THUNDERBIRDS DROP HEARTBREAKER TO FIRECATS 41-35

July 3, 2008,

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – Despite solid efforts from Steven Moffett, Patrick Rouzard and a fired up defense, the Daytona Beach ThunderBirds dropped a close game to the Florida Firecats 41-35.  Steven Moffett was 18 of 32 on the day for 211 yards.  He threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more.  Patrick Rouzard caught 10 passes on the day for 121 yards and two scores including a 45 yard touchdown pass from Moffett.  Chris Wallace had a solid game at quarterback for the Firecats going 23 of 38 for 169 yards and two touchdowns.  Magic Benton was the leading receiver for the Firecats catching 8 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown.

The ThunderBirds (2-12) defense came out strong to start the game.  A sack by Jerome Walker and an interception by Bryant Tisdale ended the Firecats (9-4) first drive.  The ThunderBirds offense also came out strong as QB Steven Moffett led the team down the field and connected with Patrick Rouzard for a touchdown.  Rouzard had four receptions on the opening drive.

The Firecats did not get on the scoreboard until late in the second quarter when James Gibson barreled into the end zone from a yard out to knot the game at seven apiece.  The Firecats were threatening late in the second quarter until Kwasi Kwaku picked off a Chris Wallace pass.  Unfortunately for the ThunderBirds, Steven Moffett gave the ball right back to the Firecats with an interception.  The Firecats went up 14-7 when they scored on a ten yard TD pass from Wallace to Ethenic Sands with 24 seconds remaining in the half.  The Firecats scored one more touchdown on the last play of the first half when Tony Stubbs returned a missed field goal 56 yards for the score.  The PAT was no good so the Firecats went into halftime up 20-7.

The ThunderBirds opened the scoring in the second half to cut the lead to 20-14 as Moffett hooked up with Rouzard on a 45 yard touchdown.  It was the longest touchdown pass in ThunderBirds franchise history.  Wallace followed that ThunderBirds score by getting into the end zone for the Firecats on an eight yard touchdown run.  Later on in the quarter, Moffett scored again, this time using his feet on a 16 yard scramble into the end zone.  The ThunderBirds defense gave up only one score in the third quarter and a fumble recovery by Dominic Lee kept the Firecats out of the end zone late in the third quarter.  The third quarter ended with the Firebirds in the lead 27-21.

The fourth quarter started strong for the as the ThunderBirds as Moffett scored his second rushing touchdown of the game on a 26 yard sprint down the right sideline to put the ThunderBirds up 28-27.  The Firecats came right back to take the lead 34-28 on a 25 yard touchdown pass to Benton.  The Firecats then scored again as Gibson barreled into the end zone on a one yard carry after an interception by Moffett.  The ThunderBirds cut the lead to 41-35 by scoring on the next drive.  Moffett hit Toris Rutledge on a quick slant to score from 15 yards out.  The ThunderBirds attempted an onside kick with just over one minute remaining but Florida recovered the kick and ran out the clock.

After backing up Matt Bohnet for most of the season, Steven Moffett came out and played hard for the ThunderBirds.  “I am happy that I got my chance to play some more and I knew once I had a chance to step up that I could be a solid quarterback in this league,”  Moffett said.

Even with a 2-11 record and the recent news that the team will be folding at the end of the season, the players were still hungry to come out and play their best.  “It was our last home game and we wanted to come out and make a statement.  We wanted to put on a good show for our fans and we have a lot of guys trying to get to the next level so we came out and played as hard as we could,”  Jerome Walker said.

Head Coach Gary Compton knew that the task at hand would be hard coming into the game but was pleased with how the team played.   “We had a short week and we knew we had to come out and play with an almost entirely new backfield because of injuries to Jocques Richardson (torn ACL) and George Williams (torn ACL) in the last game.  We had defensive backs that had only one practice with the team (James Smith and Kwasi Kwaku).  The team played hard and you can’t ask for much more.  I am proud of my guys.”

The ThunderBirds will be on the road next week against the Tennessee Valley Vipers and then after a bye week will conclude the 2008 season on the road against the Florida Firecats.

Score by Quarters               1        2        3        4        Score

Florida Firecats                       0        20      7        14      41                
Daytona Beach Thunderbirds   7        0        14      14      35              

LEADERS:

PASSING:  WALLACE (FLO) ; MOFFETT (DAB)

RECEIVING:  BENTON (FLO); ROUZARD (DAB)

SCHUTT Offensive Player of the Game: Steven Moffett (DAB)

ADT Defensive Player of the Game: Carlos Campbell (FLO)

JLS Ironman of the Game: Lamar Hughes (DAB)

CUTTERS Catch of the Game: Magic Benton (FLO)

Attendance: 2,863