and-goal from the four-yard line, but Spencer Conley recorded his 15.5 career af2 sack by taking down Strickland at the 12-yard line. There was jubilation at the Dodge Arena, but Strickland quieted the crowd momentarily by getting a quick snap and spiking the ball to stop the clock with 0.4 remaining. The Yard Dawgz set up for the 27-yard game-tying field goal attempt, but Martinez' kick was blocked by Karleton Thomas and the Dorados improved their record to 2-1 on the season and moved into a second place Southwest Division tie with Oklahoma City.

Will Burch was 16 for 26 passing and threw for 5 touchdown passes to earn the Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game. Hartfield was outstanding for the Dorados with 5.5 tackles (2 unassisted and 7 assisted), a 16-yard interception return and a tackle for a loss to earn the game's ADT Defensive Player of the Game. The game's three-point score margin is one of the lowest in league play. Coming into this season, only 16.2 percent of league games are determined by a three point or less margin.

Rio Grande Valley now prepares for their second road trip of the season and their first visit to Laredo to battle the 0-3 winless Law. Laredo opened up their home schedule Friday with a 68-43 loss to Tennessee Valley. The Huntsville, Alabama based team out-scored the Law 35-14 in the first half and also produced 316 passing yards. Jerrian James caught 13 passes and racked up 186 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns to lead the way for Tennessee Valley. Laredo suffered offensively by allowing 6 sacks and fumbling the ball five times. They were aided by a good special teams performance. P.J. Winston had 86 kickoff return yards and ran one back 52-yards for a touchdown. Martino Theus also had 89 yards in kickoff returns to combine for 175 kickoff return yards.

Saturday night's broadcast from Laredo can be heard live on ESPN Radio 1240 AM with Chris Due calling the action or by logging onto www.doradosfootball.com to catch the online broadcast. The game will also be televised over the internet through AF2TV.COM (www.af2tv.com). Individual tickets are currently on sale for the Dorados next home game, which is scheduled for May 8th against the Wichita Stealth, and may be purchased by stopping by the Dodge Arena offices (2600 N. 10th St. in Hidalgo, Tx) or contacting them by phone at 956-843-7825. Additional ticket information and corporate opportunities are available by contacting the Dorados offices at 956-843-7825 or visit the Dorados online at www.doradosfootball.com.



arenafootball2 Stories from April 26, 2004


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.

OurSports Central