The Red Dog fans who were expecting an easy win over the expansion Destroyers knew they were in for a strange evening when the Red Dogs scored their first TD with 8:18 gone in the first quarter. An eight minute drive may be common place in the NFL or CFL, but not in the fast-paced AFL. Buffalo took almost three full minutes to respond with a TD of their own. On that TD, Destroyer place-kicker J.J. Phair gave the fans another sign of oddities to come when he shanked the extra point try. The first quarter ended with Rickey Foggie throwing a TD to someone other than Alvin Ashley, and the Red Dogs had a 14-6 lead on the grab by RB Chad Lindsey.
The second quarter started off as bizarre as the first when a costly turnover by Foggie turned a potential Red Dog 21-6 lead into a Buffalo score and a 14-14 tie. The teams rounded out the half by trading scores, a FG and TD by Buffalo and 2 TDs by NJ go-to guy, Alvin Ashley. One would think that opponents could stop the diminutive WR, but try as they might, Alvin still gets his grabs and going into the half, he already had three touchdowns.
The third and fourth quarters were basically dull with each team trading a pair of TDs and Buffalo closing the gap a bit by converting on a two-point conversion while Charles Puleri missed on a Red Dog two point try. But what was more intriguing than the score was the amount of penalty flags thrown the Red Dogs’ way. In their two years prior to tonight, the Dogs never had more than 13 hankies in a game. But against Buffalo, they had the dubious distinction of being flagged EIGHTEEN times! This, and the fact that the Red Dogs had only three yards rushing (to bring their season total to ten yards in three games) has to be a major concern to the New Jersey coaching staff. You can bet that even though the team won and sits atop the Eastern Division, Coach Mattiace will face a lot of questions about the teams lack of a ground game and propensity to commit so many infractions.
Perhaps, the penalty that was most frustrating occurred with only seconds left in the game. Buffalo had the ball around mid-field as was clawing for every yard to give J.J. Phair a decent chance at a FG that would have given the Destroyers a 42-41 win. And you’d think the Red Dogs would fight as hard as they can to prevent Buffalo from gaining an inch. But Robert Stewart for some reason could not hold his poise and got called for a 3 yard penalty, giving out free yardage. Fortunately, J.J. Phair missed the field goal and New Jersey escaped from the expansion team’s city with an ugly win. But no matter how pretty that victory was or wasn’t, it’s still a win and all that matters in the standings that 2-1 is a hell of a lot better than 1-2.
Another positive in the game is of course, Alvin Ashley. The WR/DB from Minnesota added four more TDs (as predicted by 17% of the voters in this week’s Kennel Club poll) bringing his three-game total to league leading 13 scores. Ashley also had three tackles, 61 return yards and a sack to earn him Tinactin Ironman of the Game honors. Alvin caught 16 of Rickey Foggie’s 26 completed passes for 154 yards while Marvin Bagley did nicely to catch five of his own for 33 yards. Chad Lindsey had two receptions, both for touchdowns and Manny Pina had a quiet night with one catch for five yards.
One last note on the night and the game. It should be mentioned that WR/DB Kevin Guy was at Charlie Browns’ right in there with the Kennel Club rooting for the Red Dogs. The hard-hitting defensive back out of Alabama did not make the trip to Buffalo for a few reasons, the most important of which is the health of his ailing father. And though he wasn’t on the field making the plays he’s accustom to, Guy’s intensity showed even as he sat the listening to the Red Dogs defense giving up a pass play here and there. He’s a class act who spent a good part of the night talking to the fans and thanking the Kennel Club, and we wish his dad a speedy recovery. We also hope Kevin a quick return to the Dogs WR/DB spot where he belongs because even though the team is winning, they could always use his fire and versatility.