Fury outlast G's in OT - DJ's Blog

DJ's Blog

Fury outlast G's in OT

Posted on November 25, 2008 at 08:21 PM.

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Wow.

That's about the only thing one could say after watching the Nashville Fury and Brooklyn G's battle it out Nov. 25 in Nashville.

After going into a second overtime (Donovan McNabb would love this league because there are no ties), the Fury finally secured a 19-16 victory on a 31-yard field goal by Stephen Griffin.

The win is the fifth in the last six games for the Fury, who keep their slim playoff hopes alive at 6-7.

"That was a battle," Fury coach Dan Johnson said. "It wasn't pretty, but we'll take a win where we can get it."

The usually reliable Griffin, who made three earlier field goals, missed from 46 and 39 yards in the first overtime. The misses almost negated a stout defensive effort by the Fury, who intercepted Bernie Kosar twice in overtime - four times total.

"I felt awful after missing the second kick," Griffin said. "The first one was pretty far out there, but the second was well within my range and I just pushed it. Thankfully our defense stepped up and got us the ball back."

Griffin's game-winner came moments after a long punt return by Willie Wood, who fumbled away the opening kickoff, allowing the G's to take an early 3-0 lead.

"I needed to redeem myself," said Wood, who had a sack and two pass defenses. "I'm glad I got the opportunity to do so."

Wood and the Fury defense were dominant for the second straight week. Roger Wehrli returned an interception 64 yards in the third quarter to put the Fury up 13-10. The Fury also recorded five sacks and held Roger Craig to 49 yards rushing.

Craig did find the end zone late in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 16-16. All the G's needed for the go-ahead point was to convert the extra point, but it smacked off the upright and was no-good, sending the game to overtime.

The G's defense was stout as well, shutting down Chrisitan Okoye after a solid first half. Okoye managed just 127 yards on 29 carries. Derrick Bly had a solid game at quarterback, despite two interceptions. Bly ran for a couple of crucial first downs and had 58 yards passing.