Lightning Strike Down Storm 41-40 on Final Play

by Cody Zeeb

The Oregon Lightning struck down the Southwest Kansas Storm in a thrilling Arena Football One game Sunday night on VICETV. This one delivered on all fronts. The offense was explosive, the defense was stifling, and special teams were electric. Then, the game came down to the final play where the Lightning snatched victory from the clutches of Storm. 


A Storm Without Lightning & Lightning Without Storm

It was all Southwest Kansas Storm in the early going. After the Lightning struck on the first drive of the game on a fourth down bomb from Dalton Cole to Maurice Ashley that put the Lightning up 7-0, the Storm poured it on. First, it was Jalen Morton to Demarius Washington on a fourth-down touchdown bomb of their own. By the middle of the second quarter, it was a 33-7 Storm lead after Logan Wright rumbled in for a touchdown run. 

Suddenly, the Storm quieted down, and it was a Lightning show. The Oregon Lighting went on a 22-point run that started with an electric kick return for a touchdown by Maurice Ashley and was topped off by another Dalton Cole rushing touchdown. The score was now 33-29, and it stayed there for a while. 


Defense and Clock Management 

Each team’s offense kept up the pace, getting within "and goal" distance multiple times, but both defenses stepped up and continued to make stops. Dalton Cole was stopped on the 1-yard line with 7:00 minutes left in the game in a huge stop by the Storm to hold the lead. The Storm struck on the next possession as Jalen Morton found Charles Hall IV for their second touchdown connection of the day. With just 1:20 left in the game, the Storm’s lead was now 40-29. Dalton Cole and company tightened the chin straps and went back to work. With 56 seconds left in the game, Cole found Marquis Sampson for the touchdown. After a failed two-point conversion attempt, the Lightning trailed by five. 

The clock management by the Storm in the final 56 seconds of the game leaves many questions unanswered. Even after multiple bad snaps from the shotgun throughout the evening, the Storm refused to take a snap from under center. On third down, a bad snap resulted in a sack, which stopped the clock. The Storm failed to convert on fourth down and left just four seconds on the clock for one final Hail Mary attempt for the Lightning. That was all Dalton Cole and company needed. Cole took his time to make sure the play was set correctly, even taking a delay of game penalty. Then, with ice in his veins, he dropped back and tossed a dime to Nicholas Brassell, who caught the ball in stride in the end zone for a stunning Lightning win. 



Storm Standout - Charles Hall IV

Shillong Flannigan has been the standout wide receiver for the Storm through their first three games, but tonight it was the pair of Demarius Washington and Charles Hall IV who stepped up for the team. After the explosive Daquan Bailey-Brown was lost to a non-contact knee injury in last week’s game against the Firebirds, the Storm needed another player to step up. Charles Hall IV filled that role well on Sunday night. Hall caught the ball four times in the game and made the most of it, racking up 108 yards and two touchdowns. He also stepped into the kick returner role, returning his three attempts for 42 yards. 


Lightning Standout - Dalton Cole 

Cole had some downs in this game, getting stopped multiple times inside of the five-yard line, including that play with 7:00 left on the clock where he was stopped at the 1-yard line. Cole never gave up despite being down multiple times in this game. The Lighting were down 33-7 early in the game, but Cole stayed poised and led the comeback. Then, the final play of the game, where he remained poised and delivered the perfect pass for the game-winner, pushed him over the top. Cole ended the day throwing 20-37 for 258 yards and three touchdown passes. All this was done while throwing just one interception. He added 11 rush attempts for 44 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground.