Pirates Take Tulsa in OT 61-55
ORLANDO, FL – Pirates Quarterback Paxton DeLaurent threw five touchdown passes with four of them going to wideout Thomas Owens as Orlando defeated the Tulsa Oilers in overtime 61-55 at the Kia Center. The win was also the first for New Head Coach Rod Windsor in his first game at the helm.
By: Mick Moninghoff
The Pirates remain undefeated at 3-0 while the Oilers (1-1) suffered their first loss of the season. Orlando trailed 35-33 at the half and did not take the lead until there were 27 seconds remaining in the game. Trailing 52-48, DeLaurent led the Pirates on a five-play, 45-yard drive. On first and goal from the seven, he ran a quarterback counter into the end zone to give the home team a 55-48 lead as Axel Perez added the extra point. Kicker Bailey Hale of the Oilers booted a 48-yard field goal as time expired to send the game into overtime.
Tulsa had the best possession in the extra session. A holding penalty on first down and a tackle for a loss by the Pirates Jacques Bristol on Oilers quarterback TJ Edwards doomed the drive that saw Hale miss a 51-yard field goal attempt.
On the first play the Pirates ran DeLaurent connected with Owens for the game winning score.
The night began with Owens catching his 100th regular season touchdown in his Pirates career in the first quarter. Edwards answered with a 23-yard TD pass to Spencer Tears, but a 12-yard touchdown reception by Teo Redding gave the Pirates a 14-7 lead at the end of the quarter.
The game's only interception occurred in the second quarter as Destin Mack picked off Edwards. Orlando turned that into points as Perez connected on his first field goal of the game for a 17-7 advantage.
Both teams then turned up the heat on offense as Edwards would throw four touchdown passes in the quarter. Two of the strikes went to Jerminic Smith and the others to Tears. The Pirates tried to keep pace with Nyqwan Murray scoring on an eight-yard touchdown run and Owens pulling in his second score of the game with a 14-yard reception. A field goal by Perez as time ran out in the half left the Pirates trailing by two points, 35-33.
Both teams only scored once in the third quarter. Edwards padded the Oilers lead with a 40-yard bomb to Smith for a 42-33 advantage and Owens caught his third touchdown of the night on the final play of the quarter as Orlando trailed 42-40.
The final quarter would turn the game into a classic. The Edwards to Smith combination clicked again on a four-yard pass play for a 49-40 advantage.
Then Dante Wright returned a kickoff 54 yards for a touchdown and with a two-point conversion run by DeLaurent Orlando trailed 49-48.
The next possession saw Edwards lead his team to a second and goal at the five, but a sack by the Pirates DJ Dale would force a 17-yard field goal by Hale to give the Oilers a 52-48 lead. DeLaurent's TD run gave the Pirates the lead before Hale sent the game to overtime with this 48-yard field goal.
DeLaurent finished the game 15 of 21 passing for 166 yards with five touchdowns against no interceptions. He also ran six times for 32 yards and a touchdown. Running back Pooka Williams had seven carries for eight yards. Owens was his top target with six catches for 71 yards and four scores. Redding added five catches for 52 yards and a touchdown. Murray had four receptions for 43 yards.
On defense, Mack had five tackles and an interception, Dale had four stops and a sack, Bristol had four tackles with one for a loss and Ro Torrence added four tackles.
Edwards was impressive for Tulsa with seven touchdown passes and one interception. He finished 20 of 35 for 312 yards passing. He also ran nine times for 14 yards. Smith had ten receptions for 130 yards and four touchdowns while Tears added five catches for 118 yards and three scores. The Oilers defense was led by Malik Sonnier with seven tackles and John Mullen added two tackles for a loss.
The Pirates will now go on the road to put their undefeated record on the line on Friday, April 17 at 7:00 pm against the Jacksonville Sharks at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena.
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