A Tale of Two Halves
Rob Hammersmith
Saturday March 31, 2007
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity… and when all was said and done, emotions of a dramatic 62-61 come from behind win stirred in the hearts of Columbus Destroyers fans, as doubts that they deserved to win swirled in the backs of their minds.
The Columbus Destroyers (2-2) came out in the first quarter to feed this writer a plate of crow. Last week I said this defense couldn’t stop a car with a stop sign, let alone an opposing AFL offense. By the end of the first quarter the Destroyers defense produced two stops in three chances. And I happily ate my plate of crow as it was cooked with some Sweet Georgia Southern BBQ sauce.
The Georgia Force (4-1) came into this game undefeated in their first four games. In fact, on ESPN’s website more than 96% of fans had predicted Georgia to win this game. To find the Destroyers up 41-27 at halftime and getting the ball to start the 2nd half, this game was going completely against popular belief.
By the end of the first half the Destroyers defense had produced three turnovers, and defensive back Brandon Hefflin’s HUGE hit on Georgia wide receiver Troy Bergeron just as Georgia quarterback Chris Greisen’s pass arrived on a key 3rd down play showed the defense Destroyers fans loved so much last year was back, and with full force.
But something else from last year came back… the complete offensive shutdown. Destroyers quarterback Matt Nagy showed that the similarities between him and John Kaleo are strong. Much like the 2nd half disaster that ended the 2006 season in San Jose, the Destroyers at one moment had a 14 point lead and possession of the ball, and the next moment they were down by 6 and without possession of the ball. Nagy and the offense came out in the 2nd half and failed to score on any of their first four possessions.
The only saving grace in the 3rd quarter was Destroyers wide receiver Damien Groce’s kickoff return for a touchdown, which at the time kept the Destroyers in the lead 48-41. In fact, it was the kick returning team that should really get the most credit for the win. Josh Bush returned a kickoff return for a touchdown in the first half, and Groce also had a 42 yard kick off return that led to his 8 yard TD reception.
Sadly the inadequacy extended into the fourth quarter. With time running out, the Destroyers found themselves down by six, and they failed to convert on 4th down, handing possession over to the leading Georgia Force. Destroyers fans sat back in their seats believing that the game was doomed.
At that point it was a tale of two halves. A tale of Destroyers first half dominance. And a tale of a Destroyers 2nd half collapse. But before I could begin to write my story of how the Destroyers pulled a San Jose sequel for the home crowd to witness, the Destroyers sent the Georgia Force home with a loss wondering what the heck happened.
The Destroyers defense stepped up and produced their fourth stop of the game. And while I kid about Nagy’s similarities to Kaleo’s inadequacies last year, he showed that he is similar to Kaleo’s ability to come from behind. Last year Kaleo produced dramatic come from behind victories at New York, at Philadelphia, and at Austin, the likes of which Columbus AFL fans have never seen. Last night it was Nagy’s chance produce the next Destroyers dramatic win.
Nagy led the offense to a touchdown that should have put the Destroyers up by one. But even kicker Peter Martinez was stuck in this tale of two halves as well. In the first half he was 2 for 2 on field goals, and 5 for 5 on PATs. In the 2nd half he missed two mid range field goals, and with this chance to put the Destroyers back in the lead, the snap sailed high and flew behind Martinez. He grabbed it and was taken down. The game was tied at 54, with just over a minute to go.
The Destroyers tried on onside kick, but failed to recover. Many fans didn’t like head coach Doug Kay’s call for an onside kick. But it was the correct call. Georgia would have rather gotten the ball deep, so that they would have enough field to run out the clock before a last minute score. What was pathetic was their attempts to run out the clock with the short field that resulted from the onside kick. The Columbus defense was more than willing to just let them score, a late game strategy that has proven to work in the AFL. So when their running back crossed the line of scrimmage he stopped just short of the goal line by nothing more than his own desire not to score so quickly. He then flanked to his right and jogged parallel to the goal line on the one. Once the Destroyers defense realized what he was doing, then they decided to tackle him and call time out.
Here’s my problem with that sort of play. I understand the strategy of letting him score. In fact I agree with it. But why just stand around and do nothing as the offense runs? Sure, don’t try to tackle him and keep him out of the end zone, but how about take every effort possible to strip the ball from him as he’s running and try to produce a turnover? Wouldn’t it be better to get the ball back without them scoring even though you’re strategically fine getting the ball back after they score?
But eventually Greisen did run in for a score putting the Force up 61-54 with 46 seconds left. Nagy then led the offense the length of the field putting it in the end zone on a dramatic fourth down play that saw him just squeak the ball into the corner on a run. With 14 seconds left in the game the Destroyers went for two, and converted, electrifying a crowed that just moments before had thought the game was doomed.
Georgia failed to convert their 14 seconds into a score, and the tale of two halves was over. The Destroyers had found just enough left in them to stop the 2nd half from being a complete and utter meltdown like the one ten months ago in San Jose.
The bottom line is this, the Destroyers just beat an undefeated team despite playing horrifically for most of the 2nd half. This team can play with the best the AFL has to offer even when the team doesn’t play perfectly. This game, as well as the game in Nashville, are both games that the Destroyers lost last year. They are now wins this year. We didn’t play New Orleans or Chicago last year, but we also don’t play San Jose or Orlando this year. Our losses to New Orleans and Chicago wash with last years losses to San Jose and Orlando. So by this point of view the Destroyers are already 2 games better than last year by winning two games that we lost last year.
It’s been an ugly first four games, but this team is giving Destroyers fans a reason to believe. We believe...
