Georgia Force Playoff Game Notes

Published on May 27, 2003 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Georgia Force News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Georgia Force (9-8) vs. San Jose SaberCats (12-4)
Date: May 31, 2003
Kickoff: 3:00 p.m. ET.
Site: HP Pavilion (14,041).
Television: NBC (Allen Bestwick: play-by-play, John Riggins: color analyst, Dave Burns: sideline reporter).
Radio: WQXI 790 AM The Zone (David Hubbard: play-by-play, Chuck Oliver: color analyst). WPLO 610 AM RadioMex (Jose Medellin: play-by-play, Marcelo Godoy: color analyst).
Coaches: Marty Lowe- Georgia (14-12, 2nd Year). Darren Arbet- San Jose (58-21, 5th Year).
Series Record: Series is tied 1-1
@ Georgia 51, San Jose 49 (2/16/03)
@ Georgia 53, San Jose 59 (5/4/02)

THE GAME:

The Georgia Force advances to the Quarterfinal Round in the Drive to ArenaBowl XVII this week when it travels to the HP Pavilion to face the number one seed and defending AFL World Champion San Jose SaberCats on Saturday, May 31st at 3:00 p.m. ET on NBC. Earlier this season, the Force defeated the SaberCats in its home opener 51-49 on February 16th when James Brown completed a touchdown pass to Darryl Hammond as time expired. This season, Georgia is 7-2 in games aired on NBC and 3-0 against teams hailing from the Western Division.

Last week Georgia became just the second twelve seed in AFL playoff history to beat a number five seed since the 12-team playoff format was adopted in 2000. No 12-seed

has ever beaten a one-seed. Only once has a number one seed lost in the Quarterfinal round of the AFL playoffs when in 1999 top seeded Tampa Bay loss 41-19 to Orlando. The Predators, the eighth and last seed, moved on to become the lowest seed ever to advance to the ArenaBowl.

Over the last three years, the defending ArenaBowl Champions have lost their first playoff game the following season. In 2000, Albany fell to Arizona 53-50 and in 2001 Orlando was defeated 41-26 by Chicago, while in 2002 Grand Rapids lost to Carolina 72-64.

San Jose finished the 2003 regular season with a 12-4 record and won their fourth Western Division Championship.

For the second straight year, the SaberCats earned the playoff's top seed and will host the 12th seeded team in their first postseason game.

PLAYOFF QUALIFICATION, SELECTION OF TEAMS

The Semifinals format is as follows:

Lowest remaining seed @ highest remaining seed Second-lowest remaining seed @ second-highest remaining seed.

The two teams remaining will compete in ArenaBowl XVII, which will be played at the home venue of the highest remaining seed.

HEAD COACHES:

MARTY LOWE, Georgia (14-12, 2nd Year): Marty Lowe begins his second season as Head Coach of the Georgia Force. Lowe guided the Force to a second place finish in the Southern Division and a 6-8 record in the team's inaugural season in 2002. He replaced Robert Lyles, who was relieved of his duties following the Force's 1-4 last year. Under his direction, the Force finished the year winning five of their last eight games.

Prior to joining the Force, Lowe served as running back coach for the University of Texas-El Paso. Lowe's coaching career in the Arena Football League started when he joined the Nashville Kats as an offensive assistant in March 2000 after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Louisville. With the Kats, Lowe had Nashville's offense clicking on all cylinders in the 2000 playoffs, scoring more than 50 points in each of the team's first three post-season contests to quality for Arena Bowl XIV. Lowe went on to serve as the Kats offensive coordinator and assistant coach, where his duties included creating and implementing the offensive game plan and coaching the team's wide receivers and quarterbacks.

Lowe, who played quarterback at the University of Louisville from 1991-95, spent two seasons in the Arena Football League. He played quarterback for the St. Louis Stampede in 1996 and joined the Texas Terrors. He was a starter at Texas until a knee injury ended his playing career. In college, he started 22 consecutive games for the Cardinals, passing for 2,268 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior in 1995. He is one of only four passers in Louisville history to throw for more than 2,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. Lowe joined the Louisville coaching staff in 1997, breaking down practice and game tape. A native of Chattanooga, Lowe was Mr. Football in Tennessee as a senior at Red Bank High School in 1990.

