It seems every week the Orlando Predators are fighting for their playoff lives. It’ll be that way once again this Friday, just as it was in a heartbreaking shootout this past weekend, when South Division foe Alabama comes to town.

With six seconds remaining in regulation of Saturday night’s thriller at Amway Arena, Predators Coach Pat O’Hara opted for some extra time on the clock instead of attempting a field goal from Orlando’s own 12-yard line.

Nick Hill (Photo by Chris Schubert)

But after the Cleveland Gladiators marched downfield for the go-ahead touchdown on the opening drive of overtime, T.T. Toliver, Jerrian James and Bobby Sippio each dropped passes over the middle from quarterback Nick Hill, ending the night for the Preds with a 77-70 loss.

It proved to be a shocking conclusion to an otherwise spectacular Arena Football League game. Throughout the year it’s been Hill getting the brunt of the blame (whether that’s fair or not) for the current state of an underwhelming season by franchise standards.

“I have all the confidence in the world in them to make those catches,” said Hill of his teammates afterwards. “If the situation ever comes up again, I’ll be right back in there throwing it to them.”

Sippio led the team with nine catches for 147 yards and five touchdowns, while James caught eight balls for 96 yards and a touchdown and Toliver had four receptions for 48 yards and a score.

“We probably shouldn’t have even been in overtime anyway,” said Hill. “In football you can go back and count five or six plays that you could have done better to help your team not even be in the situation you were in. It’s not because of them dropping the ball there at the end.”

Defensively, it was a long night for the Predators. The Gladiators converted 4-of-5 attempts on third down and when they weren’t striking quickly for scores they were moving efficiently downfield to the tune of 29 first downs and 421 total yards.

Why the Preds opted to extend the game into overtime against the hot hand of Cleveland quarterback John Dutton, as opposed to attempting a field goal in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter, was the big unknown to fans once time finally expired.

Jerrian James (Photo by Chris Schubert)

“It was too far, just too much of a risk,” said O’Hara of the decision. “If we miss that (field goal) then they can return it for a touchdown while we’re having all our big guys run down to try to make a tackle.”

Had a similar scenario not played out between Cleveland and Spokane during the fourth week of the season, then maybe O’Hara would have had no reservations about sending out Carlos Martinez, who has made 10 of 17 this season including a long of 55 yards.

The Gladiators won their first game of the season when Brent Holmes took a kickoff 56 yards the other way with 1.6 seconds to go in that contest. On Saturday, Holmes caught 12 passes for 199 yards and five touchdowns.

“It’s a team loss,” said O’Hara before leaving the field. “We shouldn’t have been in this situation with the turnovers we had early. We really hurt ourselves.”

The Preds trailed 21-0 after the first quarter as the Gladiators turned both a fumble and an interception by Hill into touchdowns. Boos showered down on the former arenafootball2 quarterback from a largely lethargic and scarce crowd as he trotted to the sideline with 3:30 to play in the opening frame.

“Those are two bad breaks that can make you get down,” said Hill of the turnovers. “But really, it’s a long game. This is arena football and you’re going to get a lot of possessions.”

To his credit, and those of the three receivers he targeted throughout the night, the jeering seemed to do him some good.

Bobby Sippio (Photo by Chris Schubert)

“You’ve just got to stay focused and stay positive out there as much as you can,” he said. “Don’t worry about the crowd or anything like that. They have the right to boo. I’m all right with that. They want to win just like the rest of us.”

– Turning The Thing Around –

Although Cleveland had taken the home crowd out of the game, the Predators awoke from a flat-line effort to turn the tables on the Gladiators.

Hill shook off the miscues and threw three of his seven touchdown passes of the game in the second quarter to help spark the rally for Orlando.

“He’s really mentally tough. He always has been,” said O’Hara. “Confidence isn’t one of his problems. He’s a gamer, so he was really able to come back from that and that’s what he’s supposed to do.”

Trailing 28-7 with 11:33 to go in the first half, Sippio scored twice and the Preds defense forced a turnover-on-downs – when Marlon Moye-Moore batted down a pass on fourth down – then made arguably the play of the night to knot the game at 28-all as they approached the break.

In the final minute of the second quarter James put a jarring hit on Ben Nelson, which dislodged the ball from the receiver. C.L. Grogan was there to scoop it up and take it back for a touchdown.

Nick Hill (Photo by Chris Schubert)

But Dutton, who passed for 411 yards and 10 touchdowns on 36-of-53 attempts, threw a long ball for a score with 12 seconds to spare in the half. Hill was then sacked on the final play of the second quarter and offensive lineman Julius Wilson was ejected for the night for taking a swing on an opposing player.

Much like the earlier part of the season, it seemed for every little thing that went right for the Preds there were a few things that went the opposite way for the men in the black.

Yet somehow the game was all tied up at 49-49 entering the fourth quarter. This even after James made a catch over the middle and fumbled the ball away on the first possession of the third quarter, helping Cleveland extend its advantage to 42-28.

Two more Sippio touchdowns followed and an interception by Johnnie Balous, who grabbed the ball out of the air from a bobbling Victor Williams, set up the tying 8-yard touchdown run by Hill.

– Finale Full Of Fireworks –

Kenny McEntyre (Photo by Chris Schubert)

The fourth quarter proved to be just as festive for arena football fans as the postgame fireworks outside the arena were.

The Preds took the lead for the first time on the night when Kenny McEntyre jumped a Dutton pass towards the sideline and took it back 23 yards, putting the home team ahead 63-56 with 7:22 to go in regulation. Dutton quickly answered though with yet another touchdown toss to again tie the game.

With nothing but time to lose the rest of the way, the Preds went to draining the clock, so much so that they barely got the snap off on 4th-and-1. When they did, Hill launched a 28-yard touchdown strike to James down the middle of the field with just 36 seconds to play.

Five plays later Cleveland was in the end zone again, leaving Orlando just six seconds to spare. An incomplete pass from Hill followed. He was then sacked on the final play of the fourth quarter, sending the game into overtime.

At 5-7 on the season, the Predators are seemingly in a three-team battle for the fourth and final playoff spot in the American Conference. This week’s game against Alabama (6-6) will go a long way in deciding the postseason picture. The rest of the schedule has the Preds on the road against a non-conference opponent in Milwaukee (8-5), at home against American Conference playoff contender Oklahoma City (5-7) and back on the road against division rival Tampa Bay (9-3).

Along with the Storm, Jacksonville (8-4) and Southwest Division leader Tulsa (7-5) are the teams currently leading the American Conference.

“We can still salvage this season,” said Hill. “We’ve got four games left. If we win all four then we’re in the playoffs and once you’re in, anyone can go on a run. We’ve just got to start closing out games.”

– (Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com) –