Week 5 (5/22/99): Albany vs Arizona

Firebirds lose QB, still win

ALBANY - Mike Pawlawski had a stomachache, but the Arizona Rattlers got the headache.

The Albany Firebirds' starting quarterback was a late scratch from the game Saturday night against Arizona, due to gastroenteritis.

So backup quarterback Jeff Loots, who has played for five different teams in the last six years and did not play a down in the last two seasons, stepped in and led the Firebirds to a wild 59-54 victory over the Arizona Rattlers at Pepsi Arena.

Fullback Tim Brown scored the winning touchdown with 11.4 seconds left on a four-yard pitch right, and the Rattlers had time to heave one more long pass downfield, but Donnie Davis' throw off the nets was knocked away by Albany's Chris Lawson as time expired.

The Firebirds did not find out they would be without Pawlawski until Friday afternoon, after he was hospitalized for an endoscopy to look for bleeding in his stomach.

When they found out Loots would have to start, the Firebirds coaches simplified the offensive game plan, and Loots did the rest, shaking off a rocky start to complete 20 of 31 passes for 274 yards and six touchdowns.

"I was a little bit nervous, because I did not get a lot of work with our offense," said Loots, who served as the quarterback on the scout team in practice for most of the week, as he usually does.

"But the coaches did a good job of shortening down the game, and what helped me out is that this is such a great offense. The receivers did a great job, and the line gave me time. I'm just a small piece."

"We told everyone to play inside themselves, with discipline, and don't beat ourselves with stupid penalties," Firebirds head coach Mike Dailey said. "We wanted to do some things to slow Arizona up and not make Jeff have to win the game by himself."

"We knew Jeff was a great passer, and if we gave him time to set his feet, he could hurt us," said Arizona head coach Danny White, who coached Loots when he was with the Rattlers in 1997.

Albany improved to 4-1 to stay tied for the Eastern Division lead, and Arizona fell to 2-2.

The Firebirds caught a break at the end of the game when the clock operator started time up after Brown ran 11 yards to the Arizona 4-yard line.

Arizona was charged with a timeout when Hunkie Cooper was injured on the play, and the clock should not have started up again until the ball was snapped, but the time started running down again.

Brown scored, leaving the Rattlers with 11.4 seconds left.

After Eddie Goines weaved around with the kickoff to the Rattlers' 18, Arizona had just five seconds left and tried the designed net play.

There were five lead changes in the fourth quarter.

The Firebirds did not take its first lead of the game until there was 1:05 left in the first half.

Arizona jumped out to a 14-0 lead, taking two plays to score on the first possession of the game, and scoring again on Hunkie Cooper's 17-yard interception return after Loots' second pass of the game was tipped at the line of scrimmage.

"You can't get too excited being down 14-0 in the first quarter in this league," Loots said. We just had to put it behind us and come back and make some smart plays."

"We didn't tank," Dailey said. "We played hard and put ourselves back in a position to win the game."

The Firebirds got their fullbacks involved in the offense early, as Tim Brown and Jamie McGourty each scored on screen passes that benefitted from good downfield blocking.

Brown went untouched on a 13-yarder, and McGourty rambled 38 yards before falling face-first into the end zone compliments of a shoestring tackle by Bob McMillen that was a step too late.

Arizona was pinned at its own one, but Davis guided the Rattlers downfield for a one-yard touchdown dive by Jason Pohopek that gave Arizona a 21-14 lead.

Loots hit Eddie Brown for an eight-yard score, and the defense stopped Arizona to set up a drive that ended with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Loots, who was unpressured, to Greg Hopkins to give the Firebirds a 26-21 lead with 1:05 left in the first half.

The Rattlers with one play, a 38-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Goines, who was cut by the New York Giants in training camp last year, but Albany regained the lead after Hopkins snared Arizona's onside kick at the Rattlers' 16. Three plays later, Hopkins scored on a three-yard pass from Loots.

Derek Stingley intercepted Davis' pass at the Firebirds' 1-yard line and returned it to the Albany 23, but the Firebirds couldn't capitalize. Still, they led at the half, 33-26.

Arizona took a 41-40 lead after three quarter on two touchdowns by Goines, on a 23-yard pass and a four-yard run.

The Firebirds took a 40-28 lead on a great catch by Hopkins, who caught the ball falling in the end zone after Gatewood tipped the ball, but Albany's only other possession in the quarter ended with a missed 24-yard field goal attempt by Don Silvestri.