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Talons Rally Past Xplorers 61-57

May 4, 2003 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Tulsa Talons News Release


Southhaven, MS - The Tulsa Talons rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to defeat the Memphis Xplorers 61-57 Saturday night at the DeSoto Civic Center and improve their record to 4-1 on the season. The Xplorers' record now stands at 1-3 and Tulsa has swept the season series with Memphis. The Talons will host the San Diego Riptide on Saturday while the Xplorers will travel to Little Rock to take on the Arkansas Twisters on Saturday night.

Talons quarterback Craig Strickland threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to lineman Greg Taylor with only 38 seconds remaining in the contest to give the Talons the four-point lead. Following an unsuccessful two-point conversion, the Talons kicked off to give the Xplorers one last chance, but Memphis quarterback Rod Robinson's pass intended for Kevin Prentiss fell incomplete as the clock ran out.

Strickland finished the night with 259 yards passing, hitting on 20 of his 29 attempts, including seven touchdowns. He also ran for another score. Talons wide receiver / linebacker Mitch Allner caught four passes for 73 yards and four touchdowns. In doing so, Allner became only the second af2 player in history to record 500 points in a career. He also became the Talons all-time touchdown maker, surpassing former Talons offensive specialist Jarrail Jackson.

Memphis jumped out to a 21-7 lead behind three first-quarter Robinson touchdown passes, two of which went to Kevin Prentiss. The Talons played catch-up the rest of the first half and trailed 42-29 at the half while the Xplorers offense had the Talons defense on its heels.

The Talons withstood another stellar effort from Memphis OS Prentiss, who ended the night with nine catches for 192 yards and six touchdowns and was named the game's Most Valuable Player. Robinson finished with 284 passing yards on 22 of 35 attempts and seven touchdowns.

Talons' wide receiver / defensive back Timon Marshall scored two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving, while Tacoma Fontaine added another touchdown to round out Tulsa's scoring.

Taylor was named the Ironman of the Game while accounting for 4.5 tackles, including a sack and a forced fumble. The af2's all-time leading sacker also caught two passes for 26 yards, including the game-winning touchdown. Defensive specialist Larry Hollinquest led the Talons with five tackles and seven pass breakups.

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