Defense dominates for Fury - DJ's Blog

DJ's Blog

Defense dominates for Fury

Posted on November 24, 2008 at 08:34 PM.

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The Nashville Fury turned back the Landover Renegades 16-7, thanks to a superb defensive effort.

The Fury defense allowed no points as the Renegades got their lone score on a kickoff return by Wesley Walker in the third quarter. The Fury sacked Renegades quarterback Johnny Unitas five times and held the Renegades to just 122 yards of total offense.

"The defensive line was a force all game," Fury coach Dan Johnson said. "The guys were getting a great push and, I think, really threw the Renegades' timing off."

The Fury's offense, once again, was led by their running attack. Chrisitan Okoye gained 247 yards on 25 carries, including a 55-yard touchdown run on the opening play from scrimmage. Dempsey Cartwright added 41 yards on five carries for the Fury, who failed to reach the end zone the rest of the way, settling for three Stephen Griffin field goals.

"We need to do a better job of finishing off our drives," said Fury quarterback Derrick Bly, who was just 1-of-3 passing for 3 yards. "We can't just settle for field goals, especially when we get inside the red zone."

Walker's kick return drew the Renegades within 13-7 heading into the fourth quarter, but a long drive by the Fury resulted in a field goal that pushed the lead back up to two scores. The Renegades' final drive stalled and the Fury knelt on the ball to run out the clock.

At 5-7, the Fury's playoff hopes are slim, but the team has won four of its last five games, so there is hope that a 4-0 run down the stretch could not only get them to a winning record, but perhaps a playoff berth as well.

"We haven't given up on the playoffs yet," Okoye said. "We gave away a couple of games early in the season, but now we are starting to win those close games. We just need to take it one game at a time and if we win all four, that would be great."