Varmah Sonie pulled Brandon Thompkins aside before running out to return a kickoff with 49 seconds left. Thompkins said Sonie told him, “Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.”
This was indeed a big moment. Thompkins would be working to set up what might be the game-winning touchdown in a game where neither team had gotten a stop to that point. The pressure was clearly on as time had wound down to under a minute.
Thompkins received the ball off the netting in the end zone on a kick return and he waited for the defense to come after him, dancing around the end zone. He waited for the right hole to open up. When it finally did, he bolted through it, dodging a defender at the out of bounds wall and finding open field.
He had done this all game long, but not in a moment like this. The crowd at the Amway Center had an injection of energy from Thompkins’ electric play, but more importantly the Predators had new life too. They were set up at the Portland Steel’s six-yard line with less than a minute to go.
Three plays later, quarterback Randy Hippeard dove into the end zone for the go-ahead score. Kent Richardson sealed the deal with an interception on the final drive, the first stop of the game, delivering an ugly 53-50 win for the Predators in their home opener Saturday.
“Not only did it hype the offense, but it also helped the defense,” Thompkins said. “It motivated everybody. One thing about this team, everybody helps each other out. Nobody hangs their head, everybody pats each other on the back. Everybody lets everyone know everything is going to be all right.”
Thompkins said he knew time would not start running until he left the end zone. So he danced around the end zone waiting for the return team to open something for him. When everything set up, they made it happen for him.
The Predators needed those big plays because it took a while for them to get going. It was not the prettiest game for the Predators all game. This was not the perfect, dominating performance of Week One.
The usually efficient Randy Hippeard completed only 14 of his 28 passes for 228 yards. He was the victim of more than a few drops too as the Predators just looked off.
That was not stopping Orlando though. Portland would struggle to get off the field time and time again. But the way they were getting there was not easy. The Predators had to face a lot of third and fourth-and-longs to get there.
“It’s just one of those things where we were a little off coming out,” Hippeard said. “They got us into a couple adverse situations. We were third and fourth down early in the first half. Fortunately for us, we were converting on those third and fourth downs. We just weren’t making those first and second downs easy for us. I don’t think we got stopped this game. But at the same time it was a lot of third and fourth down plays, which you never want to put yourself in as an offense.”
Coach Rob Keefe said his team may have taken Portland a little lightly after Orlando’s dominant victory and Portland’s blowout loss last week. There were certainly plenty of undisciplined plays.
The Predators committed 13 penalties for 119. There were several pass interference penalties and penalties on third and fourth down that helped the Steel stay on the field.
In large part, the defense was flying around and getting hits, just unable to get off the field. The Predators were containing the Steel’s big play ability for the most part, just unable to finish the deal and get a stop.
“Any time your defense can come out and seal the deal like they did, that’s a huge defensive play,” Hippeard said. “That’s the only stop that we needed. It’s one of those things where offensively you got to expect to score every drive and every possession and hope your defense gets one or two stops.”
The Predators though played this game exactly how Arena Football is stereotypically played. The game came down to who would have the ball last and the Predators had to manage it that way.
Orlando had the lead throughout the first half, only a field goal from Portland before the end of the half and Portland’s having possession to start the second half gave Portland control over the game. There were 10 lead changes as the Steel and Predators see-sawed back and forth into and out of the lead on every score in the second half.
The Predators did not have their best game at all in the first half. The team had to come together and find a way to get everyone involved and pull out the victory — overcoming their own lethargic play.
The second half had to be different.
“After the first half, we wall came together and said this was not the real Orlando predators football team,” Thompkins said. “We had to come together and fight back and fight back. Nobody dropped their heads. We just figured we would go out with a bang and give the fans what they were looking for.”
They certainly did go out with that bang. Through all the struggles, the Steel still could not stop the Predators.
Thompkins had 161 yards on six kickoff returns. He added 110 yards on five catches too, including three touchdowns. One of those touchdowns was a 48-yard strike with 4:46 to play. It was the last score before he set up Hippeard for the game winner.
At long last, the Predators got their stop with the defensive energy and the loud exhale from the Predators fans gave some relief. At least everyone got what they paid for in a back-and-forth exciting affair.
