Third Quarter Curse Continues, Predators Defeat VooDoo

Saturday June 27, 2015

 ORLANDO - The third quarter curse continued to haunt the New Orleans VooDoo (2-11) as they lost to the Orlando Predators (8-6) 56-43 in the Amway Center Saturday Night.

The VooDoo offense went scoreless in the third quarter for the sixth time in the past ten contests. On the first possession of the half, the Voodoo burned two timeouts in a just over a minute, before an Adam Kennedy interception gave Orlando all of the momentum and eventually a touchdown. New Orleans turned the ball over on downs and conceded another touchdown, pushing the Predator's third quarter lead to 42-23 and putting the game virtually out of reach.

Both teams got off to a near perfect start on the offensive side of the ball, each scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter. Predators quarterback Randy Hippeard was firing early, completing eight passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Adam Kennedy and the VooDoo were not to be outdone in the first quarter, however. New Orleans had early success with quick passes, allowing Kennedy to get the ball out of his hands and develop a rhythm. Kennedy completed his first nine passes for 72 yards with one passing touchdown and adding another on the ground.

The high powered offense carried into the second quarter for the Predators, while the VooDoo continuously shot themselves in the foot. Hippeard started the quarter with a 40 yard touchdown strike to Brandon Thompkins, and connected with Larry Brackins in the end zone on the following drive for his second receiving touchdown of the game. New Orleans was plagued by penalties and dropped passes, but were able to head into halftime trailing by just five points (28-23) thanks to a trick play. Adam Kennedy faked a botched snap before Roosevelt Falls took the ball 18 yards untouched up the middle for his eighth touchdown of the season.

New Orleans closed the gap to 13 after a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns, but was never able to make a serious threat to the Orlando lead after an onside kick attempt bounced out of play with 12 seconds remaining in the game allowing Orlando to run out the clock.

Randy Hippeard led Orlando, finishing 25-of-31 for 285 yards and 8 touchdowns. This success resulted from a lack of pass rush from the Voodoo, giving Hippeard time to go through his reads more than once to find the open receiver.

Defensively for the VooDoo Cortez Stubbs had a solid game in the secondary with 7 tackles and an interception to stop an Orlando drive before half. Offensively hometown boy Chris Duvalt had a big game with 9 receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown.

New Orleans enters its second bye week in a three week period before heading to the west coast to face the San Jose SaberCats on Friday July 10 at 9:30 p.m CST. The game will be the only nationally televised contest of the season for New Orleans airing live on ESPN2, and can also be heard on Fox Sportsn 1280 AM, or live online via iHeartRadio.

MEDIA AWARDS
Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game: QB Randy Hippeard (ORL)
Riddell Defensive Player of the Game: DL Austin Brown (ORL)
J. Lewis Small Playmaker of the Game: WR Larry Brackins (ORL)
Cutter's Catch of the Game: Over-the-wall touchdown reception by Brackins - 1:23 3RD
AFL Highlight of the Game: 40-yard touchdown catch and run by WR Brandon Thompkins (ORL) - 14:26 2ND

ABOUT THE NEW ORLEANS VOODOO
Playing their fifth season since returning in 2011, the New Orleans VooDoo play all their home games at the Smoothie King Center (formerly New Orleans Arena). Season and single game tickets can be purchased by contacting the sales department at 888-277-5526 ext. 109 or ext. 133 or by visiting ticketmaster.com. Like us on Facebook at “New Orleans VooDoo” and follow us on Twitter @AFLVooDoo.

ABOUT THE AFL
Since its inception in 1987, the Arena Football League has showcased a fast-paced and exciting game to millions of fans in a myriad of markets across the country. The ESPN family of networks and CBS Sports Network will nationally broadcast AFL games each week for the entire 2015 season. The AFL schedule culminates with ArenaBowl XXVIII Saturday, August 29, 2015 on ESPN.