Knights Crash Wildcats' Debut
Keith Murphy
Sunday April 10, 2005
South Georgia Wildcats’ head coach Chris Siegfried said that although he was disappointed with the final score he was pleased with the support his team received from their new home. "Great turnout. I was proud to see the turnout here and I hope they come back. I was very disappointed with our performance; but we’re going to turn it around. I think the crowd who stayed saw that we were very close to winning that game. If [Macon] had missed that last field goal we would have had a change to at least tie the game. So I’m very happy being here. I’m not so happy about the result of tonight’s game; but we’ll turn it around and we’ll be okay."
With the win, the Knights picked up their first win of the season and their first win in four tries over the Wildcat franchise. Macon head coach Mike Hold says he is thrilled just to have picked up the victory, "They’re a good football team, too. I’m just so glad to get a win. It just feels so good. We played a complete game. No turnovers. That would have been the key to the game for us, the turnovers."
Siegfried agreed that the outcome of the game hung on: "Turnovers. Turnovers win the indoor game; turnovers win the outdoor game. You’ve got to protect the ball and that’s the problem we had tonight." The Knights won the turnover battle, picking off two of Bryan Snyder’s passes without turning the ball over themselves despite three chaotic onside kick attempts by the Wildcats.
The Knights were led on offense by quarterback Lionel Hayes who completed 16 of 28 passes for 185 yards and 5 touchdowns and ran for another score. Kicker Wesley Wilson sealed the game with two late field goals and Hosea Laney led the defense with 7 solo tackles, an interception, and three passes defended. "Hosea played well," Hold explained. "My quarterback continues to play well. My line played much better tonight, so did the dbs. We got good pass pressure when we needed it. Our special teams played the onside kicks well. This was one of those arena football games that is gonna wear me out for two days and we’ve got to be ready to go on Thursday."
The Wildcats were led on offense by Bryan Snyder who completed 25 of 42 passes for 299 yards and six touchdowns. With the loss, South Georgia falls to 0 – 1; they travel to Louisville this Saturday.
The Knights host Birmingham Thursday after a short week and Hold says that the short turn around may be a good thing. "It’s actually probably pretty good. I think we’re probably pretty healthy. Practice just won’t be as physical as it normally would be. I’m not worried. I’m just looking forward to playing again and I think these guys are too."
Dr. Murphy has nearly 20 years of media experience ranging from radio to the Internet. He has served as webmaster for two AF2 teams and the football team at Fort Valley State University. He is a professor at FVSU and directs www.bunniwerks.org, a non-profit rabbit rescue organization. He has been commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel. Murphy is also serving as a first party editor of af2 stories for ArenaFfan. For more information about Dr. Murphy see: www.keithmurphy.info
