SaberCats Rally From 22 Down For 63-59 Win Over Austin
April 23, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
San Jose SaberCats News Release
SAN JOSE, Calif. (April 22 , 2006) - San Jose quarterback Mark Grieb threw his 500th career touchdown pass with 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter to help the SaberCats (7-6) overcome a 22-point deficit and rally for their fourth straight win with a 63-59 victory over the Austin Wranglers (8-5) on Saturday night in an Arena Football League game.
Grieb completed 29-of-43 attempts for 311 yards with his sixth scoring pass of the game and 500th of his career going to James Roe from 5-yards out helping the SaberCats to their largest come-from-behind victory in team history.
Roe tied a SaberCats' single-game record with 14 receptions and added four touchdowns and 133 receiving yards.
The Wranglers turned three San Jose turnovers into points in the first quarter to take a 21-0 lead after the first stanza. Dane Krager and Henry Bryant each scored on 1-yard runs and John Fitzgerald threw a 7-yard scoring pass to Derrick Lewis.
Austin grabbed a 35-13 lead midway through the second quarter following a 5-yard Fitzgerald to Greg Brown scoring pass. Fitzgerald threw for 249 yards and four scores on 21-of-32 passing.
Sedrick Robinson's first of two kickoff return touchdowns came with 3:08 left in the first half giving the Wranglers their second 22-point lead of the game at 42-20.
Trailing 45-27 starting the second half, the SaberCats scored three consecutive touchdowns and grabbed their first lead of the game at 49-45 when Barry Wagner stripped Robinson of the ball on a kickoff return and lineman Wes Stephens recovered in the endzone.
Robinson ended Austin's second half scoring drought when he caught a 6-yard pass with 7:04 left in the game.
Following a 34-yard Grieb to Ben Nelson scoring play, Fitzgerald teamed with Kevin Nickerson on a 43-yard touchdown pass giving the Wranglers a 59-56 lead with 2:52 left.
Notes: Barry Wagner had five receptions to move ahead of Steve Papin into second place on the team's career list...Grieb had his 7th 300-yard passing game of the season...Roe set a team record with his 5th double-digit reception game of the season and tied a team record with his 7th 100-yard receiving game...Omarr Smith had his 26th career interception...Sedrick Robinson tied a SaberCats opponent record for the second-most KOR touchdowns in a game with two...Austin set a SaberCats opponent record by scoring 45 first half points...San Jose raised its all-time record to 47-7 when scoring 60-or-more points in a regular season game...Ben Nelson had his 6th 100-yard receiving game of the year in eight starts...San Jose posted its 12th straight home win over a Southern Division opponent...DS Clevan Thomas had the 200th solo tackle of his career...The SaberCats posted their largest comeback win in team history (22 points) surpassing the previous record of 18-points set in a 55-48 win over Tampa Bay in a second round playoff game on August 3, 2002.
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