Anchorage Daily News

There must be something about Sullivan Arena that puts visiting teams in a giving mood.

A little more than three weeks after the Fairbanks Grizzlies committed 11 turnovers in the season opener, the Odessa Roughnecks came in a gave the ball away seven times Sunday afternoon.

The result -- a 54-14 beat-down by the Alaska Wild before a crowd of about 3,000.

Odessa had a devil of a time on the center-quarterback exchange, bobbling the snap at least 15 times. On eight occasions, the ball hit the turf. The Wild covered up seven of those fumbles.

"It's something that most people take for granted," said Alaska quarterback Nick Mystrom, who threw for four touchdowns and ran for another. "They just assume it's an automatic, and it's absolutely, as you saw tonight, not an automatic thing.

"Without that snap, you can't get anything done. I dropped one tonight, and it totally wrecked our momentum. And that was just one. They probably dropped 10 of them."

The Roughnecks used Michael Moore, listed as a defensive lineman, at center. He and quarterback Tony Colston were rarely on the same page, whether the lefty QB was under center or in shotgun.

"Even when he got the snap, we were on him when the ball got there," Wild coach Hans Deemer said. "He never had a chance."

That Odessa even scored two touchdowns came via the providence of blown coverages in the secondary. Twice Odessa's Jimmy Conner got loose behind the defense for long touchdowns.

But the Wild quickly corrected that, and held Odessa out of the end zone the final 43 minutes, 15 seconds of the game.

"Once we get our communication down, we probably have the best defense in the league," said Thomas Ford Jr., who quickly reintroduced himself to hometown fans with three touchdowns.

Ford, one of the Wild's best players last year, started the season in Fairbanks but then re-signed with the Wild.

For the first quarter it appeared the game was going to be a typical indoor football shootout. The two teams scored on three straight possessions in the first quarter, and Odessa took a 14-12 lead on the first official play from scrimmage in the second -- penalties wiped out the first two attempts.

Alaska answered back two plays later on Keith Smith's 36-yard touchdown reception, and the Wild (2-2) had the lead for good.

The Wild toyed with Odessa defensively, and did just enough offensively to make sure it was a comfortable victory, their fourth straight at home dating back to last season.

The Wild also broke a two-game losing skid and equaled last year's win total.

But few on the Wild were satisfied.

"Yeah, it was a dominating effort, but we still had a lot of mistakes," said Nian Taylor, who caught two touchdowns on a sore hamstring. "There's still a lot of stuff we have to clear up. It seems like we're a second-half team. Every game, we've started off real shaky and slowly."

Said Mystrom: "We've really got to get a lot better. For me right now, I'm not pleased with us offensively. For us to be the team we want to be, we have to consistently score in the 60s. We've really been relying on our defense, and I want us to be able to stand on our own."

The addition of Ford back to the lineup should help. In just his second game back, Ford led the team in rushing (six carries, 21 yards, two touchdowns) and catches (six, including a TD).

"He makes it believable that we can run the ball," Mystrom said. "Everybody knows it's not a running league, everybody knows it's a passing league. But you have to be able to run a little bit, and Thomas adds ability to our running game.

"Just having him around makes us a running team and also makes us a play-action team."

Ford was happy to be playing at Sullivan Arena.

"It was really good to be back in Anchorage," he said. "Being away from here really put it in a clear vision for me."

Mystrom finished 13 of 30 for 141 yards, but also threw three picks. Defensive back James Griffin had yet another interception return for a touchdown for the Wild, sprinting 50-plus yards after just about everyone else gave up on a tipped ball in the second quarter.

Perhaps the most entertaining play of the day came in the stands. A fan walking down the stairs and holding a little girl in one arm, tipped an errant pass with his left hand and held on to both child and ball.

Definitely the most confusing play came on the first possession of the third quarter. Mystrom twice fumbled the ball, losing 23 yards back to his own 3.

On fourth-and-32 from the 4, Alaska lined up for a field goal. But instead of driving it as deep as he could, Mystrom pooched it to the left sideline where it was recovered by the Wild.

Unlike a punt or field goal in conventional football, a missed field goal attempt in the Intense Football league is a live ball after it travels 10 yards. In other words, it's just like an onside kick.

The Wild got the ball back and completed the drive with a touchdown to go up 38-14, putting a death grip on the game.

Alaska gets next weekend off before returning to Sullivan Arena on April 10 for a rematch with the Grizzlies.

"This week we're going to have off is going to be a great week," Taylor said. "We're going to come back here and whup Fairbanks."

Find Andrew Hinkelman online at adn.com/contact/ahinkelman or call 257-4335.

Odessa 7 7 0 0 -- 14

Wild 12 19 9 14 -- 54

First Quarter

Wild -- Ford 2 run (kick failed), 9:05.

Odessa -- Conner 18 pass from Colston (Havens kick), 8:03.

Wild -- Taylor 30 pass from Mystrom (kick failed), 6:36.

Second Quarter

Odessa -- Conner 40 pass from Colston (Havens kick), 13:45.

Wild -- Smith 36 pass from Mystrom (kick failed), 12:21.

Wild -- Taylor 4 pass from Mystrom (kick failed), 8:45.

Wild -- Griffin 50 interception return (Mystrom kick), 2:03.

Third Quarter

Wild -- Mystrom 3 run (Mystrom kick), 8:04.

Wild -- Safety, Hogan tackled in end zone, 3:13.

Fourth Quarter

Wild -- Ford 4 run (Mystrom kick), 13:42.

Wild -- Ford 16 pass from Mystrom (Mystrom kick), 11:42.

Odessa Wild

First downs 89

Rushes-yards 10(-12)17-24

Passing yards 162141

Passes 12-21-113-30-3

Return yards 136124

Fumbles-lost 8-6 2-0

Penalties-yards 6-37 12-37

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Odessa: Hogan 2-0, Conner 1-(-1), Colston 7-(-11). Wild: Ford 6-21, Harris 4-7, Lolesio 1-1, Mystrom 6-(-5).

PASSING -- Odessa: Colston 12-21-1--162. Wild: Mystrom 13-30-3--141.

RECEIVING -- Odessa: Conner 5-68, Day 4-68, Parker 3-26. Wild: Ford 6-38, Taylor 4-50, Smith 1-36, Harris 1-11.

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