Garcia, Swayne lead Dragons to crucial win
by David Holusha
Published on April 28, 2005 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
New York Dragons
The return of star WR Kevin Swayne and QB Aaron Garcia's five touchdown passes for the New York Dragons were overshadowed by one brilliant play from first year DB Billy Parker. With two-and-a-half minutes to go on the gameclock, and the Philadelphia Soul slicing down the field for what would have been a game tying score, "big play Billy" rose like a phoenix out of nowhere to pick the ball away, and tear out the hearts and momentum of a Soul team who, up to that point has given as good as it got. Ultimately it provided the catalyst to propel the Dragons to a 51-37 victory.
All game long you could see Parker had that extra fire in his eyes, and it followed his play on the field. For much of the game, Parker was spotted locked in heated and violent exchanges with Soul WR Marcus Knight. That little extra hit at the end of the play. The helmet-to-helmet jawing and trash talking all served to psyche up Parker, and pave the way for his defining moment.
"Its wasn't personal," Parker said after the game. "We just had to go out there and impose our will. That how all of our defense is. I wasn't singling any one player out there, I'm trying to give it to all of them," said Parker. "You could tell by the end of the game that all the spark they had early - all that extra stuff they had, just died."
"Its all under control, though. The personal foul I took early in the game was on purpose," admitted the candid athlete. "That was just to get the team going".
One certainly couldn't argue with his methods, as the Dragons did seem to be a bit flat early on. "After that point we got it rolling," he continued.
Parker was quick to give credit to his fellow teammates, especially on the defining play. He credits FB Chin Achebe with driving his man into Philadelphia QB Tony Graziani on the key interception play. That caused the pass to float just enough for Parker to make his move.
"It the nature of the position. I'm picking up on the motion. In crunch time the ball is going to be coming my way and I know that."
Philadelphia WR Sean Scott led the Soul with a 6 catch for 57 yards performance. New York OS Kevin Swayne, in his first game back, had five receptions for 66 yards and one TD.
Massive 315 lb back Chris Ryan, proved initially to be a difficult "train" to stop, as he powered the Soul to an early lead. To the Dragons credit, they quickly adjusted their tactics and rendered him much less of a threat by making precise leg tackles. In particular, DL Stacey Evans came up with a crucial third down stop on Ryan, holding the Soul to just a field goal.
QB Aaron Garcia completed his third touchdown pass of the contest to tie the score at 24. Working an efficient series predominantly with WR Chris Anthony, the wiry receiver pulled in a 22 yard pass for his 14th TD of the season.
With the Dragons defense now holding the Soul from scoring yet again, Philadephia kicker Tim Seder watched as his from-their-own-endzone field goal attempt bounced off the scoreboard for the full New York stop.
Garcia then hooked-up with WR Will Holder on a scoring drive that gave the Dragons its first lead since early in the contest. The Soul did manage to tie the game up at 31 when Philadelphia QB Tony Graziani connected with OS Steve Smith from short range for the score.
However, the Dragons reclaimed the lead for good when Garcia found wide receiver/linebacker Mike Horacek for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 38-31. Then came Parker's big moment.
The final 16 seconds of the game saw New York score two TD's and Philadelphia one, on a series of bang-bang rapid-fire plays.
The Dragons now travel to battle the Dallas Desperados in a crucial Eastern Divisional matchup on Friday night.
All commment, questions or salutations can be addressed to dave_h_80_83@yahoo.com.
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