Memphis rallies, falls short in AAF play

Memphis rallies, falls short in AAF play

Express still looking for winning formula is start-up football league

By the Times Sports Staff

sports@ theeveningtimes .com

The Memphis Express traveled to the Orlando Apollos for what Vegas thought was going to be a huge mismatch. The line, per Westgate SuperBook, opened at -15.5 for Orlando. Instead, one heck of a football game broke out with the Express going with Zach Mettenberger in the second half.

Memphis hasn’t had the strongest of debuts in the first year of play in the Alliance of American Football, but the AAF continues to draw crowds and and ratings that have largely met expectations.

And as for the Express, while the team has dropped to 0-3 on the season, they may have found the key to awakening what has, until the second half of Saturday’s game with Orlando, been an anemic offense.

“What a difference Mettenberger has made for Memphis’ offense since starting the third quarter,” noted the CBS Sportsline game recap. “The backup threw for two touchdowns in a loss to the Apollos, his latest being a gorgeous bomb on a — wait for it — 3rd-and-19 for a crucial score. The only problem?

Mettenberger didn’t start sooner, otherwise the Express may have had an even better chance to upset the Apollos.”

As it was, Orlando was able to do what it did a week ago against San Antonio and run the ball in the fourth quarter when it absolutely needed to drain the clock.

“As for Mettenberger, he hasn’t been taking tons of snaps during the week in practice — in fact, he missed Wednesday’s practice with an illness — but he showed nice patience and movement in the pocket while obviously displaying a heck of an arm,” said the report.

“Frankly, Memphis’ quarterback woes should be over after tonight, regardless of the outcome. No team has improved as much from Week 1 to Week 3 as Memphis has, and with Mettenberger in the fold, that first win could be coming in earnest.”

Garrett Gilbert tosses incredible TD strike on the run Apollos quarterback Garrett Gilbert was the AAF’s leading passer after two weeks was still the leader after week three. Of all his plays thus far, one turned against the Express might be his prettiest.

Facing a fourth-and-8, and with Memphis having closed the gap on the scoreboard, coach Steve Spurrier opted to keep his offense on the field. What resulted next was a spectacular throw on the run from Gilbert to Rannell Hall for long bomb touchdown to put the Apollos back up 15-6.

While not officiall, it’s likely Zach Mettenberger gets into the starting lineup going forward.

After QB Christian Hackenberg threw his third interception of the season, Memphis finally pulled the plug. Coach Mike Singletary began the third quarter against the Apollos with Mettenberger at quarterback, who immediately led the Express down the field and tossed a beautiful dime for a touchdown to bring his team to within three points of the heavily favored Apollos.

In another AAF game with some local interest, the Arizona Hotshots suffered their first loss of the year to the the Salt Lake Stallions 23-15. At quarterback for the Stallions was former Arkansas Razorback Austin Alen.