Wichita Wild Wins Last Second Nail Biter
Published on April 28, 2012 under Indoor Football League (IFL)
Wichita Wild News Release
WICHITA, KS. - The Wichita Wild of the Indoor Football League (IFL) took an impressive 55-54 victory over visiting Allen Wranglers. Wichita moves to 3-5 and Allen moves to 5-3 in the Intense Conference. Allen had control of the first half, but Wichita turned the fortunes and controlled much of the second half outscoring Allen 38-28. Neither team ever felt comfortable with their lead during the second half as the lead changed several times throughout the remainder of the game.
The first quarter of action saw little scoring from both teams. Allen started of the game with a missed 35 yard field goal. On Wichita's first possession, Wild quarterback Phil Staback threw an interception on his own 5 yard line and was returned by Keenan Mace to put Allen up 6-0 after a missed extra point. On the ensuing kickoff, Wichita's Tywon Hubbard returned the kickoff putting the Wild in the lead 7-6.
Creating a lot more excitement for the crowd, the second quarter was a much more offensive battle. On the first play of the quarter, Steven Gachette threw a 27 yard touchdown pass to Ryan Moore putting Allen up 13-7. Upon receiving the ball, Wichita drove down to Allen's 4 yard line where Hubbard capped off the drive with a 4 yard pitch to the right for a touchdown. Wichita once again regained the lead 14-13. David Pino kicked a 20 yard field goal after a sack by Wichita's Kassanavoid giving Allen a 16-14 lead. Staback ended Wichita's next drive by throwing an interception to Shamsid-Deen. Pino took advantage of the opportunity and kicked at 52 yard field goal putting Allen up 19-14. After the field goal, things started getting chippy as Allen's Tony Washington was ejected from the game after two consecutive penalties; one for unnecessary roughness and the other for unsportsmanlike conduct. Wichita jumped on the great field position, but was only able to come away with a 30 yard field goal by James Chandler cutting the lead to 19-17. With 23 seconds left in the half, Allen capped off a drive with a 1 yard quarterback keeper by Gachette extending Allen's lead 26-17. Wichita gave one last ditch effort to put points on the board, but Chandler missed a 25 yard field goal which ended the half 26-17 Allen.
Looking to jumpstart the Wild offense, Wichita started the third quarter with the ball. Wild offense stuttered and resorted to kicking an impressive 55 yard field goal from Chandler cutting the lead 26-20. After regaining the ball, Allen drove down to the Wichita 1 yard line where Gachette scored giving him his second touchdown of the night. Wichita quickly found the endzone with a 13 yard pass from Marcus Jackson to Tim Simmons. After Allen's offense faltered, Pino attempted a field goal from his own endzone missing wide left giving Wichita the ball on their own 5 yard line.
Ending the third quarter and extending into the fourth quarter, Hubbard capped off a 45 yard drive with an 11 yard touchdown pass from Jackson highlighted by a 17 yard scamper from Jackson on a few plays prior. Wichita retook the lead 34-33. This was Hubbard's third touchdown of the game. Wichita couldn't keep the lead, succumbing to a seven yard touchdown pass to Luke McArdle from Gachette giving Allen a 40-34 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Allen's fourth quarter lead was short lived as Jackson hooked up with rookie wide receiver Doug Pierce for a 15 yard touchdown pass; Pierces' first touchdown of the game and Jacksons' third touchdown toss of the night. Making sure they weren't outdone, Allen jumped back in the lead 47-41 with a 32 yard touchdown pass from Gachette to McArdle for their second touchdown connection of the night. Wichita once again drove down the field to the Allen 2 yard line. Hubbard rushed in for his second touchdown of the night giving Wichita a 48-47 lead with just 2:46 left in the game. With just 41 seconds remaining in the game, Allen marched down the field and capped off the drive with a 1 yard quarterback keeper by Gachette giving Allen a 54-48 lead. In dramatic fashion, Wichita trudged down the field and Pierce caught a 23 yard touchdown pass from Jackson giving Wichita a 1 point lead. Allen looked to regain the lead with just seconds remaining as the attempted a 45 yard field goal by Pino that missed wide right.
After the game, Wild Head Coach Morris Lolar praised his team's effort, "These kids are tremendous. The heart and never-quit-attitude of these guys drove us to this win. We never got done on ourselves and never gave up; this was a true team win." In the Wild win, Marcus Jackson, who stepped in for Phil Staback during the second quarter, threw 9-12 for 87 yards and 4 touchdowns along with 64 yards on 10 rush attempts. Tywon Hubbard rushed for 34 yards on 15 attempts for 2 touchdowns. Hubbard also scored on a kickoff return and had 1 reception for a touchdown. Rookie wide receiver Doug Pierce amassed 35 yards on 3 receptions for 2 touchdowns; one of which was the game-winning touchdown.
The Wichita Wild will return to action next Saturday, May 5, 2012 when they take on the Omaha Beef at Hartman Arena. To keep up with all the latest Wild news, be sure to visit www.wichitawildfootball.com. Follow the team's social media on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Gowalla.
Indoor Football League Stories from April 28, 2012
- Wichita Wild Wins Last Second Nail Biter - Wichita Wild
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- Reading Express Picks Up Season First Win Against the Cedar Rapids Titans - Reading Express
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