"#1." "Top-ranked." "The best team in the league." These terms and
many more were used to describe the Florida Firecats heading into
Saturday night's game against the Green Bay Blizzard. The Firecats
had certainly earned their ranking, as well as their reputation for
being one of the toughest teams in the af2. Looking down the barrel
at such a daunting foe could make a lot of teams skittish about
their chances, especially on the road.

Not the Blizzard.

Oozing with confidence after last week's big win over the Division-
leading, 4th-ranked Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers, the Blizzard
knew that they would be in for a fight against the Firecats. The
prevailing philosophy in a street fight is simple: hit first, hit
hard, hit often. The Blizzard took this credo to heart as they
refused to back down to the Firecats, not even during pre-game warm-
ups. A fair amount of pride was on the line in this game – as well
as playoff position – so neither team wanted to be intimidated.

The history between these two teams is short, but storied. In the
2005 Blizzard home finale, the Firecats came into Green Bay and won
in dramatic fashion, 48-47, in the wildest finish of the season.
Scoring a TD after the final gun had sounded, the Firecats were down
47-46, and instead of attempting a PAT to tie the game and send it
to OT, they tried a 2-point conversion – and succeeded. The win gave
the Firecats home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and sent
the Blizzard on the road for their first-ever post-season game.

Right from the start the Blizzard showed no signs of being in awe of
their hosts. On the strength of TDs by WR/LB Robert "Superman" Garth
and FB/LB Peter "The Animal" Lazare, and a defensive stop on a
fumble forced by DLS Asa "The Assassin" Francis, the Blizzard opened
up a 14-0 first quarter lead, shutting out the 2004 af2 Champions
for the entire frame. Even when the Firecats finally got on the
board early in the 2nd quarter the Blizzard rained on their parade:
OL/DL Robert Boss blocked the PAT.

Though the Firecats had cut the lead, the Blizzard didn't blink.
WR/DB Luke Leverson returned the ensuing kickoff all the way for
another quick TD. K Dallas Pelz would convert the PAT, giving the
Blizzard a 21-6 lead.

While things were certainly going their way, the Blizzard were not
the only team having their mettle tested that night. The Firecats
drove down the field and tallied their second TD, this time on a
pass from QB Chris Wallace to OS Magic Benton that would bring the
score to 21-13, Blizzard.

The Blizzard would find out just how opportunistic the Firecats can
be on the next series, when a botched snap would put the ball on the
turf. When the smoke cleared and the bodies came off the pile, the
Firecats came up with the turnover.

On the following drive, tempers began to flare. There had already
been several instances of pushing and shoving following plays, but
it escalated into numerous personal fouls against both teams. When
cooler heads prevailed and play resumed, it came down to the
Firecats needing to convert a 4th-and-goal from the 4-yard-line.
They made the most of the turnover by scoring not only a TD, but a 2-
point conversion as well, knotting up the score at 21-21 with only
22 seconds remaining in the first half.

The Blizzard would quickly find themselves in position to attempt a
23-yard field goal with only 7 seconds left in the half, but Pelz
would hit the upright and former Blizzard OL/DL Antonio Dingle would
recover the missed FG and set sail for the end zone. After a fumble
and a scrum the Blizzard would dodge a bullet by bringing down the
Firecats' ballcarrier at the 5-yard line. The two teams would head
into the locker room tied at 21 apiece.

It didn't take long for the Firecats to take the lead, as only 30
seconds into the second half, on their first play from scrimmage,
Wallace hit WR/DB Brent Burnside for a long TD to take a 28-21 lead.

The Blizzard would drive to score once again, but were unable to
convert the PAT. Down by 1 at 28-27 they managed a defensive stop,
but their ensuing drive would end in another missed FG. The Firecats
would again make the most of the Blizzard miscue, scoring another
long TD. Though a bad snap would lead to a missed PAT, they would
extend their lead to 34-27.

The Blizzard would not give in, though, as they would storm down the
field to score again. QB James MacPherson would hit OS Gerald Harris
along the sideboards for a TD, and Pelz would convert the PAT to tie
the score at 34-34.

The Firecats would answer the Blizzard score with another Wallace-to-
Benton hookup, which would again give the Firecats a 7-point lead,
41-34. That would be the score as the teams headed into the 4th
quarter.

And so the game would go on, with both teams trading punches, trying
to deliver the knockout blow. And, it would seem, the football gods
are not without a sense of irony. As the clock wound down to the
final moments of the game, the Blizzard found themselves in a very
familiar and unsettling place: up by 7 points (48-41) and having to
defend against the potent Firecats' offense, again the #1 team in
the league. Just like last season, the Firecats came down the field
and scored a TD. And just like last season, they had no intention of
going into OT against the Blizzard. They would again attempt a 2-
point conversion to end it in regulation.

But this time was different.

The Blizzard "D" would hold, and when the final gun sounded, the
scoreboard would read Blizzard 48, Firecats 47. The Blizzard, the
10th-ranked team in the af2, had gone into one of the toughest
arenas in the league and beaten the #1 team on their home turf.

The win raises the Blizzard to 8-5, only a half-game behind the 8-4
Pioneers, who have a bye this week. The Firecats fall to 9-3, but
still hold a half-game lead over their South Division rivals, the
Memphis Xplorers (9-4), who lost to the Macon Knights (5-7) on
Friday night.