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Lightning fall to Sharks in season finale

July 28, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Stockton Lightning News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - Lightning QB Evan Gray connected on 21 of 42 pass attempts for 324 yards and 5 touchdowns, and WR Sale Key tallied 140 yards receiving and 2 touchdown catches as Stockton dropped a 57-50 loss to the Corpus Christi Sharks before a season-high crowd of 7, 960 fans at Stockton Arena on Saturday night in week 18 of arenafootball2 play. The Lightning finish the 2007 season with a 6-10 record.

Corpus Christi opened the scoring at the 8:20 mark of the first quarter as QB John De Los Santos hit WR Ryan Voss in the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown score that lifted the Sharks to a 7-0 advantage.

The Lightning responded on their next possession as QB Evan Gray connected with WR James Newson over the middle for a 23-yard touchdown. Newson, fighting off two Sharks defenders, dove into the end zone to level the score at 7-7. A botched on-side kick attempt on the ensuing kick-off gave Corpus Christi the ball at the Stockton 2-yard line. De Los Santos would then give the Sharks a 14-7 lead, connecting with WR Steve Smith for a 5-yard touchdown score in the right corner of the end zone with 1:10 to go in the quarter.

The Sharks upped their lead to 21-7 at the start of the second quarter as WR Ivory McCann intercepted a Gray pass attempt in the Corpus Christi end zone, and proceeded to run the back to the Lightning 6-yard line. De Los Santos then hit Voss from 6-yards out for his second touchdown reception of the contest at 1:17. Lightning WR Sale Key brought Stockton back to within a touchdown with a 10-yard touchdown reception from Gray to make the score 21-14.

Corpus Christi special teams led to the Sharks increasing their lead to 28-14 at the 6:49 mark of the second frame with another significant kick-return by McCann that afforded the visitors excellent field position at the Stockton 5-yard line. Sharks WR Brandon Hussey ran the ball for a 2-yard touchdown score to restore the Corpus Christi lead to two scores.

Newson re-energized the Lightning offense with 46 seconds remaining in the opening half, retrieving a loose ball off a Lightning field-goal block and running the ball back for his second touchdown score of the game to make the score 28-20 at the break.

After Corpus Christi took a 31-20 lead on a 31-yard field goal by K Chris Onorato, Gray wasted no time finding WR Kenyette Morgan over the middle for a 30-yard touchdown score at the 4:42 mark of the frame to bring the score to 31-27. De Los Santos engineered a successful drive on the Sharks' next possession with a 43-yard touchdown strike to Hussey, his second touchdown reception of the contest, to give Corpus Christi a 40-27 lead.

The Lightning defense stalled the Corpus Christi attack mid-way through the third quarter resulting in a safety by FB Lyndell Hawkins that made the score 40-29. Lightning K Alex Walls would convert a 23-yard field goal attempt on the subsequent possession to make the score 40-32.

Onorato lifted Corpus Christi to a 43-32 lead with a 28-yard field goal early in the 4th quarter, but Key's second touchdown reception of the game - an 18-yarder - followed by a successful 2-point conversion, brought Stockton to within a field goal at 43-40 with 7:56 remaining.

De Los Santos restored the Sharks lead moments later with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Voss - his third touchdown reception of the game to make the score 50-40. Walls made the score 50-43 with a 33-yard field goal. Sharks WR William Heyward would recover the ensuing on-side kick attempt, running it back for a Corpus Christi touchdown and a 57-43 lead with 2:21 to go in the final frame.

Gray brought the Lightning right back with a 29-yard touchdown strike to WR Clarence Cunningham with 1:05 remaining to make the score 57-50. Stockton would recover their on-side kick attempt, only to see their last-minute drive halted by a McCann interception in the Corpus Christi end zone.

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