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Sunday, May. 04, 2008
Fever finally nabs first 'W'
By Ben Reynolds, Herald staff writer
For one night, Josh Kellett solved all the Tri-Cities Fever's problems.
And with a little help from Phil Goodman, the Fever picked up its first win of the season.
Kellett connected with Goodman with no time left on the clock for a 14-yard touchdown pass to lead Tri-Cities to a 49-48 arenafootball2 league victory over Central Valley (2-3) on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 4,084 at Toyota Center.
"You have to remember this is just one win," Goodman said. "We are still the same team that gave up 70 points for two straight games and we are the same team that has made mistakes."
The Fever, which was giving up a league-worst 62.8 points per game, was hit with 12 more penalties and turned the ball over twice.
But the Kellett-led offense was enough to overcome it all.
The five-year af2 veteran from Samford University, in his first game since losing an af2 playoff game with the Rio Grande Dorados last August, completed 20 of 37 passes for 257 yards and seven touchdowns. He did not throw an interception.
It was his final completion that gave the Fever some optimism after a dismal start.
On fourth down and 0.9 seconds remaining in the game, Kellett scrambled to his right, then hit Goodman on a comeback route at the 2-yard line. Goodman shed Corey Brown and stretched into the end zone. Kyle Hooper added the extra point, giving the Fever its first win since July 9 of last year.
"There is not a (defensive back) in the this league under 200 pounds that can tackle me one-on-one," Goodman said. Brown is listed at 190 pounds.
Kellett, who hadn't thrown more than 30 passes in seven months before Saturday night, was what the Fever offense needed -- it ranked 26th out of 29 teams in scoring offense at 35.8 points per game.
All-af2 receiver J.R. Thomas was back to running deep post routes and scoring touchdowns. He finished with a season-high eight catches for 113 yards and three TDs. He had just two touchdowns in his first three games.
Goodman was winning the jump balls and LaMonte Jones was catching short passes down the sidelines.
"That's what we needed: a quarterback that can come into the huddle and take charge," Thomas said.
Kellett and his receivers still need to work on their timing, but that was to be expected. Kellett, who was working at a produce plant earlier this week in South Texas, arrived in town late Wednesday.
He practiced with the team Thursday and Friday and then played Saturday night. "It feels good to get back out here," Kellett said.
A week ago, Kellett thought his career was over. But after watching his former team -- the Dorados -- play their first home game last Saturday, he missed being on the field.
Fever coach Cedric Walker called him Monday. "If he wouldn't have called that day, everything might have been different," Kellett said.
NOTES: Former Prosser standout Tali Ena had 21/2 sacks in his first game off the injured reserve list. ... Coyotes kicker Mikael Bjork was 5-of-6 on extra points. His miss with 17.5 seconds left in the first half turned out to be the difference in the game. ... Fever NG Chuck Jones suffered a high ankle sprain in the first half, but is not expected to miss any time. ... DE Johnny Jackson left in the first half after dislocating his shoulder but did return.
