Jungle Kats Fall to Fire 58-35

June 23, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Cincinnati Jungle Kats News Release


CINCINNATI, Ohio - Despite a near deadlock at halftime, the Cincinnati Jungle Kats (1-10) were unable to recover against the Louisville Fire (6-5) as the visitors racked up 37 second half points to earn a 58-35 win in front of 3,037 at U.S. Bank Arena on Saturday night. Fire QB Joel Steele completed 23 of 34 passes for 229 yards and 5 TD's while Kats signal caller Aaron Marshall went 17 of 41 for 187 yards and 5 TD's in a losing effort.

After benefiting from multiple Jungle Kats penalties on their first possession, the Louisville Fire took an early 7-0 lead as Tony Stallings capped off a 40-yard opening drive with a 5-yard TD run. The Kats, though, immediately struck back with a scoring drive of their own, completed by quick strike to wide receiver James Lewis. Kats kicker Jesse Obert missed the extra point, making it 7-6 Louisville.

Marshall, who completed 7 of 8 passes in the first quarter, hooked up with Hassan Brockman just a few minutes later to grab a 13-7 Kats lead with just 1:16 left in the opening frame. Early in the second, though, the Fire would strike back as Tiger Jones snagged a 13-yard toss from QB Joel Steele, regaining the lead for the visitors at 14-13.

Both teams tallied late first half touchdowns to keep the score close; Hassan Brockman grabbed his second TD of the game to give Cincinnati a brief lead. However, Joel Steele tossed a 3-yard TD pass to Quorey Payne with 2:07 left in the half to regain a slim lead at 21-20 heading into the locker room.

In the second half, Louisville began to pad their lead as they put up 20 points in the third quarter while the Kats were able to muster just 7 points, and trailed it 41-28 heading into the final quarter. In the 4th, Louisville regained the sizeable advantage when Tiger Jones caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from Steele, making it 48-28 Fire. With just under 2 minutes to play, Cincinnati put another score on the board when Marshall hit Derin Graham for a short pass in the endzone, minimizing the Kats deficit to 13 points. But after that tally, the Fire put it away by adding another 10 points to their total; Dave Hendrix kicked a 27-yard field goal, and Demetrius Forney ran for a short 1-yard score, capping off the 58-35 final score.

The Kats close out the month of June with a road contest against another division rival, the Fort Wayne Fusion, next Saturday at 7:00pm. Fans can hear all the action of next Saturday's game on 1530 HOMER - The Sports Animal beginning at 6:45pm or watch the game live via the B2 Networks online at www.JungleKatsFootball.com. The Kats will then return home to face the Manchester Wolves on July 7th at 7:30pm. Great seats for the game are still available by calling 513.381.TURF or online at www.JungleKatsFootball.com.



arenafootball2 Stories from June 23, 2007


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