Defense Steps Up, Procures Fusion Victory
Alex Painter
Monday April 2, 2007
In arena football, often the offense and the gaudy numbers they produce upstage the defense. However, every so often, there is an exception. One of those exceptions was witnessed at Ford Fusion Field in the Memorial Coliseum as the Fort Wayne Fusion opened their inaugural arenafootball2 season at home resulting in an upset of the defending American Conference champions the Green Bay Blizzard 36-28, in front of 5,133 enthusiastic fans.
The Fusion defense denied Green Bay of reaching paydirt the entire first half, constantly pressuring Green Bay quarterback Ryan Hawk, sacking him three times, and taking any threat of a deep pass away, forcing Hawk to compromise and resort to shorter routes.
Interesting side note: Hawk is the younger brother of NFL linebacker and Ohio State standout A.J. Hawk, who was in attendance with brother-in-law and former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn.
Leading the way for the Fusion defense was ADT Defensive Player of the Game A.J. Lindsay, who lived in the Blizzard backfield harassing Hawk, and garnered a sack of his own from his nose tackle position.
“We knew the pressure had to start up front,” Lindsay said, “all three defensive linemen kept going hard. We knew good things would come of it.”
Despite holding the ball a bulky 17:55 in the first two quarters, the Blizzard failed to score against the Fusion defense and Ft. Wayne led 19-0 at the half. Newly acquired quarterback Cody Hodges had three touchdowns in the first half, including a five-yard run. Hodges finished the night with five total touchdowns and passed for 127 yards, as well as making a couple good plays with his legs. Hodges earned the Schutt Offensive Player of the Game honor.
Hodges also had praise for the defense, “to shut out a team the whole first half is incredible,” Hodges said, “our defense deserves a lot of credit for tonight’s win as well.”
Credit is also due to Hodges’ targets, Cesare Manning, Jermaine Jackson, and Tyrone Walker as they exploited the Green Bay secondary all night, making key grabs and racking up yards after catch. Manning led all Fusion receivers with six catches for 63 yards and a touchdown. Jackson chipped in two touchdowns of his own. One of the highlights on the night was Hodges finding offensive lineman Lou Vega wide open in the end zone for a six-yard touchdown jaunt.
But it was the defense that stole the show. In a dazzling show of athleticism, defensive back Marlin Maxwell intercepted a Hawk pass in the end zone and returned the ball 43 yards deep into Green Bay territory. The interception led to a touchdown. The defense was all over the field, making excellent hits on the Green Bay receivers and ball carriers.
Despite playing a team that participated in the ArenaCup game, the af2’s championship, last year, Maxwell explained that the defense approached this game just like they would any other game.
“We had to come out and make our presence known. They are just another team and that’s how we played them.”
Notwithstanding two late scores in the game from Green Bay, the Fusion recovered three onside kicks to help foil any late comeback bid. Head Coach “Touchdown” Eddie Brown insisted that the win was not merely just another notch on his already illustrious arena football career’s belt.
“I felt good with the win, but I don’t think it was about me,” Brown said, “I think it was more about the community, they support us really well. I just have the head coach title.”
Next week, the Fusion (1-0) travels to Bossier-Shreveport to take on the Battle Wings (0-0).
Despite a satisfying win, Brown insists there is still much work to do, “we have to continue to improve on special teams and offensively finishing the game. The defense has to continue to fly around.”
Despite the needed improvements, the Fusion have began the 2007 af2 campaign with a solid performance and a convincing step in the right direction.
