Yard Dawgz fall to Firecats in opener
April 1, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz News Release
OKLAHOMA CITY-Despite a 40 minute delay, the Yard Dawgz (0-1) stepped into Germain Arena in Estero, FL, to challenge the Florida Firecats (1-0) for both team's first game of the 2007 season. The af2 preseason poll had the Firecats rated 1st with the Yard Dawgz in a close 7th.
The Firecats came out strong as Brent Burnside came up with an interception on the Dawgz opening drive. The Yard Dawgz had the first score, however, when they wrapped up Florida's QB, Chris Wallace, for a safety.
The Firecats responded with two quick scores and a 12 point lead with 4 minutes left in the 1st quarter.
Yard Dawgz starting QB Stan Hill rushed 1 yard for the first Yard Dawgz touchdown of the season, bringing the Dawgz within 5.
Wallace then connected with Ethenic Sands to bring the Firecats to another 12 point lead. The Yard Dawgz quickly reacted when Hill connected with lineman Claude Davis in the end zone. After the successful extra point by Belmonte, the Yard Dawgz pulled within 5, trailing 21-16 with 5 minutes left in the half.
After a lengthy kickoff return by Fred Shaw landing the Yard Dawgz on the 8 yard line, Florida recovered a blocked field goal by Belmonte. The Firecats marched down the field and the dynamic duo of Wallace and McKinney scored again on a 6 yard touchdown pass.
After a rough start, the third quarter looked promising for the Dawgz when Jon Holland recovered a fumble on his own 1 yard line. QB Jerad Romo stepped in for Hill and completed a string of passes to receivers Shaw, Danny Howard, and Al Hunt. Despite marching down the field under Romo's leadership, the Yard Dawgz could not post any points on the board in the third.
The Firecats wrapped up the third quarter with a Wallace 40 yard completion to Sands, bringing the score to Firecats 42 - Yard Dawgz 16.
The Yard Dawgz began the fourth quarter with a Romo touchdown run. Their hope began to fade as Romo had 3 interceptions and the Firecats scored twice more, bringing the final score to 55-22, Firecats.
The Yard Dawgz finished the night with 16 first downs, 187 passing and 26 rushing yards.
The Yard Dawgz travel to Corpus Christi to take on the Sharks, Saturday, April 14 at 7:00 CST.
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