Burley halts Preds comeback

Sunday June 1, 2008

ORLANDO, FL-- Former Orlando Predators wide receiver Siaha Burley hauled in a 19-yard touchdown pass with just 5 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Arizona Rattlers (7-6) a 60-53 victory in front of 12,821 fans at Amway Arena on Saturday night.  The touchdown came just after the Predators (8-6) erased a 23-point deficit with a valiant comeback.
 
The opening quarter of the game featured incredibly sloppy play.  Quarterback Jake Eaton was making his first career start, and was intercepted on the game’s first drive. However, surprise starting quarterback for the Rattlers Matt Sauk threw a pick on the ensuing drive to Kenny “The Glove” McEntyre.  It was the 80th career interception for one of the greatest defensive backs in Arena Football League history.
 
Eaton hooked up with newcomer DeAndrew Rubin for a 25-yard touchdown to open the scoring at 6-0.  The Rattlers took a 7-6 lead on a Sauk’s 1-yard plunge.  On the first play of the next possession, Rubin fumbled to give the ball back to Arizona.
 
The Rattlers scored on the first play of the second quarter to go up 13-6.  Eaton found Kevin Nickerson on the third Predators possession, but he was ruled to have fumbled the football before hitting the turf.  Kurt Kahui picked up the fumble for the Rattlers.  That was the final snap of the night for Eaton, who injured his right knee.  The preliminary diagnosis was an MCL for the Preds quarterback.
 
“The Glove” picked off his second pass of the night on the next Arizona drive, but Kahui recovered his second fumble after Shane Stafford fumbled on the quarterback/center exchange to give the Rattlers back the ball.  Wide receiver Todd Devoe scored his first of two touchdowns on the night to push the Arizona lead to 20-6.
 
Following Rubin’s second touchdown of the night, Burley hauled in his first touchdown grab from six yards out to give Arizona a 27-13 lead.  However, for the second straight game, Stafford was sacked in the end zone for a safety to make the score 29-13 at halftime.
 
The third quarter began with another Burley touchdown to push the lead up to 23, but from there the comeback was on.
 
After only having one catch for seven yards in the first half, T.T. Toliver made his impact on the game by hauling in three passes for 40 yards on the next drive, including the 13-yard touchdown pass.  A two-point conversion by Stafford cut the lead to 15.
 
Arizona scored one play later, but Stafford struck back, connecting with Toliver again from 8 yards out.  Another successful two-point conversion cut the Rattlers lead to 14 at the end of the third quarter.
 
After the Rattlers scored to make it 50-29, Toliver returned the ensuing kickoff nine yards, which was good enough for him to pass Preds great, Barry Wagner for first place on the single-season all-purpose yardage list in Orlando history.  Orlando scored on that drive and converted a third two-point play to cut the lead to 13.
 
A failed onside kick gave Arizona great field position at the Orlando 8 yard line, but the defense stood tall and held the Rattlers to a 23-yard Eric Houle field goal.  Three plays later, Levon Thomas was in the end zone, and with 3:46 remaining, the Predators were within 8 at 53-45.
 
Once again, the defense stood firm, holding Sauk and the Rattlers on downs.  Stafford found Nickerson for his fifth touchdown pass of the half, and the fifth successful two-point conversion in a row knotted the game at 53-53.  It was the first time the game Predators had been tied or in front of Arizona since the score was 6-0.
 
It wasn’t meant to be on this night, however, as Burley put the dagger in Orlando’s hearts by hauling in a 19-yard touchdown pass to put the Rattlers back in front.  Stafford had one final chance to be a hero, but his last gasp hail mary fell incomplete.
 
Following the game, Gruden voiced a lot of concern over the hole his team built in the first half.  He was encouraged by the effort his team showed down the stretch in their comeback.
 
“I at least saw signs of great effort in the second half,” he said. “And hopefully it’ll carry over to next week, but we have a ways to go.”
 
Injuries mounted for the Predators, particularly in the second half.  Newly acquired center, Greg Krause is done for the year with a ruptured patella tendon.  McEntyre was also injured in the second half.  His status is unknown.
 
Stafford finished the game completing 16 of 32 passes for 208 yards and six touchdowns. However, the turnovers from Stafford and Eaton were too much for the Preds to overcome.
 
“I’ve never had this many turnovers, ever,” said Gruden.  “If we don’t protect the ball, we’re pretty miserable and horrific to watch.”
 
Toliver finished the game with 114 all-purpose yards, which pushed his season total to a team-record 2,917.  The league record is 3,669 by Antonio Chatman in 2003.  He also moved into second place in team history for receptions in a season with 109, and could reasonably catch Cory Fleming’s team record of 131 with two outstanding games to end the season.
 
Up next for the Predators is a date with the Tampa Bay Storm (6-7) in the St. Pete Times Forum next Saturday night.  Coach Gruden summed up the game perfectly.
 
“Do-or-die for them, do-or die for us… It’ll be another classic matchup between the two teams, and the loser will probably be out of the playoffs.”
 
The Rattlers clinched a playoff birth in the American Conference with their victory.  Orlando still knows that they will clinch a playoff birth with victories in their final two match-ups.