Kissimmee leads don't hold
June 26, 2005 - National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
Kissimmee Kreatures News Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex.- The Kissimmee Kreatures led five times during the game, but it still wasn't enough.
The Corpus Christi Hammerheads came back from deficits four times to the expansion Kreatures, finally putting a nail in the coffin with 3:09 left in the third quarter. It was then that the Hammerheads (8-6) finished the regular-season in the National Indoor Football League on an Eddie Miller kickoff return that gave the CC's a 35-32 lead it never relinquished.
Kissimmee (2-12), traveling into this coastal Texas town the day of the game, led 7-6, 14-12, 20-19, 26-25 and 32-28, but the central Florida franchise could not surface from the local beaches again. The final: CC 49-38.
Quarterback Rob Harding had probably his best game of the season for the Kiss-mees connecting on 20 of 30 (.667) with no interceptions and 229 yards. He had touchdown passes of 33 yards to TJ Simmons, two yards to Tim Austin, two yards to James Panui and ran another in from one yard out.
Adreal Curry finished with only 26 yards on eight carries but he made two runs count from two and three yards out for scores.
Austin finished with his best game of the season, grabbing nine balls for 113 yards. In fact, that was a team high individual yards, beating the previous high of 103 set by Panui and Simmons against Lakeland and New Jersey, respectively.
The 20 pass completions by Harding was also an individual-team high.
Despite a dismal first-year record, and losing the last eight games of the season, there were the bright spots such as upsetting the Miami Morays on a game-ending field goal by Panui, losing five games by less than 10 points and the emergence of receiver TJ Simmons who a team-high 13 touchdowns and the continued play of defensive lineman Derric Coakley.
Coakley, an eight-year indoor veteran, had 5 more quarterback sacks to add to his career total of 50, second only to the great Sam Hernandez of the AFL's San Jose SaberCats in all-time indoor sack grabbers who has 59 in 13 seasons.
• Discuss this story on the National Indoor Football League message board...
National Indoor Football League Stories from June 26, 2005
- Kissimmee leads don't hold - Kissimmee Kreatures
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.
