Capozzoli's 51-Yarder Boots Sharks Into American Conference Final
Adam Markowitz
Saturday July 28, 2012
The Jacksonville Sharks might not have QB Aaron Garcia an longer, but they are doing something that Garcia isn't this year: Playing in a conference championship game. It certainly was a tale of two games though, as the Sharks nearly blew the biggest lead in a playoff game in AFL history against the Georgia Force, who should be commended for erasing a 48-21 deficit in the second half. Still, in the end, a 51-yard field goal by K Marco Capozzoli proved to be the difference in a 58-56 triumph.
Jacksonville came out of the gate with guns blazing on both sides of the ball. The defense forced a stop on downs on the first possession of the game, and then it proved to come up with two more stops in the first half. On the first possession of the second half, the Force also turned it over, and a 30-yard touchdown run by QB Bernard Morris gave the Sharks a lead that they never should have given up with 11:16 to play in the 3rd quarter.
To make matters worse for the Force, starting QB Bryant Moniz was knocked out of the game with an ugly looking knee injury on the first drive of the third quarter, and he gave way to QB Darnell Kennedy. It was interesting to see Kennedy back on the field for the Force, knowing that he hadn't stepped on the field for the team since Week 2. He had fallen out of favor with Head Coach Dean Cokinos to the point that he was cut from the team several times along the way this year.
Still, Kennedy looked nothing like a man that went just 19-of-40 for 183 yards with three scores and three picks in his first two games of the year. He went 11-of-14 for 111 yards and four TDs in the second half, and he led the team to TDs on all but one drive in that stretch.
The Alabama State product had a chance to erase the huge lead early in the fourth quarter, but a fumble on a botched handoff between he and FB Benji McDowell gave the ball back to Jacksonville. Two huge runs and a short pass later, and the Sharks took a 55-42 lead halfway through the fourth quarter.
Thanks to a 25-yard run by Kennedy to get the team in a position to score, the Force were able to get back within a six for the second time on the night. They got the ball right back after the Sharks were stopped on downs with 2:15 to play.
The comeback was complete with just over a minute left to play, as Kennedy found WR Mike Johnson for a TD that put Georgia up a point.
Coach Cokinos showed faith in his defense, kicking deep instead of trying an onside kick to get the ball back, and it appeared as though his confidence in his 'D' would be rewarded. The Sharks only moved as far as midfield before a sack forced them back to the Georgia 14-yard line. An incomplete pass and a timeout at 0:06 left gave Head Coach Les Moss a heck of a decision to make.
Last year in the ArenaBowl, Moss left the ball in Garcia's hands from 21 yards away to try to win a championship. He did just that, hooking up with WR Jeron Harvey in arguably the biggest play in the history of the Arena Football League. It was Capozzoli that was left on the bench while Garcia worked his magic. Now though, with Garcia gone, Moss turned the other way and sent his kicking team out on the field.
Normally speaking, trying to kick 51-yard field goals doesn't work that well. Few kickers have the leg to get the ball that far, and with the small goalposts, it's nearly impossible to make the kick, especially in that pressure-packed of a situation. The longest field goal of the year prior to that point was a 50-yard by Craig Camay of the Iowa Barnstormers. No other kicker had hit one from further than 46 yards out in 2012. The longest field goal in Jacksonville history prior to that boot was just 33 yards back in the team's expansion year. Capozzoli hadn't even tried a field goal from longer than 34 yards over the course of this season.
Yet, the button that Coach Moss picked was the right one, as the ball hooked first to the left, and then back inside the uprights, and there was a solid yard or two to spare. From there, the celebration of celebrations was on, as for the second straight playoff game, there was a mob of Sharks jumping around and high fiving on the field at the final gun.
Statistically, it wasn't a fantastic game for the Sharks. Morris had an atrocious second half and finished the game with just 193 yards and five TDs with a pick, but he also rushed for 67 yards and two TDs. The 100 total rushing yards on the day was a franchise record for the Sharks, and it was also the fourth most rushing yards by a team in the history of the league.
Harvey led all receivers for Jacksonville with seven catches for 60 yards and three TDs. DB Terrance Smith had a pick on defense, and DL Jason Holman had a great game with a fumble recovery. He also had several plays in which he was in the first of the Georgia quarterbacks, especially in the first half.
Georgia was led by DL Jerry Turner, who accounted for 1.5 of Georgia's three sacks on the day. WR Mike Johnson had 84 yards and four scores, while WR Larry Shipp scored once and had 88 yards on five receptions.
At the end of the first half, the Force had just 137 total yards of offense, and 108 of those yards came on the team's three scoring plays.
One has to feel bad for the Force, as this is the second time that they were knocked out of the playoffs on a last-second kick. In ArenaBowl XIX, Georgia was beaten by the Colorado Crush on a last-second kick by K Clay Rush. This though, was far more dramatic of a conclusion.
The Sharks don't have all that much time to get their feet back on the ground from their emotionally charged victory. They have just six days to prepare for the Philadelphia Soul, who are clearly the best team in the American Conference. However, at least they are still alive and are one of the four teams that have a chance at capturing the ArenaBowl.
Even though Coach Moss can't be a happy camper that his team blew a 27-point lead against a team that was tremendously challenged offensively for the mass majority of the last month and a half of the season and for the first half of this game, he knows as well as anyone else that it doesn't matter whether you win by an inch or win by a mile.
In the end, the Sharks have still kept their heads above water, and they have a chance to get back to their second straight ArenaBowl next Friday night.