Dragons take opener in thrilling fashion
by David Holusha
Published on March 12, 2008 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
New York Dragons
With four and a half minutes to go in the game, quarterback Rohan Davey scrambled out of a pressure situation and found wide receiver Chris Anthony deep in the right-hand corner of the end zone. He delivered a perfect bullet pass for the TD that would put The New York Dragons back in the lead.
"Chris Anthony in the red zone, which we call the green zone, does a great job of knowing where the defenders are, getting open and sliding into a little hole. It was a called play, but he saw me moving and made the adjustment," said Davey, who finished with more than respectable numbers of 22 for 36 passing (2 interceptions) for 233 total yards and 6 TD's.
But that 44-39 lead would be short lived, as former Dragon receiver Mike Horacek pulled down a touchdown pass from Kansas City Brigade QB John Fitzgerald (22 for 37 passing, 4 TD's, 2 interceptions and 3 rushing TD's) with a minute and a half to go. Needing an additional point to prevent a field goal from beating them, KC went for the two point conversion and made it.
With the score now 3 points in the Brigade's favor at 47-44, there was only one minute left to work with, for the Dragons to drive down the field and score. Kansas City gambled, electing to attempt an onside kick, but New York successfully recovered at the KC 14 yard line. The Dragons offense quickly moved the ball to the KC 7, but then stalled on the next three plays. The Kansas City defense almost forced New York to settle for a tying field goal, however, a pass interference call on Jerald Brown awarded a fresh set of downs to NY and the ball on the KC 3 yard line. The Dragons then recovered their own fumble off a rush by fullback Ricky Hall, which New York offensive lineman Greg Randall picked up on the KC 2. Davey coolly completed the 2-yard touchdown pass to Jason Willis with 22 seconds left, giving the Dragons a 50-47 victory and their first win of the season.
Kansas City got the ball back with 22 seconds left, but after one incomplete pass by Fitzgerald, Dragons defensive back rookie sensation Levy Brown stepped in front of the next pass with 10 seconds to go for his second interception of the game, sealing the win for New York.
"I felt very good," said an elated Brown in the post game. "Everybody showed up. I think we gave the fans a taste of what the season is going to be like. The crowd was very energetic and into the game."
Willis, subbing in for the injured Kevin Swayne, earned himself offensive player of the game honors, catching six passes for 59 yards and 4 touchdowns.
"We did what we were supposed to do," said Head coach Weylan Harding. "It was a total team effort. Sometimes offense is going to carry the load, sometimes it will be the defense." Asked if the game was as physical as he had previously anticipated (in the game notes, Harding stated that "traditionally [Kansas City] is a physical team. The games have been really close as far as that's concerned, so were expecting a physical group to come in here and play us") he had this to say: "We really knock each other around out there. There was quite a lot of pad popping and it was definitely going to be last man standing. I don't expect anything different from Coach Porter over there. He coaches a very tough physical group."
Former Dragons star Mike Horacek caught four passes for 46 yards and two touchdowns against his former team.
The kicking game also played a role in Kansas City's defeat, as Peter Martinez missed an 18-yard field goal, as well as three extra points.
The Arena Football League announced on Wednesday that Dragons DB Levy Brown has been named the Week Two ADT Defensive Player of the Week. Brown spent the 2007 season with the af2's Florida Firecats and was named the ADT Defensive Player of the Year.
Brown (5-11, 200) led the Dragons recording 6.5 tackles, two pass breakups and two interceptions for four yards.
Also receiving weekly honors for Offensive Player of the Week and Ironman of the Week are New Orleans VooDoo QB Danny Wimprine and Cleveland Gladiators WR/DB Robert Redd, respectively.
The Dragons next play this Sunday at 2:00 pm vs. The Philadelphia Soul.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 12, 2008
- Rivals to meet as San Jose takes on Arizona - San Jose SaberCats
- Playoff-bound Rattlers to face rival San Jose - Arizona Rattlers
- 2008 LA Avengers on FSN PRIME TICKET - Los Angeles Avengers
- Colorado Head Coach Mike Dailey Goes For 100 Wins - AFL I
- Gladiators Announce Television Schedule - Cleveland Gladiators
- Colorado at Dallas on ESPN2 Highlights Week 3 Schedule - AFL I
- Dragons take opener in thrilling fashion - OSC Original by David Holusha
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
