Post by Free Agent Fan on Mar 12, 2007 19:39:33 GMT -5
Flags fly, but Mudcats stay perfect
By John L. Pitts
It was a wild scene in Tallahassee, Fla., as the Mississippi MudCats improved to 5-0 with Saturday night's 62-58 victory against the previously unbeaten Tallahassee Titans.
The MudCats were flagged for a mind-boggling 38 penalties, several of which spoiled scoring threats. Two turnovers led directly to Titans' touchdowns. One of the team's top receivers, Josh Smith, was ejected from the game.
To top if all off, injuries forced all kinds of lineup juggling for coach Brian Brents and his staff.
"We had our backs against the wall all night," Brents said when it was over and the MudCats had won in their first road trip of the season.
Mississippi quarterback Tommy Jones passed for 264 yards and five touchdowns, rallying his team in the waning minutes from a 58-55 deficit.
Rico McDonald scored the go-ahead touchdown on a second-and-goal play from the Mississippi 6 with 41 seconds remaining. Kicker John Michael Marlin added the crucial extra point, but the host team would get one more crack at remaining unbeaten.
The Titans' first two pass plays from their own 17 fell incomplete. After a long delay to repair padding on the wall along the sidelines, Tallahassee quarterback Ben Dougherty -the leading passer in the American Indoor Football Association -threw an interception to the MudCats' Darryl Carter with 20 seconds left.
Carter, one of the Mississippi team's best receivers, was in the defensive lineup at linebacker due to injuries. He finished the game with 99 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
Jones now has 29 TD passes in five games. He was intercepted once, and that pickoff was returned 42 yards for a Titans' touchdown.
Smith caught one of Jones' touchdown passes but was ejected, according to the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper, for throwing a shoe at a Titans' player after a the interception return.
Tallahassee's Dougherty passed for four TDs, two in the second half to Patrick Harrington, and rushed for two more.
The MudCats return home for a Saturday night game against the Florence (S.C.) Phantoms. Because of the Grand Slam high school basketball championships earlier in the day at BancorpSouth Arena, the game will begin at 8:30 p.m.
It's one of four remaining regular-season home games for the team.
By John L. Pitts
It was a wild scene in Tallahassee, Fla., as the Mississippi MudCats improved to 5-0 with Saturday night's 62-58 victory against the previously unbeaten Tallahassee Titans.
The MudCats were flagged for a mind-boggling 38 penalties, several of which spoiled scoring threats. Two turnovers led directly to Titans' touchdowns. One of the team's top receivers, Josh Smith, was ejected from the game.
To top if all off, injuries forced all kinds of lineup juggling for coach Brian Brents and his staff.
"We had our backs against the wall all night," Brents said when it was over and the MudCats had won in their first road trip of the season.
Mississippi quarterback Tommy Jones passed for 264 yards and five touchdowns, rallying his team in the waning minutes from a 58-55 deficit.
Rico McDonald scored the go-ahead touchdown on a second-and-goal play from the Mississippi 6 with 41 seconds remaining. Kicker John Michael Marlin added the crucial extra point, but the host team would get one more crack at remaining unbeaten.
The Titans' first two pass plays from their own 17 fell incomplete. After a long delay to repair padding on the wall along the sidelines, Tallahassee quarterback Ben Dougherty -the leading passer in the American Indoor Football Association -threw an interception to the MudCats' Darryl Carter with 20 seconds left.
Carter, one of the Mississippi team's best receivers, was in the defensive lineup at linebacker due to injuries. He finished the game with 99 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
Jones now has 29 TD passes in five games. He was intercepted once, and that pickoff was returned 42 yards for a Titans' touchdown.
Smith caught one of Jones' touchdown passes but was ejected, according to the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper, for throwing a shoe at a Titans' player after a the interception return.
Tallahassee's Dougherty passed for four TDs, two in the second half to Patrick Harrington, and rushed for two more.
The MudCats return home for a Saturday night game against the Florence (S.C.) Phantoms. Because of the Grand Slam high school basketball championships earlier in the day at BancorpSouth Arena, the game will begin at 8:30 p.m.
It's one of four remaining regular-season home games for the team.