DARREN ARBET, San Jose (58-21, 5th Year): Last season Arbet guided the SaberCats to the best regular season record (13-1) ever in league history, the most victories in a season (16) and the franchise's first league title. Arbet has compiled a 42-15 (.737) career mark in regular season games and currently owns the third-best regular season winning percentage in AFL history among coaches with at least 10 victories. Named AFL Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2002, Arbet's teams have gone 41-9 (.820) overall in the past four seasons. Spanning the 2000 and 2001 seasons, Arbet led the SaberCats to a league record 15-game regular season winning streak and twice in the last three years the SaberCats have had 12-game win streaks.

GEORGIA FORCE NEXT WEEK:

If the Force wins this weekend in San Jose, it will play in the Semifinal Round on Saturday, June 7th at 3:00 p.m. ET on NBC. Georgia's opponent would be the highest remaining seed left in the playoffs.

WR/DB JARRICK HILLERY NAMED IRONMAN OF THE WEEK

ATLANTA, GA. (May 27, 2003) – The Arena Football League announced today that wide receiver/ defensive back Jarrick Hillery was named Ironman of the Week for the Wild Card Round of the AFL playoffs. Hillery's efforts helped lead the 12th seed Force to its first-ever playoff victory as Georgia defeated the 5th seed Dallas Desperados 49-45.

Hillery (6-0, 200, Tennessee State) playing in his fourth season was one of only three two-way players on the team to start all 16 regular season games. Last week against Dallas, he was named the game's MVP and was the game's leading receiver with nine receptions for 102 yards and game-high tying three touchdowns, adding two kickoff returns for 59 yards with a long return of 42 yards. On defense, Hillery made two tackles and one forced fumble on special teams.

QB LEON MURRAY NAMED TO ALL-ROOKIE TEAM

ATLANTA, GA. (May 19, 2003) – The Arena Football League announced that quarterback Leon Murray was named to the All-Rookie team. Murray established new single-game club marks for passing touchdowns, completions and twice set the record for passing yardage in a game, while leading the Force to the AFL playoffs for the first time in team history.

Murray (6-3, 212, Tennessee State) played in eight games, starting the Force's last six contests, after beginning the season as the team's third quarterback. He finished the season passing for 1,737 yards on 149-of-240 passing with 33 yards and three interceptions. Murray also finished as the team's second leading rusher gaining 52 yards on 12 carries and two rushing touchdowns. His 115.9 passer rating ranked him seventh in the league while his 62.1 pass completion percentage ranked ninth in the AFL. Murray set new single-game team records with 31 completions and 307 yards passing on May 4th at Indiana. The following week vs. Dallas on May 10th, he broke his own mark for passing yards in a game tossing for 354 yards and completing eight touchdowns.

OL/DL JERMAINE SMITH NAMED TO ALL-ARENA FIRST TEAM:

ATLANTA, GA. (May 20, 2003) – The Arena Football League announced today that offensive/ defensive lineman Jermaine Smith was named to the All-Arena first team. In only his second year in the AFL, Smith has established himself as one of the league's most premiere lineman earning his second straight post season award after garnering All-Rookie team honors last season.

Smith (6-3, 290, Georgia) finished the season posting career-highs in tackles (23.0), sacks (5.5) and interceptions (1). For the year, he also added seven quarterback hits, three tackles for loss, three blocked kicks, two fumble recoveries one of which was for a touchdown, one forced fumble and one pass break-up. His 5.5 sacks tied him for fifth best in the league.

WR/LB DARRYL HAMMOND NAMED TO ALL-IRONMAN TEAM

ATLANTA, GA. (May 21, 2003) – The Arena Football League announced today that wide receiver/ linebacker Darryl Hammond was named to the All-Ironman team. Hammond seems to defy time as he plays in his 13th season in the AFL breaking the league record for career years of service. (Previous mark 12 years- Sylvester Bembery 1988-2000 and George LaFrance 1988-2000). This marks the third time in his career that he has been named to the All-Ironman team garnering the honor in 2000 and 2001.

Hammond (6-3, 220, Virginia) currently ranks second in the AFL's all-time records with 560 career tackles, ranks in the top 15 in the league in career scoring with 868 points and is in the top 10 in career pass receptions with 663. He has had 8 seasons of 50 or more pass receptions.

