Firebirds beat 'Cats with timely fumble (Full Story)
July 16, 1998 - Final 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Totals Albany 14 21 14 7 56 San Jose 10 22 14 7 53 Firebirds beat 'Cats with timely fumble
From wire reports
Mike Pawlawski capped a brilliant night by hitting Greg Hopkins with a five-yard touchdown pass with 2:26 remaining, lifting the Albany Firebirds to a 56-53 victory over the San Jose Sabercats.
Steve Papin's one-yard touchdown run with 8:18 left in the fourth quarter, gave the Sabercats a 53-49 lead before Pawlawski engineered the winning drive.
Pawlawski completed 25-of-35 passes for 335 yards and eight touchdowns and an interception. Pawlawski has thrown for 3,259 yards and 60 TDs on the season.
Abany's Eddie Brown, the league's leading receiver had another stellar night, with 12 receptions for 178 yards and four scores. Brown has a league-leading 39 touchdown catches.
San Jose quarterback Ron Lopez was 16-of-31 for 245 yards and four touchdowns. His favorite receiver was Papin, who had five catches for 77 yards. Papin also returned a kickoff 57 yards for a score for the Sabercats, who have dropped consecutive games following a four-game winning streak.
After another Pawlawski-led touchdown march gave Albany the 56-53 lead, the SaberCats seemed primed for a comeback. Papin returned the kickoff 29 yards to the Albany 24. But on the first play of the series with 2:12 remaining, quarterback Ron Lopez fumbled the snap. Albany recovered the ball, then ran out the clock.
"I just mishandled the snap. There's no answer to it; the ball just came through my hands," Lopez said. "It was a tough one to lose, but we have two games left to win."
