AFL Arena Football League

Season Comes To An End For Predators In Jacksonville

Published on July 30, 2011 under Arena Football League (AFL) News Release


JACKSONVILLE - The 19th-sraight postseason trip for the Orlando Predators ended in Jacksonville on Friday as the Sharks defeated the Preds, 63-48, in front of 10,189 at Veterans Memorial Arena.

Jacksonville (15-4) returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and turned two Orlando turnovers into scores to keep the Preds (11-8) at bay for much of the night.

Jeff Hughley took the opening kickoff 57 yards for a touchdown, his first of two special teams' scores, as Jacksonville led Orlando the entire way. The Preds got within 49-42 with less than six minutes to play but could not overcome steep deficits in the first and second halves.

The teams traded two touchdowns apiece to start the night, but the Preds trailed 14-13 with 13:38 to play in the first half when Mark Lewis missed an extra point following a 4-yard touchdown pass on fourth down from Nick Hill to Robert Quiroga.

Jacksonville went on to build a 28-13 lead late in the second quarter when Aaron Garcia found Jeron Harvey for a 4-yard touchdown, then turned an Orlando interception into another score on a 1-yard run by Kirby Griffin. It was Micheaux Robinson who laid out for the pick of a pass by Hill, which bounced off the hand of Preds wide receiver Bobby Sippio.

Orlando would reply, though, when Hill hit Sippio for a 13-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone in the final seconds before halftime. The Preds then returned to the field in the third quarter to cut Jacksonville's lead to 28-27 on an 11-yard touchdown grab by T.T. Toliver.

From there, the Sharks rattled off three-straight touchdowns as Hughley helped with the shift in momentum by taking another kick back 57 yards for a score. Jacksonville then capitalized by putting points on the board after forcing a fumble at the goal line and a getting a turnover on downs.

Despite trailing 49-27 with 12:23 to play in the game, the Preds began to claw its way back in the by way of a 3-yard touchdown from Hill to Julius Wilson and a successful two-point conversion run by Collin Drafts on a fake extra-point attempt. Kenny McEntyre responded by intercepting his AFL-career postseason record 13th pass, which led to a 24-yard score from Hill to Toliver with 5 minutes, 42 seconds remaining.

But the Preds would get no closer than 49-42 as the teams went on to trade touchdowns, the last of which by Orlando ended in the second missed extra point on the night which put the Preds in a 56-48 hole.

A 17-yard pass from Garcia to Jomo Wilson with nearly a minute to go extended the Jacksonville lead before the Sharks were credited with another interception as a pass to Toliver was lodged loose alongside the boards inside the final minute.

Hill finished 27 of 49 passing for 311 yards and six touchdowns. Toliver caught three touchdowns on five catches for 96 yards, all in the second half. Quiroga led all receivers with 12 receptions for 106 yards and a score while Sippio hauled in seven passes for 80 yards and a score.

Marlon Moye-Moore finished with 5.5 tackles (3 solo) and Rayshaun Kizer was in on five tackles (3 solo). Arrion Dixon recorded a sack while Frisner Nelson finished with a tackle-for-loss.

Jacksonville moves on to the American Conference Championship next week against either Cleveland or Georgia.

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