Bad bounces don't keep Firecats down

Cory Bailey has a tattoo on his right shoulder of a grumpy gorilla, the creature's face contorted King Kong-like, as if someone has punched it in the stomach.

Inscribed below the sketch is a message.

Survival of the fittest.

He was still a sophomore in college when he had the art done, so Bailey couldn't have had arenafootball2 in mind.

But it fits.

The Florida Firecats are learning to survive just fine, even when it takes a little longer than they'd like. They were at it again in Saturday night's 66-54 defeat of Macon, a game that often seemed destined to go the other way.

Bailey, a rookie defensive back, had a sure interception skip right off his fingertips in the first quarter — and right into the hands of Macon receiver Chavis McCollister, who then waltzed into the end zone for a 36-yard score.

But the bad breaks were just beginning. Twice in the third quarter the Knights recovered kickoffs that caromed off the rebound net, which is akin to someone registering two four-strikeout innings in a single baseball game.

Somehow, though, the Firecats kept it together. They won for the eighth time in nine games, improving to 5-0 this season in Germain Arena.

"Anything can happen," said Bailey, who himself recovered from the missed interception, picking off a Chad Elliott pass two possessions later. "You've got to keep fighting."

No one knows that better than the Firecats, who have casually stacked up wins the last few weeks, never looking up to see how it would improve their postseason status.

The payoff: Florida now sits alone atop the South Division standings, moving one-half game ahead of Memphis after Saturday's win. The Xplorers were beaten this weekend by Birmingham, which used a last-second field goal to offer the Firecats a hand.

Speaking of Birmingham. Florida now heads to the Magic City with a chance to maintain its division edge, something the Firecats failed to do in their only other stint as the South's top team. They were beaten by Manchester in Week 8, seven days after overtaking Memphis for the first time.

"We're just happy to get the win," said Florida coach Kevin Bouis. "We feel like we're back on track."

Indeed, things are looking up. Were the af2 playoffs to start this weekend, the Firecats (8-2) would be the No. 1 seed in the American Conference. That would give them a first-round bye, plus homefield advantage throughout the postseason.

There is even talk that Roy Stabler, a mainstay for years in the Florida secondary, might soon come out of retirement — again — an acquisition that would bolster the Firecats as they try to finish the season strong.

It's certainly the way they've finished games. In the second half of their eight wins, the Firecats have outscored opponents by a 241-143 margin. That includes a 32-27 advantage in Saturday's victory, which was a 41-40 barnburner early in the third quarter.

"It's arena football," said offensive specialist Magic Benton, who supplied the final points of the Macon game, catching a 6-yard pass from Chris Wallace with 2:18 to play. "A team can put up a lot of scores in a short amount of time. Finishing strong is a must."

It is, you could say, the key to survival.

FIRECATS 66 , KNIGHTS 54

Macon Florida

First downs 21 19

Rushes- yards 10-14 9-29

Passing yards 283 254

Passing-intercep. 39-27-2 28-19-0

Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0

Penalties 4-7 5-6

Knights 13 14 20 7—54

Firecats 20 14 19 13—66

Scoring

F — Ethenic Sands 41 fumble recovery (Brandon Kornblue kick).

M — Scott Cloman 19 pass from Chad Elliott (kick failed).

F — Brittney Tellis 28 pass from Chris Wallace (kick failed).

M — Chavis McCollister 36 pass from Elliott (Byungwoo Yoon kick).

F — Brent Burnside 38 pass from Wallace (Kornblue kick).

M — Elliott 1 run (Yoon kick).

F — Chris Morant 15 run (Kornblue kick).

M — James Hickenbotham fumble recovery (Yoon kick).

F — Magic Benton 9 pass from Wallace (Kornblue kick).

F — Sands 17 pass from Wallace (Kornblue kick).

M — McCollister 26 pass from Elliott (Yoon kick).

M — Daryon Brutley net recovery (kick failed).

F — Sands 24 pass from Wallace (kick failed).

F — Tellis 28 interception return (run failed).

M — McCollister 4 pass from Elliottt (Yoon kick).

F — Clenton Crossley 3 run (pass failed).

M — D.J. Humphries 3 pass from Elliott (Yoon kick).

F — Benton 6 pass from Wallace (Kornblue kick).

Individual Leaders

Rushing — Florida: Crossley 7-15, Morant 2-14; Macon: Derrick Lloyd 6-12, Lenny Lucas 1-1, McCollister 1-1, Elliott 2-0.

Passing — Florida: Wallace 19-28-0-254; Macon: Elliott 27-39-2-291.

Receiving — Florida: Benton 8-101, Sands 7-79, Burnside 3-46, Tellis 1-28; Macon: McCollister 14-197, Hickenbotham 4-28, Humphries 4-20, Cloman 2-34.