Week 2 (5/2/99): Albany @ New Jersey

Helmet law does in Firebirds

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Leroy Thompson, you can leave your hat on.

There's a new rule in the Arena Football League this year, and if the Albany Firebirds didn't know about it before, they sure do now.

The Firebirds lost to the New Jersey Red Dogs at Continental Airlines Arena on Sunday, 52-51, in a game that ended in bizarre fashion.

Thompson caught a screen pass, ran through two ankle tackles and scored a touchdown to put the Firebirds ahead, 51-45, with 1:06 to play.

In his jubilation, Thompson ran to the other side of the end zone toward a section of Firebirds fans who made the trip down, and he ripped off his helmet to celebrate.

That's a penalty in the AFL now, and the officials walked eight yards off before Firebirds kicker Don Silvestri attempted the extra point and pulled it just right, into the goal post.

So New Jersey got the ball back and scored on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Rickey Foggie to Alvin Ashley with 7.3 seconds left, and Steve Videtich kicked the extra point to make it 52-51.

Silvestri had a chance to atone for his miss, but his 49-yard field-goal attempt was short and left as time expired.

"Nothing seemed to be right about the whole thing," Silvestri said.

Although Firebirds head coach Mike Dailey had alerted the team to the new helmet rule with a note in the playbook, he blamed himself for the loss.

"You can't point the finger at one guy," Dailey said. "You have to look at yourself. I have to do a better job coaching. That's my responsibility. Before you point the finger at other people, you've got to look in the mirror. If I tell a guy 50 times, and he still does it, then I should have told him 51 times."

Thompson said he didn't know about the rule, which is one of several the league implemented this season to curtail excessive celebration. Players aren't allowed to stand on the boards to incite the crowd anymore, and they can't wear long towels in their belts.

"I didn't know it was a rule," Thompson said. "I was just trying to get pumped up and get the fans pumped up. That was my only intention. It's a stupid rule. I'm not trying to taunt anybody, and it doesn't delay the game. I did it last year, and they didn't call it. But unfortunately, it had to happen tonight. I'm an intelligent player, and I knew it was going to hurt us [after the fact]. I know it cost us."

"That rule probably came from me, because I used to do it all the time," Ashley said. "It's not to bring attention to yourself. I think the league is taking the fun out of the game. That's what made us different from every other league. But I think with the involvement of the NFL, I guess they're trying to clean it up."

The game was typical of the young Albany-New Jersey rivalry, as it came right down to the wire and neither team led by more than seven points.

The teams, both 1-1 now, took turns scoring touchdowns in the fourth quarter, with Eddie Brown, Greg Hopkins and Thompson scoring for the Firebirds, and Ashley scoring the last two for New Jersey.

On the game winning score, Ashley beat Derek Stingley on a post-corner route to the right side of the end zone.

"It's a crazy game," said Firebirds lineman Mark Valvo, who hurt his hamstring in the second quarter and watched the rest of the game from the sideline. "You've got to be in it right to the very end. And it's not one person or one play, I don't care what anybody says."

"We've got to learn from our mistakes," Dailey said. "It's an easy equation - you have to make the other guy beat you."

Brown finished with seven receptions for 73 yards and three touchdowns, and Ashley caught 11 passes for 139 yards.