Portland falls just short of Steeling win in Orlando
Adam Markowitz
Saturday April 9, 2016
ORLANDO -- Let's get this much right. The Orlando Predators were the better team on the field on Saturday night against the Portland Steel. The oddsmakers said they were the better team by 24.5-points, and if you just look at the talent on the field, this truly was a mismatch. Talent finally did rule the day in a 53-50 victory, but it was never easy.
Things were never easy for the Portland offense. Danny Southwick was battered and bruised all night long by an Orlando defensive front which played a significantly better game than it will get credit for. The Steel faced eight third downs and three fourth downs in the game, and they were never denied from scoring until their very last possession.
Southwick's game won't impress you on the stat sheet either at 25-of-38 for 223 yards with just five touchdowns, but he outplayed Randy Hippeard, an All-Arena candidate with the exception of one throw.
Unfortunately for Southwick, that one throw was picked off by Emanuel Cook with just a handful of seconds left in the game to ruin the chance at the upset.
Still, the game plan was perfect. The Steel, who, let's not forget were blown out by 52 last week, limited possessions by running short passing plays against an aggressive defense. Jabin Sambrano had 11 catches for 73 yards and two scores, and he, Jared Perry and Tom Gilson played a practically perfect, conservative game. Virtually everything was caught, and there weren't any glaring miscommunications with Southwick.
The story of this game though, was the Orlando offense.
Hippeard only went 14-of-28 for 228 yards and six scores. Offensive Coordinator Matt Sauk and Head Coach Rob Keefe would be the first to admit that those stats aren't pretty, but the Preds scored on every single drive.
Plus, to Hippeard's credit, he made the big league throw when he needed to, hitting Brandon Thompkins on a streak for a 48-yard TD that put the Preds up 46-43. That wasn't the winning score, but that was the score that kept the back-and-forth going when things could've gone south.
Even on a night when Mark Lewis missed three extra points on eight attempts and the Preds went -5 in the kicking game, they still excelled, albeit against a questionable team.
Not every drive was pretty for sure, but the drive chart (if you forgive the drive which ended the game) reads TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, and that's what this game is all about.
The Predators have now scored on all 17 of their possessions this year, and that pressure and consistency was enough to finally put aside a pesky Portland side.
The Steel deserve all the credit in the world for coming on the road and putting a huge fright into the Predators in their home opener. They're 0-2, but they've grown a ton for their efforts.
The true test a champion is being able to win a game when it isn't at its best. The Predators certainly weren't on their game to the fullest on Saturday night, but a win is a win, and that shouldn't be forgotten.
