ROAD TRIPPED: FRISCO FALLS 74-41 IN ODESSA

Photos courtesy of Kevin Buehler/Odessa American

POST-GAME NOTES

CLICK HERE FOR STATS

By Dan Ryan
FriscoThunderIFL.com

ODESSA, Tex. (April 19, 2008) --The new road unis looked great. The bus driver was really a cool guy. And the pre-game and post-game barbecue served was delicious.

The game? Oh, yeah, that ... do we have to talk about it?

The Frisco Thunder's first road trip of the season ended in a 74-41 loss to the Odessa Roughnecks as an announced crowd of 4,765 watched the Thunder suffer its worst loss of the season upon the seasoned surface of Benny Boyd Field.

Dennis Gile threw for five touchdowns and rushed for two more as the Roughnecks (3-2) scored five consecutive touchdowns to pull away from a 40-30 thid quarter game.

Frisco fell to 5-3.

``Odessa came and performed and we didn't execute,'' said Thunder coach Troy Esprit.``That simple.''

The misfortune actually began before the game. Jason Deml was supposed to start at wide receiver, but despite practing all week, doctors did not clear him to play after he suffered a concussion in last week's victory over Corpus Christi. Richad Morris, nursing a pulled hamstring, was activated off the emergency roster, but that left a week's preparation in the dust and Wes Cooper with a hobbled lead receiver and three other with a combined five games of playing experience this season.

The offense never got on track. Also pressured by Odessa's defensive line that registered three sacks, Cooper finished 19 of 50 for 224 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions -- two that Odessa returned for touchdowns. The 41 points was a season low.

"Richard's mind wasn't set on playing," Esprit said. "We were put in a bind, but that's no excuse. Odessa did what they had to."

The Thunder cut a 40-17 defict down to 40-30 on Wes Cooper's 45-yarder to Daron Lawrence and Eliumbe Baptiste's 10-yard fumble return on the ensuing kickoff -- both touchdowns coming in a 16-second span - -with 12:16 remaining in the thid quarter.

However, the Thunder would not score a touchdown again until 1:33 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Gile finished 16 of 32 for 243 yards and threw his five touchdown passes to four different receivers. Don Robinson caught five passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns.

The Thunde defense had a solid start, registering four stops during the first half. It wasn't enough to keep Frisco in the game.

Frisco led 10-3 after Cooper's 7-yard screen to Ricky Madison with 5:51 remaining in the first quarter. Odessa scored the next 23 points, however, to take a 26-10 advantage on Gile's 32-yarder to Jimmy Connor.

The Thunder cut it to 26-17 on a Cooper 5-yarder to Moses Harris three minutes before halftime and had a chance to score again, but Cameron Rodgers' 50-yard interception return gave Odessa a 33-17 halftime lead.

Morris caught seven passes for 77 yards while Harris (4-33) and Lawrence (3-74) each scored once along with defensive back Don McGee, who caught the team's final touchdown.

Dennis Hopovac kicked two field goals, including one where he matched his season long of 45 yards. McGee, Chris Johnson and Shaylon Carter each registered an interception.

Morris was named the team's offensive MVP of the game, while Carter (seven tackles) and Hopovac earned the Randy White's Hall of Fame barbeque and Coach Joe's Sports Grillen defensive and special teams MVPs.

Frisco is off the next two weeks, returning to action Saturday May 10 at the CenTex Barracudas.

"That's the bright spot of all this, two weeks off," Esprit said.