The Calm Before the Storm
Dwayne Smith
Thursday May 12, 2005
With 11,727 fans present at the Nassau Coliseum on Saturday, New York struck quickly and it was the combination of QB Aaron Garcia and OS Kevin Swayne that got it going on a 34-yard connection. While the fans in attendance had hoped to see this duo hook up more often than they have this season, there is little doubt that when Swayne is on the field, he is very tough to keep out of the end zone. Unfortunately, the injury bug that followed Swayne back into the Arena Football League last season has continued to dog him, as he was pulled out of the game midway through the first quarter due to what was described as a mild hamstring injury.
New York would continue playing for each other, especially defensively where they abused starting Destroyers quarterback Ryan Vena, who threw for 3 interceptions in the first half. Vena failed to consistently hook up with anybody in the first half, with the exception of Dragons WR/DB Will Holder, who picked him off twice and was the ADT Defensive Player of the game. Despite the defensive heroics of New York, three missed extra points and failed opportunities to convert Columbus turnovers into points would give the Dragons a mere 21-14 halftime advantage.
The second half started with a bang for Columbus as head coach Chris Spielman pulled Vena for backup QB Matt D’Orazio and the offensive responded immediately. D’Orazio hit former Dragon OS Damien Groce for a 26 yard score two minutes into the half, but Columbus kicker Steve Viditech caught the missed extra point fever and left the Destroyers one point behind at 21-20. New York and Columbus would continue to exchange scores for the duration of the quarter, with US Army Ironman of the game WR/LB Chris Anthony scoring 2 times in the third.
New York’s defense fought to hold Columbus to a field goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter, when they were able to turn Columbus away three times within the 10-yard line. This set up one of the more exciting plays of the game when Garcia hit FB/LB Josh "Zeus" White out of the backfield as fullback leapt over former Dragons DS Donvetus Franklin in the open field to rumble 24 yards for the score. In Franklin’s first game back on Long Island after joining Columbus, he spent most of the game delivering hard hits to New York’s pass catchers, but on this play he avoided being plowed by White and went for his legs. Nobody in the Coliseum expected White’s agile response as he "gracefully’ hopped over Franklin and scored.
The exchange of scores continued and with D’Orazio’s one-yard rush into the end zone the Destroyers were behind 49-44 with 38 seconds left. That would be the prelude to Arena Football League history, as Anthony would return the ensuing onside kick for the 11th return touchdown of the year for the Dragons. The record return also put away the Destroyers and completed a season sweep of the division for New York.
With a 9-5 record and a one and a half game lead over second place Dallas, the Dragons will clinch the division on Sunday in Tampa Bay. This will be no small feat and in essence a playoff game for both teams as the Storm are tied with the New Orleans VooDoo for the fourth best record in the conference, the final spot in the playoffs. While the Dragons have struggled on the road this season, the Storm are undefeated at home and coming off a loss that cost them a chance at the division title, will be a mighty struggle for New York.
Garcia, the Offensive Player of the Game, who finished with a stellar 29-37 for 307 yards and 7 touchdowns, echoed these thoughts. "You gotta win every week. The playoffs started for us two weeks ago." Over the past 3 seasons the Dragons has seemed to be able to come up with those end of season victories with their backs against wall, going into Tampa and facing one of the elite organizations in the sport will go a long way toward showing if this team is of a championship caliber. The Storm have not only won five AFL championships, but can clinch a 15th consecutive playoff birth if they defeat New York. The game will be the feature match up this Sunday on NBC at 1:00 EST.
Dwayne Smith covers Arena Football and the NFL for different web outlets along with providing a fantasy column to FantasyGMs.com. Dwayne has also been a contributor to other online and print outlets, including the Dallas Morning News. In 2003, he covered the NFL Draft from the Headquarters of the New York Jets.
