ANAHEIM-The Anaheim Splash jumped to a big early lead, held off a rally, and then scored twice in the fourth quarter to defeat the Houston Hotshots 41-27 in a Week 13 CIFL game.
The first quarter saw the Splash strike early and often. Their first drive went 80 yards on 7 plays, and Harlan Finnegan finished it off with a 50-yard touchdown pass to Kaleo Hendricks to take a 7-0 lead with 11:59 left in the first quarter. Jerris Vaughn fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Butler Elliott recovered for Anaheim at the Houston 23-yard line. After a 6-play, 17-yard drive, Elliott would kick a 23-yard field goal to make it 10-0 with 9:32 left in the first. Barney Brant was picked off on the Hotshots' first play by Jon Petrey who returned it 12 yards to the Hotshots' 27-yard line. Six plays later, Finnegan hit Cooper with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Webb Cooper to make it 17-0 with 7:06 remaining in the first quarter. Houston finally held on to the ball and drove 37 yards on 4 plays. Martin Seal finished the drive with a 46-yard field goal to make it 17-3 with 5:20 to go in the first. The Splash then went on an 8-play, 80-yard drive, finishing with a 4-yard touchdown run by Brett Fusco to make it 24-3 with 1:10 left in the first quarter.
The Hotshots would then answer with an 11-play, 69-yard drive. Brant completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-10 with 12:22 remaining in the second quarter. After trading punts, the Hotshots went on the move again, going 73 yards on 10 plays. Brant would finish it off with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Hank Olive making it 24-17 with 36 seconds to go in the half. Finnegan would use two long passes, a 26-yarder to Ham Lassiter and a 32-yard gain by Vern Shores, to set up a 29-yard field goal with no time left to take a 27-17 lead at the half.
The third quarter started with the teams trading punts, then the Hotshots moved the ball 52 yards on 7 plays. Brant finished off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Epps to make it 27-24 with 6:31 to go in the third quarter. On the ensuing Anaheim possession, Cobey Bumpers fumbled on a reception, and Norris Kettler returned the fumble 22 yards to the Splash 33-yard line. Following a 6-play, 25-yard drive, Seal kicked a 25-yard field goal to tie the game at 27 with 1:50 to go in the third.
The Splash punted to open the fourth quarter, but Brant fumbled the ball and Lou Cassidy recovered for Anaheim at the Houston 8-yard line. Kettler would then intercept Finnegan in the end zone and run it out to the Hotshots 14-yard line. But the Hotshots went three-and-out, and Anaheim would drive 46 yards on 7 plays. Cooper ran it in from 4 yards out to give the Splash a 34-27 lead with 9:49 to go in the fourth quarter. The teams would trade punts, then Houston would face a fourth-and-28 from their own 11-yard line with 2 minutes to go. The Hotshots lined up for a punt, but faked it. Unfortunately for Houston, Jerome Prichard's pass to Elijah Dexter covered only 22 yards and the Hotshots turned it over on downs. The Splash drove 33 yards on 5 plays, and Fusco drove the dagger through Houston's heart with a 3-yard touchdown run to make it 41-27 with 44 seconds remaining.
Anaheim (3-9) gained 437 yards of total offense. The Splash ran for 132 yards on 28 carries. Fusco led the team with 100 yards on 17 carries and 2 TD. He also caught 7 passes for 50 yards. Finnegan went 24-of-42 passing for 316 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT. He was sacked twice, losing 11 yards. Lassiter caught 7 passes for 87 yards. The Splash will host the Detroit Neon next week.
Houston (6-6) gained 343 yards of total offense. The Hotshots ran for 111 yards on 19 carries. Brant led the team with 54 yards on 6 carries. He went 24-of-38 passing for 249 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT. He was sacked four times, losing 39 yards. Epps led the receivers with 7 catches for 64 yards and a TD. The Hotshots host the Michigan Bombers next week.
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