Heroes Beat Express 42-29
May 20, 2007 - American Indoor Football Association (AIFA)
Huntington Heroes News Release
This game was everything it was advertised to be. Two playoff bound teams battling it out to the end. An electric atmosphere. Big time players making big plays, but the most important thing was the Heroes showing that they are legitimate contenders for the AIFA title. The Heroes defeated the Reading Express, the number 1 team in the north division, 42-29 in front of an energized crowd at Big Sandy Superstore Arena Saturday night.
The Heroes defense again was the star's of the night as they made one big play after another especially at the end of the game to seal the win. Trailing 29-25 going into the fourth quarter the defense shutdown the usually high powered Express. Both teams were unable to break through for most of the fourth quarter. With under three minute remaining the Heroes were able to force a Reading field goal attempt which put the offense in business at their own ten yard line. The Heroes chipped away at the Express defense, but were eventually faced with a big 3rd and 12. Rod McNeal caught a Dane Damron pass at the one yard line for the first down. Donte Newsome finished the drive with a one yard TD run. A botched snap on the PAT put the score at 31-29 with 1:00 to go. "That was probably the play of the game", said Heroes head coach Garry McPeek. "Rod McNeal made a great play for us. Then you get close to the goal line and you put Jamus Martin back there with Donte Newsome, those guys are hard to handle."
With a slim 2 point lead the Heroes could not relax, especially with Reading's dangerous kicker, Eric Rockhold, waiting in the wings for some late game heroics. After the Heroes touchdown defensive end Alden Blizzard recovered an Express fumble on the first play after the kickoff. The Heroes offense went three and out and Adam Jones added a field goal and a rouge to make the score 35-29 with 33 seconds left. The Express started their next drive at their own 5 yard line and began to move the ball. Tom Stetzer threw a deep pass that was picked off by Kevin Washington at the Heroes 10. Washington took it the distance to make the final score 42-29.
"Big win," said McPeek, "We talked before the game about moving up the ladder to the elite his league and we came out here and did it. The defense played great again and kept us in it. The offense played well in the second half and we got it done."
Donte Newsome turned in his usual solid rushing performance running the ball 11 times for 36 yards and 2 TD's, but the Heroes 35 year old quarterback, Dane Damron, got in on the act as well. Damron ran the ball two times for 23 yards, including a 21 yard TD run in the third quarter. "He never ceases to amaze me," said Heroes wide receiver Shane Holsinger. "He comes up with something new every week. He's just a competitor." Damron could have had two TD runs, but another long run in the second quarter was called back on a holding penalty. "For a 35 year old guy he gritted it out and just popped it in there," said McPeek. Damron finished the night 20 of 41 174 yards and a TD passing.
In addition to shutting out the Express in the fourth quarter the Heroes defense only surrendered 176 total yards. The Express had scored over 70 points in two of their last three games coming into this one. "It's a combination of the guys up front putting pressure on the quarterback and forcing mistakes and the secondary guys are really starting to come together," said Heroes Defensive coordinator TJ Maynard. While the Heroes weren't able to record any sacks, they did get the quarterback Tom Stetzer. "He doesn't give up too many sacks," said Jamus Martin. "We got to him tonight got hands in his face and forced him to make some mistakes and our DB's took care of the rest." Stezter was picked off four times. "Coach Maynard came up with a great gameplan," McPeek said, "Those guys just continue to do a great job."
Coming into this game the Heroes looked to this game as a measuring stick and a turning point in the organizations history. "This is our first time beating them out of five games," said Rod McNeal. "This was big for us. The crowd was great, they kept us in the game even when we were down." "They are really organized, really disciplined," said Jamus Martin. "This was a big step for our organization. A big step up." Coach Maynard hopes this game can spring a playoff run. "To come out and beat a team like Reading who has the best record in the league. Who has a class team and ownership, it was really big for us. Hopefully this will springboard us to a championship," said Maynard.
While this win was huge, the Heroes still have some work to get done to get that important first round home playoff game. "This is a great feeling," said Donte Newsome, "but we got to keep it going. The next two are big. We have to capitolize and stay focused." "It will probably come down to us and Canton for the first round home game," said McPeek. "This win keeps us from finishing fourth and having to go to Reading for the first round. The best thing about this is we still control our own desitiny."
The Express fall to 12-2 while the Heroes push their win streak to six and their record to 9-3. The Heroes will finish the regular season with two road games. Friday they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the River Rats then finish up at Canton on Friday, June 1.
• Discuss this story on the American Indoor Football Association message board...
American Indoor Football Association Stories from May 20, 2007
- Heroes Beat Express 42-29 - Huntington Heroes
- RiverRats Set League Scoring Record in 86-72 Win Over Erie - Erie Explosion
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.