This season, Hammond caught a team-high 88 passes for 969 yards and a team-high tying 20 touchdowns. He also gained 22 yards on three rushes and had one score on the ground. Defensively, Hammond made 33.5 tackles, four pass break-ups, three forced fumbles, two interceptions both returned for touchdowns and one fumble recovery. Following his Week 8 performance at Orlando on March 23rd, he was named the league's ADT Defensive Player of the Week.

A DEFENSIVE FORCE:

For 14 straight weeks and concluding the 2003 regular season, the Force is atop the league charts for total defense only giving up an average of 238.4 yards per game and is third in the AFL in scoring defense yielding an average of 43.8 points per game.

Georgia is also high among some of the other league defensive categories. The Force is second in pass defense (226.9), second in pass defense rating (102.3), second in rush defense (11.5), second in interceptions (23), third in red zone defense (55-73), fourth in turnover margin (+10) and ninth in sacks (16). The Force defense has been able to make its mark against some of the AFL's highest rated offenses. (AFL rank at time of game).

OPPONENT AVG PTS/ GM PTS vs. FORCE

San Jose (2/16) 60.5 (3rd) 49

Los Angeles (3/2) 62.5 (2nd) 35

Grand Rapids (3/9) 60.2 (2nd) 54

Orlando (3/23) 53.0 (7th) 36

New York (4/12) 55.4 (5th) 34

Carolina (4/18) 36.6 (15th) 19

Orlando (4/26) 52.3 (8th) 38

Tampa Bay (5/18) 53.8 (6th) 42

Dallas (5/24) 56.8 (5th) 45

BASKING IN THE SPOTLIGHT:

Georgia is 7-2 on the season when the NBC cameras are rolling. Claiming victories against the Colorado Crush (2/2), vs. the defending AFL World Champion San Jose SaberCats (2/16), at Los Angeles (3/2), vs. Grand Rapids (3/9), at Orlando (3/23), at Indiana (5/6) and in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs at Dallas (5/24). The Force dropped its only NBC televised games against Tampa Bay (4/6) and (5/18).

HOW THE WEST WAS WON:

The Force finished the season a perfect 3-0 versus teams from the Western Division. With wins against Colorado, San Jose and Los Angeles, Georgia reversed its fortunes after going 0-3 against the West last season. The Force was not scheduled to play Arizona in the 2003 regular season.

BETTER WITH AGE:

Wide Receiver/ Linebacker Darryl Hammond seems to defy time as he plays in his 13th season in the AFL breaking the league record for career years of service. (Previous mark 12 years- Sylvester Bembery 1988-2000 and George LaFrance 1988-2000).

He currently ranks second in the AFL with 562.5 career tackles, ranks in the top 15 in AFL in career scoring with 898 points and is in the top 10 in AFL in career pass receptions with 677. Hammond has had 8 seasons of 50 or more pass receptions. He had 88 receptions this season tying his single-season career-high set in 1999 with the Nashville Kats.

Hammond led the Force in receiving this season with 88 receptions for 969 yards, second highest receiving yards in his career behind his 979 receiving yards in 1995 with the St. Louis Stampede. His 20 touchdown receptions established a new single-season career-high breaking his old mark of 19 set in 1999 in Nashville.

Against San Jose (2/26), Hammond caught six passes for 58 yards, three of which went for touchdowns including a game-winning catch from quarterback James Brown as time expired to give the Force a 51-49 victory over the defending AFL World Champions.

Versus Orlando (3/23), Hammond showed his ability to still play the game at a high level. Hammond hauled in two interceptions and returned both for touchdowns of three yards and ten yards respectively. He also forced a fumble from Connell Maynor with 17 seconds remaining in the game, which was recovered by Tommy Dorsey. With 1.7 seconds left, the turnover led to Steve McLaughlin kicking a game winning field goal as time expired. Hammond added one solo tackle, one tackle for loss and two pass breakups and caught five passes for 46 yards against the Predators.

For his efforts, Hammond was named ADT Defensive Player of the Week and the contest's Ironman of the Game.

Versus Dallas (5/10), Hammond hauled in a hail mary pass that was tipped by a Desperados defender as time expired for a 42-yard touchdown. He was named the game's Ironman for his performance of seven receptions for 105 yards and a season-high four receiving touchdowns on the night.

