No magic for VooDoo against Georgia Force

DULUTH – The South is known for its hospitality, but so far this season the Georgia Force (4-5) haven't felt at home in their Southern Division, which they went a perfect 6-0 in last season.

The Force finally got their first division win of the season in four tries Saturday, with a 66-39 victory over the visiting New Orleans VooDoo (7-3).

Georgia's two-game losing skid was halted, while at the same time putting an end to New Orleans' win streak of the same amount.

The story the past few weeks with the Force has been their inability to put points on the board to start the game. Last week they found themselves in a 14-point hole right off the bat at Arizona, and it was the same tune the week before to Orlando.

But not this time.

A Matt Huebner 2-yard run on the first drive of the game got the offense rolling for the Force, and they never looked back.

On the VooDoo's first play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive QB Danny Wimprine was sacked by R-Kal Truluck, causing him to fumble the ball on the 4-yard line. Force receiver Damien Groce ran it into the big blue expanse on the next play, and the rout was on.

Force coach Doug Plank said this was as close to must win as a game could be.

"I feel like we've squandered the first half of the season," he said. "It's been difficult from a coaching perspective, but this certainly was a great win."

He said that his team had been one of the biggest disappointments in the AFL this season, and that it was good to get some momentum going right out of the gate.

After missing three games earlier in the season, as well as last week's contest in Arizona, standout receiver Troy Bergeron has slowly been integrating himself back into the receiving corps that he led last year. He emphatically announced that he was back, slamming the ball onto the field after catching a 15-yard touchdown pass from Chris Greisen midway through the first quarter.

An explosive 43-yard touchdown in the third quarter where he completely outran the nearest defender put his team ahead 52-32 with the extra point and showed he was ready to play like he had been a season ago. Bergeron scored on a short pass early in the fourth after a VooDoo onsides kick attempt was given to the Force after it was ruled illegally touched by the kicking team.

The man with 41 touchdowns last year added a 32-yard score from Greisen moments before going into the locker room for halftime.

For his 4 touchdown 9 catch 137 yard effort, Bergeron was named Offensive Player of the Game. Plank said that Bergeron did this after only participating in the 30-minute practice on Friday without practicing the rest of the week.

Sensational Force rookie Tiger Jones also had a strong game, with a 7 catch, 72 yard performance 1 touchdown performance of his own.

It was a night where the Force really got their running game going, with a couple touchdowns scored, including a 7-yard Greisen scamper late in the fourth to put his team ahead 65-39 after the Carlos Martinez PAT. Greisen also ran the ball for a first down on fourth down during the team's first drive of the game.

The VooDoo got an offensive boost by a late addition to their squad, receiver Sale Key was activated from injured reserve at midnight the night before the game, and he showed his gratitude by giving his team 7 catches, 70 yards and 2 scores while his teammate DeAndrew Rubin hauled in 7 catches for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns.

A team that had based their success on their impressive plus-19 turnover margin coming into the game – a league best, the VooDoo had trouble keeping the ball, turning it over three times in the game with the fumble, two interceptions and another fumble that was overruled by a Force defensive penalty. The Force, on the other hand, did not turn it over once.

Wimprine did not have much time to get comfortable in the pocket, seemingly always on the run or on the ground thanks to a fierce Force pass rush.

"Tonight we played a lot more man coverage because our personnel are more capable of playing that," Plank said. "We didn't give up the easy short passes and instead forced the quarterback to look down the field more. With our injury situation now you can probably look for us to play more of it in the future."

He finished the night with 297 yards on 22-44 passing with 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions while his counterpart Greisen put up 290 yards on 23-31 passing with 6 touchdowns.

This victory will give the Force some momentum heading into their toughest contest of the year so far, with a Monday night game looming with the league leading Philadelphia Soul (9-1) May 12 at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. with a national broadcast on ESPN2.

- www.gwinnettherald.com

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