Firebirds fly right, disperse Storm (Full Story) Firebirds fly right, disperse Storm
By MIKE MacADAM
Gazette SportswriterALBANY - The Albany Firebirds knocked quarterback Peter Tom Willis out of the game, and knocked the Tampa Bay Storm out of Pepsi Arena with a 53-31 victory Saturday night. The victory stopped a three-game losing streak, the team's longest since 1992, and evened Albany's record at 3-3.
"We needed it bad," said fullback/linebacker Chad Dukes, who was named Ironman of the game. "It's not like we were going downhill, but this gives us a big confidence boost. This was a lift for the whole team."
"We lost three in a row, so this is a huge win for us," said Leroy Thompson, who applied the hit that put Willis, an NFL veteran, on his back in the first quarter. "I think we sent a message out to everybody that even though we lost three straight, don't count us out. We beat one of the top teams in the league, with guys out with injuries."
Quarterback Mike Pawlawski was named game MVP after completing 18 of 29 passes for 238 yards and five touchdowns, three to Eddie Brown and two to Greg Hopkins.
Although the Firebirds didn't put Tampa Bay (3-3) away until the fourth quarter, a key play was Thompson's shot on Willis in the end zone with 15.7 seconds left in the first quarter, after Willis had completed an 18-yard pass to Lawrence Samuels.
Backup Dan White, a rookie who had not thrown a pass this season, came in to complete 14 of 29 passes for three touchdowns, but he threw an interception and fumbled away two snaps. All three turnovers led to Albany touchdowns.White completed his first pass, to George LaFrance, to start the second quarter, but Derek Stingley intercepted White two plays later at the Firebirds' one-yard line.
"I have to give credit to the defensive backs on that play," Thompson said. "They had great coverage, and he [Willis] double-pumped, which gave me one more second to get to him, and I kind of caught him exposed."
Willis walked off the field with assistance, but left the arena on a stretcher, and was taken to a hospital with severely bruised ribs. Tampa Bay head coach Tim Marcum said he thought Thompson hit Willis after the play, and that the Storm may ask the league to review it. The Firebirds didn't seem to care who the quarterback was, though. "They all look the same to me," Dukes said. "First string, second string, it doesn't matter."
Dukes' seven-yard touchdown run with 7:20 left in the fourth quarter gave the Firebirds a 47-31 lead, and Albany iced it with a 19-yard pass from Pawlawski to Brown with a minute left.
On first-and-10 from the Tampa Bay 21, Dukes powered for 14 yards, breaking several tackles, and he got the call from the seven on the next play, and burst through the right side to score untouched.
The Firebirds played without defensive specialist Larry Jones, who was a late scratch with a shoulder injury; WR/DB David McLeod; and linemen Jerome Brown and Joe Jacobs.
In his last game with the Firebirds, kicker Pete Elezovic, who has been signed by the Washington Redskins, made two of three field-goal attempts.
Pawlawski used his footwork to avoid the rush on a few plays, but otherwise had plenty of time. "Kudos to the offensive and defensive line guys," Pawlawski said. "Tampa Bay has the best pass rush in history, that's what they do. But maybe we have the best pass rush."
The Firebirds took advantage of two miscues by White in the second quarter to take a 33-19 halftime lead, and the Storm never got closer than nine points in the second half.
