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Dragons win battle of top teams

by David Holusha
March 13, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
New York Dragons


The train kept a rollin' for the New York Dragons as their locomotive push to AFL dominance chugged onward. Pulling out a 53-51 victory over the previously hot Georgia Force has everyone thinking "championship season" around Long Island.

That the margin of victory came on the foot of kicker Rob Bironas this week only underscores the balanced attack this Dragons team possess. With 13.2 seconds left on the clock, Bironas nailed a 32-yarder for a two-point lead. "I just went out there and kicked it. I didn't pay any attention at all to the situation," said the former Georgia Southern University NCAA Division I-AA National Champion. "At points during the season, we've had a little confusion out there, but for the most part, "snow" (center Marcus Owen) has made the good snaps and Chris Bowden held the ball perfectly. We clicked when we needed to put it together and came through in the end."

QB Aaron Garcia has his usual outstanding game, passing for 275 yards, completing 24 of 32 attempts for 5 TD's. "Its a team game. Guys are stepping up all across the board," said Garica. "If the defense struggles, the offense picks it up. The special teams are coming through all the time. Then tonight, Rob Bironas – he had struggled a little bit, but he made the big kick to put the pressure on them right there at the end."

"I felt confident," added head coach Weylan Harding.. "Honestly, Bironas probably can't make a kick unless its live or die" said the coach, with just glint of humor in his voice.

The special teams factor was huge, and laid firmly on the blazing runback ability of game Ironman Corey Johnson. With the game tied 7-7 early in the first quarter, Johnson took the kickoff off the netting, darting across the field to the left. With only Georgia kicker Nelson Garner to beat, CJ quickly shifted the ball from his right hand to his left – and straight-armed the kicker to the ground, opening a clear path to the end zone. Later on in the third quarter, he duplicated this exact same move while running backed a missed field goal attempt. When asked after the game if he ever felt he may have been stopped in either of those situations, Johnson bristled at the thought. ""I don't think I would ever live it down if I let a kicker make the stopping tackle on me," said Johnson with a smile. When his own teammate who plays that very same position was relayed this news, he had his own take on that particular situation. "We try to do what we gotta do out there. If it comes up as a hit – then you got to hit somebody," countered Bironas.

Johnson was quick to credit his teammates for the success he had. "I got to give a lot of credit to the guys in front of me. They make it easy when all you've got to do is catch the ball off the net, turn and run. When you have great blocking up front you can do that. When you get single man-on-man coverage, its easy to take it to the house, and that's what I did."

"I've had games like this on special teams and defense before, but I'm not usually used on the offensive side of the ball this way. So in that respect, it was a unique and special game for me."

The Georgia Force gave all they had and looked as if they might pull this one out with time ticking off the clock. In the arena game, 13 seconds is plenty of time to drive down the field. Standout OS Troy Bergeron (4 catches for 86 yards, 1 TD) took the kickoff and brought the ball out to their 7 yard line. But with former Dragons QB Matt Nagy (23 of 37 for 328 yards and 7 TD's, but also 3 interceptions) under extreme pressure from an onrushing Dragons defense, the desperation pass was picked off by big-play defensive specialist Billy Parker to nail down the win.

Georgia WR Derek Lee displayed outstanding skills and grit, earning himself offensive player of the game award. He pulled in 6 TD's and made himself a tough target to defend all game long. When asked about having to defend both Lee and Bergeron, Corey Johnson was quick to note his formidable opponents. "Those are some big guys and they're real physical. Me being the competitor that I am, its hard to take when we let them out on a couple of those plays," said Johnson.

"I felt we could compete with any team in the league from the start," said Harding after the game. "If we take care of our business, with the talent we have we can go with anybody. There's a lot of parity in the league this year. There's no one dominant team."

Despite all the recent injuries the Dragons have been forced to deal with, their depth of personnel has stepped in and made the most of their opportunities. "Offensively we always take what the opposition gives us," continued Harding. "We've had quite a bit of juggling to do with the skill positions. Will Holder went down. We had Chris Anthony down at one point, so we did a bit of scrambling."

"You hope for the best, but prepare for the worst".

Chris Angel had yet another hard-hitting game on defense. Not only coming up with a key interception late in the game, but also providing many solo tackles at key moments. "The whole secondary was outstanding," said Harding.. "Not only Angel, but Billy Parker - Corey Johnson had to play the whole game. Chris Anthony actually had to get out there as well. When anybody's number has been called, they've been stepping up and making plays."

QB Aaron Garcia concurred. We talked about trusting each other. Believing in each other – that's a big thing for us right now. We go down two receivers in the second half, but the guys just stepped in and did the job. Sir Mawn Williams (playing in his first game for the Dragons) is a great player and that's why we brought him here. He's got a big body, but he's just learning. Once he gets it all down he's going to be even tougher to stop. Corey Johnson is a great team guy and a leader. He came through in every aspect of the game"

"As good as the Georgia front was, our line played real well. We had a couple of breakdowns in key situations – one busted play on that last drive, for instance. But other than that our offensive line played real well," continued Garcia. "I knew going in that this was going to be a physical game. The defensive backs were going to be holding, so there were times when I was going to have to scramble. I was mad at myself last week when I took off to run one time and fumbled the ball. It was something I was thinking about all week. But my legs felt good and I felt like I could get out of some situations today."

Finally, a special "Irondancer" gameball goes to Firedancer Dina – who returned to her between-game action announcement duties. Having to shift effortlessly between emceeing the "seat cushion run" and then back to rigorous dance routines is no simple task. However, Dina pulls this off like the consummate professional she is.

The Dragons now head back on the road to play this Friday night at Austin.

Any comments or questions regarding this or any of my other articles can be addressed to dave_h_80_83@yahoo.com.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 13, 2005


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