Turnovers Tell the Tale as San Diego Loses, Falling to 3-4 on Season
Credit: SD Fleet
Phoenix, Arizona
Turnovers were the tale of the tape for San Diego, as they lost their second game in a row. The Fleet lost to the Arizona Hotshots 32-15 and fall to 3-4, one game out of a playoff spot.
San Diego started the scoring off after recovering a fumble forced by running back Terrell Watson on an Arizona punt return. Watson would then score four plays later on a three-yard run to go up 6-0.
After a failed San Diego two-point conversion, the Hotshots moved the ball down the field methodically and drove eight plays and 75 yards, scoring on a seven-yard Trevor Knight touchdown. They would then fail to convert the two-point conversion.
San Diego and Arizona would trade field goals before the end of the first quarter, leaving the score at 9-9 with 45 minutes left in the game.
The rest of the half was almost all Hotshots as they would score on the next two drives. Wolford threw two touchdowns and completed one two-point conversion, pushing the score to 23-9 with 2:29 left in the half.
San Diego was determined to keep it close at the end of the half. After a Kameron Kelly interception, the Fleet moved the ball 75 yards and scored on a controversial touchdown catch and run by Marcus Baugh. He appeared to have dropped the ball before he reached the endzone, but the replay official determined that there was no conclusive evidence to overturn the play.
In the third quarter, neither team was able to do much with the football, as Arizona had two three play drives that ended in punts. San Diego punted their first drive in the third but was able to drive the ball 84 yards to the Arizona 1-yard line. This drive featured a lot of Nelson Spruce, who had an AAF record 12 catches for 146 yards, proving to be a consistent receiving threat.
San Diego couldn’t punch the ball in, even on a crazy fourth and one attempt that featured both a run, a pitch, and an incomplete pass. San Diego would then give up 24 yards in penalties before forcing Arizona to punt.
The story of the fourth quarter was turnovers, as San Diego turned the ball over on each of their last three drives. The first was a chance at a 44-yard field goal which was then pushed back by a delay of game penalty. San Diego would then miss the field goal, giving the ball to Arizona at their own 39. Arizona would go on to score, as John Wolford would run in a 39-yard touchdown, his third total touchdown on the day. The score was then 29-15.
Bercovici would then throw two interceptions on his last two drives of the day, finishing his day with 22 completions, 310 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Arizona would score a field goal after the first Bercovici interception and kneeled out the game after the second one.
The final score was 32-15, as San Diego loses their second straight game and their playoff spot. With a rematch in Salt Lake with the Stallions coming up, San Diego will have to go away with some key wins against tough opponents to make the playoffs.
My names Zachary Gartin. I’m a college kid going to school in Newberg, Oregon. When I’m not writing about the San Diego Fleet, I’m usually training for football or playing Xbox. Follow me @The_Sideline10