The San Antonio Commanders took an early lead but failed to sustain momentum in the fourth quarter as they bowed down against the heavy-striking offense of the Orlando Apollos, 29-37, in what has been the most attended game of the inaugural season of Alliance of American Football last Sunday, February 17.
San Antonio rolled to a good start after building an early 12-0 advantage, but found themselves imploding in the second half to record their first loss in front of a record 29,176 home fans at the Alamodome.
Kenneth Farrow II continued his hot streak from last week after leading the Commanders' offensive corps with a total of 99 yards from his rushing and receiving production as well as tallying his second career touchdown.
The Commanders were leading 29-20 against the Apollos after the third quarter but 17 unanswered points from Garrett Gilbert and Orlando in the final period finished San Antonio's hopes to remain undefeated in the season.
Woodside had the chance to prove himself at the clutch when San Antonio went for a pass at fourth and goal to try tying the game late, but the former MAC Offensive Player of the Year threw an incompletion to Mekale McKay giving the ball to Orlando with 2:59 left.
“I considered going for the field goal on fourth down but I didn’t want to regret that, either, and not even get the ball back. That’s exactly what I thought as the play was going on. I figured we needed to take our shot right now," said San Antonio head coach Mike Riley.
“It always looks like it comes down to a play, but it never is quite that true. You can look back into a game and we’ll be able to say 'what if' on a lot of stuff. But what we do now is important," he added.
Commanders' Corner: The Offense
The Commanders went toe-to-toe against one of the best offensive teams in the Alliance thus far after pushing the Apollos to the limit and even poised to win the ball game several times.
After scoring two touchdown drives in the opening frame, 12-0, San Antonio slowed a little bit in offense as they only settled for two field goals in the remainder of the first half.
While San Antonio failed to keep up with Orlando's staggering offense, coach Riley's offensive line, nevertheless, had a big night for the second straight week after allowing their running backs to rush for a total of 175 yards on the ground.
With their pass rush protection, quarterback Logan Woodside became comfortable inside the pocket, completing 20 of his 39 passing attempts to finish the game with one touchdown and 223 yards against a single interception.
Furthermore, as the Commanders' ground game continued in what they do best, the receiving corps also had a boost as De'Marcus Ayers returned to the active roster.
Ayers, after not playing in Week 1 against the San Diego Fleet due to a strained quad, made a remarkable AAF debut after collecting 80 yards off five receptions, highlighted by a one-handed 29-yard catch to begin his stint with San Antonio.
Commanders' Corner: The Defense
Since becoming the league leader in defense in the opening week of The Alliance, San Antonio's impeccable defensive line looked to be as dominant as ever.
The Commanders, who now lead The Alliance with 10 sacks, hit Apollos' quarterback Garrett Gilbert four times while also scoring an eight-yard fumble recovery touchdown by Joey Mbu off a Jayrone Elliott's strip-sack to earn a 29-17 lead in the third canto.
“I just want to say thank you to the city of San Antonio. The crowd hyped us up, especially on defense. It made a difference, so thank you," defensive tackle Mbu said.
However, San Antonio's secondary failed to fare well against Orlando's wide receivers, especially against Charly Johnson, who had 10 receptions for 192 yards and a touchdown.
Jalin Marshall and Chris Thompson also made San Antonio a run for their prize after grabbing 84 and 70 yards despite only having three and two receptions, respectively.
Commanders' Corner: The Special Teams
For the second straight week, kicker Nick Rose was perfect from the post after converting all of his three field goals, including a 50-yarder which marked as the third field goal ever converted from that distance or more in the history of The Alliance.
Joseph Zema once again punted thrice for a total of 153 yards.
San Antonio could have been the first team to try AAF's onside fourth-and-12 kickoff play but did not opt to do so to try tying the game at fourth and goal from the Apollos' four-yard line in the final quarter.
UP NEXT: San Antonio travels to San Diego to start their four-game road trip and hopes to sweep the Fleet in their regular season series after defeating the latter, 15-6, in Week 1.
Follow the writer on Twitter: @KristoffBellen.
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