Pioneers Comeback Slips Through Hands
Jason Moyer
Saturday April 23, 2005
"I thought Rocco had it," stated Pioneers Head Coach Les Moss. "Then I saw it come out from between his legs, just like everybody else did."
The Pioneers and Fire battled back and forth throughout the first half, until Defensive Player of the Game Rob Green recovered a backward lateral and returned the ball 37 yards for a touchdown to change the momentum of the game. The defensive score gave Louisville a 35-19 lead and forced Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to play catch up for the remainder of the contest.
"We fought like heck to get back in it. Our guys didn’t give up one bit," Moss said. "But, like I always say, if we take care of the ball we’ll be fine. Unfortunately tonight, we had a couple of miscues."
Louisville quarterback Matthew Sauk sizzled in the first half completing 14 of 17 passes for 149 yards and four touchdowns. The Fire utilized a short passing game to stifle the pass rush of the Pioneers and build a 41-29 halftime lead.
When asked about halftime adjustments Coach Moss explained, "I started holding the linebackers in the second half and playing to knock down those three step drops."
The changes aided the defense as they held Sauk to 83 yards in the second half and produced two stops and a field goal that allowed the offense to get the team back in the game.
Kyle Rowley tossed touchdowns to J.R. Thomas and Forgionne to pull his team to within five points at 55-50 with one minute remaining. Following an unsuccessful onside kick, the Pioneers defense came up big again holding the Fire to a 25-yard Danny Kight field goal, setting up the dramatic final possession.
J.R. Thomas returned the kickoff to Louisville’s seven-yard line to set up the possible tying score. Unfortunately for the Pioneers, Forgionne was unable to latch onto the pass on the final play of the game allowing the Fire to escape with the victory.
"You’re not going to win them all," observed Moss. "We finished this quarter 3-1. If we go three and one the next three quarters, that’s not a bad record."
Inside the numbers:
Matthew Sauk was named Offensive Player of the Game. Sauk finished 26-37 for 232 yards and five touchdowns.
Rob Green earned Defensive Player of the Game. Green’s 37-yard fumble return was the turning point of the game. Along with the fumble recovery, Green also made seven tackles in the game.
Ameer Riley won Ironman of the Game honors. Riley caught six passes for 78 yards and one touchdown, while making 3.5 tackles on defense.
Kyle Rowley completed 23-39 passes for 251 yards and five touchdowns. Rowley also rushed for a one yard score.
Rocco Forgionne hauled in nine catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns.
J.R. Thomas led all players with 189 yards total offense.
Next week:
The Pioneers play their fourth home game of the season next Sunday against the Green Bay Blizzard. Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm.
Jason Moyer is an elementary school teacher in the western New Jersey area. He is an avid follower of the Arena Football League and has been covering the Philadelphia Soul with ArenaFan.com since 2005. Jason resides in Whitehall, PA with his wife and daughter.
