May the Force be with you: Power drop to 2-6 on the season despite Oderick Turner’s two touchdown game
by Zachary Weiss
The Pittsburgh Power were hoping to get the month of May started with a win, but ultimately dropped a 55-52 game to the Georgia Force on Superhero Night.
“I wanted for these guys to win so bad,” Power Head Coach Chris Seigfried said. “I want for this organization and this city to get the wins that I know we’re capable of… We’re battling a lot of adversity this year. Losing games like that beats you up a little bit. It really tests your toughness, I guess. For me personally, it takes me about a day to lick my wounds, so to speak. I’ve got to stay focused and turn a page and just keep driving, keep moving forward and do the best job I can do.”
While the quarterback position has been a weakness in this team, it was the kicking that got them down in this game.
According to Seigfried kicker Collin Wagner decided to leave the team, and that “basically his heart wasn’t into it”. This left the Power with two kickers to choose for this matchup.
It was Raymond ‘Trey’ Kramer that won the contest. Kramer, from Transylvania University ended up missing four extra points, one of which blocked. Also, one of his kickoffs sailed past the netting resulting in a penalty.
“Well we’re obviously disappointed in him missing extra points because that would have given us 56, I believe. When you’ve got to find a kicker on short notice, we had him and another guy battle it out. Trey did a solid job on the workout. Strong leg, great onside kicks. Kicker is kind of like a quarterback, we’ve been going through them a little bit. He’s just got to get it dialed in.”
A bright spot for the Power was the return of wide receiver Oderick Turner from injured reserve. Turner had seven catches on the night for 107 yards and two touchdowns.
“It felt great coming back,” Turner said. “Sitting back and watching the last four games on IR really gave me a chance to watch and get a better feel for the game because we have veteran receivers. I see what they’re doing and see what incorporate into my game somehow. It was a great feeling to be back on the field, especially in Pittsburgh because I went to college here.”
His first touchdown occurred in the first quarter, giving the Power a 13-6 lead. It was his first catch of the game and included a stiff arm before reaching the end zone.
“All week I’ve been saying to myself, ‘The first catch I make I’m going to score,’” Turner said. “I saw the D end get outside, and just knowing from the league I played in last year, every time a receiver cut back inside they had success. So with this one, I just saw a hole open up with one person to go. I wasn’t going to let him take me down.”
Bryan Randall got the start for the second consecutive week and passed for 301 yards and had six touchdowns but did throw two interceptions, the first of which was returned for a touchdown.
“I feel more command of the offense,” Randall said. “I feel like Coach has more confidence in me. The more experience that I get in the Arena1 game, the slower things will be for my reads and with my throws. Just like that corner route: a little late, it’s a pick in this league. You’ve got to bounce back the next series and get a touchdown.”
The teams were rather competitive for the majority of the game. Down 55-52 the Power had one last drive however Randall was intercepted by Roland Cola with 1:48 left in the game. From there the Force ran out the clock with assistance from the Power who committed three penalties including a pass interference play.
Randall wishes that he had a mulligan on the interception.
“It’s one of those plays where in my mind as a quarterback with a guy like Randy [Hymes] and OD [Turner] they’ve got size on any corner in the league,” Randall said. “…I would take that pass back obviously because it got intercepted, but sometimes it just goes that way,” Randall said. “The DB made a good play, it was bang-bang. The ball probably could have been placed. I’ll take that chance with him… That’s the kind of confidence I’ve got in my receivers. They made played all game. They’ve been making plays in practice all week. I have confidence in them.”
The Power are now 2-6 on the season and are still trying to jumpstart their season. They believe they are close to doing so though.
“Right now we’re at the point where we’re really close, but we don’t have it yet,” Randall said. “We have to figure out a way to get it done at the end. Whether we’ve got to make a game-winning drive or we have to score on that drive where they got a pick. It’s one of those things as a team as a whole we have to figure out how to win ball games.”
Game Notes:
The Power are on the road Saturday May 12 against the San Antonio Talons. Kickoff is at 8 PM.
The next Power game is Saturday May 19 against the Kansas City Command. It will be Kids Night and the first 5,000 fans will receive a foam finger.
The Power have placed Trey Kramer on reassignment.
Bill Stull was eligible to come off of injured reserve last week but according to Seigfried, “he’s not ready yet, his shoulder is still messed up.” There is no time table for his return.
Seigfried has tried to motivate the team to try and “win the month of May”. With the team 0-1 in May, he will continue pushing forth the message. “We’ve just got to keep them focused,” he said. “Sometimes it’s hard when you’re battling so much adversity. That’s going to be our jobs. By Monday they need to put this thing to bed.
Power vs. Force scoring summary 5/5/12
1st Quarter:
Power: Berry 3 yard run (Kramer kick good) 7-0 10:29
Force: Shipp 15 yard pass from Archer (Martinez kick no good) 7-6 8:07
Power: Turner 32 yard pass from Randall (Kramer kick no good) 13-6 5:40
Force: Michael Johnson 2 yard pass from Archer (Martinez kick good) 13-13 0:32
2nd Quarter:
Force: C.J. Johnson 6 yard pass from Archer (Martinez kick good) 20-13 13:27
Power: Turner 8 yard pass from Randall (Kramer kick no good) 20-19 10:28
Force: Shipp 5 yard pass from Archer (Martinez kick good) 27-19 4:55
Power: Hymens 17 yard pass from Randall (Kramer kick good) 0:54
3rd Quarter:
Power: Washington 29 yard pass from Randall (Kramer kick blocked) 32-27 13:13
Power: Green 36 yard interception return (Kramer kick good) 39-27 10:37
Force: C.J. Johnson 10 yard pass from Archer (Martinez kick good) 39-34 6:35
Force: Belton 23 yard interception return (Martinez kick good) 41-39 3:52
4th Quarter:
Power: Hymens 16 yard pass from Randall (Kramer kick good) 46-41 14:12
Force: Benson 1 yard run (Martinez kick good) 48-46 10:07
Power: Ruffians 6 yard pass from Randall (Kramer kick no good) 52-48 6:37
Force: C.J. Johnson 35 yard pass from Archer (Martinez kick good) 55-52 3:56
Offensive Player of the Game – Oderick Turner
Defensive Player of the Game – John Green
Ironman of the Game – C.J. Johnson
Playmaker of the Game – Turner
Catch of the Game – Johnson one-handed touchdown
Highlight of the Game– Johnson one-handed touchdown
Game MVP –Turner
American Conference- East Division Standings
Philadelphia Soul 6-2
Cleveland Gladiators 4-3
Milwaukee Mustangs 3-4
Pittsburgh Power 2-6