The Way Things Are

Friday, July 06, 2012

Panthers top Raiders for inaugural PIFL Championship

In an emotional finale to the PIFL's first season, two second half turnovers swung momentum and scoring Albany's way as the Panthers beat the Raiders, 60-56, to win their second straight championship.

The Panthers started fast behind backup quarterback Darnell Kennedy, starting his third straight game after Cecil Lester reinjured his knee. Kennedy threw a 27 yard touchdown to Antwontis Cutts on the second play of the game, and the Panthers led 8-0 after a Ryan Gates uno. The Raiders answered in just two plays of their own when Antwon Young found Jason Lovett from 30 yards, but T.C. Stevens missed the extra point. The Panthers got another touchdown before both defenses asserted themselves, and the teams exchanged missed field goals. The Raiders seemed poised to pull within a couple of points when Hakeem Moore took a pass to the Panther four yard line. Jordan Pavlisin ran to the one, and on third and fourth down Young tried to run into the end zone himself, only to be called down before breaking the plane on two extremely close calls, both of which may have actually been touchdowns. After fourth down, Young was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct when he argued with the referee.

The penalty yardage gave Albany a cushion when their offense took over, and Kennedy made the most of it, completing two quick passes to get the Panthers on the board again and push their lead to 22-6. Young regained his composure and fired a 16 yard strike to Herb Jones, but the ensuing kickoff was squibbed off the turf, and Cutts took it on the run, made a couple of cuts, and 51 yards later put the Panthers back up by 16. Again Young and the Raiders offense were up to the challenge, and after a three play drive Jones was back in the end zone on the receiving end of a 22 yard pass. The Panthers put together a more methodical drive and took a snap in the red zone for the first time all night, but in tight quarters the Raider defense stood tall. Roshawn Marshall picked off Kennedy's pass in the end zone and easily outran the offensive line and Kennedy himself for a 53 yard return that pulled the Raiders within two points. Again the Panthers drove inside the Raider 10, and after a couple of short runs inside the one minute warning -- forcing the Raiders to burn their final timeouts -- Antwone Savage caught an eight yard strike with just nine seconds left. That was just enough time for the Raiders to assemble the field goal unit, and when Stevens nailed a 38 yard kick at the buzzer, the Panther lead had been trimmed to 36-30.

The Raiders had a chance to take the lead for the first time after receiving the second half kickoff and driving to the Panther 12 yard line. Pavlisin caught a swing pass out of the backfield, but after turning upfield he was hit and fumbled, and Cutts scored his third touchdown via three different methods when he scooped up the loose ball and ran it back 38 yards to paydirt. Things got even worse for the Raiders on the second play of their next drive when Young was harassed by an Albany lineman after the play had been whistled dead for a Panther penalty, and in frustration threw the ball in his tormentor's face. That cost him his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and with it, an automatic ejection. James Steadman entered, having thrown just five passes the whole season, all in garbage time, and was sacked on his first play to set up third and 22. Given time to throw, Steadman heaved the ball down the sideline where Moore made the grab and ran to the Panther one. Steadman snuck into the end zone two plays later and the Raider defense had a chance to make a statement. The Panthers overcame a sack to get a first down, but a second sack put them behind the sticks again. The Raiders' secondary gave Kennedy no easy throws, and after a couple of short gains, Kennedy's tardiness in breaking the huddle cost his team consecutive delay of game penalties. On fourth and 23 he threw incomplete, and after a six minute possession that nearly ended the third quarter, the Raiders took over down by only six points.

