ANAHEIM-Reuben Findley threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough as the Anaheim Splash defeated the Portland Pride in overtime 29-26 in an opening CIFL contest.
The Splash went three-and-out, and the punt went out of bounds at the Portland 1-yard line. The Pride would go three-and-out, but William Pegg's punt was blocked and went out of the end zone for a safety to put Anaheim up 2-0 with 12:25 remaining in the first quarter. Both teams traded punts, and Kaleo Hendricks returned Pegg's punt 59 yards to the Portland 19-yard line. Four plays later, Harlan Finnegan completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Benny Gee to make it 9-0 with 6:42 to go in the first. The Pride would punt again, but then Finnegan would get picked off by Saul Symons who returned it 11 yards to the Anaheim 25-yard line. On the next play, Findley threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Kendall Van Horne to make it 9-7 with 4:45 to go in the first quarter.
After trading punts again, the Pride would go on a 13-play, 55-yard drive that ended with a 51-yard field goal by Theodis Durkin to put Portland ahead 10-9 with 7:34 to go in the second quarter. The Splash would answer with a 15-play, 77-yard drive that ended with Butler Elliott kicking a 20-yard field goal to pull Anaheim ahead 12-10 with 1:36 left in the half. Durkin would miss a 42-yard field goal attempt late in the half, and the teams then went to the locker room for halftime.
Both teams would punt at the start of the second half. Then Portland punted again, but Pegg was blocked again, and Bat Roe recovered for the Splash at the Pride 16-yard line. Three plays later, Finnegan scrambled 16 yards for a touchdown to make it 19-10 with 8:05 to go in the third quarter. The Pride would punt again, but Symons would pick Finnegan off again at the Anaheim 45-yard line. But Portland would go three-and-out again, and the punt went into the end zone for a touchback.
Following the punt, Anaheim would drive 80 yards on 10 plays, and Finnegan completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Worsham to make it 26-10 with 11:03 left in the fourth quarter. Portland would come back with an 11-play, 80-yard drive ending with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Findley to Len Strickland. A successful 2-point conversion made it 26-18 with 7:53 left in the fourth. After a Splash punt was downed at the Portland 3-yard line, the Pride would then march 97 yards on 7 plays. Findley fired a 23-yard touchdown pass to Shelton Pick and the 2-point conversion was good again to tie the game at 26 with 1:46 to go in regulation. After an Anaheim punt, Portland tried to drive for another score, but Virgil Hawthorne picked Findley off at the Anaheim 39-yard line. Finnegan threw deep and Jasper Idle picked him off at the Portland 31-yard line to set up the overtime period.
In the extra session, the Pride were forced to punt, and Hendricks returned the kick 23 yards to the Pride 29-yard line. After five plays gained 25 yards, Elliott kicked a 21-yard field goal with 10:08 to go in overtime to give Anaheim the win.
Anaheim (1-0) gained 287 yards of total offense. The Splash ran for 136 yards on 29 carries. Brett Fusco led the team with 73 yards on 14 carries. He also led the receivers with 7 catches for 34 yards. Finnegan went 19-of-41 passing for 162 yards, 2 TD and 3 INT. He was sacked twice, losing 11 yards. Next week, the Splash will visit the Seattle Seadogs.
Portland (0-1) gained 394 yards of total offense. The Pride were held to 30 yards rushing on 24 carries. Kenny Boren was held to 13 yards on 17 carries. Findley was 27-of-42 passing for 383 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT. He was sacked twice, losing 19 yards. Rex Doran was the leading receiver with 8 catches for 55 yards. The Pride will host the Houston Hotshots next week.
Special note: RIP Mike Ilitch (owner of the Red Wings and Tigers, and owned the Detroit Drive from 1988-1993).
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