ALBANY — San Antonio Gunslingers quarterback Arvell Nelson threw a last-second touchdown pass to Kali Rashaad for a 55-53 win over the Albany Empire at MVP Arena Saturday night.
“It just came down to one simple play at the end, and they made it and we didn’t stop it,” said Albany coach Damon Ware.
The play was the culmination of a Gunslingers drive that took over three minutes of game time.
Facing third and 20 at his own 18, wide receiver Phillip Barnett caught a pass short of the sticks, but Albany (1-1) couldn’t tackle him short of the first-down marker and Barnett made it all the way to the Empire’s 11-yard line.
“We had a few big plays come from us just not tackling well, so that’s something we’re going to focus on this week, but I don’t really feel too nervous about that,” said Albany linebacker Trevon Shorts. “It was a shaky L, but at the end of the day we get back in the lab Monday so we come back strong for next week.”
Two plays later, it looked like Shorts intercepted Nelson in the end zone with 25 seconds left, which would have effectively ended the game. The pass was ruled incomplete on the field. On review, the referees confirmed that Shorts intercepted the pass, but added an illegal defense penalty (Jack linebacker out of the box) that gave San Antonio (3-0) a new set of downs at the 6.
“I’m upset because I felt like I ended the game and all that, but at the end of the day it’s the game,” Shorts said. “So come back tomorrow, make sure I do better, and make sure this time when I come out, I won’t be out of the box when I pick this ball.”
After the penalty, Nelson threw three incomplete passes, bringing up 4th and goal on the 6 with one second left.
Linebacker Nick Haag huddled up the defense one last time.
“We got to give it all we got, pin our…
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