Steadman encountered pressure again, but was able to avoid it and gain yardage with his feet to set up first and goal. Jones got open along the back wall, and Steadman lofted a beautiful pass where only his 6'3" teammate could jump to catch it and tie the game. Stevens missed his second PAT, leaving the score knotted at 43 with 11:25 remaining. The Panthers needed a spark, so they brought their starting quarterback off the bench, and the crowd and the offense responded. Lester completed four out of five passes, including a seven yard touchdown to Savage, to put the Panthers up by seven. Steadman tried to answer with a big play, but his long pass was intercepted by Damian Daniels inside the Panther five. Lester took full advantage, hooking up with Cutts for a 34 yard TD to extend the margin to 14 with just 3:19 remaining. Undaunted, Steadman drove the Raiders downfield and capped the drive with his second short rushing TD at the one minute warning. The onside kick was batted out of bounds, and the Panthers took over at the Raider nine -- meaning that they couldn't get a first down to extend the possession -- setting up another battle of clock management. The Raiders called their second timeout after a Derrick Wimbush run on first down, and on second down Wimbush was hit low on a perfect tackle by Pierre Lee, seemingly being stopped behind the line of scrimmage (and automatically stopping the clock), but was awarded a gain of half a yard. After some intense argument with the officials, the Raiders called their final timeout with 35 seconds left. Lester ran on a keeper and was tackled -- and marked -- behind the line, leaving the Raiders the slightest glimmer of hope. Gates made a chip shot field goal to put the Panthers up 10 with 27 seconds left. Needing a quick score and an onside kick, the Raiders seemed slightly frazzled by the Albany deep zone defense, and a short pass to Moore was caught inbounds so the clock kept ticking as the offense scrambled to line up. Rather than spike the ball, Steadman ran a play and threw complete to Jones on the sideline, and Jones stayed inbounds, weaving through Panther defenders to score a touchdown, but the clock ran out and the Panthers escaped with the win.

Player of the Game: James Steadman, who came in cold but accounted for four touchdowns under difficult circumstances.

Offensive Stars: Herb Jones, who scored on four of his five catches; Jason Lovett led the Raider receivers with six receptions and 98 yards; Antwon Young threw for three TDs and didn't turn the ball over.

Defensive Stars: Roshawn Marshall had a huge pick-6 late in the first half; James Carter, Brandon Sutton, and Michael Woodhouse had a sack each.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Raiders defeat Swashbucklers, advance to championship game

The Richmond Raiders jumped out to a big lead, but special teams misadventures helped Louisiana get back in the game, and in a frantic fight to the finish the Raider defense held on beyond the final buzzer to secure the 56-50 win and a berth in the inaugural PIFL Championship Game.

Off the opening kickoff, the Raiders traveled 32 yards in four plays and started the scoring on an 11 yard pass from Antwon Young to Jason Lovett. T.C. Stevens missed the extra point, conjuring flashbacks to last week when missed PATs nearly doomed the Raiders, but he would go on to convert seven of eight such kicks. After the Swashbucklers got to the Raider nine, the defense snuffed out a screen pass and forced a field goal attempt. Michael Woodhouse got a clean rush and blocked the kick, and Roshawn Marshall returned it to the Louisiana 15. On the next play, Young found Antwun Williams wide open in the end zone to make it 13-0. Buc QB Chris Mayabb snuck into the end zone, but Young answered with a four yard scoring run early in the second quarter.

Again the Raider defense stood tall, with some help from Mayabb as he consistently overthrew his receivers all night. A 49 yard field goal made it 20-9, but the Raider offense, showing deadly efficiency in the first half, engineered a six play, 30 yard drive ending with Lovett's second TD catch. Kendrick Perry, the league's leading rusher, had only three carries in the first half, and on his last he turned the corner from four yards out to bring Louisiana within 11. Antwon Young found Herb Jones streaking down the sideline and dropped a beautiful pass right in his hands, and only a lunging Eric Jackson could nudge Jones out of bounds before he could score. With the ball at the one yard line at the one minute warning, the Raiders could not inch the ball forward without scoring, so when Young extended the ball over the goal line there were still 32 seconds left, giving the Swashbucklers a chance for back to back touchdowns across the halves. Brandon Sutton had other ideas, as he sacked Mayabb on second down, then forced an intentional grounding penalty on third down, making the field a little longer for the last play of the half, which fell incomplete.

