SAN JOSE-The coin toss was the last sane event of the game, as the San Jose Sabercats and Los Angeles Avengers each turned the ball over five times. But the Sabercats scored late and held on for a 17-14 in the final Week 4 AFL contest.
San Jose received the opening kickoff and punted. The Avengers had to punt and
Nino Schwarz had his punt blocked at the Avengers' 37-yard line. San Jose quickly moved into scoring range, but
Courtney Harrelson intercepted
Timmy Carey's pass in the end zone and returned it to the Avengers' 33. But Los Angeles was forced to punt again, and Schwarz punted it 15 yards out of bounds at the San Jose 29. The Sabercats then rattled off a 6-play, 71-yard drive that ended with Carey hitting
Festus Blanks for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 3:04 remaining in the first to put San Jose up 7-0. Los Angeles started their next drive with HB
Chip Kindrick completing an option pass to WR
Ken Lavue for 29 yards to the Avengers' 49. But they couldn't do anything after that and Schwarz had his second blocked punt in the first quarter, and
Ossie Stacy recovered for the Sabercats, returning it 16 yards to the Los Angeles 20. The Sabercats only moved five yards on three plays, and
Ethan Wycoff missed a 32-yard field goal with 50 seconds left in the first.
Following the missed field goal, Los Angeles drove the ball 78 yards on 12 plays.
Juan York threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to
Kiefer Dance with 9:56 remaining in the half to tie the game at 7.
Clem Wallen would intercept a Carey pass on the next drive and return it to the Sabercats' 20-yard line. What followed would be an apt descrption of the immortal
Vince Lombardi line: "WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON OUT HERE?!?!" Two plays later,
Cameron Devlin caught a pass from York at the 5, but fumbled.
Mac Shockley recovered the fumble for San Jose. On the next play,
Alan Sale fumbled for the Sabercats, and the Avengers'
Orrin Dyre recovered at the 8. Then, on the next play, Kindrick fumbled and
Chuck Wleborn recovered for the Sabercats at his own 5. For those keeping track, that was four turnovers in the span of five plays. After it was all said and done, the Sabercats held on the ball and moved 70 yards on 12 plays. The drive ended with Wycoff kicking a 42-yard field goal at the 2-minute warning to put San Jose up 10-7. The Avengers got the ball back, went three-and-out and lined up to punt, but Schwarz received a bad snap and fell on it at his own 24.
Hack Knuckles caught a short pass but fumbled, and Los Angeles'
Carlisle June recovered at his own 19. The Avengers ran out the clock to put an end to the crazy first half.
Los Angeles received the second half kickoff and punted. San Jose then punted, and Dance returned the punt 46 yards to the San Jose 37. From there, the Avengers took three plays to score a touchdown, with York connecting with
Spike Vosburg for a 30-yard touchdown to give the Avengers a 14-10 with 8:22 to go in the third. The Sabercats punted again, and York's long pass was intercepted by San Jose's
Wallace Burden in the end zone for a touchback. The Sabercats were forced to punt again, and Burden intercepted York for the second time, this time at his own 39. Both teams would then trade punts as the third quarter drew to a close.
The Sabercats appeared to move towards taking the lead early in the fourth, but Carey was intercepted by
Clem Wallen of the Avengers at the Los Angeles 34-yard line. Los Angeles went three-and-out and punted to the Sabercats 30-yard line with 8:35 remaining in the game. The Sabercats would move 70 yards on 11 plays, ending the drive with Carey tossing a 3-yard touchdown pass to
Ramon Counce to give San Jose a 17-14 lead with 3:04 to go in the fourth. York tried to go for a homerun but was picked off by Wleborn who returned it to the Avengers 32-yard line with 2:39 left. San Jose attempted to make it a touchdown's difference, but Wycoff missed a 46-yard field goal attempt with 1:47 left in the game, giving the Avengers another chance. Los Angeles managed to reach the San Jose 44-yard line with 2 seconds left. Rather than attempt a 61-yard field goal, the Avengers went deep, but
Randall Dimsey didn't get deep enough, and San Jose escaped with the win.
San Jose (3-1) gained 366 yards of total offense. The Sabercats ran for 108 yards on 28 carries. Sale led the Sabercats with 50 yards on 17 carries. Carey went 23-for-42 passing for 267 yards, 2 TD and 3 INT. He was sacked once, losing 9 yards. Blanks was San Jose's leading receiver, with 7 catches for 105 yards and a TD. Next week, the Sabercats host the Colorado Crush.
Los Angeles (2-2) gained 286 yards of total offense. The Avengers were held to 43 yards rushing on 23 carries. Kindrick led the team with 49 yards on 12 carries. He also led with 5 receptions for 42 yards. York was 19-for-37 passing for 252 yards, 2 TD and 3 INT. He was sacked five times, losing 38 yards. Lavue was the leader in receiving yards, with 70 on 4 catches. The Avengers visit the Arizona Rattlers next week.