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Monday, Jul. 27, 2009

Horsemen headed to Georgia for playoffs

Team that beat Kentucky on saturday forced to fold

The Florida Firecats needed a victory Saturday night to qualify for the arenafootball2 post-season playoffs.

The Kentucky Horsemen, a playoff berth already clinched, needed a win to secure a first-round home game.

Both teams were dealt stinging blows.

Florida's 67-39 victory means the fifth-seeded Horsemen will hit the road for Saturday's first-round American Conference matchup against fourth-seeded South Georgia.

The Firecats, with the 100th victory in franchise history, thought they had secured their eighth consecutive playoff berth.

But, according to the (Fort Myers) News-Press, the Firecats owe more than $200,000 to the league.

So when playoff pairings were announced Monday, Florida was left out. Moving up a spot and into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the conference is Albany.

Firecats officials were saying Sunday that they were operating as if playoff-bound. But, according to Matt DiLorenzo, acting general manager of the Horsemen, at least some Firecats found out after Saturday's game that their season was kaput.

According to the Peoria (Ill.) Journal Star, af2 also is owed lesser sums by South Georgia and Manchester.

As for the Horsemen, who are still working out details as a community-owned, non-profit organization, "all signs have us continuing moving forward 100 percent," DiLorenzo said. The team has done more than 900 hours of community service this year, he said, and may be adding office staff.

First things first, though.

The Horsemen travel to Albany, Ga., to face South Georgia on Saturday night. The teams split during the regular season, each winning at home. The Wildcats prevailed 72-66 on May 9. The Horsemen won 69-41 on June 20.

Kentucky (10-6) had a five-game winning streak snapped last weekend. The two-quarterback offense also was cut to one — Justin Rascati — as Jared Lorenzen was knocked out for at least the first round by a knee injury.

Perhaps the loss wasn't such a bad thing, though.

"It maybe humbled us a little bit and, hopefully, we'll work hard this week and bounce back, realize our mistakes and learn from them," Rascati said. "Once you get to the playoffs, you don't have any room for errors."

The loss reminded Rascati of his 2004 season with Division I-AA James Madison University, a loss to William & Mary and a season-ending, title-game win over Montana.

"We got beat the last game of the (regular) season, which I think was good for us," he said. "It made us better and eventually we won the national championship."

Kentucky's best asset may be its turnover ratio — the af2's second-best at plus-24.

"The defense is very fast, relentless," said J.T. Haskins, the Bryan Station and University of Louisville product who had two interceptions at Florida. "We will create turnovers at any time on the field. And we play as one out there, as a unit."

South Georgia (11-5) is led on offense by quarterback Darnel Kennedy and a trio of 20-plus touchdown receivers: Alvance Robinson, Clenton Rafe and Antwone Savage.

Demetrie McCray (81.5 tackles, three interceptions) and Quentin Burrell (five picks) are defensive leaders.

"Going on the road is tough," Rascati said. "But we realize that nothing's easy and, winning a championship, you're going to have to win games on the road."