Walls lifts Lightning at the horn

Published on July 6, 2008 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Stockton Lightning News Release


FRESNO, Calif. - Alex Walls drilled a 25-yard field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter to give the Stockton Lightning (4-10) a thrilling 50-48 victory over the Central Valley Coyotes before a crowd of 2,836 at Selland Arena on Saturday, in Week 15 of arenafootball2 play.

Walls hit his third game-winning, buzzer-beating field goal in two seasons just one day after Brian Hazelwood - the only kicker in af2 history to hit more field goals than Walls - lifted the Rio Grande Valley Dorados to a last-second victory with a 48-yard strike. The Lightning won back-to-back games for the first time this season and defeated the Coyotes at Selland Arena for the first time in franchise history.

The Lightning took a 13-7 lead after one quarter, fueled by two interceptions by DB Shannon Davis that helped set up QB Andy Collins' one-yard keeper and WR Ruben Jackson's 20-yard reception, sandwiching a 25-yard strike from Central Valley QB Clay Groefsema to Tonae Martin, who registered five TD catches in the game.

Martin and Nichiren Flowers posted back-to-back touchdown receptions to begin the second quarter, answered by Lightning WR Justin Taplin's 6-yard leaping grab in the left corner of the end zone to close the deficit to 21-20 with time expiring in the first half.

FB Andre King restored the Lightning lead at 26-21on a one-yard dash with 12:20 left in the second quarter. The Coyotes responded with two more consecutive scores to push their lead to eight points, their largest of the game. Groefsema found Martin on two separate touchdown strikes - on throws from 16 and 24 yards respectively.

What was required to set up the Lightning dramatics was a 24-point fourth quarter - a season-high for scoring in one quarter. Jackson's 7-yard receiving score with 14:55 left established the frantic pace with the Lightning tying the game at 34-34 on a two-point conversion. Groefsema responded with a one-yard keeper on the ensuing series to restore the Coyotes lead at 41-34 with 11:48 left.

Jason Hunt then forced Groefsema to cough-up the football on a five-yard sack with 8:15 left that set the stage for Jackson's 17-yard touchdown reception with 7:40 remaining, helping the Lightning tie the game at 41-41.

Central Valley's determined effort to respond was thwarted on the team's second fumble of the quarter on a Jomo Wilson sprint to the right tackle at the Coyotes 8-yard line. The loose football was pounced on by four Lightning players in the Coyotes end zone for a 47-41 advantage with under six minutes left despite a missed PAT by Walls.

Groefsema hit Martin with a 15-yard strike to put the Coyotes up 48-47 with 1:07 left, setting up the heroics for Walls and the Lightning. A 27-yard bomb from Collins to Jackson deeply pushed the Lightning drive into Coyotes territory. Following an incomplete pass to Taplin with 2 seconds left, Walls was left with 25 yards of distance that separated the Lightning from their first win over Central Valley since April 14, 2007.

Walls split the uprights on the kick as time expired, sending the team into a celebratory frenzy on the Selland Arena turf which capped the Lightning road record for the regular season at 3-5.

Collins threw for 290 yards, 4 touchowns and a 26-for-44 effort, helping the Lightning surpass the 40-point plateau for the fourth time in the last five games. Jackson, his most frequent target, caught a game-high tying 10 catches and added 122 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns.

Martin added 10 catches and 130 receiving yards to his 5 touchdown effort for Central Valley (7-6), who fell into a tie for sixth place in the National Conference wild card race with the Boise Burn.

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