Dragons Win Home Opener 50-47
March 9, 2008 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
New York Dragons News Release
Jason Willis added the last of his four touchdown receptions with 21.6 seconds remaining to give the Dragons a dramatic 50-47 victory over Kansas City in front of 10,542 fans in the home opener at Nassau Coliseum.
Quarterback Rohan Davey again filled in admirably for Aaron Garcia, throwing for 233 yards and six touchdowns. Billy Parker clinched the victory with a leaping interception as time expired, preventing former teammate Mike Horacek from completing a comeback with a potential touchdown catch.
But Parker capped the last of the Dragons' six defensive stops on the afternoon, improving his team to 1-1. Brigade quarterback John Fitzgerald threw for four touchdowns and scrambled for another three touchdowns. Yet the Arena Football League veteran couldn't prevent Kansas City from dropping to 0-2.
"I was glad to see us have the defensive effort that we've had since last year," Dragons coach Weylan Harding said. "We know we have a defense that will step up in difficult moments."
Parker held Horacek in check most of the game and nearly added his second big interception of the contest when he raced in front of his ex-teammate late in the fourth quarter. Parker was just a step too slow and Horacek hauled in his second touchdown. Jerald Brown tacked on the two-point conversion as Kansas City went up 48-45 at the one-minute warning.
Brigade coach Kevin Porter elected to go for the on-side kick, which Willis recovered.
Kansas City nearly finished a clutch defensive stand before Jerald Brown knocked down Chris Anthony for a pass interference penalty on fourth-and-three. The infraction resulted in a first down, allowing Davey to complete a swing pass to Willis along the sideboards for the go-ahead score.
"We want to establish that we'll be a tough team at home," Davey said. "I think we took a step in the right direction."
Willis, filling in for the injured Kevin Swayne, played like a top-tier receiver. He caught six passes for 59 yards. Anthony and Keron Henry also notched touchdown catches as Davey carried over his success from a close opening week loss in Cleveland.
"We worked extra hard in practice this week trying to get some chemistry with J-Will," Davey said. "I think we knocked the rust off in the first half. Then the second half, we came back. It was important for our receivers to play well knowing that we had guys out."
The Dragons defense produced big plays throughout the contest. A stout secondary generated three first-half defensive stops. But Fitzgerald still put Kansas City on the scoreboard by rushing for two touchdowns and throwing for another.
Facing a fourth down -and-four situation, Davey lobbed a pass over a wave of Brigade cornerbacks to find Willis open just in front of the end line for a 13-12 Dragons lead in the final minute in the first half. Chris Onorato couldn't execute the ensuing onside kick, giving Kansas City good field position.
Fitzgerald inched into the end zone on a quarterback keeper on a fourth-and-goal play from the one-yard line with 20 seconds remaining. Onorato responded by drilling a 41-yard field goal with time expiring to cut the halftime deficit to 19-16.
Former Dragons DB Will Holder and Horacek victimized their former team late in the first quarter. Holder hauled in an endzone interception and returned the ball to midfield. Horacek took advantage of the turnover moments later, making a sliding catch on Fitzgerald's 13-yard touchdown pass.
Jerald Brown, another former Dragon, followed Holder's lead and added an interception of his own on the next drive. In response, the Dragons prevented Kansas City from forging a two-score lead after Levy Brown picked off Fitzgerald's pass headed towards the corner of the end zone.
Brown, the reigning af2 Defensive Player of the Year, capped a sound opening stand by breaking up a fourth-down pass, swinging possession back to the home team. Brown's clutch pass coverage facilitated Davey's 15-yard touchdown strike to Willis to open the scoring.
"We didn't get too many penalties," Brown said about the defensive backs. "Everybody jelled together this week. I give credit to the coaches because they really pushed us hard."
Five Stars of the Game:
1. QB Rohan Davey: Produced again when his number was called, 22-of-36 for 238 yards and six touchdowns.
2. QB John Fitzgerald: Seven total touchdowns to keep Kansas City in it until the end.
3. WR Jason Willis: Stepped up in Swayne's absence and contributed four touchdowns.
4. WR Jerel Myers: Collected a game-high 11 catches for 100 yards.
5. WR/KR Damien Groce: Recorded 182 total yards as a kick returner and a complementary receiver.
Stat of the Game: Six, as in the number of times the Brigade failed to put up points on a possession. Levy Brown and Billy Parker teamed for a combined eight tackles and the secondary forced Fitzgerald into two interceptions. The coverage also allowed John Walker to recover a Fitzgerald fumble that turned into a Dragons' defensive touchdown in the third quarter.
History on hold: Kevin Swayne will need to wait at least one more week to surpass Mike Horacek's all-time franchise reception mark. Swayne was a late scratch with a sprained left knee. He still needs two more catches to best Horacek's record of 536 receptions.
Welcome back: Horacek and Holder returned to the Coliseum as members of Kansas City. Horacek, the Dragons' leading receiver last season, was the only Brigade player who wasn't booed during pregame introductions. Before being traded this offseason, Horacek set team records for receiving touchdowns, total yards, total points and most seasons with 100-plus points. Holder owns the Dragons' record of six kickoff returns for touchdowns.
Game Operations: The Dragons game ops crew put together an entertaining home opener for the fans...The East Islip High School Football team was honored prior to the kickoff. The East Islip Redmen are the 2007 Class 2 Long Island Football High School Champions after finishing the season 11-0...The entire 2008 New York Dragons squad along with the FireDancers and the new Energy Team were introduced...The Copiague and Lindenhurst Youth Leagues were today's flag presenters...Rohan Davey was named the Peak Performance Player of Week One...The Dragons debuted the Champs Football toss, which allowed one lucky contestant two chances to throw a football from mid-field through the uprights for two $25 gift cards to Champs...Today's Fast Lane to Fame featured band was Joe Rockstar, whose website is myspace.com/joerockstar...The ever-popular Crazy Legs Race returned to the Coliseum. The winner of the race won a remote starter...
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