Greensboro take Cape Fear to overtime, gets big victory

July 12, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Greensboro Prowlers News Release


Greensboro, NC—It has been on the mind of the Greensboro Prowlers for nine weeks, and in one swift James Thomas extra point attempt, the Prowlers avenged a ghost and an early season loss to the Cape Fear Wildcats, won in overtime 69-68. The victory moves Greensboro to 7-7 on the season, and continues a franchise-high three game-winning streak.

Scoring began when Greensboro took the opening possession on a four-play drive that went for 45 yards, capped off on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Slover to Bobby Sippio. Answered directly by Cape Fear (8-6), Wilmont Perry rumbled 2-yards for a Wildcat strike to knot the game at 7-7. Closing out first quarter scoring, the Prowlers struck deep, as Bobby Sippio made a 45-yard scamper into the Wildcat endzone giving Greensboro a 14-7 advantage after the end of one quarter.

The second quarter marked the largest amount of scoring in the contest, when Greensboro began the quarter with a 23-yard strike to David Hill at the 14:39 mark. Cape Fear would answer with a second Wilmont Perry touchdown, and cut the deficit to 21-14. In a seesaw scoring battle, the Prowlers capped off a four play drive with the second touchdown to David Hill and stretch the lead back to 14 points. Cape Fear would retaliate with a seven-play drive of their own, and Anthony Hines scored on a 5-yard pass at the 3:37 mark, and the Wildcats would trail 28-21. Bobby Sippio scored the last touchdown of the half for the Prowlers, as Greensboro would take a 35-27 lead.

In the third quarter, the Wildcats would continue to scratch at the door, beginning the quarter in similar fashion as that of the first. Wilmont Perry scored on a 2-yard run to finish off and eight-play drive, and make the deficit 35-34. The Prowlers answered with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Ironman of the Game Caleb Slover into the hands of Shannon Gainey, and make the lead 41-34. After a second Cape Fear touchdown, Greensboro would get a huge lift with an Andrew Layton 15-yard reception, to put the Prowlers ahead 48-40, and end the third quarter.

The fourth quarter became a defining one for the Prowlers, when Cape Fear marched down the field to tie the game at 48-48 as Mitch Galloway would haul in a 28-yard touchdown, and Cape Fear made a two-point attempt. Following a Greensboro miscue on their own one-yard line, only to have Perry score his fourth touchdown of the game, and give Cape Fear a brief 54-48 advantage. In one of the most amazing runs of the Prowlers history, quarterback Caleb Slover was not to be outdone by his rival QB Bryan Snyder, and battled his way to a 16-yard touchdown, giving Greensboro a 55-54 advantage with just 6:52 remaining. Following a Cape Fear strike to Anthony Hines, the Prowlers David Hill made a nine-yard touchdown catch with one minute remaining, and forced the game into overtime with a 62-62 tie.

In the overtime, Cape Fear won the initial toss and would drive 43-yards to lead the game on a Marcus Whitehead reception with 11:28 remaining in the overtime frame. Having the opportunity to retaliate, Greensboro fought off a fourth down miscue, as Cape Fear committed a critical pass interference violation, and Andrew Layton grabbed a 15-yard pass from Slover to knot the game. Following a James Thomas extra point attempt, the Prowlers continue to break franchise records for victories in a season. Ironman of the Game Caleb Slover completed 21 of 30 passes for 321 yards, nine touchdowns, and ran his way to the endzone with a critical 16-yard run, that gave Greensboro the momentum for the remainder of the game.

Closing out the homestand, the Prowlers now face the Richmond Speed on the road in the Richmond Coliseum, on Friday, July 18 with an 8:00 p.m. start time.



arenafootball2 Stories from July 12, 2003


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central