Harrell Slays Dragons
April 11, 2002 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Toronto Phantoms News Release
Toronto, ON - It was the Damian Harrell show at the Air Canada Centre Thursday night.
In front of a crowd of 7,717 fans, the star offensive specialist had four touchdowns in the game including a great diving grab heading into the boards to seal the Toronto Phantoms 51-42 victory over the New York Dragons.
I give 110 percent and if that means I run into a wall to score a touchdown than that is what Ill do, Harrell said.
Torontos Head Coach & General Manager Mark Stoute gushed about the play of his offensive specialist after the game. Says Stoute, Hes a tough kid and we are very fortunate to have him on our team. We have enough problems covering him in practice.
While the Phantoms emerged victorious for the 5th time in 5 meetings with New York, the final pre-season game actually started on a sour note for Toronto. After a holding penalty negated quarterback Chad Salisburys apparent touchdown pass to Harrell, the Phantoms were forced to try for a field goal. The Dragons blocked it and Christopher Clopton picked up the loose ball and raced 36 yards to the end zone as New York jumped out to a 7-0 lead.
But The Phantoms regrouped and scored 21 unanswered points. Salisbury hit Harrell twice during that offensive surge and threw a 31-yard bomb to Luke Leverson. Salisbury completed 13 passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. The Phantoms took a 21-7 lead into the locker room.
The Harrell show continued in the third. Quarterback Pat OHara launched a twenty-yard dart to Harrell for the third of his four touchdowns in the game. The Phantoms were up 28-7. Although the Dragons offence sputtered in the first half with only 31 yards of total offence, it showed some signs of life after the break. The Dragons were able to find the end zone on a six-yard Danny Ragsdale to Todd Doxzon touchdown pass closing the gap to fourteen.
After the Phantoms padded their lead with a Matt George field goal, the sleeping Dragons came to life, breathing fire on special teams. Steve Papin slashed his way through the Toronto kick coverage team for 57-yard kick off return touchdown. After Toronto scored a touchdown to go ahead 38-21, it was Papin again slicing his way through the Toronto defenders for another score. The Toronto lead was down to ten and the Dragons kept coming. With quarterback Matt Nagy at helm, the Dragons closed the gap to three on an eleven-yard touchdown pass caught by Shon King. But, once again, Harrell made a big play he hauled in a circus style touchdown catch to secure the victory for the Phantoms. Toronto went on to tame the Dragons 51-42, getting the final score of the game on a touchdown run.
After the game Harrell said that he was pleased with the four-touchdown performance, but even more so that he got to do it front of a noisy home crowd of more than seven thousand fans. Harrell says he has one goal for the season for himself and his teammates -- Stats and all that stuff does not matter, I want to win it all this season.
With the regular season on the horizon, Stoute said he was glad to win the final preseason game. It is a big plus. Mentally it sets us on a winning track.
Tickets for all 7 Toronto Phantoms home games at Air Canada Centre are now on sale and can be purchased by calling (416) 341-1234 or by logging on to torontophantoms.com. Get Insane for the Game and be a part of Thursday Night Gridiron Madness!
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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 11, 2002
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