| | ORLANDO, Fla. -- Jay Gruden didn't have to say much to get
the Orlando Predators on track for a third straight ArenaBowl
appearance. The exuberant Arizona Rattlers did it for him.
"We heard them whooping it up at halftime, yelling, '30 more
minutes to the ArenaBowl!' and stuff like that," the Orlando coach
said. "I just told our guys that games are not won in one half."
Connell Maynor threw one of his five touchdown passes on the
fourth play of the third quarter Sunday, wiping out a five-point
deficit and propelling the Predators to a 56-44 victory and a berth
in next week's Arena Football League title game against the
Nashville Kats.
Maynor also ran for two TDs, including a 7-yard scramble with 43
seconds remaining to put the game out of reach after Arizona pulled
within five points on Lance Funderburk's fifth touchdown pass.
Clif Dell caught TD passes of 37 and 38 yards to help the
Predators pull away after trailing 22-17 at the half. Maynor also
had TD throws of 12 yards to B.J. Cohen, 25 yards to Joe Douglass
and 24 yards to Bret Cooper.
"We don't really have any superstars on offense. It seems we
get a different player stepping up each week," Gruden said. "Clif
Dell has been an unsung hero all year through. He made some huge
plays tonight, including the play on our last possession. He was
pretty well covered, but he went up strong and came down with the
ball."
Dell's 34-yard catch over Muhammed Oliver set up Maynor's
clinching score. The Orlando quarterback also scored on a 1-yard
run in the first quarter and finished 15-for-28 passing for 269
yards and no interceptions.
"If we hadn't made it to the ArenaBowl, it would have been a
big, big disappointment," said Maynor, who was 8-of-11 for 175
yards and four TDs in the second half. "We have different goals
than other teams that haven't had the same kind of success."
Orlando (13-3) became the second team to reach three consecutive
ArenaBowls, joining the Detroit Drive, which made six straight
appearances in the championship game from 1988 to 1993.
The Predators and Kats (12-5) met twice during the regular
season, with Orlando winning 71-54 at Nashville, but losing 45-41
at the TD Waterhouse Centre, where the title game will be played.
Funderburk, filling in for the injured Sherdrick Bonner, threw
for 275 yards for Arizona (14-3), but he was intercepted twice and
sacked four times. Funderburk threw the winning TD pass in relief
of Bonner in Arizona's quarterfinal victory over defending league
champion Albany.
"Lance played really well. The interceptions hurt, but we
factored that into the equation because of his inexperience," said
Rattler coach Danny White.
"We had hoped it wouldn't come down to Lance having to make big
plays at the end. And that's the way it wound up because Orlando
made so many big plays. ... On two or three touchdowns they put the
ball up and guys just went up and made great catches."
Arizona lost in the semifinals for the third straight season.
The Rattlers fell behind 31-22 midway through the third quarter and
pulled within one score of regaining the lead three times.
Orlando's defense, dominant all season long, kept the Predators
in the game in the first half. Arizona settled for field goals by
Bjorn Nittmo on three possessions inside Orlando's 10-yard line and
was limited to just four yards rushing on seven attempts -- all
before halftime.
Funderburk, who was 21-for-32, threw TD passes of 15, 39 and 16
yards to Maurice Bryant. He tossed a 1-yarder to Randy Gatewood and
gave the Rattlers hope of pulling off the upset with a 7-yard toss
to Oliver that trimmed Orlando's lead to 49-44 with 2:57 to go.
But Maynor went back to work, leading the clinching drive.
"It's frustrating to get this close and not go all the way,"
said White, whose team also lost in the semifinals to Orlando in
1998. "All you can do is keep knocking on the door enough until it
finally opens."
The Predators beat Tampa Bay for the league title two years ago,
but lost to Albany in the 1999 championship game.
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