Leading 34-16 at halftime, the Raiders had built up a little margin for error, which they nearly used up. The teams traded touchdowns to start the second half, and after Immanuel Friddle's second score of the third quarter, the Swashbuckler defense finally stepped up and got their first stop of the game. Aided by a personal foul penalty that put the Raiders in a third and 21, the Bucs forced a 55 yard field goal attempt which the Raiders tried to pooch and recover for a fresh set of downs. The short kick landed nowhere near any Raider players, and Damien Huren scooped it up and ran it in to quickly turn an 18 point deficit into just a four point margin at 41-37. The Raiders established a little more breathing room with a 23 yard strike from Young to Williams.

As the Swashbuckler offense tried to keep pace, the Raiders again got big plays from the defensive line. A third down sack forced Louisiana to try a 26 yard field goal to get within eight, but once again Woodhouse rejected it, giving him five blocked kicks in the three games against the Bucs. A six play, 35 yard drive culminated in a bruising four yard scoring run by Young, and after the PAT and an uno, the Raiders had their biggest lead of the game, 56-37, with 7:59 remaining. Desperate, the Swashbucklers inserted Alvin Bartie -- their season-starting quarterback who missed nine games with injuries -- and he proved to be the spark they needed. Stepping through the minefield of a sloppy, penalty-filled drive, he moved his team 45 yards for a touchdown to shrink the margin to 13, but in doing so took almost five and a half minutes, giving the advantage to the Raider offense as long as they could recover the onside kick. The bouncing ball went right to Antwun Williams, and the Raiders sought to bleed some clock and move the ball.

Unfortunately, they accomplished little on either front. An Antwon Young scamper on third down ended a yard shy of the sticks, and Stevens was called on for a 22 yard field goal. Willie Pritchett tipped it, and Louisiana was still alive. Bartie wasted no time, heaving a 45 yard bomb to Jordan Rideaux, and the Swashbucklers got to within a mere six points with 44 seconds and two timeouts left. Another onside kick was called, and again it bounced to the Raiders with Maurice Thorne making a nice catch off a strange hop. If the Raiders could get a first down, they would ice the game, but Louisiana's defense wasn't ready for their season to end. Young was tackled for a loss, stopping the clock, on second down, and when he ran on third down his lunge for the sticks ended about two feet short. Rather than risk another negative play, the Raiders opted for a 26 yard field goal to make the lead nine points and force everything to go right just for the Swashbucklers to tie. But a high snap threw off the timing, and Stevens yanked it well left. Starting from his own 20 with 16 seconds left, Bartie had the chance to be the hero. Against a deep zone defense, he completed an underneath pass to the Raider 14, but the now-raucous crowd forced a delay of game. Bartie threw into the end zone, too high for his receiver, and was fortunate that the clock operator's quick finger left him with one second and one more play. After another delay of game, Bartie was picked off by Maurice Thorne, who returned it 50 yards for an apparent touchdown, but it was all waved off by an illegal defense. Given one untimed down, Bartie again threw to for a score, but Roshawn Marshall stepped in front of Friddle and knocked the ball away.

Player of the Game: Antwon Young, who threw for five TDs and ran for three.

Offensive Stars: Antwun Williams caught seven passes for 98 yards and three scores; Jason Lovett scored on two of his four receptions.

Defensive Stars: Michael Woodhouse blocked two field goals and was in on a sack; Brandon Sutton had a sack and numerous additional hurries.

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Next: PIFL Championship, at Albany, Saturday, 7:30pm.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Raiders get revenge against Albany, claim share of title

In a showdown between the PIFL's top two teams, turnovers and special teams made the difference as T.C. Stevens made a 27 yard field goal as time expired to give the Raiders a 67-66 victory over the Albany Panthers and, in moving to 10-2 for the year, a share of the regular season league title. A thrilling game from start to finish, the contest featured 15 lead changes and was immediately considered by many to be the best arena or indoor football game in Richmond Coliseum history.

