Firebirds beat Dragons in High Scoring Affair
Matthew Pickut
Monday May 7, 2001
Indiana played aggressively right from the start going long on their first three plays. After two Raymond Philyaw (23 of 33 for 278 yrds, 6 TD, 0 Int; 14 yrds and 2 TD rushing) passes fell incomplete OS Eddie Brown pulled in a 43-yard post pattern to give the Firebirds the ball on the New York two-yard line. After FB/LB Leroy Thompson plunged to the one, Philyaw took matters into his own hands and scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns. Philyaw’s performance further showed that his transformation from back up to starter is complete.
The teams traded scores until the Dragons held Indiana to a field goal at 8:27 left in the second quarter. The Dragons then drove 45 yards on their next possession. They took the lead 21-17, scoring on a 15 yard pass from New York QB Aaron Garcia (33 of 42 for 317, 9 TD, 2 Int) to WR/DB Todd Doxzon.
WR/DB Van Johnson took the kick-off back to midfield and the ‘Birds drove the rest of the way in seven plays. After Leroy Thompson scored from the one-yard line, Indiana Head Coach Mike Dailey stayed aggressive and called for an onsides kick. Nelson Gardner’s kick split the New York front line and bounced down to the Dragon’s 18-yard line evading a handful of would be recoverers. “They had stopped us that one possession, and they have such a high powered offense, its tough to stop them, so you take that chance to steal a possession” said Dailey, “sometimes in football that’s what you have to do -- you have to take some risks. You can’t play to hold on, you have to play to win.” Thompson’s score on the drive, his second of the night put the Firebirds’ up 31-21 and helped fuel a 30 point second quarter.
The aggressive play saw the second half end with Indiana up 44-28. The aggression, however, did not stop after the whistle. When it looked like there might be a little bad blood starting to brew near the end of the second half Coach Dailey called the team together, “You tell them that football is a physical sport and that it gets a little feisty, but you have to play smart. You can’t cross that edge because of you cross that edge you’re just a brawler. . . it’s a tough game but its a game -- not a boxing match.”
The Firebird’s defense made sure that lead would stand up. New York never got closer then nine points for the rest of the game, leading by as many as 28 points in the fourth quarter. Ironman of the game WR/LB Greg Hopkins said turnovers made the difference, “We thought coming into the game tonight that if we could get one turnover, that could be the difference in the game. If we could get two or more turnovers, we thought that would seal it for us. Tonight, we were able to get more than that. When you play this team, it’s like being in a track meet because they can score every time they have the ball, so we knew turnovers would be the difference.”
The entire defensive squad played well for the Firebirds. DS Cornelius Coe lead the defense with 14 tackles total and an astounding 11 solo tackles. Van Johnson and FB/LB Umar Muhammad both chipped in fumble recoveries, and DS Cedrick Walker and Carl Sacco intercepted passes.
Next week the Firebirds will travel north to take on the expansion Chicago Rush (1-2). A win next week would raise Indiana’s record to 4-1 and give them an important victory in their division. More importantly, it will give everyone the joy of knowing a rather large man is dancing somewhere, even if we can’t see at home.
 Cornelius Coe Image courtesy of Indiana Firebirds |
(Outside the boards is an every so-often feature where Firebirds players answer questions about themselves)
#22 Cornelius Coe
Rookie Defensive Specialist
Hometown: Chicago, Ill.
Biggest Thrill in Football: “being the best at what I do”
Biggest Thrill not in football: “Family, Friends, knowing that I’ve got the support of people who will pick me up when I’m down.”
Car you drive now: 2001 Expedition Eddie Bower edition
Car you wish you could drive: 2001 Mercedes Benz 500
Song that will always get you pumped up: “Take the Money by Puffy Daddy”
Artist whose song you’re likely to sing in the shower: “R. Kelly”
Biggest difference between af2 and the AFL: “Linemen and linebackers are bigger and stronger”
I will never . . .: “I will never quit.”
Best thing about playing Arena football: “the fans”
Hardest thing about playing Arena football: “the boards”
Matthew Pickut is a pastor in northern Indiana and a long time AFL fan. He also writes for his own website: The Brown Paper Blog. He graduated from Taylor University in Upland Indiana (class of `96) with degrees in Biblical Literature and Sociology as well as a healthy respect for the medicinal properties of coffee.
