It is difficult to believe that it's already been five years, to the day, since this game took place.
Text by Evan Dudley for al.com, images lifted from the team's Instagram account and uncredited.
Quarterback Luis Perez came off the bench for injured starter Keith Price and threw three touchdowns, and he led a final drive that ended with Nick Novak’s 43-yard game-winning field goal as time expired to lift the Birmingham Iron (4-2) to a 32-29 victory over the San Diego Fleet at SDCCU Stadium in San Diego. The victory ends Birmingham’s two-game losing streak.Perez, who returned to his hometown of San Diego, finished 27-of-49 for 359 yards with touchdown passes of 13, 83 and 23 yards in the victory, while also throwing two interceptions that resulted in a missed field goal and a go-ahead touchdown for San Diego late in the third quarter.
Price (above) was cleared to return after his injury but Iron coach Tim Lewis made the call to stick with his opening-day starter, who led the Iron to a season-high 448 yards of offense. L’Damien Washington, who finished with four catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns, was the leading receiver for Birmingham while Jamal Robinson, who made his debut with the Iron, brought down two passes for 78 yards.
Perez entered the game on Birmingham’s third possession – facing a 3rd-and-10 from the San Diego 45-yard line – and with his first snap threw a 19-yard strike to Quinton Patton for a first down into Fleet territory.
Four plays later, Perez gave the Iron its first lead of the day, 6-3, with his first passing touchdown of the season on a 13-yard dump off to Trent Richardson, who fought his way through a swarm of San Diego defenders for his first receiving score of the season.
Perez threw his second score of the game two drives later with an 83-yard pass to Washington to give the Iron a 12-3 lead midway through the second quarter. The Fleet answered with a three-play, 75-yard drive that was capped with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Mike Bercovici to tight end Ben Johnson.
Birmingham got a 23-yard field goal from Nick Novak with 17 seconds to go in the half to enter the break with a 15-9 lead.
Richardson, who finished with 46 rushing and 44 receiving yards, scored his league-leading ninth rushing touchdown on a 2-yard plunge to cap a nine-play, 65-yard drive on Birmingham’s opening drive of the second half.
San Diego answered with back-to-back touchdowns on a 2-yard run and 12-yard catch from Terrell Watson to put the Fleet up 23-21 with 5:05 to go in the third quarter. After Perez’s second pick of the game, he rebounded with a 23-yard touchdown pass and 2-point conversion to Washington following a interception by Birmingham’s Bradley Sylve.
The Fleet tied the game at 29-all with 4:32 remaining on Bercovici’s third passing score of the day to Francis Owusu, but the ensuing 2-point conversion was unsuccessful.
Perez answered by leading the Iron on a 10-play, 50-yard drive. Perez was 3-of-3 for 25 yards and ran for 16 yards on two carries, setting up Birmingham at the down to the Fleet 25-yard line. Novak’s kick sealed the victory, as Birmingham used the the final 4:32 for its game-winning drive.
On March 20th, al.com reported that two members of the Iron front office had departed. Fans of pro football in Birmingham had seen this movie before and knew the how it ended.
L'Damian Washington was named the Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.
Extended game footage below by Highlight Heaven.
