Stealth get defensive versus Pirates

April 16, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Wichita Stealth News Release


Peoria, Ill. - The Stealth would return to the site of the first head coaching victory for Sean Ponder and welcome the return of offensive specialist Michael Dritlein to beat the Peoria Pirates 47-26 in front of 4,252 fans at Carver Arena. In his first game back, Dritlein would earn Baby Ruth Real Deal Player of the Game honors for his performance. He would end the night with eight catches for 135 yards and three touchdowns. Stealth quarterback Aaron Sparrow would end the night 21-of-33 for 247 yards and six touchdowns. The Stealth improves to 3-0 on the season and the Pirates drop to 1-2.

The Stealth wasted no time getting Dritlein back in the swing of things, as they threw a deep ball to him on the very first play of the game which resulted in a 45-yard touchdown giving the Stealth the early 7-0 lead. The lead would not last long as the Pirates would take the ball down 34 yards and score on a 25-yard run by wide receiver/defensive back Matt Robillard, tying the game at 7-7. The Stealth countered with a three play 30-yard drive capped off by a 10-yard Marc Bacote touchdown catch from Sparrow, giving the Stealth the 13-7 lead after the failed extra point attempt.

The Pirates would answer with a 24-yard pass from quarterback Mike Souza to wide receiver/defensive back Lawrence Matthews putting the Pirates up 14-13. This would mark the first time that the Stealth have trailed so far this season. The first quarter would end with the Pirates up 14-13.

The Pirates would open up the second quarter with a two-yard pass from Souza to former Stealth player Xavier Patterson (2002 season), giving the Pirates a seven point lead at 20-13 after a failed extra point by former NFL punter/kicker Louie Aguiar. The Pirates would extend their lead on a one-yard run by fullback/linebacker Tony Pryor. The Pirates would again miss the extra point attempt giving them a 26-13 advantage.

The Stealth would not stay down for long. They would cap off an eight play 45-yard drive on a one-yard run by Sparrow closing the Pirates gap to 26-20. On the ensuing kick-off, Stealth kicker Dylan Pohlman would hit his kick-off off of the outside post and it would bounce back to the Peoria 15-yard line where Stealth offensive/defensive lineman Cliff Holloman would recover the ball, giving the Stealth great field position deep in the Peoria end. The Stealth would only need four plays to put the ball in the end zone. Sparrow found Dritlein for a 12-yard touchdown reception with :49 seconds left in the first half. This would be Dritlein's second touchdown catch of the night putting the Stealth ahead 27-26 at the end of the first half. Dritlein would finish the first half with four catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns.

The Stealth defense would turn it up to start the second half as once again they shut out the Pirates in the third quarter and extended their halftime lead to a 40-26 edge. In the third quarter, the Stealth would score on a four-yard pass from Sparrow to wide receiver/defensive back Brian Livingston and on a 14-yard pass from Sparrow to fullback/linebacker Jeff Macrea. These would be the first touchdowns of the year for Livingston and Macrea. The Stealth would defense would hold the Pirates to 26 total yards of offense in the third quarter.

The Stealth defense would follow up the impressive third quarter with another shut out in the fourth quarter and they limited the Pirates to 17 yards of total offense in the fourth. This marks the seventh time so far in 2004 that the Stealth defense has held an opponent scoreless in a quarter. In 2003, they had only four quarters of shut out football.

The Stealth would ice the game on another Sparrow to Dritlein touchdown reception at the 1:22 mark of the fourth quarter bringing the final score to 47-26.

The Stealth would sweep the game awards on the night. As mentioned earlier, Michael Dritlein was named Baby Ruth Real Deal Player of the Game, wide receiver/linebacker Marc Bacote would earn ADT Defensive Player of the game, and wide receiver/defensive back Brian Livingston was named U.S. Army Ironman of the Game.

STEALTH NOTES: The Stealth will return home next Saturday, April 24th to face the Green Bay Blizzard (1-0).Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. and tickets are available by calling the Stealth office at 316.755.3307 or by calling Select-A-Seat at 316.755.SEAT (7328).



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