Raiders Beat Defending Champs, 51-49
May 4, 2013 - Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL)
Richmond Raiders News Release
With less than a minute to go in the third quarter, the Raiders found themselves down by 23 points to the Albany Panthers, and their hopes for victory "" much less a competitive game "" seemed bleak. But special teams magic sparked a 28-0 run, and T.C. Stevens kicked the game winning field goal with eight seconds left to give the Raiders an improbable 51-49 win.
Following the touchdown that put Albany up 43-20, Joseph Jean-Pierre fielded the kickoff after a couple of bounces, then weaved through traffic 51 yards for a touchdown. Antwontis Cutts returned the ensuing kickoff and was stripped of the ball by Raibonne Charles, who recovered the fumble at the Panthers' 11. Warren Smith threw to Brandon Grier to pull the team to within nine at 43-34, and the game became interesting.
The drama would heighten when the Raiders' defense got their first stop all night, forcing an incomplete pass on fourth down. They narrowed the gap to a mere two points on a 17 yard strike from Smith to Hakeem Moore, then perfectly executed a surprise onside kick, recovered by special teams stalwart Jean-Pierre. Four plays later, Herb Jones stuck the ball across the goal line, and the Raiders led for the first time, 48-43.
Albany was not done, though. Cecil Lester guided his team back into the lead on a beautiful pass "" and an even better sliding catch by Antwontis Cutts "" at the one minute warning. After failing on the two point conversion, the Panthers had a one point lead and no time outs left, meaning the Raiders were in control of the clock for their ultimate possession.
That possession started inconspicuously, however, as the Raiders had to burn both of their remaining timeouts after Smith scrambled twice. On third down, he hit Moore on a crossing route to the 10. A spike and two incompletions later, Stevens came on to make his second game-winning field goal in as many home games against the Panthers.
The Panthers fought until their last breath and had eight seconds to engineer a miracle. On the game's last play, Lester scrambled, pirouetted, and otherwise avoided four Raider defenders four different times, then heaved the ball into the end zone, where Ke'mon Bailey intercepted it and give the Raiders the dramatic win.
The Panthers built their lead thanks to early Raider turnovers. The Raiders' first two possessions ended with interceptions, both of which eventually led to Panther touchdowns. It was 22-0 before the Raiders held on to the ball long enough to get in the end zone, and a couple of running plays inside the Panthers' five at the end of the first half failed to gain yardage, much less points, and the clock ran out with the Panthers leading 29-6.
The 23-point comeback is the largest deficit overcome in Raiders franchise history. Smith rebounded in the second half to complete 10 of his first 11 passes and finish with 253 yards and six touchdowns. Herb Jones went over 100 yards for the second time this year, netting 132 yards and three scores on 11 catches.
The Raiders move into a first place tie with idle Alabama. Following a week off next week, they will travel to Lake Charles, LA to take on the Louisiana Swashbucklers. They'll return home May 25 to face the Columbus Lions. Kickoff is at 7:00 pm, and tickets are available through richmondraidersprofootball.com, by calling 804-780-0430, or via Ticketmaster.
Professional Indoor Football League Stories from May 4, 2013
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