June 26, 2010

By Kenny Bybee

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- In what looked like a guaranteed win and a victory to snap a seven-game losing streak instead turned into unbelievable heartbreak for the Vigilantes Friday evening at the BOX Center as the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz stole a victory 35-31.

Dallas had a 31-22 lead with five minutes remaining but saw the advantage cut to 31-29 when Chad Cook scored on a one-yard touchdown with one minute remaining. OKC’s attempt at an onside kick was then batted out of bounds and Dallas needed just a first down to end the game.

Instead BJ hall had a negative rush, threw an incompletion and was then sacked to setup a 38-yard field goal attempt from Mark Lewis. The kick sailed wide left and off the net to keep the Yard Dawgz alive.

Two plays later Tommy Grady connected with Craig Fulton Jr. on a 24-yard touchdown to put OKC up 35-31, a lead they would not succumb. Dallas would have one final attempt at a touchdown from the Yard Dawgz 14-yard line, but Hall threw his second interception of the evening.

Dallas (1-10) has now lost eight straight games, a majority of which were decided in the all-important fourth quarter. The Vigilantes remain winless on the road and interim head coach James Fuller is now 0-5 since taking over midseason.

Hall completed 25-of-39 passes for 243 yard and three touchdowns but had the two costly interceptions. Matt Fields was Dallas’ leading receiver with nine receptions for 123 yards and three touchdowns.

Grady didn’t have pretty numbers (28-of-56 for 339 yards, two interceptions and four touchdowns) but came up clutch at the end. Lee finished the night with nine receptions for 143 yards and the game-winning score.

The first half proved to be a struggle for both team’s offenses but it was the Dallas Vigilantes defense that helped spark a scoring spurt.

After being held scoreless in the first quarter the Vigilantes finally scored their first points of the night on a three-yard fumble return from linebacker Brendan Pahulu. The score was Dallas’ third this season from the defense and more importantly helped catapult Dallas when they were clearly struggling offensively.

The defense came up with another turnover when cornerback Delenall Reid picked off an errant Grady pass deep in Dallas territory. The interception led to a 23-yard field goal from Mark Lewis and pushed Dallas’ lead to 10-6 with 7:03 left in the second quarter.

Oklahoma City (4-7) responded with a 24-yard touchdown strike from Grady to Al Hunt and for a few minutes the Yard Dawgz held a 13-10 lead.

After back-to-back four and outs from both squads, Hall finally settled in and delivered with Matt Fields on a 26-yard touchdown and Dallas jumped back in front 17-13 with 41 second left in the first half. Hall completed 11-of-22 pass attempts for 100 yards and ran for 15 more in the half.

The Yard Dawgz had a golden opportunity to take the lead going into halftime when they started the drive first and goal at the Dallas seven-yard line. However, the Dallas secondary came up with some huge stops and forced OKC into a 22-yard field goal to maintain a 17-16 lead at the half.

Dallas will be back at home next Friday when they host the Iowa Barnstormers at 7:30 p.m.