Post by DPNormanReturns on Jun 21, 2014 20:52:23 GMT -5
Well, I'm not really sure if anyone else on here has any interest in Arena Football, but this is pretty unbelievable. So tonight I was sort of watching two games- the Chesapeake Bayhawks' MLL game against Denver (MLL = Major League Lacrosse) and the Philadelphia Soul's Arena game against Cleveland. Both the Bayhawks and the Soul, teams of which I am a fan, were in similar positions. They've both been having pretty crappy seasons in spite of being very talented, and they both badly needed wins today to stay in the playoff race. And they were both playing today against very difficult opponents. The Soul led by two scores for most of the game, but they ended up trailing 63-62 in the final minute. QB Dan Raudabaugh led the Soul down the field, and they scored a touchdown with :02 left to regain the lead. I figured the game was over, and I switched back to the MLL game to find that Denver had just about sealed the game with a 9-6 lead in the final minute. Well, the lacrosse game was pretty lousy, but at least the Soul won. I figured that I might as well watch the final two seconds of the Arena game, even if it was basically over, just to see the standings and see how the playoff race was unfolding.
Leading 68-63 with two seconds left, the Soul needed to do one thing- end the game on the kickoff, not allowing a touchback which would let the Gladiators call a play on offense. The way to do it was to make sure the Gladiators returned the kickoff out of the endzone, because the clock only runs once the kickoff return starts. They could have squibbed it, or kicked it short. Anything but give the offense a chance. But no- instead, the ball sailed just past the endzone wall, meaning that the Gladiators offense would have a chance to throw a Hail Mary. So the Gladiators' Shane Austin, from his own endzone, launched the prayer with no time left. The pass was deflected up in the air on the Soul goal line. And out of nowhere came WR Dominic Goodman, grabbing the ball and scoring to win as time expired. The play both clinched a playoff spot for the 12-1 Gladiators and effectively eliminated the 6-8 Soul.
I know Arena Football isn't anyone's favorite game, but that was one of the most painful losses I think I have ever seen from a team I support. Unbelievable that they led the entire game, and even more so that a team scoring with :02 left to take the lead lost the game. But guess what? It was not the first, and not the second, but in fact the third time this Arena season that the Gladiators have won on a Hail Mary on the last play of the game. That is unreal. And the Soul, of course, are repeated victims, having lost in this fashion (prayer pass caught in the endzone with no time left) both times they played Cleveland this year.
The Hail Mary also gave Shane Austin 11 touchdowns on the night, the most any QB has had this season, and Goodman his third touchdown on ten catches for 168 yards. (In case you're wondering, the Cleveland kicker is absolutely awful- the only way you have 11 touchdowns and only 69 points is by failing to convert on five extra points throughout the night, although Cleveland also went for two points several times throughout the game and failed as well).
Even if it's only Arena Football, that's crazier than anything Tebow-mania ever did. I know it's easier in Arena Football with the field being a bit shorter, but three game-winning TD prayers with no time left in one season is not something you could ever script. Incredible. Now the Gladiators have the inside track to the number one seed in the American Conference. And, once again, my team fails in epic fashion.
Leading 68-63 with two seconds left, the Soul needed to do one thing- end the game on the kickoff, not allowing a touchback which would let the Gladiators call a play on offense. The way to do it was to make sure the Gladiators returned the kickoff out of the endzone, because the clock only runs once the kickoff return starts. They could have squibbed it, or kicked it short. Anything but give the offense a chance. But no- instead, the ball sailed just past the endzone wall, meaning that the Gladiators offense would have a chance to throw a Hail Mary. So the Gladiators' Shane Austin, from his own endzone, launched the prayer with no time left. The pass was deflected up in the air on the Soul goal line. And out of nowhere came WR Dominic Goodman, grabbing the ball and scoring to win as time expired. The play both clinched a playoff spot for the 12-1 Gladiators and effectively eliminated the 6-8 Soul.
I know Arena Football isn't anyone's favorite game, but that was one of the most painful losses I think I have ever seen from a team I support. Unbelievable that they led the entire game, and even more so that a team scoring with :02 left to take the lead lost the game. But guess what? It was not the first, and not the second, but in fact the third time this Arena season that the Gladiators have won on a Hail Mary on the last play of the game. That is unreal. And the Soul, of course, are repeated victims, having lost in this fashion (prayer pass caught in the endzone with no time left) both times they played Cleveland this year.
The Hail Mary also gave Shane Austin 11 touchdowns on the night, the most any QB has had this season, and Goodman his third touchdown on ten catches for 168 yards. (In case you're wondering, the Cleveland kicker is absolutely awful- the only way you have 11 touchdowns and only 69 points is by failing to convert on five extra points throughout the night, although Cleveland also went for two points several times throughout the game and failed as well).
Even if it's only Arena Football, that's crazier than anything Tebow-mania ever did. I know it's easier in Arena Football with the field being a bit shorter, but three game-winning TD prayers with no time left in one season is not something you could ever script. Incredible. Now the Gladiators have the inside track to the number one seed in the American Conference. And, once again, my team fails in epic fashion.