RECORD BREAKING ROOKIE:

Over the last four games (three regular season and one postseason) rookie quarterback Leon Murray has completed 98-of-156 passes for 1,171 yards and 23 touchdowns while only throwing one interception. He finished the regular season ranked seventh in the league in passer rating with a 115.9 rating and ranked ninth in the AFL in pass completion percentage at 62.1. Murray has established new single-game club marks for passing touchdowns, completions and twice set the record for passing yardage in a game.

He had a career breakout game at Indiana (5/4) earning Game Co-MVP, by completing 31-of-38 passing for 307 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions. Murray added 15 rushing yards on four carries and one rushing score against the Firebirds. His 31 completions and 307 passing yards both established new team records.

Against Dallas (5/10), he broke his own record for passing yards throwing for 354 yards on 21-of-37 passing with a new team-record eight touchdowns and one interception.

NO AVERAGE JONES

Over the last six games (five regular season and one postseason), Tyronne Jones has caught 48 passes for 530 yards and 12 touchdowns. Jones finished the season second on the team in receiving with 989 yards on 86 receptions and a club-high tying 20 receiving touchdowns, one short of his career-high of 21 TDs in 1998 and 2001 with the Nashville Kats. He finished just 11 yards short of being the Force's first 1,000-yard receiver.

Against Dallas (5/10), Jones established a new career-high for receiving yards with 165 yards on nine receptions and scoring three touchdowns.

DOMINATING FRONT MAN

In only his second year in the AFL, Jermaine Smith has established himself as one of the league's most feared lineman. Smith was named to the All-Arena first team and last season was named to the league's All-Rookie team. This season, he posted career-high in tackles (23.0), sacks (5.5), interceptions (2). His 5.5 sacks tied him for fifth best in the league. Smith recorded one tackle and one sack in the Force's Wild Card victory over Dallas (5/24).

Smith showed his dominance in a variety of ways. He blocked three kicks, forced a fumble on quarterback John Dutton and recovered the ball in the endzone for a touchdown at Colorado (2/2). Smith also recorded his first career interception picking off Clint Dolezel inside the Grand Rapids five yard-line and returning it to the one yard-line.

JUST FOR KICKS: Steve McLaughlin ended the regular season ranked third in the league in field goal percentage connecting on 34.3 percent of his attempts. He also finished seventh in the AFL in field goals made connecting on 12-35.

This season, McLaughlin has twice set the team-record for the club's longest field goal hitting on a 49-yarder at Los Angeles (3/2) then making good on a 51-yard field goal at Las Vegas (3/29). In a win over Orlando (3/23), he kicked a game winning 30-yard field goal as time expired to give the Force a 38-36 win over the Predators.

McLaughlin ranked fourth in the AFL in PAT kicking percentage - making 89.3 of his PAT attempts (75-84). He started the season making 18-of-18 PAT attempts before missing his first of the season at Los Angeles (3/2). He later put together a string of 13 straight from (4/26) to (5/10), including connecting on all-11 attempts vs. Indiana (5/4) to set a single-game record.

McLaughlin was named Kicker of the Month for March. It marked the first time in McLaughlin's career that he has won an AFL monthly award. For the month, McLaughlin made 7-of-11 field goals and was 21-of-27 on extra point attempts. He accounted for 42 points in helping the Force to a 4-1 record in March.

MAKING GAINES

Kevin Gaines has been one of the standout leaders on the Force's defense unit. Despite missing four games due to injury, Gaines leads the team in tackles with 52.5 and leads the team in pass break-ups with 10 and interceptions with nine.

Gaines' nine picks places him tied for third in the AFL, while he is 11th in the league in passes defended and 30th in tackles.

He put on a defensive performance at Carolina (4/18) making a team-record three interceptions and racking up 53 yards in return yardage. Against the Cobras, Gaines also added 4.5 tackles. At Los Angeles (3/2), he hauled in a then team-record tying two interceptions and made a game-high 4.5 tackles. Gaines was named the game's MVP for his efforts against the Avengers.

BEASTS OF THE EAST:

Four of Georgia's eight losses this season has come from teams hailing from the Eastern Division. With road losses at Detroit and Las Vegas and home losses against Buffalo and New York, the Force finished the regular season 0-4 versus the Eastern Division.

