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2000 Season Game 8 (6/3/00): Albany vs Houston |
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Firebirds' victory in Jackson's hands
Rookie Quincy Jackson still doesn't have a nameplate over his locker.
"They still treat me like I'm a tryout guy,'' the Albany Firebirds offensive specialist joked Saturday night.
After only three games as a professional, though, Jackson is proving to be a remarkable find, even if he's not the second coming of the retired "Touchdown'' Eddie Brown.
Jackson caught 13 passes for 244 yards, breaking Brown's team single-game record for receiving yardage, as the undermanned Firebirds held off Houston 62-55 before 10,024 fans at Pepsi Arena.
Firebirds quarterback Mike Pawlawski said that Jackson already is "the best offensive specialist in the league right now'' and has NFL ability.
Pawlawski found Jackson for four touchdowns passes, including home runs of 38, 45 and 48 yards, as the Firebirds improved to 6-2 and stayed atop the Eastern Division.
"I can go on for hours about him,'' Pawlawski said. 'You rarely see in a young player that they can be that football intelligent and not make stupid mistakes. I don't think he's made a mistake yet that I can think of. And he's young. He's just a puppy. It's scary to think of what he'll be like in a couple of years if he's still in this league. He's a pretty special player.''
The Firebirds overcame the absence of defensive specialist Derek Stingley, who sat out with swelling in his knee; the ejection of fullback/linebacker Jon Krick for fighting in the second quarter; and a frightening injury to fullback/linebacker Tim Brown.
Brown was taken by stretcher off the field after a helmet-to-helmet collision with a Houston player on the opening kickoff. Team doctor Joe Marotta said Brown initially couldn't move his arms or legs, but regained feeling after 15 to 20 seconds. Marotta said Brown still had a tingling sensation in his arms and was still undergoing tests at Albany Memorial Hospital.
Lineman Mark Valvo played despite a sprained ankle, and defensive specialist Evan Hlavacek battled through a thigh bruise. The Firebirds surrendered eight touchdowns to a potent Houston offense that entered the game ranked third in the league in total offense.
"I think with all the circumstances, against a good football team, I was happy that we won,'' Firebirds coach Mike Dailey said.
The Firebirds led the entire second half, and took their 62-55 lead when Nelson Garner, who had kicked a 53-yard field goal on the final play of the first half for an important momentum boost, booted an 18-yarder with 11 seconds left.
On Houston's last play, quarterback Robert Hall scrambled backward 20 yards into his end zone, then fired an attempted Hail Mary pass. But the ball went out of the end zone, and Albany survived.
Wide receiver/linebacker Greg Hopkins, who won the game's Ironman Award, had a big interception late in the first half, picking off a Hall pass in the end zone for a touchback with 10.9 seconds left. That led to Garner's long field goal and a 31-27 halftime lead.
Jackson's 48-yard touchdown catch on a blown coverage -- there was no one within 25 yards of him -- gave the Firebirds a 45-35 lead in the third quarter.
Jackson doesn't have a nameplate, but he does have a new nickname, Quincy "Action'' Jackson, which was pinned on him by lineman Kyle Moore-Brown. But Jackson shies away from comparisons to Eddie Brown.
"I don't like to be addressed as the 'next Eddie Brown,' '' Jackson said. "I'd just like to be addressed as Quincy. It's hard playing in his spotlight, but I'm just trying to do what I can do to help the team win.''
The teams matched scores early and were tied 21-21 in the second quarter, though Albany's touchdowns were coming easier than Houston's.
The Firebirds ran only three offensive plays in the first quarter, but two of them were touchdown passes from Pawlawski to Jackson -- a 38-yarder with 8:29 left and a 45-yarder two minutes later.
Albany trailed 21-14 after one quarter, then tied it on Pawlawski's 5-yard scoring pass to Hopkins with 13:18 left in the first half.
The ThunderBears answered with Hall's 1-yard run, their fourth touchdown in as many drives, to go ahead 27-21 with 8:37 left in the half. But kicker Scott Szeredy missed the extra point, and Houston didn't score again in the half.
Albany took its first lead on Hopkins' 4-yard scoring reception from Pawlawski, set up by a 23-yard reception by Jackson, and the subsequent extra point by Garner that put Albany ahead 28-27.
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