Koyotes earn first win By Rick Peterson Jr.
cjonline.com/sports/football/2011-05-01/koyotes-earn-first-winAfter seeing the Kansas Koyotes’ offense sputter through three games, Koyotes offensive coordinator Carlos Kelly took things into his own hands Sunday night at Landon Arena.
The former Highland Park quarterback took the snaps for the first time this season, helping the Koyotes snap a three-game losing streak to earn a 48-28 victory against the Springfield Wolf Pack.
Kelly, who threw for four touchdowns with two interceptions, was handed the reigns after the Koyotes went through three different quarterbacks.
The Koyotes (1-3) jumped out on the Wolf Pack right away, scoring the first 27 points of the game behind four scoring passes from Kelly.
“The quarterback has to be the coach on the field and that’s what we’ve been missing,” Kelly said. “With me being able to do that, the guys had a little more hop in their step. We jumped on (the Wolf Pack) and that’s what you have to do — get their heads down and then start rollin’.’ ”
Koyotes coach Troy Biladeau, who picked up his first win with the Koyotes, said that Kelly jumped at the chance to take the snaps.
“We had some injuries and I asked (Kelly) if he wanted to play, and he got real excited,” he said. “In Arena 1, a lot of the quarterbacks are also the offensive coordinators. At first, you’re kind of worried about how it’s going to work out, but we had a great week of practice. With him being out there, it’s nice because he can tell the guys what to do and then run the play.”
Kelly said it felt good to be back on the field again.
“Football is just what I love. It’s my nature,” he said. “It’s wasn’t hard for me to jump back into it. My mind really wasn’t ready to play at first, so it took me about a week to get back in shape mentally.”
Kelly threw a 17-yard touchdown to Mike Willams on the Koyotes’ first possession of the game. Kansas linebacker Nathan Richter then picked off Chris Glenn’s pass, setting up a 1-yard run by Mike Steen to give the Koyotes a 13-0 lead at the end of the first period.
Williams, Terrence Lowe and Nick Gawden all caught TD passes in the second quarter to help the Koyotes open up a 34-13 lead at halftime.
The Koyotes then put the game out of reach early in the third quarter after a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown by Jeff Colter and Kaito Miller’s 39-yard rushing score.
Kansas’ defense also came up huge, forcing four interceptions.
Biladeau said he was pleased with the Koyotes’ performance in all areas.
“Defensively, we were getting pressure. It was a great effort,” he said. “Carlos got the offense going. And we also had the running game going too. It really was a complete game.”
Springfield 0 13 0 15 -- 28
Kansas 13 21 14 0 -- 48
Kansas -- Williams 17 pass from Kelly (Cox kick)
Kansas -- Steen 1 run (kick failed)
Kansas -- Williams 5 pass from Kelly (Cox kick)
Kansas -- Lowe 5 pass from Kelly (Cox kick)
Springfield -- Glenn 5 run (Pell kick)
Kansas -- Gawden 11 pass from Kelly (Cox kick)
Springfield -- Glenn 8 run (Pell kick)
Kansas -- Colter 20 interception return (Cox kick)
Kansas -- Miller 51 run (Cox kick)
Springfield -- Thomas 5 run (Pell kick)
Springfield -- Alvarado 34 pass from Roggow (Pell kick)