The game started inconspicuously, with the teams trading touchdowns. Antwon Young scored for the Raiders on a dazzling open field run on which he got huge blocks from Herb Jones and Jason Lovett, but Stevens missed the extra point to leave Albany ahead 7-6. As Panther quarterback Darnell Kennedy, starting in place of the injured Cecil Lester, tried to run for a touchdown from the two yard line, he lost the ball near the goal line and Preston Hines recovered. Backed up to their own one yard line, the Raiders were bailed out on offside and personal foul penalties against Tito Hannah, then went ahead on a Jason Lovett catch and run through the Albany secondary. Stevens made the PAT and an uno, and on the first play of the ensuing drive Kennedy threw into triple coverage and was picked off by Pierre Lee. Given a very short field, Jordan Pavlisin did all the work getting into the end zone after two runs. The Panther offense recovered, getting a long touchdown to pull within 20-14 late in the first quarter.

Momentum continued to swing Albany's way as their defense took the field, got pressure on Antwon Young including a sack, and stopped the Raiders on a four and out. The Panthers recaptured the lead on Clenton Rafe's second of five touchdown receptions. The teams traded touchdowns into the final minute of the first half, but another Stevens missed PAT -- he would make only five of nine such kicks -- and a Ryan Gates uno put the Panthers up by three with 24 seconds left. The Raiders moved into scoring position, registering a first and goal from the Panther eight yard line with time enough for three plays, but two straight incompletions forced them into calling for a field goal on the final play of the first half. Stevens split the uprights from 23 yards to even things up, 36-36, at the break.

Though playoff seeding was locked for both teams entering the game, each squad started the second half with equal intensity. The offenses dominated the third quarter, notching two touchdowns each. The Raiders converted a fourth and short with a Young scramble in the midst of a nine play, 45 yard drive, then nearly had a goal line stand from the defense. Several penalties were called, including on four consecutive would-be plays, but in between the Raiders stood tall inside their five yard line, not allowing Derrick Wimbush to get any forward progress. But when an illegal defense gave the Panthers an automatic first down, the extra chances paid off as they eventually scored on a Kennedy sneak.

Trailing by two -- another Stevens miss and Gates uno accounted for the margin -- the Raiders got backed up by the Panther defense and were looking at fourth and long after Lovett dropped a pass. Lovett made up for the drop by hauling in a 33 yard touchdown, but it was negated by a holding penalty, and the Panthers brought pressure again on fourth down, forcing Young to scramble and be stopped well short of the sticks. The defense was called on to put out the fire, and that's exactly what they did on the first play. James Carter tipped Kennedy's pass to himself and ran it back 22 yards for a touchdown. Stevens tacked on the PAT and another uno, but the Panthers were not done yet. Kennedy threw a 45 yard bomb to Antwontis Cutts, and Gates gave Albany a two point lead with the PAT and an uno.

The Raiders, starting from their own five midway through the fourth quarter, used a couple of completions to Lovett to flip field position, then Young notched his second rushing touchdown of the evening to put the Raiders back up by five. Albany quickly moved into Richmond territory, then bled some clock with a couple of runs before getting Kennedy's seventh touchdown pass at the one minute warning to go up by one, 65-64. The Panthers went for two, but the pass was intercepted by Brent Trice and nearly returned for two points for the Raiders. Gates booted his fourth uno to extend the lead and more importantly force the Raiders to start from their own five. Facing a third and 13 after another Lovett drop, Lovett once again redeemed himself by making the catch to move the chains. After two plays and no yards, the Raiders faced third and long in their own territory with only 12 seconds remaining -- needing a big play to avoid a 47 yard field goal attempt. Herb Jones was the one to rise to the occasion, getting a first down with a 13 yard catch, then making a seven yard reception to set up a 27 yard attempt. With pressure coming from his left, Stevens made the kick heard around Richmond, sending the crowd into a frenzy and preserving the Raiders' perfect home record.

Player of the Game: T.C. Stevens, who may have gotten into his own head after his first missed PAT, but had two unos and field goals to end each half.

Offensive Stars: Antwon Young threw for four TDs and ran for two; Jason Lovett caught nine passes for 121 yards and three scores; Herb Jones had one touchdown among his eight receptions for 90 yards.

