UNIONDALE, NY-Howton Thom threw three touchdown passes in helping the Colorado Crush remain the AFL's only undefeated team, beating the New York Dragons 29-20 in a Week 4 game.
New York opened the game with a punt, then Colorado would drive 62 yards on 10 plays. Thom finished the drive off with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Howell to take a 7-0 lead with 9:19 left in the first quarter. Hugh Strickland fumbled on the ensuing kickoff and Cal Zughaibi recovered for the Crush at the Dragons' 38-yard line. Five plays later, Thom hit Regis Duck for a 7-yard touchdown to make it 14-0 with 6:56 left in the first. New York would punt, but caught a break when Valentine Millstone fumbled and Vance Bicker recovered at the Colorado 14-yard line. After three plays netted nine yards, Jose Trust would kick a 22-yard field goal to make it 14-3 with 1:33 remaining in the first quarter.
On the Crush's next drive, Earl Ginger would miss a 43-yard field goal attempt. The subsequent Dragons' drive would end with Trust missing a 48-yard attempt. Colorado would then move the ball 27 yards on 7 plays, with Ginger kicking a 52-yard field goal, extending their lead to 17-3 with 5:26 remaining in the second quarter. New York would then answer with a 7-play, 65-yard drive. George Larron ended the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run making it 17-10 with 1:52 left in the half.
The third quarter began with the Crush driving 40 yards on 10 plays. Ginger would kick a 47-yard field goal to make it 20-10 with 11:29 to go in the third quarter. After trading punts, the Dragons would embark on an 8-play, 75-yard drive. Trust ended the drive kicking a 20-yard field goal to make it 20-13 with 3:10 remaining in the third.
Both teams traded punts into the fourth quarter, then Parker Kincaid intercepted Thom at the New York 46-yard line. Paden Caspar would then end the 6-play, 54-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 20 with 9:04 remaining in the fourth quarter. Colorado would punt the ball and Michael Chilton angled the kick out-of-bounds at the Dragons' 1-yard line. Faron Emerson would try to sneak the ball out of the end zone to get some breathing room, but was tackled in the end zone by Bruce Chambers for a safety to make it 22-20 with 7:03 to go in the game. The Crush then got the ball back on the safety kick and drove 70 yards on 6 plays. Thom would throw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Antony Croft to pull ahead 29-20 with 4:02 to go in the fourth quarter. Strickland would fumble again on the ensuing kickoff, and Vinnie Fishburn recovered for Colorado at the Dragons' 35-yard line. But two plays later, a Millstone fumble was recovered by Kincaid at the New York 33-yard line. The Dragons would be turned away on fourth down at the Crush 46-yard line just after the 2-minute warning. Following a Colorado punt, New York went from their own 20 to the Colorado 8-yard line with 16 seconds left. They sent Trust out to attempt a 25-yard field goal to get within a touchdown, but the kick was blocked by Zughaibi and Trust was tackled at the 14-yard line after fielding the ball.
Colorado (4-0) gained 349 yards of total offense. The Crush ran for 103 yards on 28 carries. Aaron Yarnell led the team with 47 yards on 14 carries. Thom was 25-of-39 passing for 270 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT. He was sacked four times, losing 24 yards. Howell was the leading receiver with 7 catches for 64 yards and a TD. The Crush will host the Los Angeles Avengers next week.
New York (0-4) gained 336 yards of total offense. The Dragons ran for 98 yards on 29 carries. Larron led the team with 47 yards on 7 carries and a TD. Emerson was 14-of-31 passing for 246 yards, and was sacked once for an 8-yard loss. Elvis Darnell was the leading receiver with 4 catches for 68 yards. The Dragons host the Detroit Drive next week.
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