ArenaBowl XIV is widely hailed as one of the most exciting games in
ArenaBowl history, ranking alongside classics such as
ArenaBowl XVIII and
ArenaBowl XIX
ArenaBowl XIX was the 2005 championship game of the Arena Football League (AFL), and was played at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. The first neutral-site title game in AFL history drew 10,822 fans to see the Colorado Crush defeat th ...
. Featuring two teams from the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
's
Southern Division, the game went as a
Southern Division game might be expected to: a low-scoring, largely defensive struggle. In the end, however,
Orlando Predator kicker
David Cool
David Cool (born May 23, 1969) is a former Arena Football League player from Stone Mountain, Georgia.
Cool played college football for the Georgia Southern Eagles. He kicked two field goals in the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Gam ...
converted a 19-yard
field goal
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
as time expired to give the
Predators
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...
a 41-38 victory over the
Nashville Kats
The Nashville Kats were an Arena Football League team, located in Nashville, Tennessee. They were last coached by Pat Sperduto, who coached the team's original incarnation to two ArenaBowl appearances prior to the original franchise's move to A ...
and their second
ArenaBowl title in three years.
Game summary
The
Orlando Predators
The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its ...
got out to a fast start in ArenaBowl XIV, opening the game with a safety and following with a pair of touchdowns to take a 15-0 lead. Though
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
quarterback
Andy Kelly would soon connect with
Jeff Russell
Jeffrey Lee Russell (born September 2, 1961) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played 14 years from 1983 to 1996. Russell played for the Cincinnati Reds of the National League and the Texas Rangers, Oakland A's, Boston Red Sox and Cl ...
to pull within 15-7,
Predators
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...
quarterback
Connell Maynor
Connell Maynor (born January 21, 1969) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Alabama A&M University . Maynor previously served in the same capacity at Hampton University from 2013 to 2017 and Winston-S ...
answered with two more touchdown passes of his own, putting
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...
ahead 29-7 with 10 minutes to play in the first half. The score remained that way for nearly eight minutes until
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
's
William Gaines
William Maxwell Gaines (; March 1, 1922 – June 3, 1992), was an American publisher and co-editor of EC Comics. Following a shift in EC's direction in 1950, Gaines presided over what became an artistically influential and historically import ...
recorded a safety, seemingly awakening the
Kats and beginning a furious comeback.
Kelly
Kelly may refer to:
Art and entertainment
* Kelly (Kelly Price album)
* Kelly (Andrea Faustini album)
* ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap
* "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland
* ''Kelly'' (film), a 1981 Canadi ...
threw for two touchdowns in the final minute of the first half, pulling the
Kats within six at halftime, and took a 30-29 lead by opening the second half with a touchdown pass to lineman
James Baron
James Baron (born June 8, 1973) is a former arena football defensive lineman in the Arena Football League. He was the Arena Football League Players Association's (AFLPA) president as well.
In his career, Baron has played for the Detroit Lions, ...
. A
field goal
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
by
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...
's
David Cool
David Cool (born May 23, 1969) is a former Arena Football League player from Stone Mountain, Georgia.
Cool played college football for the Georgia Southern Eagles. He kicked two field goals in the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Gam ...
was followed by a touchdown pass from
Maynor to
Bret Cooper
Bret Cooper (born December 16, 1970) is a former American football player who played twelve seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL) with the Tampa Bay Storm, Memphis Pharaohs, San Jose SaberCats, Orlando Predators, Buffalo Destroyers and Georg ...
(though, critically,
Cool
Cool commonly refers to:
* Cool, a moderately low temperature
* Cool (aesthetic), an aesthetic of attitude, behavior, and style
Cool or COOL may also refer to:
Economics
* Country of origin labelling
* mCOOL - US consumer legislation to enforc ...
missed the
extra point
The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...
), giving the
Predators
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...
a 38-30 advantage early in the fourth quarter.
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
's momentum was further slowed by the loss of
Kelly
Kelly may refer to:
Art and entertainment
* Kelly (Kelly Price album)
* Kelly (Andrea Faustini album)
* ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap
* "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland
* ''Kelly'' (film), a 1981 Canadi ...
, who left with a knee injury and was replaced by rookie backup
James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...
.
Brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...
threw an interception on his first possession but, after
Cool
Cool commonly refers to:
* Cool, a moderately low temperature
* Cool (aesthetic), an aesthetic of attitude, behavior, and style
Cool or COOL may also refer to:
Economics
* Country of origin labelling
* mCOOL - US consumer legislation to enforc ...
missed a 22-yard
field goal
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
, quickly atoned for the mistake by finding
Darryl Hammond
Darryl Hammond (September 24, 1967 – February 19, 2017) was an American arena football wide receiver / defensive back in the Arena Football League.
Hammond is ranked in the top 20 in numerous career record books. His sixteen-year career is ...
for a 45-yard score, and connected with
Cory Fleming
Cory Lamont Fleming (born March 19, 1971) is a former professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of the Nashville Kats, Carolina Cobras and Orlando Predators in the A ...
for the
two-point conversion
In gridiron football, a two-point conversion or two-point convert is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that just scored must run ...
, tying the game at 38 with 6:26 to play. Defense again took over as the game went scoreless until the
Predators
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...
drove down the field to set up a potentially game-winning 19-yard
field goal
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
by
Cool
Cool commonly refers to:
* Cool, a moderately low temperature
* Cool (aesthetic), an aesthetic of attitude, behavior, and style
Cool or COOL may also refer to:
Economics
* Country of origin labelling
* mCOOL - US consumer legislation to enforc ...
as time expired.
Cool
Cool commonly refers to:
* Cool, a moderately low temperature
* Cool (aesthetic), an aesthetic of attitude, behavior, and style
Cool or COOL may also refer to:
Economics
* Country of origin labelling
* mCOOL - US consumer legislation to enforc ...
had struggled all game, having missed two extra points and three field goals, but was able to convert this one, giving
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...
the 41-38 win.
Scoring summary
1st Quarter
*ORL - Safety
*ORL - Dell 16 pass from Maynor (Cool kick)
*ORL - Douglass 3 run (Cool kick failed)
*NASH - Russell 33 pass from Kelly (McLaughlin kick)
2nd Quarter
*ORL - Hamilton 18 pass from Maynor (Cool kick)
*ORL - Douglass 5 pass from Maynor (Cool kick)
*NASH - Safety
*NASH - Fleming 1 pass from Kelly (McLaughlin kick)
*NASH - Hammond 5 pass from Kelly (McLaughlin kick)
3rd Quarter
*NASH - Baron 28 pass from Kelly (McLaughlin kick)
*ORL - FG Cool 38
4th Quarter
*ORL - Cooper 15 pass from Maynor (Cool kick failed)
*NASH - Hammond 45 pass from Brown (Fleming pass from Brown)
*ORL - FG Cool 19
Trivia
*On the Arena Football League's 20 Greatest Highlights Countdown (shown on arenafootball.com during the AFL's 20th season), this game is tied at #1
External links
ArenaFan Box ScoreBox Score and Summary from Arenabowl.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arenabowl Xiv
ArenaBowl, 014
2000 Arena Football League season
2000 in sports in Florida
2000s in Orlando, Florida
Orlando Predators
Sports competitions in Orlando, Florida
Nashville Kats
August 2000 sports events in the United States