LOS ANGELES, CA -- Facing a must-win situation late in the fourth quarter, the Avengers battled back in heart-stopping fashion to defeat the Kansas City Brigade, 51-48, on Saturday at STAPLES Center.
Los Angeles (5-10) ended a four-game losing streak and kept its hopes alive for reaching the AFL Playoff for the sixth time in the past seven seasons.
Kansas City (3-12), on the other hand, was eliminated from playoff contention when kicker Peter Martinez’ 31-yard field goal sailed wide left as time expired.
Much maligned during the season, the Avenger defense played a crucial roll in L.A.’s comeback in the second half.
"I told the defense at halftime, if they put Kansas City’s offense in some long yardage, third and fourth down situations the tide will turn for us,” Avenger head coach Ed Hodgkiss said.
The key moment in the game was when the Avengers forced the Brigade to turn the football over on downs with 1:18 to play and Kansas City leading, 48-43.
Instead of attempting a field goal on fourth-and-seven, to possibly go up by eight points, Brigade head coach Kevin Porter elected to go for the first down. Kansas City quarterback Quincy Carter was pressured into throwing an incomplete pass intended for wide receiver Mike Horacek, which gave the ball back to Avengers at their own 17-yard line.
On its ensuing drive, Los Angeles marched down the field with a four-play drive capped by a deceptive end-around run by veteran wide receiver Timon Marshall for a three-yard touchdown, which gave the Avengers a 49-48 lead.
A crucial two-point conversion pass from Cumbie to wide receiver Kevin Ingram extended the Avengers’ advantage to three points with 34 seconds remaining, which still left plenty of time on the clock for the Brigade to either tie or win the game in the final moments.
"I didn't feel like I could run the clock down with the Brigade having a time out remaining," said Hodgkiss. "It was a play that was pretty safe. Sonny flipped it to Timon and he could either run it in or throw it to LaShaun Ward in the end zone."
Starting for the fourth consecutive game, Cumbie was 22-of-36 for 270 yards and four touchdowns. He was intercepted once and sacked two times.
Carter, the former starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys who was playing in only his second AFL game, was 21-of-31 for 223 yards and four touchdowns. He was sacked three times and intercepted once.
Marshall earned “Offensive Player of the Game” honors with eight catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. He also added 107 yards on six kick returns.
After Avenger wide receiver LaShaun Ward scored on a three-yard run with 1:30 left in the third quarter, trimming Kansas City’s lead to 38-34, he came up with another big play on the ensuing kickoff, tackling Brigade returner Jerel Myers at his own one-yard line.
Three plays later, L.A. linebacker Brandon Perkins slammed Carter into the back wall of the end zone for a safety, which changed the momentum of the game and fully energized the 11,282 Avenger fans in attendance for the team’s regular-season home finale. Perkins, who finished the game with a career-high two sacks, was selected as the ADT “Defensive Player of Game.”
"As a group we had to come together and make some big play,” Perkins said. "It was the biggest game of the year and we couldn't let it slip away."
The Avengers took that momentum into their next drive which ended when Cumbie found Ingram for a 15-yard score that gave the Avengers their first lead in the second half at 43-38 with 12:59 remaining.
Los Angeles will close out the regular season on Saturday, June 21, at Tampa Bay. An Avenger victory in that contest will go a long way toward securing a second consecutive postseason berth for Los Angeles.
