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2000 Season Game 12 (6/24/00): Albany @ Houston |
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Firebirds clinch title
HOUSTON -- The Firebirds have done it again.
Albany clinched its third straight Eastern Division title Saturday night, holding off a late Houston rally for a 48-41 win before 3,377 at Compaq Center.
Barely two seconds into the game, the ThunderBears lost half of their one-two offensive punch when offensive specialist Ben Bronson broke his leg on the opening kickoff. Bronson was tackled one yard deep in the end zone by a group of Firebirds players, breaking both his tibia and fibula.
The visibly shaken ThunderBears scored first after the loss of Bronson, but the Firebirds bounced back to tie the game and eventually took as 24-20 halftime lead.
"I knew they wouldn't come out and lay out for us,'' said Greg Hopkins, who became the No. 2 scorer in Firebirds history with 508 points. "But we do a good job of spreading the wealth. We had a lot of third-down conversions that were huge. If we play tough with this same intensity level, that will probably carry us into the playoffs.''
But before the Firebirds could think about the playoffs, they had to take care of the ThunderBears, who kept clawing their way back into the game.
The Firebirds scored on their first possession of the second half on a Mike Pawlawski five-yard pass to Hopkins. Houston then marched up the field and scored on a one-yard Rick Boyer run, but Pawlawski connected with Hopkins again late in the third to extend the lead to 38-27.
Albany led by as much as 18 points with nine minutes remaining in the game, but Houston scored on its next two possessions.
With 16 seconds remaining and Houston down 48-41, the ThunderBears tried an onside kick that the Firebirds recovered on the 15-yard line.
The Firebirds held on for their fifth straight win against the ThunderBears.
Although coach Mike Dailey was pleased with the win, he said he sees two tough games ahead before the playoffs begin. The Firebirds will have an automatic bye in the first round.
"It's still early,'' he said. "We know we've locked up at least a first-round bye, and now we need to work on getting home-field advantage in the second round.''
The players concurred.
"We have to look to next week, to Iowa,'' Pawlawski said. "Iowa is one of the best. We need to focus on the playoffs, and it starts with Iowa.''
The Firebirds play Iowa in Des Moines next Saturday. They close the regular season at home against Orlando on Sunday, July 23.
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