UNIONDALE, NY-A pair of touchdown passes from Ev Blansett and two short touchdown runs by Powell Ramos helped the Iowa Barnstormers defeat the New York Dragons in a Week 14 AFL game by the final score of 32-17.
The Barnstormers stormed out of the gates after recovering a fumble by Hugh Strickland on the opening kickoff that was recovered by Timmy Nail at the Dragons 28-yard line. Six plays later, Blansett threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Davlin Coggins to give Iowa a 7-0 lead with 12:08 to go in the first quarter. After trading punts, Iowa recovered another fumble when Freddy Ashercraft was stripped of the ball and Emilio Shipp recovered for the Barnstormers at his own 40. Ten plays later, Ramos scored from the 1 to give the Barnstormers a 14-0 lead with 5 seconds remaining in the first.
New York finally got on the board after driving 88 yards on 17 plays. George Larron finally put an end to the 8-minute plus drive with a 5-yard touchdown run to make it 14-7 with 6:51 to go in the half. After an exchange of punts, Iowa would move the ball 30 yards on 6 plays, ending with a 53-yard field goal by SB Rhoads with 1:06 remaining, and the score was 17-7 in favor of the Barnstormers at the half.
Punting was the theme of the third quarter until about halfway through. The Dragons took the ball and drove 54 yards on 11 plays. Facing a fourth-and-goal from the 1, Ashercraft swept from the left side for a touchdown to make it 17-14 with 4:55 left in the third.
Following a Barnstormer punt that pinned the Dragons at their own 2-yard line, New York embarked on a 10-play, 87-yard drive. Burt Hamrick would come out and kick a 28-yard field goal to tie the game at 17 with 12:43 left in the fourth quarter. Iowa would punt again, this time pinning the Dragons back at their own 3. But New York was not quite as fortunate, as Faron Emerson would be sacked in the end zone by Merrill Bliss for a safety to put Iowa up 19-17 with 8:14 remaining in the fourth. After a big return by Coggins on the safety kick, Iowa took two plays to score as Blansett uncorked a 35-yard touchdown pass to Burke Fraser. The Barnstormers failed on a 2-Point Conversion attempt, and ended up leading 25-17 with 7:14 to go in the fourth quarter. The Dragons tried to drive for a score but Melvin Betts fumbled and Terace Glascock recovered for the Barnstormers at the New York 40-yard line. Eight plays later, Ramos ran for a 1-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 32-17 with 29 seconds to go.
Iowa (7-7) gained 273 yards of total offense. The Barnstormers ran for 96 yards on 28 carries. Ramos led the team with 46 yards on 14 carries and 2 TD. Blansett was 18-of-28 passing for 191 yards and 2 TD. He was sacked twice, losing 14 yards. Isaiah O'Connell was Iowa's leading receiver with 8 catches for 60 yards. The Barnstormers will host the Georgia Force next week.
New York (7-7) gained 336 yards of total offense. The Dragons ran for 81 yards on 27 carries. Larron led the team with 50 yards on 11 carries and a TD. Emerson was 21-of-34 passing for 283 yards, and was sacked four times, losing 28 yards. Ardell Ashmore was New York's leading receiver with 7 catches for 117 yards. The Dragons visit the Colorado Crush next week.
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