((HT: Abilene Reporter-News/Ren))
It never hurts to return home during a losing skid -- especially when the opponent is struggling.
After dropping two straight road games, the Abilene Ruff Riders came back to the Taylor County Coliseum on Saturday, handing Corpus Christi a 48-37 loss before 4,062 fans.
Quincy Carter threw for 162 yards and six scores and rushed a yard for the game's final touchdown to lead Abilene (4-3, 4-1 Lone Star Division), which overcame a 31-22deficit en route to the win. Corpus Christi, which has now dropped three of four road games on the year, fell to 2-5 overall and 2-5 in the division.
A sluggish second quarter, which saw Abilene held to just three points, nearly cost the Riders. But three third-quarter scoring passes from Carter to Juan Reese ((pictured, thanks Thomas Metthe/Reporter-News)) proved to be the difference.
"Any time a team finds out what you're doing, they're going to adjust," said Abilene coach Gerald Dockery of the sudden lack of execution. "Then, when we see what they do, we adjust to it.
"It's all part of the game it was all about coaching."
Entering the game ranked 15th in the 19-team Indoor Football League in total offense, Corpus Christi appeared accommodating early on. Combining penalties and one first-quarter turnover, the Hammerheads allowed Abilene to move to 19-6 lead by the end of the period.
Carter was 5-of-6 through the air in the first 15 minutes, including a pair of touchdown passes to former Hardin-Simmons standout Mychal Carrillo.
The second quarter, however, brought an immediate shift in momentum. Three consecutive Corpus scores saw the Hammerheads take the lead, the first of which came with 13:03 left in the half with a 1-yard touchdown run by Redford Borel.
A 26-yard Rene Vasquez field goal followed at 7:26, after which defensive lineman Chris Williams scooped up a Carter fumble and ran 20 yards for a touchdown with 5:16 left before the break.
The Riders' lone second-quarter score came at with 2:29 when Nick Pertuit connected with a 40-yard field goal, cutting the 'Hammers lead to 23-22.
Carter, who was on fire through the first 15 minutes, hit just 1-of-6 passes for nine yards in the second quarter. But he got his game working after halftime.
"We just went back to basics," Carter said. "We had a turnover and we lost the ball on downs in the second quarter."So in the third, we just got basic and started executing a lot better."
Corpus Christi managed to carry the momentum into the third, scoring at the 12:19 mark on a 4-yard touchdown run by Stephen Fillmore for a 30-22 lead.
From that point, however, Abilene owned the initiative. The Riders got back on track on their first possession of the third, with Carter finding Reese with a 25-yard scoring strike at the 10:56 mark. Carter and Reese connected again one possession later, ending with a 9-yard scoring strike to give the Riders a 35-30 edge with 3:29 left in the third.
After stopping Corpus on downs inside its own 11 yard-line, the Riders caught a break when Iran Hodge was flagged for roughing the passer during a fourth-down incompletion. Abilene took advantage of it two plays later when Carter hit Reese with a 5-yard scoring pass with 6:11 remaining in the game.
The Riders defense, in the meantime, blanked Corpus over the final 12 minutes of the third quarter. And with the exception of a wide receiver pass from Toric Goins to Anderson for a score with 5:40 left in the game, Abilene didn't allow the Hammerheads to score again.
"We knew they were going to do that (trick) play and we worked on it all week," Dockery said. "We just got a DB caught up in the play action and they got a big play on us."
Abilene's final score game with 1:30 remaking on a 1-yard keeper by Carter.
With the game decided, Corpus' final gasp came over the final 45 seconds when it was stopped on downs inside the Abilene 5.
The Riders will next see action Saturday when they host the El Paso Generals, the Lone Star Division leader that whipped Abilene 58-36 in El Paso.
Here's your game highlights from our friends at ARN-TV and 96.1 The Wolf
