Force too strong for Avengers

by Tim Peterson, Mid Valley News
March 3, 2003 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)

(Los Angeles)- There is a street that runs North and South directly across from the Los Angeles Avengers home arena named Georgia Street. And although the name was merely a coincidence the Georgia Force waltzed into Staples Center and made themselves right at home in a 46-35 win over the Avengers before 12,728 Sunday afternoon.

Los Angeles led early in the game at 7-6 and 14-13 but struggled the rest of the way. They were averaging over 61 points a game coming in but were never able to get untracked against the stingy Force defense. The Avengers played the game without two key offensive linemen. Tony Plantin and Mathias Vavao were injured during weekly drills and it had an affect.

"They (Georgia) were rushing and we couldn't protect," said Avenger coach Ed Hodgkiss. "We usually protect the quarterback a lot better and the last two weeks we haven't."

Dan Curran put the Force on the board first with a one yard run on their opening possession. The Avengers came back with an 8- yard pass from Tony Graziani to Chris Jackson for the lead. The Force went up again early in the second but a one yard sneak by Graziani put the Avengers up 14-13. It was their last lead of the afternoon.

Georgia quarterback Donnie Davis hooked up with Scott Thomas on a 13-yard pass play and the Force took a 21-14 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

Los Angeles struck quick after the intermission. On the first possession, Graziani hit a streaking Jackson over the middle, who busted a tackle and danced 31 yards to pay dirt to get the Avengers even. This seemed to be the play that would jump start LA out of its malaise. But the Force was with Georgia on this day.

Georgia racked up 22 consecutive points to put the game out of reach. Davis tossed three touchdown passes on the next three possessions. He hit Markeith Cooper on a 20 yard strike for a 28-21 lead. Then Davis found Darryl Hammond open for an eight yard touchdown. The Davis to Hammond connection worked again from one yard out three minutes later and after a failed two point conversion attempt the Force led 40-21 early in the fourth quarter.

Kevin Gaines picked off a long Graziani pass on the Avengers next series with 2:54 left in the contest. And although the fat lady was not yet singing she was seen warming up behind the Georgia bench.

Graziani hit Hopkins on touchdown passes of four and 23 yards late but the curtain had already come down Steve McLaughlin kicked two field goals for the Force to round out the scoring.

Graziani was banged up last week against Chicago but he and Hodgkiss both dismissed that as a reason for the defeat. "I think Tony was healthy and I don't think that had anything to do with it. He was under a lot of duress," Hodgkiss said.

"We didn't come to play. I don't have an answer for it. The last two weeks we were flat. Including myself, I didn't play well." Graziani added. Graziani finished 19 for 37 for 245 yards and four touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions.

With the loss The Avengers fell to 3-2 and will travel to New York next week to face the Dragons. The Force improved to 3-2 and will head home to entertain Grand Rapids. Georgia coach Marty Lowe was impressed with his club's effort.

"We didn't turn the ball over and we played good defense. When you do that you always have a shot," Lowe said. "Play after play we just kept going. We were able to get some pressure on the quarterback and our guys made some plays. It was good to see that."

Georgia        6  15  13  12    46
Los Angeles    7   7   7  14    35

Total Yards: G- 266. LA- 232 First Downs: G- 23, LA- 20.
Passing: G- Davis 26-37-272-5-0, Leon Murray 1-3-2-0-0.
LA- Graziani 19-37-245-4-2.

• Discuss this story on the Arena Football League (1987-2008) message board...

Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 3, 2003

• Force too strong for Avengers - OSC Original by Tim Peterson, Mid Valley News
• Desperados Game Notes - Dallas Desperados
• Desperados Return Home to Face Crush - Dallas Desperados
• Detroit's Andy Kelly Sets Arena Football Milestone - Detroit Fury
• Close Games Increase - AFL I
• AFL Officials Ruled Correctly on Overtime Onside Kick - AFL I
• Arena football players to make visits to Boys & Girls Clubs - Dallas Desperados
• Week Five AFL Game Summaries - AFL I
• SaberCats Defeat Gladiators, 72-37 - San Jose SaberCats

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.