ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Down 16-0 midway through the first quarter,
the San Francisco Demons had every reason to panic against the
Orlando Rage on Saturday night in the XFL semifinals.
But the Demons steadied themselves because, as coach Jim Skipper
explained it, they knew there was still 53 minutes of football yet
to be played.
"We always say that it isn't over until it's over and it hasn't
ended until it's ended," Skipper said after San Francisco's 26-25
victory. "Every game has its own personality."
Mike Panasuk broke a fourth-quarter tie with a 40-yard field
goal and quarterback Pat Barnes scored twice on 1-yard dives as the
Demons advanced to the XFL's Million Dollar Game next Saturday. San
Francisco will play a road game against the winner of Sunday's Los
Angeles/Chicago semifinal contest.
On the first play from scrimmage after Panasuk's kick, Dwayne
Harper intercepted a pass by Jim Arellanes and returned it 40 yards
for a touchdown. It was Arellanes' first snap after replacing
Orlando starter Brian Kuklick.
The Demons needed that cushion because Orlando closed within a
point with 3:32 remaining. Arellanes first hooked up with Dialleo
Burks for a 55-yard touchdown pass, then found Mario Bailey from 10
yards out on the XFL's first-ever 3-point conversion, which the
league instituted for the playoffs.
But San Francisco was able to run out the clock for the win.
The Rage, taking advantage of San Francisco's mistakes, rolled
out to the 16-0 lead. But Orlando coach Galen Hall said he knew
victory wasn't in hand by any means.
"I never felt that we had this game won," Hall said. "I did
feel that we had control of the game and let it get away from us."
Early in the first quarter, Demons quarterback Pat Barnes was
leveled as he threw, and the ball squirted into the hands of
Orlando defensive tackle Ben Huff. Huff rumbled 17 yards for a
touchdown and a 9-0 lead.
On the next play from scrimmage, Orlando linebacker Sedrick
Clark stripped the ball from Demons halfback Terry Battle after a
short reception and recovered the ball. Aided by a 24-yard pass
interference penalty, the Rage cashed in three plays later on
Derrick Clark's 1-yard scoring run.
"So we're down, but I told my guys, 'They haven't done
anything,' " Demons defensive coordinator Michael Church said.
San Francisco clamped down on Orlando after the first quarter,
forcing five straight punts. The Rage self-destructed after that,
with back-to-back interceptions, the second being returned for a
score by Harper, and a fumbled snap.
"We just shot ourselves in the foot," said Orlando starting
quarterback Brian Kuklick, who completed only 5 of 16 passes for 46
yards before being pulled early in the fourth quarter.
San Francisco tied it at 16 on Barnes' run with 8:02 left in the
third quarter. The 69-yard drive, aided by a 28-yard pass
interference penalty, was the game's longest.
The Demons, taking advantage of an Orlando miscue, closed to
16-10 late in the first half. On a Rage punt from their own 42, the
snap flew over the punter's head and was recovered at the Orlando
4. Two plays later, Barnes scored on a dive, although there were
questions whether the ball had slipped out of his hands before he
crossed the plane of the goal line.
"I guess if it was our quarterback, I would've agreed with the
call," Hall said. "It was close and it went against us. The
linesman had the call and made the call."
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