Mustangs still undefeated at home
July 9 , 2007
The Franklin Outlaws hit the road last Saturday night to take on the Madison Mustangs. There was a lot of hype leading up to this game as both teams are IFL powerhouses. In the 1st Quarter, after the Mustangs threw an interception, the Franklin Outlaws mounted a drive. The Outlaws’ quarterback #12, Steven Jackson, connected with his receiver #7, Jim Leszczynski. Leszcynski caught the ball at the goal line, and then fumbled where it was recovered by Franklin. After the extra point attempt was botched, Leszczynski was forced to throw a desperation pass into the end zone, where it was caught by A Franklin receiver for the 2 point conversion. With 5:44 left in the first quarter, Franklin took the lead 8-0.
After the pursuing kickoff, the Madison Mustangs marched right back down the field and found the end zone for the first time. Mustang quarterback Marques Korpela # 8, passed to receiver Zac “Flash” Gordon on a slant pattern who then held on for the touchdown after taking a shot at the goal line. The kicking game woes began to haunt the Mustangs after their extra point kick was muffed. The ball was then luckily picked up by Flash Gordon, who ran it in for the 2 point conversion. With 42 seconds left in the first quarter, the Mustangs tied the score at 8-8.
In the 2nd Quarter the Franklin offense put together a nice drive which culminated with a run by #4 Lance Parks, who barely broke the plane of the goal line. The Madison defense challenged the call, but the line judge said no, the plane was broken by the ball. This would be the only rushing touchdown scored by either team throughout the entire game. Franklins two point attempt was successful and they took the lead 16 -8 with 4:56 remaining before halftime.
Not to be outdone, the Mustangs came right back on the next drive, where Korpela found his favorite target “Flash” Gordon over the middle. It was a nice read followed by a great catch for a touchdown. This is the second time that the Korpela to Gordon connection worked for the Mustangs. Instead of trying for the 2pt conversion, the Mustangs elected to kick the extra point, successfully making the score 16-15 Franklin.
The alternating pattern of the teams scoring continued into the 3rd quarter where it looked like the Franklin Outlaws were done fooling around. The Outlaws took the opening kickoff and wasted no time putting together a very nice drive. It culminated with a touchdown pass from Jackson to Velazquez. The 2 point attempt failed though, leaving the score 22-15 Franklin.
Everything was pointing towards another Outlaw victory, but a second interception allowed the Mustangs to capitalize. Korpela found # 81 Reggie Davis in the back of the end zone where he tiptoed along the end line after a beautiful pass. The completion tied the score at 22-22.
In the 4th Quarter, It looked like overtime was imminent as neither team scored the entire quarter, but a terrific punt return set the Mustangs up 1st and 10 at the Franklin 42. On first down, Korpela was under heavy pressure, but calmly escaped and lobbed the ball out of bounds to save the sack and loss. On the very next play, Korpela found Flash Gordon again on a post pattern. He caught the ball and was all alone at the 10 yard line as he scampered into the end zone. Doing a barrel roll to celebrate as he crossed the goal line with only 7 ticks left on the clock. It was an exciting conclusion to a well played game. Madison won a thriller over the Outlaws 29-22.