DETROIT-Lou Couch felt the pressure and scrambled out of the pocket. He took off 76 yards down the field, bringing the crowd to its feet. Unfortunately, the end zone was 80 yards away and he fumbled at the 4. The New York Dragons recovered the loose ball and defeated the Detroit Drive in a Week 10 AFL thriller, 34-26.
The Drive started the game moving the ball 37 yards on 10 plays. Cletis Frayer ended the drive with a 45-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 10:09 to go in the first quarter. New York responded by moving the ball 85 yards on 13 plays. Faron Emerson ended it with a 22-yard scoring strike to Ardell Ashmore putting the Dragons up 7-3 with 4:10 to go in the first. Detroit responded in kind with an 8-play, 65-yard drive. Rocky Adams ran the ball in for a 5-yard touchdown to take a 10-7 lead with 48 seconds left in the first quarter.
It was New York's turn to make a scoring drive, and they went 80 yards on 11 plays. Emerson threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to George Larron and the Dragons were ahead 14-10 with 11:31 left in the half. The defenses appeared to settle down after that, as the teams traded punts. Then, Detroit drove 86 yards on 11 plays. Patch Brolie would run in the ball from the 6, and the Drive took a 17-14 with 1:54 left in the second. The Dragons would answer with a 9-play, 67-yard drive, and Burt Hamrick would kick a 20-yard field goal with 8 seconds to go, and the teams were tied at 17 at the half.
New York would punt to start the second half, and Detroit would move the ball 39 yards on 8 plays. Frayer kicked his second field goal of the game, a 36-yarder to take a 20-17 lead with 7:00 remaining in the third quarter. But Cecil Okoye would take the ensuing kickoff and return it 89 yards for a touchdown with 6:44 left in the third to take a 24-20 lead. On Detroit's next possession, Couch was intercepted by Vance Bicker who returned it 13 yards to the Detroit 45. Six plays later, Melvin Betts scored on a 10-yard touchdown run to extend New York's lead to 31-20 with 14:54 remaining in the game.
Detroit would answer with an 8-play, 66-yard drive. Couch would complete a 15-yard touchdown pass to Dave Huntley, but the Drive missed the 2-Point Conversion and were down 31-26 with 11:14 remaining. A short kickoff and long return by Ashmore led to a 4-play, 15-yard drive that ended with a 44-yard field goal by Hamrick with 9:33 remaining to pull ahead 34-26. Detroit moved downfield, but were turned away on 4th down at the New York 35. After the teams traded punts, Detroit found themselves on their own 20 with 52 seconds left and 1 timeout. Couch called a Square Out against a blitz, and was flushed out of the pocket. He took off on a 76-yard run, but Omar Wheeley jarred the ball loose, and fell on the ball with 31 seconds left to salt the game away for the Dragons.
New York (5-5) gained 350 yards of total offense. The Dragons gained 115 yards rushing on 31 carries. Larron led the team with 42 yards on 11 carries. Emerson went 16-of-29 passing for 249 yards and 2 TD. He was sacked three times, losing 14 yards. Ashmore led the receivers with 7 catches for 123 yards and a TD. The Dragons will visit the Orlando Predators next week.
Detroit (7-3) gained 436 yards of total offense. The Drive ran for 159 yards on 26 carries. Couch, on the strength of that 76-yard run, led the team with 104 yards on 9 carries. He was 25-of-34 passing for 286 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. He was sacked once for a 9-yard loss. Huntley led the receivers with 8 catches for 104 yards and a TD. Detroit goes on the road next week against the Nashville Kats.
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