Dragons Slip Up Against Avengers
May 16, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
New York Dragons News Release
The Dragons were unable to complete a second half comeback as they fell to the Los Angeles Avengers 58-53 at the Nassau Coliseum on Sunday. Avengers QB Tony Graziani connected with Chris Jackson four times in the victory. Ironman of the Game Josh White scored three touchdowns for the Dragons.
For the first few drives of the afternoon, this game had all the makings of an old-school AFL offensive shootout. After Avengers' WR Kevin Ingram broke open the scoring, Dragons FB Josh White punched the ball in via the ground from three yards out. But the game would then swing in Los Angeles' favor from that point. WR Henry Douglas caught an 11-yard pass from QB Tony Graziani to give the Avengers a 14-7 lead. On the Dragons' next possession, WR Richmond Flowers fumbled the football after a short completion and the Avengers retook possession.
Los Angeles capitalized quickly on the mistake as Graziani connected with OS Chris Jackson to open up the second quarter. With that play, the Avengers took a 21-7 lead. On the home team's following drive, OS Richmond Flowers made a great diving 37-yard catch in the endzone to get the Dragons back on the scoreboard. However, the momentum would swing again after another Graziani touchdown. Dragons QB Aaron Garcia under threw a pass downfield and Kevin Ingram, who was playing DB, intercepted it. Graziani hooked up with Jackson for a second time as they increased their lead to 35-13. Before the first half was out, White scored again, this time on a seven-yard pass. But as the final seconds ticked off the clock in the second quarter, Avengers' kicker Remy Hamilton split the uprights with a 16-yard field goal. After two quarters of play, the Dragons found themselves trailing 38-19.
The third quarter started out great for the Dragons. After receiving the kickoff, WR Lincoln Dupree started things off with a 45-yard pass reception on the first offensive play of the half. Then, the Dragons defense came alive. They stopped the Avengers for the first time with a four-and-out as Hamilton missed a 45-yard field goal wide-left. Garcia then connected with Flowers with another long pass, this time from 27 yards and Los Angeles' lead was narrowed to 38-32. The Dragons' defense kept playing hard as DB Jerald Brown forced and recovered a fumble by Jackson on LA's next possession. Unfortunately, Garcia made a mistake on the Dragons' next drive as he threw his second interception of the day. LB Greg Hopkins came up with the INT, but the Avengers would be forced to settle for a 16-yard field goal by Hamilton on their next drive. After the third quarter, Los Angeles held a 41-32 lead.
White continued his career day with his third touchdown of the day, a five-yard run up the gut, as they final quarter got under way. After kicker Gary Kral's third extra point-miss of the game, the Dragons found themselves trailing by three points, 41-38. But the Avengers would turn up the heat again as Graziani connected with Jackson for a third time to increase their lead to 10 points. Los Angeles would make a heads up play on special teams as they successfully converted an onsides kick to give them another double possession. They strengthened their lead to 55-38 when Jackson made a one-handed catch for his fourth touchdown of the game.
New York didn't give up as Garcia hooked up with Flowers for a third time. Lincoln Dupree added a two-point conversion as LA's lead was cut to nine points. Hamilton added a 25-yard field goal to increase Los Angeles' lead to 12 points heading into the final minute of the game. Needing to score quickly, the Dragons took 40 seconds to find the endzone. A pass intended for Dupree found WR Will Holder for the score. Trailing by five points, 58-53, the Dragons were forced to attempt an onsides kick. Unfortunately, the Dragons could not recover Kral's kick as Los Angeles sealed the game.
Next week The Dragons head south to the Jungle as they look to avenge last season's playoff loss to the Orlando Predators. With the Dragons only one game ahead of Orlando in the playoff race, this game could significantly impact the Dragons playoff hopes.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 16, 2004
- Nash sets AFL record in Gladiators fourth straight win - Las Vegas Gladiators
- Gladiators hand SaberCats second straight loss - San Jose SaberCats
- Orlando smacks Austin, playoffs in sight - Orlando Predators
- Last-second win clinches playoff berth for Rush - Chicago Rush
- Predators take down Dragons, 43-26 - Austin Wranglers
- Dragons Slip Up Against Avengers - New York Dragons
- Firebirds hold off Crush, 59-56 - Albany/Indiana Firebirds
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.
