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Going for Broke - Fusion pulls out all the stops in 56-33 win over Vipers

May 27, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Fort Wayne Fusion News Release


"Res firma mitescere nescit." A Latin phrase that, loosely translated, means "once you've got it up, keep it up." That was the mantra of the Fort Wayne Fusion on Saturday night, when they took to Ford Fusion Field at Memorial Coliseum to take on the Tennessee Valley Vipers.

Right from the start, the 4,021 fans who attended the game saw a team on a mission. After kicking off to the Vipers to begin the game, the defense held and the offense quickly drew first blood with a 35-yard TD strike from QB Cody Hodges to WR Cesare Manning. Just like that - one play, one pass, one TD and a 7-0 lead for the Fusion.

That's when things really got interesting. In what would be just the first of many gutsy calls on the night, Head Coach "Touchdown" Eddie Brown called for a surprise onside kick. K Kyle Hooper executed it to perfection, and DB Nathan "The Kure" Williams recovered it. The Fusion had the ball, and was back in business on the 18-yard-line. Four plays later WR/DB Terrel White ran it in from the 2-yard line to give the Fusion a 14-0 lead.

On the following drive the Fusion "D" would hold once again. The Vipers would net only 6 yards in 3 plays, and attempted a 55-yard field goal that was well short. On the ensuing possession, the Fusion would march 37 yards in 8 plays and cap it off with another Hodges TD pass, this time a 13-yarder to WR Mario Pratcher. With the successful PAT the Fusion would take a 21-0 lead and never look back.

Coach Brown made sure both the offense and defense stayed focused throughout the game by mixing up the game plan. On offense the Fusion ran the ball well, posting 18 rushes for 99 yards and White's TD, while the Vipers did not attempt a single running play in the game. They also were firing on all cylinders in the passing game, as Hodges would finish the game 17-of-24 for 240 yards, 6 TDs and 0 INTs with his parents in attendance all the way from Texas.

On defense, Coach Brown wouldn't let up. His defensive line applied pressure on Vipers QB Ryan Porter all night and the DBs played tough up and down the field. Even the attitude was different: Coach Brown refused to let his DBs get down after the Vipers scored, and when the game got chippy with some "extracurricular activity" after some plays, the Fusion refused to back down and kept the intensity up until the final horn sounded.

The final example of Coach Brown's "go for broke" attitude was the icing on the cake for the Fusion. With the Fusion driving late in the 4th quarter, Brown called the play of the night: Hodges handed off to a sweeping WR Jonathan Graham, who took a few steps, stopped and arced a perfect spiral back to Hodges for a 6-yard TD pass, a 56-33 lead with only 3 minutes to play, and possibly the first time a QB has ever been awarded the "Cutters Catch of the Game."

The Fusion came into Saturday night's game desperately needing a win to stay in the hunt for the Midwest Division crown, and they got exactly what they were looking for. The win brought the Fusion to 3-5 on the season, and the loss dropped the Vipers to the same 3-5 mark.

At the end of the game, Coach Brown's message was clear: "Now that we've got it up, we need to keep it up." As the Fusion goes headlong into the second half of the schedule, they sit only 2 games out of the division lead behind the 5-3 Quad City Steamwheelers, who come to Fort Wayne in 2 weeks for the next Fusion home game, on Friday, June 8th at 7:30pm.

Game Award Winners:

U.S. Army Ironman of the Game: FWF WR Cesare Manning

Schutt Offensive Player of the Game: FWF QB Cody Hodges

ADT Defensive Player of the Game: DB Derek Brown

Cutters Catch of the Game: FWF QB Cody Hodges (4th quarter TD)

The Fusion hits the road next week for a rematch with the Albany Conquest on Saturday, June 2nd. The Conquest defeated the Fusion 35-21 in a very physical game on April 28th. For more information, contact the Fusion office at (260) 484-4095 or visit www.fwfusion.com.

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