((HT: Abilene Reporter-News/Daniel Youngblood))
Backup quarterback David Bowie led a pair of scoring drives, and kicker Nich Pertuit nailed a 23-yard field goal with 1:20 remaining Saturday to seal a 45-35 Abilene Ruff Riders ((pictured, thanks Victor Cristales/Abilene Reporter-News)) win over the El Paso Generals before 3,409 fans at Taylor County Coliseum
The win puts Abilene (5-1 Lone Star Division) in first place in the Lone Star Division of the Indoor Football League.
El Paso, which beat Abilene 58-36 two week ago on its home turf, now is 5-2 in the division.
Up 35-23 after three quarters, star quarterback Quincy Carter went down with a back injury on the first play of the fourth quarter.
But on his first play from scrimmage, Bowie connected with Fred Howze for the receiver's third touchdown of the game to put the Riders up 42-23 with 9:38 to play.
The Generals countered with back-to-back touchdowns, the last coming on a Lemans Casimier 12-yard reception with 5:50 to play to make the score 42-35.
But on the next Riders possession, Bowie hit a pair of seven-yard passes, ran for 14 yards and calmly led the Riders downfield.
"That's the reason we carry a backup quarterback," Riders coach Gerald Dockery said. "Bowie is an afl2 veteran and we wanted to get him in here and get him some reps. That's why I carry him.
"Q (Carter) is a good quarterback, but he's human, and (Bowie) came in and did exactly what we asked him to do."
The Generals held Abilene on a third-and-seven but Pertuit hit the field goal to put the Riders up two possessions and seal the game.
"We put a lot of points on the board tonight, and at the end when it was my job to put us up by more than one touchdown, that's what I've got to do," Pertuit said. "This game was really enjoyable for me so when I stepped up, I was a little bit more relaxed and all the coaches and my teammates said they had confidence in me, so it was no problem when it came down to it."
With 1:20 remaining, El Paso had a shot at scoring but on first and 10 from the Riders' 13 yard line, Generals quarterback Tommy Jones was intercepted by Henry Russell in the back of the end zone, allowing Bowie to kneel the Riders to victory.
"I've got to give credit to my teammate, (Andre) Morgan. I wanted to call another play, and he told me don't call that play, call something else," Russell said. "That enabled me to sink back and I guess he didn't see me and I was able to get the pick."
Carter, who suffered back spasms after taking a hit on a scramble, was off to a hot start before he was injured. In three quarters, he passed for 187 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another score.
And with the aid of a stellar first-half showing by the defense, the Riders were able to build a 21-9 lead by halftime.
Carter led the Riders to scoring drives on three of four first-half possessions, sandwiching a one-yard touchdown scamper with a pair of touchdown passes to Juan Reese.
Abilene led 14-0 before El Paso got on the board with a Trey Crum 25-yard field goal with 4:57, and the Riders surrendered just one more score on a Ulysses Odom four-yard reception with 44 seconds left in the half.
It was more of the same in the third quarter, when Carter found a connection with Howze, who made a pair of acrobatic touchdown catches in the third quarter and a leaping catch over the boards on Bowie's touchdown pass.
"Howze did it all night with the big catches, and he made the biggest catch of the night on that last touchdown," Dockery said.
El Paso got its offense going in the second half, scoring twice in the third and two more times in the fourth, but the Riders made plays when they needed them most and held on for the victory.
"We finally tried to put a complete game together," Dockery said. "It got scary there in the fourth quarter, but that's why we've got backup players, to step in and make big plays."
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