AFL: Turnovers Costly in Jacksonville Sharks Arena Bowl Loss
FLORIDA SPORTS WIRE
STOCKTON, CA – The Jacksonville Sharks led by six points at halftime in ArenaBowl XXVIII, but opened the third quarter with back-to-back turnovers on offense.
The miscues allowed the San Jose SaberCats to take the lead for good, as the Sharks fell by a 67-48 count at Stockton Arena on Saturday night.
Jacksonville (12-9) led by a 33-27 score coming out of the locker room for the start of the third quarter before San Jose (20-1) quarterback Erik Meyer engineered a touchdown drive on the opening possession of the second half.
Meyer’s 26-yard pass to D.J. Stephens allowed San Jose to take its first lead of the game, as the SaberCats seized a 34-33 advantage.
In the loss, Tommy Grady completed 22 of his 36 pass attempts for 310 yards and seven touchdowns against one interception. Fullback Derrick Ross was limited to 13 rushing yards on his seven carries.
At receiver, Hills paced the Jacksonville offense with nine receptions for 133 yards and four touchdowns, while Terrence Smith caught four passes for 53 yards and two scores. Tiger Jones added three catches for 35 yards and his one touchdown. On defense, Greg Reid racked up seven solo tackles to go along with his interception.
For the SaberCats, Meyer went 17-of-29 for 204 yards and four touchdowns against one interception. On the ground, Meyer totaled 26 yards and two touchdowns on his three carries, while Odie Armstrong also rushed for a score.
Reggie Gray led San Jose with nine receptions for 95 yards and three touchdowns. On defense, Clevan Thomas paced San Jose with 7.5 total tackles, while Donte Paige-Moss notched four tackles and a forced fumble and David Hyland recorded 4.5 tackles to go along with his two non-offensive touchdowns.
