DENVER-The Colorado Crush defeated the San Jose Sabercats 13-6 in a Week 8 AFL contest.
There was no scoring in the first half, but not for a lack of trying. Elson Saxon returned the opening kickoff 54 yards to the Colorado 37-yard line, but Timmy Carey's pass was intercepted by Adrian Greenfield at the 28. After the Crush punted, the Sabercats drove into scoring position, but Ethan Wycoff missed a 45-yard field goal attempt. Both teams would trade punts, and Colorado would drive into position for a score, but Earl Ginger missed a 39-yard field goal attempt early in the second quarter. On the ensuing possession, the Sabercats would drive into scoring position, but Wycoff would miss a 40-yard field goal attempt. The Crush would then drive again and appeared ready to score a touchdown, but Valentine Millstone would fumble at the 5-yard line, and Rod Gaines recovered for the Sabercats. San Jose would later punt, and the game was still scoreless at the half.
Colorado finally broke the scoring ice at the start of the third quarter. The Crush would drive 80 yards on 10 plays, and Howton Thom would scramble in from 7 yards out to give them a 7-0 lead with 10:23 left in the third. On San Jose's ensuing possession, Carey fumbled and Jordy Word recovered the ball at the San Jose 39. The Crush seemed destined to score, but Millstone fumbled again, and Gaines recovered for San Jose at the 12. After the Sabercats went three-and-out, the Crush moved the ball 52 yards on 7 plays. Ginger would kick a 25-yard field goal with 4:12 to go in the third to extend the lead to 10-0. Fernando Findley fumbled at his own 35, and Curley Wentworth recovered for the Crush. After a 6-play, 30-yard drive, Ginger kicked a 22-yard field goal with 1:03 remaining in the third to take a 13-0 lead. Alan Sale fumbled, and Deron Putnam recovered at the Sabercats 28-yard line. Colorado appeared ready to put the game out of reach, but Gaines intercepted a pass by Thom at the 22-yard line.
The Sabercats offense would finally get going with a 10-play, 78-drive ending with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Carey to Sale. The extra point was no good, and San Jose was down 13-6 with 9:17 remaining in the fourth quarter. Both teams would punt, and San Jose would get one last chance from their own 20 with 41 seconds left. But the desperation passing went to no avail, and Colorado swept the season series.
Colorado (5-3) gained 442 yards of total offense. The Crush ran for 140 yards on 31 carries. Millstone led the team with 58 yards on 12 carries. Thom went 25-of-41 passing for 311 yards and 1 INT. He was sacked once for a 9-yard loss. Turk Dill was the leading receiver with 7 catches for 71 yards. The Crush will host the Georgia Force next week.
San Jose (5-3) gained 291 yards of total offense. The Sabercats ran for 72 yards on 20 carries. Carey was the team's rushing leader with 36 yards on 6 carries. Sale was held to 19 yards on 8 carries. Carey was 20-of-38 passing for 230 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. He was sacked once for an 11-yard loss. Festus Blanks was San Jose's leading receiver with 7 catches for 118 yards. San Jose will host the Tampa Bay Storm next week.
NOTE: With this game, we have officially reached the halfway point of this AFL season. The next post will contain the usual standings, scores, and schedule of games for Week 9. But it will be immediately followed by another post featuring the statistical leaders in various categories. Stay tuned.
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