Preds lose McEntyre, game
March 20, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Orlando Predators News Release
ATLANTA, GA -- The Orlando Predators lost star defensive specialist Kenny McEntyre early in the game and then lost to the Georgia Force, 49-47. The battle was for first place in the Southern Division, that Georgia took over with a 6-2 mark; the Predators fell to 5-3.
Leading 7-0, the Predators lost McEntyre at the 4:26 mark of the first quarter as he was attempting to knock down a scoring pass to Derek Lee. McEntyre went hard head first into the sideline dasherboard and was taken off the field in a stretcher. Initial x-rays were negative on the three-time AFL Defensive Player of the Year, but he was taken to an Atlanta hospital for additional testing.
The Predators would lose all momentum after the play. With the scored tied 7-7, Cory Fleming fumbled on the next series and Lee capped a drive with a 13-yard touchdown catch to make it 14-7.
On the next series, former Orlando Predators defensive specialist stepped in front of a Joe Hamilton pass and ran 37-yards for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead. The teams then traded touchdowns, with Michael Brown making a sensational one-handed grab of a 42-yard pass from Hamilton -- but Lee answering with his third touchdown reception just two minutes later to make it 28-14.
Georgia missed a golden opportunity to blow the game open after holding the Predators on downs and taking over on their own seven with just 2:47 remaining in the half. But Damon Mason forced a fumble for the Predators and Reggie Doster recovered. Three plays later, Rupert Grant crashed in from the two and Orlando trailed 28-21 at the half.
Taking the opening kickoff of the second half, the Predators went on a 12-play, 49-yard touchdown drive that took 8:04 off the clock. But after Marlon Moye-Moore made it a one-point game on a 1-yard touchdown run, Predators kicker Brian Gowins hooked the extra point left and Orlando still trailed 28-27.
"Without question one of the huge plays of the game," Predators Head Coach Jay Gruden said. "We had a chance to put all the momentum on our side and we miss the extra point. You can't make the mistakes we did tonight against a good team and win. The extra point changed the whole complexion of how we had to play the rest of the game."
But Gruden added there was enough mistakes to go around and the Predators had four more big ones over the next quarter and a half. After a holding penalty forced a second and 20 on Georgia's next possession, Jerrian James was called for a facemask penalty after a short gain. Instead of being faced with a third and 17, Georgia got the yardage, the penalty and the play over again to face a second and 10 instead. Two plays later Nagy hit Ricky Parker on a two-yard scoring play to make it 35-27.
After Orlando scored to cut the lead to one, the Predators had another mistake in the defensive backfield as a missed tackled resulted in an easy 32-yard touchdown for Parker.
The Predators fought back again, this time Hamilton hitting Cory Fleming on a 10-yard touchdown pass. Going for the tying two-point conversion, Moye-Moore was stuffed at the one-yard line. "That was my mistake, Gruden said. "I needed a better play call down there."
With time running down, the Predators made their most telling mistake on the night. With Georgia facing a third and five, the Predators got an excellent pass rush on Nagy -- forcing him to throw the ball into the 10th row of the stands. But Damon Mason was called for a holding penalty down field. Three plays later, Robert Thomas bolted in from the 10-yard line and Georgia went up by nine. Fleming's third touchdown cut the gap to two with 16 seconds to go but Lee successfully recovered Orlando's on-sides kick to preserve the win."
"We fought hard, but fighting hard is not enough against a great team. Every time we had a shot to do something big, we shot ourselves in the foot. You can't fumble, throw interceptions for touchdowns, miss extra points and get holding penalties on third down and expect to beat a great team on the road. This game was extremely frustrating from that standpoint."
Still Gruden said he felt the Predators could rebound. "We had two rough road games in a row and got a split. We need to regroup and get ready for Austin next week. There's a lot of football left to play."
Despite the interception, Hamilton had a big gamer for the Predators, throwing for 307 yards and four touchdowns on a 23 for 31 night. In addition to Fleming's three touchdowns, rookie Jimmy Fryzel had a big night with seven catches for 110 yards.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 20, 2005
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- Soul light up scoreboard in 69-63 win over Storm - Philadelphia Soul
- Rush succumbs to VooDoo in overtime, 46-40 - Chicago Rush
- Gladiators pull out victory in Arizona, 66-63 - Las Vegas Gladiators
- Rattlers fall to Gladiators, Bonner hurt - Arizona Rattlers
- Dragons lassoed in Austin - New York Dragons
- Wranglers shock Dragons, 57-47 - Austin Wranglers
- Preds lose McEntyre, game - Orlando Predators
- Force continue to dominate the South, beat Predators 49-47 - Georgia Force
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