Talons Beat The Xplorers 61-57

May 3, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Memphis Xplorers News Release


SOUTHAVEN, Miss – Craig Strickland threw a 12 yard touchdown pass to Greg Taylor with 38 seconds to go to rally the Tulsa Talons to a 61-57 victory over the Memphis Xplorers. Kevin Prentiss had six TD catches for the Xplorers, who dropped to 1-4 on the year. The Xplorers will be on the road this coming Saturday night against the Arkansas Twisters. The Xplorers return home on May 17th against the Louisville Fire. For ticket information and purchases call (662) 280-3737 or go online to www.xplorersaf2.com .

The Xplorers clicked offensively in the first half as they scored on their first six possessions. QB Rod Robinson highlighted the first half with five TD passes, four to Prentiss, and a 37 yard TD run on a QB sneak. The Xplorers led 42-29 at halftime. The Talons made some history when Mitch Allner became the second man in af2 history to score 500 career points with a 30 yard TD catch on the first play of the second quarter.

In the second half the Talons got hot offensively as Allner tallied a pair of TD catches in the third quarter, he finished with four in the game, to close the gap to 48-42. Early in the fourth quarter the Xplorers melted down with a bad kick and a costly penalty that gave the Talons first and goal at the Memphis seven yard line. Strickland found Tacoma Fontaine from five yards out and the PAT gave the Talons their first lead of the night at 49-48. The Xplorers responded with a 40 yard FG by Steven Green on their first drive of the fourth quarter to retake the lead 51-49.

The Talons answered when Strickland led Tulsa 30 yards and capped the drive himself with a one yard run with 5 minutes to go in the game for a 55-51 Tulsa lead. Memphis rebounded when Robinson took a terrific hit as he threw and Prentiss made a spectacular diving catch in the end zone for a 19 yard TD reception with 61 seconds to go in the contest and a 57-55 Xplorers lead. Strickland led one last drive for the Talons which culminated in a 12 yard TD toss to Taylor with 38 seconds to go for a 61-57 Talons advantage. Memphis had one last chance, but came up empty as time expired.

FINAL SCORE Tulsa 61, Memphis 57.

1 2 3 4 F

Tulsa 7 22 13 19 61

Memphis 22 20 6 9 57

RECORDS

Tulsa 4-1

Memphis 1-4

MVP

Kevin Prentiss - Memphis

IRONMAN

Greg Taylor - Tulsa

ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER

Johnny Loper - Memphis

XPLORERS SEASON TICKET PACKAGES

For ticket information and purchases call (662) 280-3737 or go online to www.xplorersaf2.com .

ON THE AIR

The Xplorers travel to Arkansas this Saturday night to tangle with the Twisters. The pregame show on Y 96.1 Fm will start at 6:45 p.m. with the kickoff set for 7 p.m.



arenafootball2 Stories from May 3, 2003


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central