GO-TO GUY:

Playing in his third AFL season, Scott Thomas is establishing himself as a mainstay in the Force offense. Over a five game span from Feb. 22nd to March 29th, Thomas has caught 26 passes for 377 yards and seven touchdowns. He was inactive for the Force's March 23rd game at Orlando with a turf toe injury.

He has also shown his ability to make the big play. Versus Buffalo (2/22), Thomas pulled in a 45-yard touchdown pass from Donnie Davis that tied the club record for longest pass reception in a game. Two weeks later vs. Grand Rapids (3/9), he took a Davis screen pass 43 yards for a score. Last week at Las Vegas, Thomas scored his second 45-yard touchdown on a pass from Davis tying his own team record.

At Carolina (4/18), Thomas made his presence felt on the defensive end, hauling in his first interception of the season and returning it 28 yards for a touchdown.

Thomas finished sixth in the AFL in yards per catch with a 14.7 average having gained 485 yards on 33 receptions on the season with seven touchdowns. He was placed on Injured Reserve on April 22nd with a left ankle injury.

STEPPING UP AND STANDING OUT:

In victories over Los Angeles and Grand Rapids, Markeith Cooper stepped in for the injured Tyronne Jones and was one of the most productive and dangerous offensive players in the league. Against the Avengers and Rampage, Cooper has hauled in 17 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns. He has also added nine kickoff returns for 176 yards, including a 57-yard score that tied the team record for longest kickoff return.

After seeing limited or no action over the next four games, Cooper returned to show his big play capabilities vs. New York catching five passes for 98 yards, including a 42-yard pass and one 30-yard touchdown reception.

DAN THE MAN:

Dan Curran concluded the 2003 regular season ranked tenth in the AFL in rushing with 108 yards on 32 carries. He also tied for ninth in the league in rushing touchdowns with eight scores. Curran had led the league in both categories, but with the return of both Travis Reece and Tommy Dorsey to the lineup his touches have been limited. Curran also missed three games due to a left knee MCL sprain that placed him on Injured Reserve. He returned to action for Georgia's final two regular season games.

LAST WEEK VS. DALLAS:

DALLAS, TX. - The Georgia Force (9-8) grabbed the lead with 37 seconds left in the game and held on to defeat the Dallas Desperados (10-7) 49-45 in the Wild Card Round of the AFL playoffs. Rookie quarterback Leon Murray completed 26-of-41 passes for 246 yards and five touchdowns to help Georgia win its first-ever playoff game in its first attempt. This marks the second straight year that the 12th seed has defeated the 5th seed in the opening round of the playoffs. Last season, Tampa Bay beat Los Angeles 66-41. The Force will travel to San Jose next week to face the number one seed SaberCats on Saturday, May 31st at 3:00 p.m. on NBC.

The game began with both team's defenses making an early statement. On Georgia's first possession, it was held on three straight downs forcing a long field goal attempt from Steve McLaughlin, which came up short. With Dallas' first drive, the Desperados worked their way inside the Force five-yardline before Patrise Alexander fumbled the ball out of the back of the endzone resulting in a touchback giving Georgia the ball back. The game's first score occurred when Murray found Jarrick Hillery for a five-yard touchdown pass. A bad snap on the ensuing PAT attempt left the score at 6-0 Force. Dallas answered taking the lead one-play later as Jim Kubiak found Dialleo Burks for a 45-yard touchdown giving the Desperados the lead at 7-6. Georgia was held again deep in its own territory as McLauglhin attempted a second field goal, this time getting his try blocked.

Dallas took advantage of the great field position to open the second quarter. Will Pettis to put the Desperados up 14-6 on a nine-yard touchdown pass. On the ensuing kickoff, Hillery fought his way through traffic as was able to get up to the Dallas 14-yardlline. Three plays later, Darryl Hammond rushed in from one-yard out to cut the score to 14-13 Desperados. Burks hauled in his second TD of the half on a three-yard pass from Kubiak to push the Dallas lead back to eight points at 21-13. Murray threw his second touchdown pass of the game connecting with Tyronne Jones for a seven-yard score with 1:00 remaining in the second quarter to make the score 21-20 Desperados. The Force attempted an on-side kick that was bobbled around and finally recovered by Dallas on the Georgia 20-yardline. The Force defense then rose to the challenge holding Dallas and Jason Wells to a 35-yard field goal with 34 seconds left in the half. Georgia scored the final points of the quarter, when McLaughlin made good on a 41-yard field goal attempt as the Desperados took a 24-23 halftime advantage.