Defensive Stars: Pierre Lee had one interception and dropped another; James Carter had the momentum-swinging pick 6

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Next: First round of PIFL playoffs, vs. Louisiana, Monday 6/25 7pm.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Raiders finally put away Lions, sweep season series

Everything seemed to be going the Raiders' way, as they took a 28 point lead early in the fourth quarter thanks to a dominant defense and an efficient offense. But the Columbus Lions had other thoughts and scored 41 points in the final 13 minutes, forcing the Raiders to hang on to a 74-64 win in the teams' final regular season meeting.

In a glimpse of the scoring onslaught later to come, both teams wasted little time the first time they had the ball. The Lions took two plays to get in the end zone, the Raiders one, but the Lions blinked first on their second drive as they settled for a field goal. Antwon Young ran in from nine yards, then after the Lions missed a field goal and Young threw a 14 yard TD to Herb Jones, the Raiders had their biggest lead of the first half at 19-10.

Columbus QB Randy Hippeard found his rhythm in the second quarter, throwing 30 yard touchdowns on consecutive plays sandwiching a T.C. Stevens field goal to put the Lions back on top by one, thanks to a Chandler Brooks uno. Not to be outdone, Young threw his fourth touchdown pass of the half, a 20-yarder to Hakeem Moore, putting the Raiders back on top by six. That would be the halftime margin as each team missed a field goal to close the first half.

The Raiders dominated the third quarter, opening with an eight play, 30 yard drive that took over five minutes before Young took it in from the one and Stevens notched an uno to put Richmond up by 14 and force Columbus to start from their own five. The first snap of their drive was a low bouncer that Hippeard couldn't pick up as it ricocheted off the back wall, and Preston Hines fell on it for a touchdown. Another uno backed up the Lions again, and again their first play was a turnover with Ke'Mon Bailey, playing his first game of the year, picked off Hippeard. The Raiders couldn't capitalize as Stevens blasted a field goal into a down lineman, and Columbus got off the deck to put together a six play drive that ended on the Raider one-inch line when Hippeard, trying to score on a QB keeper, was ruled to have fumbled before crossing the goal line.

The Raiders capped off a 22-0 run over the first 15:30 of the second half -- which extended to a 29-0 run over 23 minutes dating back to the first half -- when Herb Jones caught a desperation screen pass from Young, who had fumbled the snap, and ran 12 yards to paydirt before fumbling. Now in the fourth quarter, Jones' fumble happened in almost the exact same spot as Hippeard's, with the only difference being the score/no score calls. Now leading 51-23, the Raiders defense -- which was missing starters Lawrence Lewis (season ending injury), Maurice Thorne, Michael Woodhouse, and Chris Johnson -- could ill afford to assume a victory because the Lions were just getting started. Hippeard threw touchdowns of 28 and 38 yards to Maurice Dupree on consecutive plays thanks to an onside kick recovery to pull Columbus within 14 with 12 minutes left.

Now in comeback mode, the Lions would try five more onside kickoffs through the end of the game, but recover none of them as Brooks' bouncers consistently went a few yards too many downfield, enabling clean catches by the Raiders before any Lions could get close. Hippeard wasted little time looking deep, getting touchdowns on one-play drives four times, coupled with a drive each of two and three plays in a fourth quarter that saw him go 8-for-9 passing for 188 yards and six touchdowns. The Raiders, despite their best efforts, just couldn't run out the clock as Jordan Pavlisin scored two rushing TDs in the final minute to ensure Columbus would never get closer than 10 points. Hippeard set single game league records for passing yards and TDs, but the Raiders got the win and the all important tiebreaker in the head to head matchup.

Player of the Game: Antwon Young, who threw for five touchdowns, ran for two more, and upped his league-leading TD to interception ratio to 39-3.

Offensive Stars: Herb Jones had two touchdowns among his nine catches, Jordan Pavlisin carried the ball eight times for 35 yards and two scores in his first home game, T.C. Stevens was shaky on extra points but had two huge unos that gave the Raider defense field position to force turnovers.

Defensive Stars: Preston Hines had the fumble recovery TD and a sack, Brent Trice recovered the controversial Hippeard fumble to end a Lion threat.