Dragons crush Colorado , 62-28
May 21, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
New York Dragons News Release
A third consecutive division championship.
The first ten-win season on Long Island.
7-1 at home.
League and franchise records set, breakout seasons from several players.
And now they play for the ArenaBowl championship.
But first things first. The Dragons will host a playoff game next Sunday when the Arena Football League begins post season play, but they still had to finish out their regular season against the Colorado Crush. They did it in wildly impressive fashion, blowing out a Colorado team that had a lot to play for tonight, 62-28. Even more eye-opening is that the Dragons were so dominant despite resting key players Kevin Swayne, Corey Johnson and Chin Achebe.
"We're finally putting it all together on the field," said Coach Weylan Harding.
"This is the way we wanted to go into the playoffs," said quarterback Aaron Garcia.
After securing their third consecutive Eastern Division championship last week, the Dragons took advantage of the opportunity to get ready for the postseason. Harding got a complete effort from his team on both sides of the ball, as the Dragons will enter the playoffs having won four of their last five games.
Garcia was the sharpest he has been all season, going 23-27 for 246 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions. WR/LB Mike Horacek and WR/DB Will Holder each had three touchdown catches. Garcia spread the ball around to all available targets, as seven different receivers had at least one reception. Even when Garcia was lifted to rest late in the fourth quarter, backup QB Chris Boden picked up right where his predecessor left off. Boden threw the first and second touchdown passes of his AFL career to Horacek and WR/LB Sir Mawn Wilson.
The Dragons' defensive backfield also was solid. The secondary gave Chicago quarterback John Dutton fits all night. After a decent start, Dutton struggled to get his team in the endzone in the second half. DS Billy Parker contributed an interception while WR/DB DaShane Dennis and Holder provided staunch coverage to stymie offensive opportunities of Colorado in the second half. The Crush finally registered their first score in the second half midway through the fourth quarter when Dutton was replaced by backup QB Jose Davis.
"Billy Parker had another first-class game for us," said Harding. "He took on the challenge of facing some of the top offensive weapons in the league, and he shut them down."
"This is an effort that we can be very proud of on all sides of the ball," said Garcia.
Third Quarter Highlights:
Parker added to his league high total in interceptions when he picked off Crush quarterback John Dutton on Colorado's first possession of the second half. The turnover came on fourth down and goal. The pick was set up by DaShane Dennis, who batted away passes on first and second down. The Dragons parlayed the interception into a touchdown when Garcia hooked up with WR/DB Will Holder for the second time to put the Dragons up 35-21.
Holder and Garcia were not done punching holes through the Crush defensive backfield. After the Dragons were able to force a second consecutive defense stop, Garcia completed three consecutive passes, with the culmination being a 14 yard touchdown strike to Holder for the third time to increase the lead to 42-21 with under a minute remaining.
First Half Recap:
DaShane Dennis contributed in every facet of the game. In addition to playing in the defense backfield, he returned two kickoffs for 44 yards in the half. He also caught the first touchdown pass of the game for New York late in the first quarter to tie the game at seven.
Garcia was extremely accurate throughout the half. He completed 16 of 17 passes for four touchdowns and no interceptions. Garcia spread the ball around evenly, as Horacek, Wilson, Dennis, and Holder had one touchdown receptions apiece in the half.
The Dragons' first defensive stop came late in final minute of the half and prevented the Crush from breaking the 21 all tie. After the officials ruled that Dutton's pass to OS Damian Harrell was incomplete in the end zone on third down, Crush kicker Clay Rush missed a short field goal attempt to give the Dragons the ball back. Two plays later Garcia connected with WR/DB Will Holder to put the Dragons up 28-21, which would be the score heading into halftime.
Game Notes:
Garcia was the Offensive Player of the Game, Parker the ADT Defensive Player of the Game and Will Holder was named U.S. Army Ironman of the Game...
New York Jets head coach Herman Edwards, a guest of Dragons owner Charles Wang, conducted the opening coin toss. Edwards also a guest on the 1050 ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Net broadcasts in the second quarter...
New York Mets pitch Heath Bell was also at tonight's game...
The Dragons playoff game next week will be held at the Coliseum at 3:30 pm. New York's opponent is still undecided, but the possibilities include the New Orleans VooDoo, Tampa Bay Storm, or Orlando Predators...
Aaron Garcia is the subject of a profile in this week's issue of the Sporting News magazine...
Parker's interception was his 10th on the season, giving him three more interceptions than teammate Corey Johnson, who is tied for second in the league.
Tickets to the Dragons' first round playoff game on Sunday, May 29 at 3:30 pm are available now by calling 1.866.AFL.TIXX.
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