The Hammerheads' fans witnessed a first quarter where their team's defense was absolutely destroyed. The Wildcats' running game ran over the porous Hammerheads D' with runs to the outside and inside. It was ugly, but the Wildcats only came away with 6 points in the form of two Garo Yepremian field goals on two time consuming drives that easily reached Hammerheads' territory. The Hammerheads were scoreless in the first, although the fans booed one of the referees, who seemed to interfere with WR Kelley Washington's run after the catch. Washington caught a Namath pass, getting past both Wildcats' defenders, but was stopped once the referee blocked Washington from getting any farther. Early in the second quarter, the Hammerheads would get on the board with their first touchdown since the return of the franchise - a one-yard touchdown run by HB William Andrews to give the Hammerheads the 7-6 lead. After the Hammerheads' defense finally got their act together and made two defensive stops, the Hammerheads got into field goal range but Kicker Robby Stevenson badly missed the 55-yard attempt with 1:18 remaining in the first half, giving Kansas City very good field position. A very quck drive was halted with a solid pass defense, which gave the Hammerheads one last chance to strike before the half. The Hammerheads used the run game and intermediate pass routes to get into field goal range as time neared halftime. With seven seconds remaining in the first half and one timeout remaining on the Wildcats' 37-yard line, Coach Joshua Biddle wanted to get one more pass in before the field goal attempt. Namath dropped back and hit WR Marty Bookman, who caught the ball on the Wildcats' 25-yard line, but Bookman proceeded to fumble the ball and it was recovered by a talented Wildcats defense, sending the game to halftime with Ocean City up 7-6.
The second half looked to be a defensive struggle as the Wildcats and Hammerheads exchanged possessions throughout the first five six minutes of the quarter; however, it would be the Hammerheads' defense that faltered as HB Kevin Jones scampered 67 yards to the endzone to give the Wildcats a 13-7 lead with 1:02 remaining in the third quarter. That'd be all the Wildcats would need as their stingy defense would shut the Hammerheads out for the remainder of the game. QB Joe Namath had a shot to give the Hammerheads the win late in the fourth quarter, but he threw an interception into the hands of Wildcats' CB Jason McNeal to seal the win.
DE Demarcus Ware was player of the game for the Hammerheads, recording 6 tackles (3 for loss) along with 3 sacks, helping to keep the Wildcats' passing game at bay. The Hammerheads equaled the superior Wildcats' roster in Total Offense with 286 yards each and had more first downs than the Wildcats, so Coach Biddle wasn't disappointed in his team's play. "We matched them down to the wire" Biddle said at the post-game press conference, "we never gave up. We kept playing. It just didn't work out this time around. We clearly need to add some more pieces to make this team complete which is what will happen in the next draft. Until then, we're just making due with what we have." The Hammerheads hope to turn their luck around next week as they host the Boston Blizzard in week two PFL Action - the second game of a three game homestand for the Hammerheads.
Pace, a third round pick in the 2012 PFL Draft, played well on the left side, but gave wasn't as effective as a pass blocker as the coaching staff anticipated. Pace allowed 13 sacks, although some could be attributed to the subpar play of LG Charles Diggs, who is also expected to be replaced by 2013 kickoff.
WR Mark Clayton is the player most affected by this transaction as he becomes the slot receiver in three-wide receiver sets. Al Toon is listed as the 4th receiver on the depth chart, which could change if any wide receivers are taken by the Hammerheads in the draft or in free agency.