Jungle Kats Fall to Vipers, 51-21
May 12, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Cincinnati Jungle Kats News Release
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The Cincinnati Jungle Kats (1-5) were unable to pick up their second victory in as many weeks, as they fell to the Tennessee Valley Vipers (4-2) 51-21 in front of 3,418 at U.S. Bank Arena on Saturday night. Vipers QB Chris Gunn completed 16-of-34 passes for 196 yards and 4 scores while Kats signal caller Brent Rawls went 13-for-27, 154 yards and 2 TD's in a losing effort.
After recovering a Jungle Kats fumble, the Vipers scored first as they followed the forced turnover with a 5 play, 32-drive culminating in a 20 yard TD catch by Travis Blanchard to put the visitors up 7-0 late in the first quarter. Cincinnati would respond midway through the second frame, however; Derin Graham hauled in a 23 yard strike from Brent Rawls to tie the score at 7 with 9:27 remaining.
Just 2 minutes later, Demetrius McCray picked off a Chris Gunn pass and ran it back 16 yards for the score, giving the Kats their first lead of the game at 14-7. McCray, who was playing in his first game of 2007, will go down in the record books as the man who ran back the first interception for a TD in Jungle Kats history.
Yet, the Vipers showed why they have won back-to-back games: persistence. Henry Freeman and John Cousins each tallied touchdowns for the Vipers in a span of 5:13 to hold a 21-14 advantage heading into the halftime break.
The Kats eluded a Vipers touchdown by recovering a fumble in the endzone to take over possession midway through the third quarter. On the ensuing drive, Brent Rawls chucked a 32-yard laser to Hassan Brockman to tie the game at 21 with 8:04 gone. Much like the first half, though, the Vipers were able to regain the lead. Lewis Howes caught a Gunn pass up the middle for a 7-yard touchdown, putting Tennessee Valley back in front, 28-21.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Vipers added insurance to their lead in a big way; Chris Gunn fired a 40-yard strike to Henry Freeman setting up a 1st and goal on the Kats 5. On the very next play, Gunn found Travis Blanchard for the second time in the game - a short 4-yard catch that gave the Vipers a two-possession advantage, 35-21.
With a sizeable lead, the Vipers began to pour it on. The visitors added another 16 points to their final tally, outscoring Cincinnati 23-0 in the fourth quarter to seal a 51-21 victory.
The Kats will once again resume their road ways next Friday night as they travel to take on the Green Bay Blizzard at 8:30pm ET. Fans can hear all the action of the game on 1530 HOMER - The Sports Animal beginning at 8:15pm ET. The Kats will return to U.S. Bank Arena a week later, on May 26th, as they battle the Alabama Steeldogs at 7:30pm. Tickets for the game are still available by calling 513.381.TURF or online at www.JungleKatsFootball.com.
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