Peoria Pirates Claim af2 Title over Florida
Steve Robinson
Sunday August 25, 2002
But Head Coach Bruce Cowdrey’s crew found themselves having to struggle to claim their reward. Florida jumped out to a fast 7-0 lead with 10:34 in the first quarter behind a 29-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bryan Sparacino to receiver Anthony Dixon. The point after by kicker Brandon Kornblue was successful.
Peoria returned fire, using seven plays and 5:45 to go 31 yards to get their first points of the night – a 19-yard pass from quarterback Matt Pike to receiver Cornell Craig, however, kicker Kraig Baker missed the extra point, allowing Florida to hold a 7-6 lead, a score that would hold as the first quarter ended.
Baker kicked a 26-yard field goal with 9:37 left in the second quarter, giving the Pirates a 9-7 lead, capping a 7 play 39 yard drive and raising the hopes of most the 7,552 fans at Carver Arena who were there to cheer for Peoria.
Florida reclaimed the lead on a 3-yard run by fullback Dedric Maffett, with 6:17 left in the second quarter, but Kornblue missed the extra point, but Florida led 13-9.
It would only take the next kickoff for Peoria to regain the lead, thanks to a 55-yard kickoff return by Lincoln Dupree, putting Peoria up, 16-13 following Baker’s extra point. It was the first of two such scores Dupree would have on the night, as he would do it again on a 10 yard return in the fourth quarter. On the night Dupree would 4 return kickoffs for 134 yards, including those two scores.
As a satellite and cable television audience joined those at Carver Arena, Peoria would hold a 23-13 halftime lead, but Florida scored on two straight possessions and a safety at the beginning of the third quarter to take a 25-23 lead with 8:51 left.
It turned out to be Florida’s last lead of the night, as Pirates’ running back Jason Short took a 3-yard carry into the end zone with 6:59 left in the third quarter topping a 2 play, 9 yard march, to pull Peoria in front for good, 29-25, following a botched two-point conversion.
The third quarter ended with Peoria holding a 36-25 lead, following another touchdown pass from quarterback Walter Church to receiver Brandon Campbell for 22 yards, and a successful kick from Kraig.
“This was great,” said Pirates veteran lineman Ken Bouie afterward. “We knew there would be adversity here. (Florida) is a championship team and made it here through hard work just like we did. We knew we were going to have adversity and we knew we were going to have to play through it.”
“This is what I came here for when we started off in March, (getting a championship) was the only thing that was on our minds,” said wide receiver Jermaine Sheffield. “Now that we are actually here and reaping the benefits of it, I just feel so good. I feel so blessed.”
Cowdrey said he had no problem with switching quarterbacks at various points throughout the game because he had done it numerous times before during both the regular season and the playoffs. He said no egos were shattered by his choice to play the men interchangeably.
“(Church and Pike) are good friends. They’re good friends,” Cowdrey said. “After all, they’re Pirates. They’re Pirates. It is like I always tell them, ‘I have number 1 and number 1A’.”
“All credit (for this) goes to Bruce Cowdrey,” said Pirates general manager Greg Griffith afterward at a post-game party at a downtown restaurant.
Recounting back to the Pirates’ days as members of the now-defunct Indoor Football League, Griffith said, “He has been here three years of the four we have been in existence. We have been to three championship games. We have won two out of three.
“Tonight,” he explained, “Florida came into the midst of a snake pit. That is the way Carver Arena is.
“Florida was real pumped up by how charged up our fans were at the beginning of the game, but later on, I think (the Florida fans) who were here dragged them down a little bit, and certainly, the Pirates’ fans did.”
About 100 Firecats faithful attended the game.
“It’s an absolute credit to our players and our coaches for the way they performed on the field,” Griffith said.
A parade through downtown Peoria early Saturday morning was the last item on the team’s agenda for the 2002 season, Griffith said, adding that that doesn’t mean the work to get ready for the 2003 season hasn’t started yet.
Griffith said Cowdrey has already been on the phone trying to line up players for next season.
Steve Robinson, a freelance writer since 1984, has written about the Peoria Pirates since the Pirates were members of Indoor Football League, beginning in 1999. He covers the Pirates currently for the Bloomington IL Pantagraph.
