UNIONDALE, NY - For the second consecutive season, the Dragons could not get out of the first round of the AFL playoffs despite the home-field advantage, dropping a wild 72-69 decision to the Georgia Force in front of 10,243 at the Nassau Coliseum.

The Dragons did not go down without a fight, making two different comeback bids in the fourth quarter that fell just short.

Facing a 13 point deficit late in the game, Nick Browder kept his cool. After a good kick return by Maurice Brown, Browder went to work, finding Chris Anthony along the boards for a key reception.

Anthony used every last bit of strength from his 200 pound frame to get into the endzone, cutting Georgia’s lead to 65-61 at the one minute warning.

Force quarterback Matt Nagy answered right back, throwing the last of his eight touchdown passes of the evening to Tyronne Jones. On second-and-12, Nagy called for a deep route to Jones, connecting on a 45-yard strike to make it 72-61.

With less than one minute remaining, Browder had his last salvo, finding Horacek for the sixth and final time on a 25 yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field to make it a three point game.

It appeared New York recovered the subsequent on-side kick, but the officials ruled Georgia maintained possession.

In a great individual match-up, All-Ironman selection Mike Horacek engaged Chris Jackson engaged in a terrific can-you-top-this performance. The two combined for 11 touchdowns and over 350 yards.

Horacek finished with six touchdowns, 173 yards, and eight total receptions.

Jackson also put in a tremendous performance, leading all receivers with 13 catches for 180 yards, including five for touchdowns.

"This is a hard one to swallow, but you have to keep you head held high," said Browder, who finished with 390 yards on 27-36 passing. "Georgia is a great team and they just made one less mistake then we did."

While Browder performed well, Nagy stole the show, throwing nine touchdown passes in total.

With the victory, the Force improved to 1-4 all-time against the Dragons, avenging a regular season loss at the Coliseum earlier this month. “It’s hard to beat a team twice in one season, so I think that really weighed in our advantage,” Force coach Dough Plank said.

THIRD QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS:
By winning the opening coin toss, the Dragons elected to take the ball in the second half. Horacek made that a smart move by Harding, as he caught his fourth touchdown on the team’s first possession of the quarter to put them back in the lead.

Touchdown number five for Horacek came on the next drive, giving the Dragons the lead yet again after Nelson Garner put the Force up three. This time, Horacek was wide up down the center of the field for the 40-yard bomb, making it 47-44.

Much like he did all game, Jackson answered right back, this time catching a third-down pass near the back of the end line for his fourth touchdown of the game and a 51-47 Force lead going in the fourth.

FIRST HALF RECAP:
Horacek was the best player on the field, catching three out of the first four touchdowns scored by the Dragons.

His biggest catch came in the final minute, when he found an open seem downfield on a fourth-and-six pass attempt. After making the first down, Horacek continued to run down the sideline, using a spin move to get past Nate Coggins and sprint into the endzone, making it 28-28.

After Georgia scored a touchdown and a safety to go up by 37-28, it looked like the Dragons would be down by nine heading into halftime.

Then a classic Arena Football moment happened.

With 1.7 seconds left, Nagy completed a slant pass to Derek Lee, who intended to lateral the ball back to Jackson. The toss skipped away, rolling on the turf before being recovered by Singfield at the 15-yard line. The defensive specialist was looked to be caught in a pileup, but broke free for a shocking touchdown as time expired, cutting the lead to two at the intermission.

Nagy put the Force ahead early, lofting a perfectly placed throw to the left of Jackson in the endzone. Jackson used his body to shield away Singfield and make the touchdown grab.

On his first possession, Browder gave the Dragons some early momentum, connecting with Swayne on a perfect crossing route. From the 17-yard line, Browder hit his target in stride for the tying score.

Thanks to some tough defensive pressure, the Dragons made their first stop of the game. Horacek took advantage of the break, making a shoestring catch near the end boards on a 30 yard strike that put his team ahead.

An acrobatic catch by Lee put the Force back on the scoreboard late in the first. With Singfield in single coverage, Lee faked a move to his left before bolting right, using the extra space to tip a long pass from Nagy. With the ball still in the air, Lee eventually brought it into his body as he fell to turf, hanging on for the touchdown.

Midway through the second quarter, Lee made his mark on defense. On fourth down, Browder was flushed out of the pocket and forced into throwing a shovel pass that was tipped right into the arms of Lee, giving Georgia their first stop of the game.

NOTES: New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington was in attendance. He met with fans during the game to sign autographs. Offensive lineman Jamaal Cherry went down with a lower leg injury midway through the fourth. He had to leave the game on a stretcher and was taken to the hospital for x-rays.

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