Kats bounce back with 58-44 win in Vegas
April 9, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Nashville Kats News Release
A trip to fabulous Las Vegas was all the Nashville Kats needed to shake the road game blues, ending a four-game road losing streak with a 58-44 romp over the Las Vegas Gladiators on Sunday.
Kats quarterback Clint Stoerner, who was seeing his first action since suffering a leg injury in week seven, brought the Kats offense out of its recent doldrums and completed 11 of 20 passes for 179 yards, three TD's and no INT's. Five of his completions went to Alonzo Nix, who had 96 yards and a TD and also scored another touchdown on an onside kick recovery which he returned for a score.
Things started well for Nashville, as Stoerner led the Kats on a four-play, 42-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard TD toss to Cory Fleming, giving the Kats a 7-0 lead. After the defense forced Las Vegas to turn the ball over on downs, Stoerner made them pay again by hitting T.T. Toliver for a 27-yard TD pass that gave Nashville a two-score advantage at the end of the first period.
The Gladiators got on the board early in the second quarter when quarterback Jason Fife found Joe Douglass for an 11-yard TD pass, cutting the lead to 13-7. But that's all Nashville's defense would allow in the first half, as the Kats stopped Las Vegas on four of their five first half possessions. The stops opened the door for the Kats offense to pour it on before intermission, as Jarrick Hillery and Frank Carter each ran for TD's to put Nashville on top 29-7 at the half.
In the second half, the Kats continued to turn up the heat, extending their lead to 42-16 after forcing a fumble on a kickoff return and punching it in on another Carter TD run one play later. After Vegas scored to cut it to 42-23, Nashville quickly struck again, this time on a 47-yard TD bomb from Stoerner to Alonzo Nix. That score put the Kats up by 25 with under nine minutes left, and put the game out of reach. The Gladiators scored three more touchdowns before time expired, but the final score made the game look closer than it actually was.
Nashville's defense, which had recently cooled off from its hot start to the season, was back in top form. Fife was 19-of-38 for 252 yards and six TD's, but the majority of those stats came after the game had been decided.
By virtue of its win, the Kats (7-4) stay just one game behind Central Division-leading Colorado, and have taken a commanding lead in the battle for the American Conference's top wild card spot. Nashville holds at least a two-game edge on all other American Conference teams battling for a wild card spot. The Kats also hold the tiebreaker on Las Vegas and San Jose - the two teams closest to them - which virtually gives Nashville a three-game lead with five games to go.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 9, 2006
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- Las Vegas stunned at home 58-44 - Las Vegas Gladiators
- Soul win overtime thriller, 56-55, over Rush - Philadelphia Soul
- Brigade Dominates Second Half, Marches to 62-45 Victory over LA - Kansas City Brigade
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