Saturday, March 11, 2017

CIFL: Kesterson, Seadogs Dim the Neon, 38-21

SEATTLE-Curtis Kesterson threw four touchdown passes in leading the Seattle Seadogs to a 38-21 win over the Detroit Neon in a Week 6 CIFL game.

The game started out well for Detroit, as the Neon drove 73 yards on 13 plays. Cooney Lehigh ended the drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Denver Smits to give the Neon a 7-0 lead with 8:40 to go in the first quarter. Seattle moved towards a score, but Kesterson was sacked by Dexter Fulcher and fumbled. Felipe Fann recovered for Detroit at the Neon 22-yard line. Lehigh would later get picked off by Ranse Noland at the Seadogs 25-yard line.

After trading punts, Seattle was on the move with a 13-play, 84-yard drive. Trent Dillon would catch a 4-yard touchdown pass from Kesterson to tie it at 7 with 7:17 remaining in the second quarter. After a Neon punt, the Seadogs drove again, going 56 yards on 11 plays. Kesterson and Dillon connected again, this time for a 3-yard touchdown pass with 1:07 left in the half to give Seattle a 14-7 lead. Detroit would move for a potential score, but DJ Pilgrim missed a 47-yard field goal attempt with 5 seconds to go.

At the start of the second half, the Seadogs would strike again with a 7-play, 53-yard drive. Kesterson would toss a 2-yard touchdown pass to Blake Gilkey to extend Seattle's lead to 21-7 with 10:59 left in the third quarter. The Neon would answer with a 7-play, 65-yard drive. Lehigh would finish it off with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Lewis Belle making it 21-14 with 6:53 left in the third. After a Seattle punt, Lehigh would get intercepted by Angelo Reeder who took it 11 yards to the Detroit 44-yard line. Three plays later, Kesterson hit Isaac Thoms for a 14-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-14 with 56 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Neon would punt, and Kesterson was picked off by Milt Arguelles at the Seattle 15-yard line. Unfortunately for Detroit, they couldn't make anything out of it and turned it over on downs. The Seadogs would punt, and Leonard Echols fumbled the return. Everett Pearce recovered for Seattle at the Neon 23-yard line. Three plays later, Thoms ran in for a 6-yard touchdown making it 35-14 with 6:40 left in the fourth quarter. After trading punts, the Neon marched down on an 8-play, 82-yard drive. Lehigh finished it with a 46-yard touchdown pass to Belle to make it 35-21 with 1:18 to go in the fourth. The Neon tried an onside kick, but failed. Seattle ran out the clock going 32 yards on 6 plays, and Tyne Dill kicked a 27-yard field goal on the last play of the game.

Seattle (5-1) gained 400 yards of total offense. The Seadogs ran for 86 yards on 27 carries. Mack Ahmad led the team with 50 yards on 7 carries. Kesterson was 25-of-33 passing for 333 yards, 4 TD and 1 INT. He was sacked twice, losing 19 yards. Dillon led the receivers with 5 catches for 37 yards and 2 TD. The Seadogs go on the road next week visiting the Michigan Bombers.

Detroit (2-3) gained 322 yards of total offense. The Neon ran for 71 yards on 22 carries. Lehigh led the team with 30 yards on 9 carries. He was 24-of-37 passing for 272 yards, 3 TD and 2 INT. He was sacked three times, losing 21 yards. Echols was the leading receiver with 5 catches for 66 yards. The Neon finish their three-game West Coast swing by visiting the Sacramento Knights next week.

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