Avengers Return to Early-Season Form
Steven Herbert
Wednesday March 12, 2003
Graziani threw a career-high eight touchdown passes and Kevin Clemens ran one yard for a touchdown as time expired as the Avengers defeated the host New York Dragons, 65-61, ending a two-game losing streak.
"I`m really proud of the guys," Los Angeles coach Ed Hodgkiss said. "They kind of did it on their own. They realized the situation, came out [and] played with more enthusiasm."
Hodgkiss singled out wide receiver/defensive back Siaha Burley for especially playing "with a lot of enthusiasm."
"He kind of cranked us up a little bit," Hodgkiss said of Burley, who turned a screen pass into a 42-yard third-quarter touchdown on his only catch. “He was really enthusiastic out there. He did a good job of keeping us going.”
The Avengers (4-2) scored touchdowns on nine of their 11 possessions. They were stopped only when Graziani lost a fumble in the second quarter when the ball hit fullback Lonnie Ford’s right arm as Graziani was dropping back to pass. When time was running down in the first half, Remy Hamilton was forced to kick a 32-yard field goal on the half’s final play.
"Offensively I thought we played well," Hodgkiss said. "We were able to keep pace with them. Besides that one turnover, I thought we played a good game."
Protection problems were a major reason for Los Angeles’ losses in its preceding two games. Although Graziani was sacked three times Sunday, the Avengers “did a much better job” protecting him than in the previous two games, Hodgkiss said.
“Overall, Tony had a lot of time,” Hodgkiss said. “We were able to go down the field some. That was another major difference in our success offensively.”
When asked what made the difference between winning and losing, Hodgkiss said, “I don’t know there was just one thing. We came out and scored quick and gave us confidence there.
“At halftime, the guys kind of regrouped and regathered and they knew that we were going to have to get one stop in there to win the game. We came out and got that stop midway through the third quarter and that was the difference.”
Los Angeles needed just two plays to score the first time it had the ball. Graziani (23-for-33 for 355 yards) connected with Chris Jackson for a 36-yard gain on the game’s first play, followed by a nine-yard touchdown pass to Jackson on the next play.
Jackson caught 11 passes for 172 yards, both season highs, and four touchdowns. Jackson has scored in touchdown in all 39 AFL games he has played.
Kevin Ingram caught two touchdown passes and Burley and Greg Hopkins one each for the Avengers.
The Los Angeles defense had little success is stopping New York’s offense, which entered the weekend leading the league in total offense, averaging 329.8 yards per game. The Dragons (0-6) scored touchdowns nine of the 10 times they had the ball.
“We’ve got to get better defensively,” Hodgkiss said. “We’re going to have to do something to get ourselves better because we have to get more than one stop.”
The stop came in the third quarter.
New York quarterback Aaron Garcia (31-for-42 for 326 yards and eight touchdowns) threw three consecutive incomplete passes. The first and third long passes were intended for Mike Furrey, the second a short pass was intended for Carlos James and deflected by Avenger linebacker J.J. Washington.
(NBC’s telecast later showed Garcia yelling at James after the play, “Come across. Come across. You’re standing right behind the man. You’ve got to come across on your screen route.”)
Following a delay-of-game penalty, Pete Elezovic was forced to try a 48-yard field goal, which went off the right rebound net.
"We would have liked a few more stops," Hodgkiss said. "We got the one and that was enough."
Steven Herbert began covering Arena Football in 1988, the league’s second season. He has covered the sport for The Associated Press, Arizona Republic, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Providence Journal-Bulletin, Palm Beach Post, Daily Oklahoman and other publications. Herbert has also written on college and NFL football for The Washington Post and spent five years as a Los Angeles Times staff writer.
