Post by rkb on Jul 6, 2008 10:35:25 GMT -5
www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=275795&pub=1&div=Sports
MudCats playoff game
7/6/2008 8:10:53 AM
NEMS Daily Journal
BY JOHN L. PITTS
NEMS Daily Journal
TUPELO - You don't leave while James Bond still breathing on the laser table. You don't tell Superman your evil plans just because you have him trapped in a kryptonite box. You don't go down in the basement of the creepy old house all alone in the middle of the night to see what that thumping noise is all about.
And, for goodness sakes, you don't leave a Mississippi MudCats game until the last second has ticked off the clock.
The Cardiac MudCats did it again Saturday night, clawing their way off the BancorpSouth Arena turf with four fourth-quarter touchdowns for a 52-50 win against the Columbus Lions. The first-round playoff win sends the Cats (14-1) way out west to play the Wyoming Calvary for the AIFA Western Conference title.
Arrangements were still being made late Saturday, but it appears the game will be in Casper, Wyo., on July 19.
"We just keep fighting as long as there's time on the clock," said veteran receiver Darryl Carter, who laid out for a Sportscenter-worthy TD 37-yard catch at the goal line during the fourth-quarter comeback.
It was one of seven TD passes for Aries Nelson, who was a little-used backup until three weeks ago. Now he's 3-0 as a starter and a force to be reckoned with. "We were a little sluggish in the first half, but at halftime, we decided to go out and play ball," Nelson said.
That was the challenge laid down by interim head coach William McCarthy, whose team trailed 40-18 at halftime.
"I told then they could go out and play another half like that and lose, or go out and play the way I knew they were capable," said McCarthy, who seemed as stunned as anyone at his team's reversal of fortune in the second half.
Except maybe for rival coach Jason Gibson, who said earlier in the week he'd be happy if the game came down to his team with the ball and one last chance to win.
His Lions were two points down with 2:28 to play after Nelson's final scoring pass, his fourth of the evening to Maurice Avery after a dazzling kickoff return by Josh Smith put the football just 11 yards from paydirt.
Now, Gibson needed some heroics from his QB, Joey Conrad, who had accounted for six TDs in the first half but had looked more mortal after the MudCats turned up the defensive pressure in the third quarter.
The Lions moved briskly to the home team's 19 and appeared to be setting up a game-winning field goal, but a quick snap on third-and-10 went awry and the MudCats came away with the ball.
Game over.
"Out lack of execution in the second half is what killed us," Gibson said. "We had them where we wanted them and couldn't close the deal."
Said a somber Conrad, who completed 19 of 38 passes for 217 yards and six TDs: "One domino fell and then they all fell."
Earlier this season, the Lions roared into BancorpSouth Arena and left with a 53-48 victory. It was the first loss in 15 games over two seasons for the Mississippi team.
The week before that, the Lions lost 70-61 to the MudCats at home in a game that was really in doubt until the final moments.
This one seemed to be over almost as quickly as it began.
Conrad opened the game with a pair of scoring strikes to Gerald Gales (5, 30), who seemed to show few ill effects from a knee injury suffered the first time these teams played.
Each time the home team was able to muster a score, Conrad and company had a response.
Then, in the final minute of the first half, Nelson lost the handle at his own 16.
The Lions needed six plays in the final minute to take a 40-18 lead into intermission.
Conrad was more mortal in a scoreless third quarter for the Lions but avoided any killing mistakes. A 24-yard Hunter Smith field goal early in the final quarter gave the visiting team a 43-24 lead.
The game was played before a meager crowd of perhaps 1,500. The most vocal fans, for much of the evening, were those who had bused from Columbus to watch their Lions.
But the home fans came to life in the final quarter and then spilled onto the turf to celebrate the improbable victory.
n Game summary, Page 2B
Appeared originally in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 7/6/2008, section B , page 1
MudCats playoff game
7/6/2008 8:10:53 AM
NEMS Daily Journal
BY JOHN L. PITTS
NEMS Daily Journal
TUPELO - You don't leave while James Bond still breathing on the laser table. You don't tell Superman your evil plans just because you have him trapped in a kryptonite box. You don't go down in the basement of the creepy old house all alone in the middle of the night to see what that thumping noise is all about.
And, for goodness sakes, you don't leave a Mississippi MudCats game until the last second has ticked off the clock.
The Cardiac MudCats did it again Saturday night, clawing their way off the BancorpSouth Arena turf with four fourth-quarter touchdowns for a 52-50 win against the Columbus Lions. The first-round playoff win sends the Cats (14-1) way out west to play the Wyoming Calvary for the AIFA Western Conference title.
Arrangements were still being made late Saturday, but it appears the game will be in Casper, Wyo., on July 19.
"We just keep fighting as long as there's time on the clock," said veteran receiver Darryl Carter, who laid out for a Sportscenter-worthy TD 37-yard catch at the goal line during the fourth-quarter comeback.
It was one of seven TD passes for Aries Nelson, who was a little-used backup until three weeks ago. Now he's 3-0 as a starter and a force to be reckoned with. "We were a little sluggish in the first half, but at halftime, we decided to go out and play ball," Nelson said.
That was the challenge laid down by interim head coach William McCarthy, whose team trailed 40-18 at halftime.
"I told then they could go out and play another half like that and lose, or go out and play the way I knew they were capable," said McCarthy, who seemed as stunned as anyone at his team's reversal of fortune in the second half.
Except maybe for rival coach Jason Gibson, who said earlier in the week he'd be happy if the game came down to his team with the ball and one last chance to win.
His Lions were two points down with 2:28 to play after Nelson's final scoring pass, his fourth of the evening to Maurice Avery after a dazzling kickoff return by Josh Smith put the football just 11 yards from paydirt.
Now, Gibson needed some heroics from his QB, Joey Conrad, who had accounted for six TDs in the first half but had looked more mortal after the MudCats turned up the defensive pressure in the third quarter.
The Lions moved briskly to the home team's 19 and appeared to be setting up a game-winning field goal, but a quick snap on third-and-10 went awry and the MudCats came away with the ball.
Game over.
"Out lack of execution in the second half is what killed us," Gibson said. "We had them where we wanted them and couldn't close the deal."
Said a somber Conrad, who completed 19 of 38 passes for 217 yards and six TDs: "One domino fell and then they all fell."
Earlier this season, the Lions roared into BancorpSouth Arena and left with a 53-48 victory. It was the first loss in 15 games over two seasons for the Mississippi team.
The week before that, the Lions lost 70-61 to the MudCats at home in a game that was really in doubt until the final moments.
This one seemed to be over almost as quickly as it began.
Conrad opened the game with a pair of scoring strikes to Gerald Gales (5, 30), who seemed to show few ill effects from a knee injury suffered the first time these teams played.
Each time the home team was able to muster a score, Conrad and company had a response.
Then, in the final minute of the first half, Nelson lost the handle at his own 16.
The Lions needed six plays in the final minute to take a 40-18 lead into intermission.
Conrad was more mortal in a scoreless third quarter for the Lions but avoided any killing mistakes. A 24-yard Hunter Smith field goal early in the final quarter gave the visiting team a 43-24 lead.
The game was played before a meager crowd of perhaps 1,500. The most vocal fans, for much of the evening, were those who had bused from Columbus to watch their Lions.
But the home fans came to life in the final quarter and then spilled onto the turf to celebrate the improbable victory.
n Game summary, Page 2B
Appeared originally in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 7/6/2008, section B , page 1
