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2000 Season Game 10 (6/16/00): Albany vs New Jersey |
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Birds score big late
ALBANY -- His right knee throbbing, Jon Krick thought his season was over Friday night.
The Albany Firebirds, down 13 points in the third quarter, were in danger of going under.
However, Krick returned in a heroic performance, and the Firebirds showed a champion's heart in rallying to a 61-54 victory over the New Jersey Red Dogs at Pepsi Arena in a crucially important Eastern Division contest in the Arena Football League.
The Firebirds (7-3) scored 27 unanswered points over the course of the third and fourth quarters to remain a game ahead of New England in first place. Albany successfully rebounded from a disheartening loss to winless Buffalo last week.
"We've got a great football team, and we've got great character guys,'' Firebirds wide receiver/defensive back Van Johnson said. "There was an analogy that Mike (Pawlawski, the quarterback) gave us at the beginning of this week. He told us to make it feel like we're drowning, we can see the surface and we want to get that last breath. How bad do you want it? I think everybody got that feeling in the second half that we had to play football like we're drowning. This was a big game for us tonight.''
The importance is magnified by the fact that Albany has its next three games on the road and doesn't return home until its regular-season finale against Orlando July 23.
The game turned on interceptions by Johnson and Na'il Benjamin, both talented receivers who are also playing increased minutes at defensive back because Jay Jones is out with a broken wrist.
The Firebirds trailed 47-34 late in the third quarter before Benjamin and Johnson each picked off New Jersey quarterback Tommy Maddox, the ex-Denver Bronco and New York Giant, leading to consecutive Krick touchdown runs of 2 and 1 yard that put the Firebirds ahead for good 55-47 with 6:18 left.
Fullback Krick reinjured his right knee in the third quarter when a player fell into him as Pawlawski threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Greg Hopkins, cutting New Jersey's lead to 40-34 with 9:29 left in the third quarter.
Krick, who sprained the medial collateral ligament and tore cartilage in his knee in the preseason, wasn't wearing a brace Friday for the first time this season. Krick went to the locker room.
"To be honest with you, when I was down on the field, I was sure I tore (the MCL) all the way through,'' Krick said. "But the trainers got me to sit up and then stand up. When I started to walk off under my own power, I thought it wasn't as bad as I originally thought.''
Krick, his knee brace back on, returned to applause with New Jersey (3-6) leading 47-34 with 4:32 left.
Firebirds lineman Joe Jacobs was inspired by Krick's comeback, and injected some humor.
"I knew he was going to come back,'' Jacobs said. "He's a stallion. He should have been wearing his brace. He's a stud, man. They're going to owe him a lot of money at the end of the year. Krick's going to get $100,000 in (injury) compensation.''
In what has become a great rivalry, Albany completed a season sweep of New Jersey and took a 5-4 lead in the all-time series over the Red Dogs (3-6), who had a two-game winning streak snapped.
Six of the Albany-New Jersey games have been decided by eight points or less.
The game began to turn in Albany's favor on the final play of the third quarter when Benjamin intercepted a Maddox pass meant for receiver Anthony Payton.
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