Law Relinquish Prairie Wheel to Salina Bombers After 57-45 Loss
April 14, 2014 - Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL)
Dodge City Law News Release
The Dodge City Law lost possession of the Prairie Wheel Trophy after being defeated 57-45 by the Salina Bombers on Saturday night at the Bicentennial Center in Salina.
After trailing by as many as 11 points during the first quarter, the Law outscored Salina 21-7 in the second quarter to take a 31-28 lead at halftime.
Law Running back D.D. Holyfield scored 1:30 into the second quarter when he ran the ball in from 5-yards out. Wide receiver Garrett Tidwell got into the action by catching touchdown passes of 13- and 7-yards out before the end of the half.
Salina running back Keithen Valentine accounted for 18 of the team's 28 points in the first half. He scored rushing touchdowns on runs of 1, 8, and 9 yards.
Law Head Coach Sean Ponder said that his team struggled a bit in the first quarter, but started to get things going in the second quarter.
"For whatever reason, we've come out of the gate slow several times this year," Ponder said. "Today was one of those days, but we figured out how to get things back on track and stay in the game."
Salina started the second half off with a 32-yard field goal by Andrew Hunt and a 1-yard run by Chris Rini.
Dodge City trailed 37-31 until the final seconds of the third quarter when wide receiver Kendrick Ings caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joshua Floyd, Jr., which gave the Law a 38-37 advantage. When Ings caught the ball in the back of the end zone his momentum carried him backwards through the retaining wall. Play was briefly stopped while repairs were made to the barrier.
The fourth quarter began with Salina scoring 13-unanswered points.
Salina quarterback Chris Rini, who signed with the team on Thursday, threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Ricky Roberts and ran for a score of his own from 1-yard out.
With 6:29 left in the game Dodge City quarterback Joshua Floyd threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Venson to pull the Law within five points of Salina.
Dodge City got the ball back with nearly 2:00 remaining in the game, but Salina linebacker Brandon McKinney intercepted a pass from Law quarterback Joshua Floyd and returned it for a touchdown. That score gave Salina a 57-45 lead, which became the game's final score.
Ponder said that the outcome of the game would have been different if the Law had been disciplined enough to avoid the errors it made late in the game.
"The defense made the plays they needed to make in the fourth quarter," Ponder said. "On offense we just didn't step up and find a way to win the game. Instead, we let our mistakes cost us the game."
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Champions Professional Indoor Football League Stories from April 14, 2014
- Law Relinquish Prairie Wheel to Salina Bombers After 57-45 Loss - Dodge City Law
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