ALBANY, NY-The Albany Firebirds jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, as they blew past the Arizona Rattlers 46-23 as both teams wrapped up their AFL seasons.
Arizona started by going three-and-out, and Albany would drive 62 yards on 9 plays. Sinbad Gargaro wrapped up the drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Teddy Harley to give the Firebirds a 7-0 lead with 9:10 left in the first quarter. Don Fawcett was picked off by Hershel Sanderson who returned it 18 yards to the Rattlers' 36-yard line. After three plays netted minus-2 yards, Dom Wenning drilled a 55-yard field goal to make it 10-0 with 7:01 left in the first. The Rattlers would answer with a 7-play, 73-yard drive punctuated by a 19-yard touchdown pass from Fawcett to Shelby Lerti to make it 10-7 with 4:00 to go in the first quarter. Tico Ponder took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 72 yards to the Arizona 16-yard line. On the following play, Gargaro threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Scooter Colby to give the Firebirds a 17-7 lead with 3:32 to go in the first.
There was no more scoring until late in the second quarter after Albany drove 59 yards on 10 plays. Wenning would finish the drive with a 20-yard field goal to give the Firebirds a 20-7 lead with 1:58 left in the half. Arizona answered with a 9-play, 31-yard drive that ended with a 52-yard field goal by Pancho Barrow to make it 20-10 with 13 seconds to go. But a 50-yard kickoff return by Stud Springs put the Firebirds in position for Wenning to kick a 53-yard field goal on the final play of the half to go up 23-10.
The Rattlers tried to get closer early in the third quarter, but Barrow would miss a 48-yard field goal attempt. The Firebirds then went on a 5-play, 41-yard drive that ended with Wenning kicking a 38-yard field goal to make it 26-10 with 7:53 left in the third quarter. Arizona would answer with a 12-play, 77-yard drive, ending with a 9-yard touchdown run by Fawcett. The 2-Point Conversion failed, and the Rattlers were down 26-16 with 2:27 left in the third.
The Firebirds would answer with an 8-play, 46-yard drive that ended with Wenning kicking a 44-yard field goal to make it 29-16 with 14:17 to go in the fourth quarter. After an Arizona punt, Albany drove 89 yards on 8 plays. Gargaro put the exclamation point on the drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Abdul Fowler making it 36-16 with 8:17 to go in the fourth. The Rattlers then drove 61 yards on 12 plays. Fawcett finished it off with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Otto Pugh to make it 36-23 with 5:02 to go in the fourth quarter. The Rattlers failed to recover an onside kick, and the Firebirds then moved 17 yards on 4 plays, ending with a 45-yard field goal by Wenning to go up 39-23 with 2:19 left in the fourth. Fawcett desperately tried to move Arizona down for a score, but Pepe Kell picked him off and sprinted 79 yards for a touchdown with 17 seconds to go to make it 46-23.
Albany (7-9) gained 331 yards of total offense. The Firebirds ran for 113 yards on 25 carries. Fowler led the team with 53 yards on 14 carries. Gargaro went 18-of-26 passing for 238 yards and 3 TD. He was sacked twice, losing 20 yards. Harley led the receivers with 8 catches for 88 yards and a TD.
Arizona (5-11) gained 415 yards of total offense. The Rattlers ran for 79 yards on 22 carries. Fawcett led the team with 40 yards on 7 carries and a TD. He went 27-of-53 passing for 336 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT. He was not sacked in the game. Melvin Jones was Arizona's leading receiver with 9 catches for 93 yards. Will Meads caught 6 passes for 117 yards.
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