VooDoo Fall in Season Finale, Postseason Hopes Rest in Tampa Bay at Spokane Game
July 21, 2012 - Arena Football League (AFL)
New Orleans VooDoo News Release
NEW ORLEANS - With a spot in the playoffs at stake, the New Orleans VooDoo had the visiting Georgia Force down big early, but found themselves trailing for most of the second half after miscues, eventually falling to the Force 55-48 Saturday night ending the VooDoo season.
However, the VooDoo (8-10) could still earn a playoff berth and the No. 4 overall seed in the American Conference playoffs with a Tampa Bay loss to Spokane. When the VooDoo game ended, Tampa Bay and Spokane were in the 1st quarter.
"There is still hope for us to get to where we want to be, which is the playoffs; however that does not negate this loss. This was a tough one," said VooDoo Head Coach Pat O'Hara in postgame press conference. "If our season does come to an end, I can easily say that I am proud of my guys."
After a Georgia (9-9) score and a botched PAT made the game 48-41 with less than four minutes left in the game, the VooDoo (8-10) netted the equalizer on a nine-yard touchdown reception by Courtney Smith from Kurt Rocco, but it left enough time on the clock for Georgia to score on Bryant Moniz' third touchdown run of the game after recovering the New Orleans onside kick for the 55-48 lead.
The VooDoo recovered the Force's onside kick and an illegal block penalty put New Orleans at the Georgia nine-yard line with 47 seconds left, but on the next play a sack and fumble by Rocco recovered by Jerry Turner of Georgia sealed New Orleans' fate as the Force ran out the clock and earned the win.
Josh Bush set two new records on the night for the VooDoo, setting a new mark for receiving yards (1,799) in a season, and becoming the first New Orleans player to take a missed field goal back for a touchdown with a 55-yarder in the second quarter. Bush also tied the single-season mark for touchdown receptions with 37.
Offensively, Bush and Chris Duvalt combined for 239 receiving yards and five touchdowns on the night, as Rocco went 22-for-30 for 254 yards, six touchdowns and an interception. In the first half alone, Rocco completed all but two passes in the first and second quarters.
Moniz threw for 175 yards on 17 completions, accounting for five total touchdowns for Georgia with three coming on the ground and two coming through the air. Larry Shipp was the leading receiver for the Force grabbing six passes for 68 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for one with three carries for 18 yards.
Alvin Ray Jackson led all players with 7.5 tackles on the night, followed by Gladel Brutus' six unassisted tackles on the night. Georgia's Quenton Burrell and Tracy Belton had 5.5 and 5 tackles, respectively.
New Orleans winning the toss and taking the ball in the first half played into Georgia's favor in the third quarter, as the Force got the ball and scored 14 of their 21 unanswered points between the first and second half.
The Force used up ten minutes on their first drive of the quarter to retake the lead, and then on the very next play used an onside kick that bounced off of a VooDoo player to get the ball back and score again on four plays to take a 42-34 lead for the only scoring of the entire quarter.
The VooDoo scored on all three of their drives in the first quarter, using a total of 13 plays and a little more than nine possession minutes total to score their 20 opening quarter points.
Bush set the team record on a 17-yard touchdown pass for his first score of the game to give the VooDoo a 6-0 lead after the point-after attempt failed. Duvalt was Rocco's weapon of choice on the next two scoring drives, catching 15 and 12-yard touchdown passes to put the VooDoo up 20-14 as Georgia scored on both of their drives, which included a 55-yard kickoff return by Gary Cismesia.
After the 55-yard missed field goal return by Bush to start the second to give the VooDoo a 27-14 lead, Georgia needed just one play on the ensuing drive to pull within six of New Orleans 27-21. However, a two-play, 21-yard drive that began with a recovered onside kick was capped by a seven-yard play-action pass from Rocco to Bush to put the VooDoo back up by double-digits, 34-21.
The VooDoo defense held Georgia to no yards on four plays on their next drive to get the ball back on the Force 13-yard line with a chance to put the game out of reach early, but a fumble by Joe Alajajian killed the drive and allowed Georgia to go on a six-play, 44-yard drive making the score 34-28 New Orleans.
After a nearly flawless first half where he completed nine consecutive passes in the first, Rocco threw his first interception of the game, and second incompletion of the night, on the final play heading into the break to leave the score 34-28.
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