Wild ride leads Predators to first victory

WASILLA — On Saturday night, the Arctic Predators earned the chance to celebrate victory for the first time in franchise history.

That 66-63 win over the Yakima Valley Warriors in Yakima, Wash., also scored another first for a few of the Predators’ professional indoor football veterans.

The win marked the first road victory for coach Hans Deemer and a handful of his players.

“It was a big milestone,” said Deemer, who began his indoor coaching career with the Indoor Football League’s Alaska Wild.

Deemer spent two seasons with the Wild, and during his time as head coach the team never recorded a road victory. Each of the six victories he was a part of came at the Sullivan Arena. Actually, the Anchorage franchise, now in its fourth year, didn’t win on the road until earlier in the 2010 season.

“It’s big for me too, and some of my players have been with me during the struggles on the road,” Deemer said.

Damion Ward, Andre Velazquez, Lokeni Lokeni, Solomon Jones and Victor Smith are among the Predators who also spent time with the Wild during seasons without a road win. Some of those former Wild played pivotal roles in helping the Predators earn their first win Saturday.

Ward threw for 330 yards and nine touchdowns during the victory, and connected with Jones on the 4-yard go-ahead score with only six seconds left in regulation.

With seconds left and the Predators down 63-58, Deemer said Ward shoveled the ball forward to Jones, who snuck into the end zone for the game-winning score. Ward also hit Reggie Frazier for the two-point conversion to push the Wasilla-based team’s lead to 66-63.

Deemer said the Predators started their final drive with about 40 seconds left on the clock. Even though there wasn’t much time, Deemer said he felt good about his team’s chances.

“I was pretty confident,” Deemer said about the Predators, who had more than double the offensive yards of the Warriors and didn’t commit a turnover. “They hadn’t stopped us all night.”

Following the Jones touchdown, Yakima Valley did have one chance to put the game into overtime. The Warriors attempted a 46-yard field goal with 1.1 seconds left, but Yakima Valley kicker Matt Evenson pushed the ball wide.

“As soon as it left (his foot), I knew it wasn’t going to go through,” Deemer said. “It hooked back in a little bit, but I knew it wasn’t going to hook back enough.”

Jones was one of two Predators to hit double digits in catches and 100 yards receiving. Monte Purvis led the club with 12 catches for 148 yards. Jones added 11 catches for 110 yards. Velazquez hauled in five catches, but four of those were for touchdowns.

“We just offset the balance. They were so scared of (Velazquez), we had Jones and Purvis on the other side and they made all the catches,” Deemer said. “When we’d get to the red zone, we’d get it to our money man.”

The Predators took a 12-0 lead on a pair of Velazquez scores in the first quarter. They capped the first with a Jones touchdown catch.

Deemer said the first win certainly didn’t lack for drama. Not only was the game a roller coaster ride that featured back-and-forth scoring and a combined 42 fourth-quarter points, but the Predators also had to overcome sickness and a shortage of players.

The Predators traveled with a small squad and when the team arrived in Washington, a handful of players were hit with a bout of food poisoning, Deemer said.

“We had a big trash can on our bench,” Deemer said. “We were giving them Gatorade just to keep them hydrated. It was a tough battle.”

Predators inviting potential boosters

The Arctic Predators are hosting a booster club meeting Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Glacier Canyon Grill inside the Grand View Inn and Suites. Anyone interested in becoming a member of the club and supporting Arctic Predator football is welcome to attend.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Arctic Predators 66, Yakima Valley 63

Saturday, Yakima, Wash.

Predators 20-12-14-20—66

Yakima Valley 6-22-13-22—63

First quarter:

Predators — Velazquez 7 pass from Damion Ward (run failed)

Predators — Velazquez 17 pass from Ward (run failed)

Yakima Valley — Running 2 run (run failed)

Predators — Jones 20 pass from Ward (Ward run)

Second quarter:

Yakima Valley — Hatchett 9 pass from Running (kick failed)

Yakima Valley — Chapman 43 pass from Running (run failed)

Predators — Purvis 17 pass from Ward (pass failed)

Yakima Valley — Chapman 1 run (Running run)

Predators — Velazquez 1 pass from Ward

Third quarter:

Yakima Valley — Rowland 52 interception return

Yakima Valley — Chapman 7 pass from Running (Evenson kick)

Predators — Purvis 7 pass from Ward (run failed)

Predators — Velazquez 34 pass from Ward (Ward run)

Fourth quarter:

Yakima Valley — Chapman 11 run (pass failed)

Yakima Valley — Chapman 4 run (run failed)

Yakima Valley — Uno Evenson

Predators — Frazier 1 run (pass failed)

Yakima Valley — Hatchett 17 pass from Running (Evenson kick)

Predators — 30 pass from Ward (pass failed)

Yakima Valley — Running 4 run (Running run)

Predators — Jones 4 pass from Ward (Frazier pass from Ward)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING— Predators: Frazier 7-9, Jones 1-3, Ward 5-(minus 10). Yakima Valley: Chapman 6-32, Running 3-4.

PASSING— Predators: Ward 28-42-0 330. Yakima Valley: Running 8-18-0 144.

RECEIVING— Predators: Purvis 12-148, Jones 11-110, Velazquez 5-72. Yakima Valley: Hatchett 5-88, Chapman 2-50, James Mayfield 1-6.