Post by 50yardfan on Jul 3, 2010 9:38:48 GMT -5
blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2010/07/post_25.html
An elated Marcus Sargeant pranced around the Farm Show Arena field Friday night with a broom in his hands. It was a symbolic gesture by the Harrisburg Stampede defensive back signifying the four victories this season over AIFA East Division foe Erie Storm.
The Stampede pulled out a 52-48 victory in the franchise’s first playoff game in front of a very disappointing turnout. Quarterback Aries Nelson fired a 20-yard scoring strike to Kevin Marion with 56 seconds remaining for the game-winner.
The Stampede (12-3) will travel to Baltimore next week to take on the undefeated Mariners (14-0) at 7 p.m. Saturday at 1st Mariner Arena.
Unlike the first three games against Erie, however, Harrisburg dug itself into a hole early due to mistakes and turnovers. Harrisburg lost four fumbles and had an interception as the Storm bolted out to a 24-7 lead in the opening quarter.
“I don’t have much hair, but I was pulling out the little I had,” Harrisburg coach Ramon Robinson said. “I wasn’t believing what I was seeing. We made some adjustments at halftime, the guys came out and played hard and never quit.”
The Storm (8-7) got on the board first on a 27-yard field goal by Shon Rowser with 11:56 left in the first quarter. After running back Eugene Goodman tallied on a five-yard burst to give Harrisburg (12-3) a 7-3 lead, Erie reeled off 21 straight points to take a seemingly commanding 24-7 lead headed into the second quarter.
Two of those scores came on a 13-yard fumble return by defensive lineman Phil Tillman and a 35-yard fumble return by linebacker Roosevelt Benjamin.
“We talked about not turning over the ball, but we also knew that we had that type of team that could come back,” Nelson said. “We know that we play four quarters of ball, and they gave us their best shot early on.”
Nelson, who had a hand in three fumbles, completed 23-of-30 passes for 290 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Nelson also ran for a couple of scores, and Goodman added two short scoring runs to raise his season total to 25.
The winning touchdown pass to Marion was a play that was literally open the majority of the contest. It appeared that the Storm had some communication breakdowns in the secondary, and Harrisburg’s trio of receivers — Marion, Kevin Stokes and Silas Daniels — made them pay dearly.
“I do everything 100 percent,” Marion said. “I was open on that play [slant, post] all day and Nelson did a good job getting me the ball. Nobody said it was going to be easy, but we did what we had to do to win the game.”
Stokes grabbed nine balls for 111 yards, Daniels snared seven for 102 yards and Marion caught seven for 77 yards and two touchdowns. In other words, the Stampede passing game was on point and there was nothing Erie could do to stop, let alone contain it.
“In the second half that play was open the whole second half,” Nelson said.
“They [Erie’s DBs] had to come down off man-to-man ... and the O-line did a good job giving me time to find the receivers. Once we settled down, everything was all right. If we don’t turn over the ball we would have been in control early on. We didn’t take care of the ball, but we knew that we could come back and win.”
In the second quarter the Stampede scored on two Nelson runs to pull to within 27-20 at the intermission. Harrisburg, however, came out in the third quarter and turned the ball over again.
Erie defensive lineman Ellery Moore scooped up a fumble and rumbled 10 yards for a touchdown. at the 11:45 mark. The miscue, which gave Erie a 34-20 advantage, came off a bad snap that sailed over Nelson’s head.
Undaunted, the Stampede kept battling to pull to within 41-38 heading into the fourth quarter. Goodman tallied on a six-yard burst to give Harrisburg its first lead of the game at 45-41 with 14:30 to go. Erie quarterback Rod Rutherford scored from a yard out with 1:32 left to give the Storm a short-lived 48-45 lead.
Rutherford competed 16-of-35 passes for 227 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. His main target all night was Eugene Baker, who hauled in 10 passes for 164 yards and two scores.
An elated Marcus Sargeant pranced around the Farm Show Arena field Friday night with a broom in his hands. It was a symbolic gesture by the Harrisburg Stampede defensive back signifying the four victories this season over AIFA East Division foe Erie Storm.
The Stampede pulled out a 52-48 victory in the franchise’s first playoff game in front of a very disappointing turnout. Quarterback Aries Nelson fired a 20-yard scoring strike to Kevin Marion with 56 seconds remaining for the game-winner.
The Stampede (12-3) will travel to Baltimore next week to take on the undefeated Mariners (14-0) at 7 p.m. Saturday at 1st Mariner Arena.
Unlike the first three games against Erie, however, Harrisburg dug itself into a hole early due to mistakes and turnovers. Harrisburg lost four fumbles and had an interception as the Storm bolted out to a 24-7 lead in the opening quarter.
“I don’t have much hair, but I was pulling out the little I had,” Harrisburg coach Ramon Robinson said. “I wasn’t believing what I was seeing. We made some adjustments at halftime, the guys came out and played hard and never quit.”
The Storm (8-7) got on the board first on a 27-yard field goal by Shon Rowser with 11:56 left in the first quarter. After running back Eugene Goodman tallied on a five-yard burst to give Harrisburg (12-3) a 7-3 lead, Erie reeled off 21 straight points to take a seemingly commanding 24-7 lead headed into the second quarter.
Two of those scores came on a 13-yard fumble return by defensive lineman Phil Tillman and a 35-yard fumble return by linebacker Roosevelt Benjamin.
“We talked about not turning over the ball, but we also knew that we had that type of team that could come back,” Nelson said. “We know that we play four quarters of ball, and they gave us their best shot early on.”
Nelson, who had a hand in three fumbles, completed 23-of-30 passes for 290 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Nelson also ran for a couple of scores, and Goodman added two short scoring runs to raise his season total to 25.
The winning touchdown pass to Marion was a play that was literally open the majority of the contest. It appeared that the Storm had some communication breakdowns in the secondary, and Harrisburg’s trio of receivers — Marion, Kevin Stokes and Silas Daniels — made them pay dearly.
“I do everything 100 percent,” Marion said. “I was open on that play [slant, post] all day and Nelson did a good job getting me the ball. Nobody said it was going to be easy, but we did what we had to do to win the game.”
Stokes grabbed nine balls for 111 yards, Daniels snared seven for 102 yards and Marion caught seven for 77 yards and two touchdowns. In other words, the Stampede passing game was on point and there was nothing Erie could do to stop, let alone contain it.
“In the second half that play was open the whole second half,” Nelson said.
“They [Erie’s DBs] had to come down off man-to-man ... and the O-line did a good job giving me time to find the receivers. Once we settled down, everything was all right. If we don’t turn over the ball we would have been in control early on. We didn’t take care of the ball, but we knew that we could come back and win.”
In the second quarter the Stampede scored on two Nelson runs to pull to within 27-20 at the intermission. Harrisburg, however, came out in the third quarter and turned the ball over again.
Erie defensive lineman Ellery Moore scooped up a fumble and rumbled 10 yards for a touchdown. at the 11:45 mark. The miscue, which gave Erie a 34-20 advantage, came off a bad snap that sailed over Nelson’s head.
Undaunted, the Stampede kept battling to pull to within 41-38 heading into the fourth quarter. Goodman tallied on a six-yard burst to give Harrisburg its first lead of the game at 45-41 with 14:30 to go. Erie quarterback Rod Rutherford scored from a yard out with 1:32 left to give the Storm a short-lived 48-45 lead.
Rutherford competed 16-of-35 passes for 227 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. His main target all night was Eugene Baker, who hauled in 10 passes for 164 yards and two scores.