It was an extremely up and down season for the expansion Pittsburgh Power, and it unfortunately ended on a down note, but I can't imagine one year can get much more exciting than the one that concluded Friday.
There were ups:
- The incredible comeback that led to an overtime loss in the inaugural game versus Philadelphia.
- The 49-26 lead the team blew against the Milwaukee Mustangs in week three only to hold on in a 49-47 squeaker.
- The four game winning streak that included a 76-75 thriller over Dallas and a 35-32 win over Cleveland where the Power had to overcome a myriad of horrendous calls and took over first place in the division.
- The miraculous finish at home again Milwaukee in week 15.
And there were downs:
- The loss to a winless Tulsa team in week 4.
- Four blowout losses to Jacksonville, Utah, and Georgia that saw the team give up a combined 272 points and not record a stop in three of them.
- Watching a game slip away because of two of the unluckiest bounces you'll ever see against Orlando.
- And worst of all, the loss to Cleveland in week 19 that effectively ended the team's season.
But the fan support never wavered and the team gave us someone to root for, for nearly five months.
Injuries were what derailed this team. Even Coach Chris Siegfried proclaimed, "If we could have just had (quarterback) Bernard Morris for the 17 games we played, I believe in my heart we would be in the playoffs now." Other injuries and departures didn't help the Power either as numerous key players either left for other leagues, got injured for weeks at a time, or returned from injuries at less than 100 percent. None of which may have been as important as the injury to starting center Sione Ohuafi, as the Power's abnormally hight number of fumbled snaps led to a couple of losses that would have went a long way towards a playoff berth.
Nonetheless, it was a remarkable season and now I'd like to hand out some imaginary hardware to the players that deserve it.
MVP: Lonnell DeWalt - DeWalt is as old-school of an AFL player as you're going to get. He played both sides of the ball and he did it well. He came up with several catches in crunch time and some that no other receiver in the league would have been able to come with in somewhat limited time. When you add his defense into the equation, it's a no-brainer for who wins this award. He was the catalyst for the midseason four game winning streak and he would have been far better had the secondary stayed intact all year long.
Runner-Up: Mike Washington
Honorable Mention: Bernard Morris
Offensive Player of the Year: Mike Washington - It took Washington a few weeks to adjust to the size of the playing field, but once he did, boy was he spectacular. "Joystick" ended the year with team highs in receptions (114), receiving yards (1,367), and receiving touchdowns (30). He also showed more heart than any other player on the field and he never quit and he deserves to win an award based on that alone.
Runner-Up: Jason Willis
Honorable Mention: Bernard Morris
Defensive Player of the Year: Carlos Campbell - Campbell missed the final five games with an injury, but he still led the team in tackles and had three interceptions and a team high eleven pass defenses to go with it. He fit the "don't know what you got till it's gone" bill as evidenced by how porous the secondary was without him.
Runner-Up: Lonnell DeWalt
Honorable Mention: Gary Butler
Game of the Year: Pittsburgh vs. Milwaukee, Week 15 - With a 26-17 lead, the Power blocked a field goal to take that same score into the half. Milwaukee scored the first 21 points of the second half and had a 12 point lead with just over half a quarter left. The Power answered and cut the lead to 38-32, but a failed onside kick gave Milwaukee the ball at the Power 6 yard line with time running out. The Power forced a 4th and 1 situation and Milwaukee brought on the kicker for a field goal. Terrance Taylor created havoc upfront and forced the field goal wide to give the Power the ball with 1:06 left. The Power drove down to the Milwaukee 14 with 23 seconds remaining. Center Sione Ohuafi got injured and the Power replaced him with center Mike Lucian. Lucian and quarterback Chris Wallace practiced a few snaps on the sideline without a hitch, but once they got to the line the story changed. The snap was botched and Milwaukee fell on it with 22 seconds remaining. In arena football you must move the ball forward or the clock stops, so on the next play the Milwaukee quarterback was hit in the backfield and desperately reached out to gain some yardage. As he lay on top of bodies, Terrance Carter forced a fumble and the Power recovered with 17 seconds left. After two incompletions it all came down to one play. Chris Wallace took the snap. Heavy pressure forced him right. As he neared the wall he threw across the field to the left corner of the end zone where this happened.
Even after my lengthy summary, you may still want to check out niftytv.com's AFL Live player and watch the whole game.
Yeah. It was that good.
Runner-Up: Inaugural overtime thriller vs. Philadelphia, Week 1
Play of the Year: Chris Wallace's pass to Lonnell DeWalt vs. Milwaukee, Week 15 - See above.
Runner-Up: Paul Edinger's onside kick and 35 yard field in the opener, Week 1
Disappointment of the Year: Power lose to Cleveland and fail to make the playoffs - A 7-4 start made it seem almost a sure thing that the Power would reach postseason glory, but injuries derailed the team and they sputtered to a 9-9 finish.
Runner-Up: Loss to Orlando because of two unlucky bounces
Honorable Mention: Josh Rue goes from fan favorite to Josh Who?
Moment of the Year: Power grant Mick Walsh's wish to become a member of the team for a week
Runner-Up: The Power honoring military members, policemen, firefighters, Special Olympics participants and others during the course of the season.
It was a fantastic first year for the Power and I hope for many more. Arena Football is back where it belongs.
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