The Force got the first big play of the second half when on the opening kickoff Hillery forced a fumble of the Dallas returner, which was recovered by McLaughlin. Georgia capitalized on the opportunity, as Hillery made another huge play. Hillery catching a screen pass from Murray on the left side of the field broke it all the way across the right side and run untouched for 10-yards into the endzone giving the Force the lead at 30-24. The Desperados regained the lead when Kubiak and Pettis teamed for a second time on a 10-yard touchdown pass for a 31-30 Dallas lead. On the Force's next drive, Murray's fourth down pass to Jones in the endzone was a bit to hard turning the ball over on downs to the Desperados. Dallas made good on the gift scoring on a five-yard TD pass from Kubiak to Luke Leverson putting them up 38-30.

The fourth quarter started with Georgia cutting into the Dallas lead. Hillery pulled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Murray bringing the deficit to two. The Force attempted a two-point conversion but Murray's pass to Hammond sailed wide leaving the Dallas lead at 38-36. On the Desperados next drive facing third down and short, Georgia lineman William Carr sacked Kubiak forcing Dallas to attempt a long field goal. Wells' kick fell short and Jones returned the ball all the way up to the Dallas 15-yardline. The Force took the lead on a called quarterback rollout that fooled the Dallas defense. Murray rushed in from seven-yards out untouched putting Georgia up 42-38. The Force attempted a second two-point conversion, but Hammond dropped Murray's pass leaving the Georgia advantage a four points. The Desperados regained the lead 45-42 with under four minutes remaining in the game when facing fourth down and one yard to go from the Force 11-yardline Kubiak threw a touchdown strike to Andy McCullough. Murray threw a 16-yard pass to Hillery to pick up a key first down on third down and 15 yards as the clock stopped for the one-minute warning putting the ball on the Dallas 19-yardline. On first down, Murray completed his fifth touchdown of the game this time to Jones as the Force led the contest 49-45 with 37 seconds left in the game. The Desperados were able to drive down inside the Force 15-yardline, but two straight passes batted down, the last one with two seconds showing on the clock, gave Georgia the win.

Hillery was named the game's MVP and Pettis was named the contest's Ironman.

LAST MEETING WITH SAN JOSE:

DULUTH, GA. (February 16, 2003) - The Georgia Force (2-1) handed the Arena Football League World Champion San Jose SaberCats (1-2) its second straight loss winning 51-49 at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. In front of a sold out crowd of 11,200, the Force unveiled its new Arena as the first-ever event in the new venue.

Force quarterback James Brown, who was a game time decision to replace starter Donnie Davis, found Darryl Hammond in the back of the endzone as time expired giving San Jose its second loss of the season in the final seconds. Last week, the Los Angeles Avengers defeated the SaberCats 73-72 on a touchdown and two-point conversion with one second remaining. The SaberCats had not lost back-to-back games since the 2001 season.

The first quarter ended with both teams tied at seven a piece. Early in the second quarter, Brown threw a deep pass, which looked like a sure touchdown to Tyronne Jones. As Jones was hauling in the pass defender Clevan Thomas stripped the ball and returned it 44-yards for the touchdown giving San Jose a 20-10 lead. The Force responded when Brown finally connected with Jones from 13-yards outs to cut the SaberCats lead to 20-17 at the half.

Georgia regained the lead 24-20 when Jarrick Hillery intercepted Mark Grieb on San Jose's first second half possession then Brown and Hammond teamed up for a nine-yard score. The Force built an 11-point advantage when Grieb threw his second straight pick, this time to Kevin Gaines, which the Force capitalized with a Jones four-yard run for the touchdown.

The Force kept its double-digit lead until late in the fourth quarter when San Jose scored 14-straight points to take over the game with under a minute left. Keala Keanaaina recovered a Brown fumble and returned it 16-yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 57 seconds remaining in the contest. With one second remaining on the clock, Brown was able to buy himself enough time to hit a streaking Hammond in the back of the endzone and steal back the victory.

Brown was named to Game's MVP and Hillery was named the contest's Iroman.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 27, 2003


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