Breaking it Down - 2012 Week One

Andy Lopusnak
Thursday March 15, 2012

• The first quarter was scoreless and the first points of the game came with 11:45 left in the second quarter when Pittsburgh QB Andrico Hines tossed an eight-yard pass to Lonnell DeWalt.
• The first five combined drives ended on downs and the teams combined to go five-of-14 on fourth down (likely a league record for most fourth down attempts in a game).
• Someone with the last name Washington scored six of the final eight touchdowns. Pittsburgh's Mike Washington had four scores and Orlando's Taurian Washington had two.
• There were no one-point PATs converted in this game and just one attempted. Obviously the no one-point PATs converted is a record, but since league records are spotty at best in the early years I believe the one attempt is a record.
• NFL Network said that there were modified rules for this game including no onside kicks, no blitzing and each team would play only five original players. Pittsburgh played ten of its original roster.

• Thanks to a net recovery early in the second quarter, the Storm used the extra possession to tie the game at 21.
• Tampa Bay led for a total of 28 seconds near the end of the first half, but Chicago outscored the Storm 42-13 the rest of the way.
• In a losing effort, Storm QB Stephen Wasil tossed for 326 yards with four passing scores and three rushing scores. He was picked off twice and sacked three more times.
• Storm rookie WR Prechae Rodriguez caught twelve balls for 186 yards with three scores. However, he fumbled twice.
• Rush QB Russ Michna completed 64.9% of his passes for 247 yards with eight touchdowns and an interception
• The Rush has won its season opener in four straight seasons. Chicago's last loss in an opener was in 2007 to Kansas City. That season the Rush finished 12-4 before losing to eventual champion San Jose in the playoffs.
• Tampa Bay has opened the season on the road four straight seasons.
• Chicago scored first on an interception return for a touchdown by Kelvin Morris on the fourth play from scrimmage. Morris added another pick six in the fourth quarter and also recovered a fumble. 

• The game marked the first AFL in San Antonio since August 1, 1992 when the San Antonio Force lost 62-27 to the Detroit Drive. Nearly 13,000 witness that game. Sadly that was nearly half as much as the Talons received for their 2012 home opener (6,866).
• Last year when the Talons called Tulsa home, 9,311 were on hand for the home-opening loss to Arizona.
• Both QBs tossed for over 330 yards. Utah's Tommy Grady had 331 with six scores but was picked off twice. San Antonio's newest gunslinger (that should've been the name not the lame Talons) had 341 yards with eight scores with an interception and lost fumble.
• Garcia fumbled then was picked off in back-to-back plays. Each led to Blaze touchdowns and a 14-7 led.
• The teams traded touchdowns and each QB was picked off once until Grady tossed his second pick with the game tied at 48 and 1:39 left on the clock. San Antonio capitalized and too the final lead of the game. The Blaze failed to score on its next possession and the Talons ran out the clock.
• Utah WR Aaron Lesue had four receiving scores on nine catches for 82 yards.
• For San Antonio, WR Jomo Wilson had 143 receiving yards and three scores on eight receptions.
• Only three player caught balls from Garcia and each had at least seven grabs for at least 80 yards with at least two scores.

• San Jose failed to score on its opening possession of each half. OL Mark Lewis was involved in both reasons why the team didn't reach the endzone. The first was when he was out for the would-be touchdown and Rattlers LB Kevin McCullough appeared to interfere with him on fourth down. There was no flag and the Rattlers got the ball. The second time was when Lewis took a screen pass and ran it 32 yards down to the Rattlers' four-yard line before fumbling.
• The Rattlers were up 14-0 after the first quarter, led by 13 entering the fourth quarter and were up by eleven with six minutes to go in the game.
• San Jose took its first led of the game with 53 seconds left after Rushard Dodd-Masters picked off Nick Davila.
• The SaberCats forced an Arizona 24-yard field goal that tied it at 64, but failed to connect a field goal of the same distance as time expired that forced overtime.
• This was the 90th overtime game in AFL history and second between these two rivals. Arizona won the first one 43-37 in the first-ever game in San Jose history back in 1995.
• San Jose prevailed this time thanks to a pass breakup on a two-point conversion by Dodd-Masters, who finished the night with 215 kickoff return yards (long of 54), a rushing attempt (no yards), five solo tackles, the interception and the breakup.
• SaberCats QB Mark Grieb's 432 yards are his second most ever and his fifth career game over 400. He also threw for nine scores and moved into third place in league history in passing yards during the game.
• Grieb's 59 pass attempts are the third most in AFL single-game history and the most ever by a home QB and a winning QB.
• Davila threw for 369 yards and six passing scores (and a rushing one). He tied Brett Dietz as the fastest player to reach 10,000 career passing yards doing so in just his 35th career game.

• These two teams might in last year's playoffs with the Force winning 50-41.
• There were nine turnovers in this sloppy game (5 by Cleveland, 4 by Georgia)
• Georgia scored two defensive touchdowns in the game from a fumble return and an interception.
• Cleveland QB John Dutton played his first complete game since 2010. Last year, he was hurt in the opener. Dutton tossed for 308 yards with four passing scores and a rushing touchdown, but he accounted for all five Gladiators turnovers (4 INT, 1 lost fumble).
• On his first pass attempt, Dutton was picked off. That led to the first points of the night. Dutton's next three drives ended as such: downs, interception return for touchdown and lost fumble. He finally got going with 7:07 left in the second quarter when the Gladiators got on the board.  
• There was just one touchdown one the first eight offensive drives by the two teams (though a TD was scored on defense during this time).
• Force QB Darnel Kennedy wasn't much better completing just 55% of his passes for 163 yards with three touchdowns, two interceptions and a lost fumble. He was replaced in the third quarter by A.J. Archer who was worse completing just one-of-seven passes (a 45-yard touchdown) and was picked off. Kennedy returned at 12:26 left in the game after the Glads took their only lead of the game.
• Dutton's fourth interception and a failed onside kick with 56 seconds left sealed the Force victory.
• Georgia has won its last two season openers since its move from Huntsville when the team was the Alabama Vipers. 

• This marked the 91st overtime game in AFL history and second in Week One.
• Iowa head coach Mike Hohensee has won his last four season openers now with three different teams. He also has won back-to-back openers in overtime.
• Spokane has lost its opener for all three seasons its been in the AFL.
• Iowa DB Cameron McGlenn posted nine tackles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery. However, it was teammate Jason Simpson that made the game-turning play when he picked off Shock QB Adam Froman in overtime. Two plays later, the Barnstormers won it.
• Simpson also had a 57-yard kickoff return near the end of the first half.
• With Spokane down by 14 late in the fourth quarter, starting QB Erik Meyer was injured after a late hit by Iowa LB John Mohring (who was ejected for it). Froman entered and guided the Shock to a touchdown. Iowa missed a field goal on the next drive, which was returned 54 yards by Terrance Sanders for a score and forced overtime.
• The announced attendance of 8,891 is the lowest in the regular season by the Shock since joining the AFL in 2010. 
• Iowa never trailed in the game though there were six ties.