Steeldogs Hotter Than ‘Fire’ at Home
Eric Starling
Sunday April 22, 2007
The Alabama Steeldogs improved to 2-1 on the year with a 63-47 win over the Louisville Fire at home on Saturday evening. In front of an announced crowd of 6575, the Steeldogs remained perfect at home this season and garnered some momentum as they take their show on the road to Tulsa next week.
Momentum is great, but there are several questions that must be answered before they get to Tulsa. First and foremost would be, when will this young team put it all together for four full quarters? In this high scoring game we call Arena Football, the Steeldogs took possession to start the game. After spending 11 minutes and 13 seconds trying to give the ball away while moving up and down the field, Nick Hayes hit a 23-yard field goal to give the Steeldogs the lead.
Alabama Offensive Coordinator Billy Dicken assessed the situation in this way. “We started the game sloppy. Actually we have started all three games pretty sloppy. We have a lot of potential when we do the things we are suppose to do and in the second half, we put it together and looked like a real offense.”
Coming into the game, the Steeldogs were first in rushing offense averaging 56 yards per game. On this night, they would be held to 11 yards on the ground and no rushing touchdowns. They allowed Louisville to rush for 106 yards on the evening.
Special Teams play continued to shine for the Steeldogs when they successfully executed the on-side kick to maintain possession and add to their lead. Quarterback Robert Kent was able to get back on the field after that shaky first series and hit a streaking Markeit Cooper for 21 yards and the score. Cooper finished the night with 8 receptions for 107 yards and 3 scores. After one quarter of play, Alabama held to a 9-0 lead.
Just when it looked like the Fire had caught a spark and would score, Fire Quarterback Nichol Roberts was stripped of the ball by Steeldog Willie Smith at the Alabama 1 yard line. Roberts finished the evening with 69 yards rushing and one touchdown. He also passed for 67 yards and a TD.
At the half, the Steeldogs held a 22-7 lead. Both teams fumbled twice in the first half with Louisville losing both fumbles and Alabama losing one. The lost fumble for Alabama was in their own end zone and was the only score of the half for the Fire.
Coach Ron Selesky summed up the first half with the words, “Bonehead mistakes.” The two teams combined for 25 penalties for 173 yards in the game. Even with the mistakes, Selesky takes pride in the fact that when his team had to step it up, they did. “I have always prided myself on coaching teams that play hard no matter the situation and as we grow and mature as a team, that will be key.”
The key to this game, had to be the second half play of rookie Mitch Tanney at quarterback. With Kent leaving the game with an eye injury early in the third period, Tanney came in and completed 13-16 passes for 130 yards and 5 touchdowns. Both the Steeldogs and the Fire replaced their starters in the second half with Matt Saulk taking the snaps for Louisville.
When asked about the scoring frenzy that took place in the second half, Dicken said, “Matt Saulk has been in this league a long time and is a proven quarterback. Mitch Tanney did a great job for us in the second half and even though he may be a rookie, he looked like he’d been playing in this league for some time.”
Saulk completed 10-15 passes for 182 yards and 4 scores. His one error of the night was late in the fourth period when he overthrew his receiver and Steeldog Eric Oliver made him pay. Oliver made a shoestring catch and returned it 38 yards for the score. Oliver ended the night making a simultaneous catch in the end zone with the Fire’s Quory Payne. Both players came down with the ball as regulation expired and the Steeldogs celebrated their second win of the season.
The second half heroics and the way the offense clicked, leads me to the second question. When the Steeldogs return home on May 3rd to face the Texas Copperheads, who will be behind center? Will Kent regain his composure against Tulsa next week and connect with his receivers? Or, will Tanney continue to be Mister Consistency off the bench and take over the reigns? Check back in two weeks and I’ll let you know!
