The Hotshots were led by Jhurell Pressley's two touchdowns (one rushing and one receiving) with John Wolford throwing for a touchdown and running for a two-point conversion in the win.
The badly needed win moved the Hotshots to 3-3 and are tied there with San Diego, one game behind San Antonio for first place.
The Hotshots will host the San Diego Fleet next Sunday in a game that will open the logjam in the division a bit.
Hot off the Grill
1) Steven Johnson had missed some time at linebacker and his presence was huge in this game as he finished with eight tackles, a key interception, and several hits on Orlando quarterback Garrett Gilbert.
The interception was one that showed a great deal of athletic ability
From what I've seen this season, Johnson will be in some teams camp come July in the NFL.
2) The Hotshot defense did what no other team had pulled off against Orlando-Shut them down within reason.
The Orlando 17 point output was a season-low.
3) The game ended just in time for the Hotshots though as Orlando was deep in Arizona territory what would have been the game-winning touchdown.
However, the clock rolling and six seconds remaining, the Apollos scrambled for a time stopping spike, but they did not have all of their linemen set into position and were called for a false start.
Since Orlando had no timeouts remaining and there was a ten-second runoff for the penalty and with under ten seconds remaining- ended the game.
4) Nick Novak showed that his leg is still big enough to play in the NFL as he drilled first-half field goals of 55 and 53 yards.
Novak would not be a surprise if he was kicking for someone next season.
5) The key was the Hotshot defense, which didn't give Garrett Gilbert a ton of time to throw and intercepted Gilbert for the first time this season.
Arizona sacked Gilbert twice but the pass rush was consistently in the backfield harassing Gilbert and making him throw the back before he really wanted to.
6) Give Rashad Ross credit for toughing things out through an injured wrist and finishing with five catches for fifty-one yards.
You could visibly see Ross wincing with each play and yet he played through the pain- Gotta love the heart of Ross.
7) Turnovers-Arizona didn't turn the ball over and forced two, both coming at huge points in the game.
The Hotshot defense was thought to be the leagues best entering the season and they haven't always shown that in every contest.
They did live up to their potential Saturday night.
8) Former Buckeye Jalin Marshall led all receivers with 98 yards and a score and Marshall and teammate Charles Johnson (former Brown) of Orlando are the best tandem in the league so far.
I always thought Marshall did himself a disservice coming out a year (he would be undrafted before making the Jets) early and I think he still can play in the NFL.
9) John Wolford threw for less than 200 yards and one touchdown, but Wolford played exactly the game that was needed to defeat the better offensive team- he didn't turn the ball over, made the throws when needed, and didn't become stressed in the pocket.
10) The Hotshots lost to Atlanta at home for the Legends only win and then hit the road to give the Apollos their only loss on the road.
They are 3-3, which is less than hoped for, but about what you would expect from an inconsistent.
Tied for second with four games to go, their next game and their last game are against San Diego with games at San Antonio (4-2) and home against Birmingham (4-2) in between, so their remaining schedule isn't the easiest, but they hold their fate in their hands.
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