Predators upend VooDoo 42-33
Friday May 11, 2007
Orlando, Fla. (May 11, 2007) -- It seems like it’s never easy to win a Southern Division game and that proved true again on Friday night as the Orlando Predators had to fight, kick, scratch and claw their way to a 42-33 win over the New Orleans VooDoo on Friday night.
The win lifted the Predators to 6-4 on the season and gave them a two-game lead over the VooDoo (4-6) for second place in the Southern Division. “It’s never easy in this division and we made some mistakes that let them back in the game,” Predators head coach Jay Gruden said. “But the bottom line is that we put this game in our defense’s hands and they responded time and time again.”
Orlando found defensive heroes everywhere. Defensive end Greg White posted three quarterback sacks, two hurries and forced a fumble. Rayshun Reed had two interceptions, Ryan Bowers had one and Lin-J Shell batted down two passes.
Still, the inability of the Predators offense to put points on the board after turnovers – combined with two successful onsides kicks – kept the game in doubt until the final seconds.
Orlando built a 21-10 first half lead and looked to have a chance to extend their lead with a defensive stop. But Eric Houle knocked home a 20-yard field goal to make it a 21-13 game. Houle’s ensuing on-sides kick was recovered by New Orleans and Andy Kelly capped a 43-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to James Jordan to make it a 21-19 game.
New Orleans almost took a lead into the half when Bowers fumbled the ensuing kickoff with 12 seconds remaining, but Houle missed from 30-yards.
Stafford would hit Dudley on a 16-yard scoring pass to up the lead to 28-19, but the Predators offense failed to capitalize on back-to-back turnovers. After recovering a fumble on the kickoff, the Predators were faced with a fourth and one, but Dudley was stuffed on a running play. After picking off Kelly, the Predators appeared to be moving the ball before being called for a holding penalty after a big completion. The late flag drew an unsportsmanlike penalty on Stafford after he complained about the late flag and Jay Taylor missed on a 59-yard field goal attempt.
“It was not so much our offense struggling as it was a bad call on a fourth down on my part and a late penalty flag that came out five seconds after the play was over,” Gruden said.
From there, Tyrone Jones scored on a 9-yard reception to cut the Predators lead to 29-26. But Orlando answered back with a huge touchdown drive of their own. Jimmy Fryzel hooked up with Stafford on a 31-yard completion and one play later Stafford found Ron Johnson on a 6-yard scoring play that gave Orlando a 35-26 lead. But New Orleans refused to quit. With one minute remaining, Kelly hit Jones from 14 yards out to cut the lead to 35-33.
On the ensuing kickoff, Houle hit a high-hopper on the on-sides attempt that Rock Haith caught on the fly and returned 24-yards to the Orlando nine-yard line. But Orlando’s defense rose to the occasion again. On first down, White forced Kelly to throw wide of his intended target. On second down, White sacked Kelly for a loss of six. Faced with a third goal on his 15, Kelly tried to hook up with Jones in the end zone, but Lin-J Shell tipped the ball to Rayshun Reed who came up with the interception.
With the VooDoo having all three of its timeouts left, Stafford went up top to Johnson who pulled down a 35-yard pass for a first down. Two plays later, Stafford hit Johnson for a score to put the game away.
Johnson, in just his third game for the Predators, finished with 106 yards and two touchdowns. “He’s a beast,” Gruden said. “He’s impossible to hold up at the line and he’s tough to bring down after the catch. He’s playing pretty much the way we thought he could when we signed, now we have to figure out how to get him the ball more.”
Fryzel also had a 100-yard game for the Predators, grabbing nine passes for 105 yards and one score, Dudley had 40 yards and two touchdowns on three catches. Stafford finished 23 of 31 for 254 yards and five touchdowns.
For the VooDoo, Jones had 11 catches for 108 yards and three scores. Kelly completed 34 of 49 for 261 yards and four touchdowns but was picked off three times and sacked three times.
PREDATORS NOTEBOOK: Former University of Florida great and the winning quarterback in the 2007 national championship game Chris Leak was a guest of Predators majority owner Ron Howse…Leak tossed the coin at the beginning of the game…The Predators set a new record for season tickets, eclipsing last year’s record of 11,244 earlier this week…White’s three sacks gave him 9.5 for the year – tying Rupert Grant (2005) and EJ Burt (2003) for the Orlando Predators single season record.
