PHOENIX-Hamilton Berger made a crucial interception with 3 seconds left to give the Nashville Kats an 18-13 victory in Week 6 of the AFL season.
Arizona started with the ball, and pulled out a fake punt on fourth down with Adrian Alphin completing a 17-yard pass to Hack McDonald to the Nashville 40, but it went for naught as Gaston Berg intercepted Don Fawcett at the 21-yard line. The Kats moved the ball, but had to punt and Red Hull placed it on the Rattlers' 1-yard line. From there, Marv Boozer sacked Fawcett in the end zone for a safety to give the Kats a 2-0 lead with 9:01 to go in the first. The teams would trade punts, and Nashville looked to drive for another score, but Chris Harrell intercepted Brewster Brickhouse at the Arizona 4-yard line with 2:51 left in the first.
After that, the Rattlers would drive 96 yards on 10 plays, finishing with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Fawcett to Shelby Lerti to give Arizona a 7-2 lead with 14:02 remaining in the second. Nashville would respond with an 8-play, 30-yard drive that ended with a Daniel Stevenson 52-yard field goal to make it 7-5 with 9:55 remaining in the half. After Arizona punted, the Kats marched 69 yards on 10 plays, with Stevenson kicking a 28-yard field goal with 1:52 remaining in the half to give Nashville an 8-7 lead going into the locker room at halftime.
The third quarter was a slow affair. Nashville punted on their first possession, and Arizona had a chance to retake the lead, but Pancho Barrow missed a 42-yard field goal attempt. Both teams then traded punts, and then the Kats went on an 11-play, 55-yard drive that ended with Chet Fondren scoring on a reverse from 12 yards out to extend the Kats' lead to 15-7 with 1:13 to go in the third.
Arizona punted early in the fourth quarter, and Nashville went 60 yards on 9 plays. Stevenson went out and kicked his third field goal, from 37 yards out to make it 18-7 with 8:39 remaining in the game. The Rattlers would respond with an 8-play, 78-yard drive that ended with Fawcett tossing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Arvil Stinson. The 2-point conversion failed, and Arizona was down 18-13 with 5:07 remaining in the game. Nashville went three-and-out and Arizona started their next drive from their own 20 with 3:27 to go in the game. The Rattlers got as close to the Kats' 8-yard line with 12 seconds left. Fawcett threw a pass just short of the end zone, and Berger came up with the pick at the 2 and returned it to the 16-yard line with 3 seconds to go to cement Nashville's third straight win.
Nashville (3-3) gained 297 yards of total offense. The Kats gained 81 rushing yards on 26 carries. Davis Weems led the team with 66 yards on 15 carries. Brickhouse was 20-for-35 passing for 220 yards and 1 INT. He was sacked once for a 4-yard loss. Vittorio Swane led the team with 6 receptions for 82 yards. The Kats will host the San Jose Sabercats next week.
Arizona (1-5) gained 396 yards of total offense. The Rattlers ran for 39 yards on 13 carries. Melvin Jones led the team with 30 yards on 4 carries. Fawcett was 29-for-43 passing for 342 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT. He was sacked twice, losing 2 yards. Will Meads led the Rattlers with 7 receptions for 126 yards. The Rattlers are on the road against the Georgia Force next week.
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