Despite Folly of Errors, Predators Almost Win
Dan Ryan
Sunday June 24, 2001
But just like my high school basketball coach use to preach, a game should never come down to one play. I swear he must have been an editor at one point in his life. Dramatic comebacks suck on a 10:45 deadline.
 Siaha Burley didn`t have a stellar night against the Mustangs Image courtesy of Dan Ryan |
Orlando lost the game because they couldn`t put the Stangs away early. It was 14-0 and 21-7 but instead of making the three score separation, the Preds let Milwaukee stay around. And the longer a team with nothing to lose keep its close, the potential for disaster looms.
Whelihan, pressured by the Stang defense, gave up three picks -- two returned by Gary Compton for scores -- to a team that had just one INT in its first nine games. Milwaukee scored on a bobbled field goal return off the net and recovered another fumble for a 5-yard march. Who needs a high-power offense when the other team gift-wraps 28 points?
How bad did it get? The only offensive flash in the TD Waterhouse Centre for the middle two quarters came from a trio of well-endowed ladies in Section 104, and on behalf of all of us in and around that section, we just want to say "thanks for sharing.``
Still, Orlando made its run.
Whelihan found the Lord (Junior Lord, that is) and then Burley as the 45-28 hole became 45-42. The defense did its job with three stops in the final five minutes, but the one play eluded the Predators. Twice.
Dan Ryan has been involved with all forms of arena football since 1988, including writing for ArenaFan when Joe Kauffman and Tim Capper aren’t killing his columns because they don’t get his jokes or perspective. His day job is at Bethune-Cookman University, which has produced both an NFL Hall of Famer (Larry Little) and an Arena Football Hall of Famer (Stevie Thomas) and his hobby is tracking how many f-bombs Adam Markowitz drops in the chat room on game nights.
