Poor kicking lead to destroyers loss

In football, not many notice the play of kickers when they make their extra points and short field goals, but those things can easily be taken for granted in Arena Football.

On Saturday evening, the Columbus Destroyers put forth one of their best efforts of the season, but still fell short 48-45 to the Dallas Desperados in front of 14,310 in Nationwide Arena. The loss sends Columbus to the basement of the National Conference with a 2-7 record. Dallas is tied with Philadelphia atop the standings with an 8-1 record.

Columbus got much of the help it needed from both the offense and the defense. Matt Nagy threw for four touchdowns, and called his own number on two quarterback draws in the second quarter. Columbus also benefited from two interceptions in the second quarter, one by Tremaine Neal and the other by Nate Coggins. Columbus had a 33-20 halftime lead.

Columbus tried to hold onto the lead through the second half. Dallas had its first defensive stop when Destroyers kicker Mark Lewis missed a 47-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter. The missed field goal happened after Lewis had already missed three extra point attempts. Dallas came back to take their first -- second half lead when Desperados quarterback Clint Dolezel found receiver Marcus Nash to give Dallas the 41-39 advantage. Columbus was stopped offensively once again when Nagy had back-to-back incomplete passes on third and fourth downs to receiver Derek Lee. The Destroyers defense stepped up when Dolezel muffed the football and the loose ball was recovered by Columbus defensive lineman Prenti Purnell.

Columbus would regain the lead with just under a minute in the game when Harold Wells bullied his way into the end zone for Columbus’ third rushing touchdown of the game. A failed two point conversion gave Columbus the 45-41 lead.

“In that type of ballgame, it is all about clock management,” Nagy said. “There are not too many people out there who saw Dallas let us score that touchdown. This game is about having the last possession in a game and the coaches were playing head games with each other to see who was going to have the ball last.”

Dallas quickly fired back when Will Pettis received a nine yard pass from Dolezel to give Dallas a 48-45 lead with 15 seconds left. Columbus would go from their own one yard line all the way to the Dallas 10 in just 11 seconds, but Mark Lewis missed his second field goal of the game as time expired. His 25 yard attempt would have sent the game to overtime, but instead sent his team to their third consecutive loss.

“I am not pleased with some of the things he is doing, Mark Lewis is a better kicker than he kicked tonight,” Columbus head coach Doug Kay said. “But he just needs to be as consistent as we want all the other players to be.”

Kay had said after Columbus’ previous game on April 21 that the team needed to show more heart in their play. That didn’t appear to be an issue with Kay after Saturday’s game.

“They played with heart and played with energy… the thing they have to realize is that they have seven more football games and none against a better football team than the one they played tonight.”

“I was happy with our heart, that is the biggest thing,” Nagy said. “I think some of the games this year I don’t know how much heart was in it but I think tonight we showed heart.”

One bright spot was Columbus; ironman Peter Lazare-Saunders getting his first career touchdown in the second quarter. It was also his first start of the season.

“It felt pretty good, but I would rather get it with a win,” Lazare-Saunders said. “I always had that (touchdown celebration) dance lined up for that day.”

Columbus spends the next two weeks on the road with a game at Kansas City and then one against Philadelphia before returning home May 24 to play New York.