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2000 Season Game 11 (6/24/00): Albany @ Florida |
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'Birds show pluck
SUNRISE, Fla. -- It wasn't this difficult for the Firebirds last season.
Albany rallied from a 16-point deficit Saturday night against the Florida Bobcats to pull out a 55-45 victory in front of 3,462 at the National Car Rental Center. Albany (8-3), which has a two-game cushion atop the Eastern Division, leads the all-time series against the Bobcats, 8-1.
In last season's matchup, the Firebirds defeated the Bobcats, 71-39. Saturday's game was more closely contested, but the Firebirds came out on top thanks to a dominating second half in which they outscored the Bobcats 31-12 and held the ball for 20 minutes to Florida's 9.
"We tried to go out in the second half and control the ball a little more,'' Albany coach Mike Dailey said. "Sometimes we come out a little flat, and we did (Saturday). It's more important to win the second-half battle than the first.''
The Bobcats (3-7) built a 33-17 lead in the second quarter, and led 33-24 at the break. But they failed to score in the third quarter as Albany made its comeback. Mike Pawlawski threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Greg Hopkins to bring the Firebirds within two.
Van Johnson, who scored on a 56-yard kickoff return in the first half, had a 1-yard run with two minutes to play in the third quarter to put Albany up 38-33. A Nelson Garner field goal increased Albany's margin to eight.
Bobcats quarterback Jim Arrellanes connected with Bernard Holmes on a 35-yard touchdown with seven minutes to play, pulling Florida within two, 41-39. Arrellanes threw incomplete on the two-point conversion, and the Bobcats would come no closer.
Pawlawski then connected with Hopkins for a 3-yard score.
"We were playing an excellent football team. They won the world championship last year,'' Bobcats coach Dave Ewart said. "They started making some plays and we had mistakes. The difference between a good football team and an average football team is the mistakes.''
Pawlawski, who won game Most Valuable Player honors, completed 23 of 33 passes for 178 yards and four touchdowns.
Quincy Jackson led the Firebirds with nine catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns. Jon Krick won the game's Ironman award, rushing seven times for 52 yards and a touchdown and collecting three tackles.
The Firebirds now get a much-needed bye week before heading back out for two more road games.
"This bye week is big for us,'' Pawlawski said. "We've got some injuries we need to get healed.''
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