Week 7 (6/7/99): Albany vs Orlando

'Birds pound Predators

ALBANY - It might seem a little ridiculous that a defense can be credited with buckling down in a 62-54 victory.

But that's what happened at Pepsi Arena Monday night, as the Albany Firebirds defeated the Orlando Predators in a game televised live on ESPN2.

The Firebirds' defense set the tone in the second half with some big hits, and was responsible for the touchdown that ultimately gave Albany the upper hand in a game that featured five lead changes and two ties in the first half.

Firebirds lineman Chris Snyder recovered a fumble in the end zone to give Albany a 48-33 lead midway through the fourth quarter, and although Orlando got within two points on one occasion and within one point on another late in the game, the Firebirds were able to answer with a touchdown each time.

The final score was an 11-yard onside kick return by Firebirds receiver/linebacker Greg Hopkins as Albany went up, 62-54, with 30.4 seconds left.

Orlando had one more possession, and turned it over on downs as lineman Jon Krick tackled tight end Keif Bryant short of a first down.

"How many times have we been in that [defensive] situation in the past, and come up short?" Firebirds head coach Mike Dailey said. "And how many times would you like to be in that [offensive] situation, with 30 seconds left and two timeouts? I thought the defense played really, really well. We won the Tampa game on a defensive play at the end, we won the Arizona game that way, and we beat Buffalo like that."

The Firebirds improved to 5-2 in a rematch of last week's loss in Orlando, and the defending champion Predators fell to 4-3.

After a high-scoring first half, the Firebirds played more physically in the second half.

Defensive specialist Derek Stingley started it off just after halftime with an ankle hit that flipped Antwuan Wyatt 360 degrees in the air, and Wyatt couldn't handle the pass, leading to a missed field goal on the next play.

Then Montrell Williams slammed into Barry Wagner on a kickoff return, and although he was called for a penalty, the Firebirds kept coming with the hits.

After Mike Pawlawski threw a touchdown pass to Greg Hopkins to give the Firebirds a 48-40 lead, Joe Jacobs tackled Orlando quarterback Browning Nagle in the end zone, and Nagle fumbled the ball on a perfect hop into the arms of Snyder.

"That's one of those plays that looks good on TV, but I was lucky," Snyder said. "But anytime you can score on defense, it's a big play, whether you're up 20 or down 30."

"That's huge," Pawlawski said. "It sure makes our job easier." Orlando wouldn't go away, though, and got back within 48-46 on a crazy play in which Firebirds fullback Leroy Thompson blew his blocking assignment on a field goal attempt, allowing Rick Hamilton to slap the ball away from Pawlawski. Kenny McEntyre recovered for a touchdown.

But Albany answered with a four-yard run by Tim Brown, who plowed over Damon Mason at the one, sending Mason's helmet flying into the stands.

"I wasn't going to let some little defensive back keep me out," Brown said.

"We said if we were going to win the game, we were going to have to outphysical the Predators," Hopkins said. "We didn't do that last week."

Ten points in the first half swung in Orlando's favor just off onside kicks.

Dailey has called for the surprise move in the first quarter of previous games, but this time it backfired, as kicker Don Silvestri dribbled the ball short of 10 yards, which would have been a penalty had an Orlando player not dove for the ball.

As it stood, the Predators covered it at the Albany seven, anyway, and Browning Nagle hit tight end B.J. Cohen on the next play for a touchdown and a 14-13 lead with 3:33 left in the quarter.

Orlando executed an onside kick of its own after tying the score at 27-27 with a minute left in the second quarter, and Mason covered it at the 12.

After one running play, Nagle threw incomplete twice before kicker David Cool nailed a 47-yard field goal to give Orlando a 30-27 lead at halftime.

The Firebirds got the ball back, but Pawlawski was incomplete on four tries, the last an intentional bomb into the stands with no time on the clock. For perhaps the first time in league history, fans booed a free football.

Albany receiver Van Johnson scored the only touchdown of the third quarter, on a tough one-yard keeper off a direct snap to give the Firebirds a 34-30 lead.