Home is where the heart is, so they say, but not where the wins have been for the Sarasota Millionaires so far this season. The “Moneymen” fell behind early and were never able to catch up in a 24-8 loss to Broward County Cowboys Saturday afternoon at Booker High School in Sarasota. It was the second home loss of the season for Sarasota, who have won three in a row on the road.
The defending UFF champion and undefeated Cowboys (6-0) jumped ahead on their first possession of the ballgame when quarterback Daryle Hopper connected with Delaine Powell on a 42 yard touchdown pass over the middle. D’Andre Stringer added the two-point conversion to give the Cowboys an 8-0 lead 1:11 into the first quarter.
The Millionaires (3-2) offense was stifled by an aggressive, rushing Cowboys defense that kept Sarasota’s running game in check and forced quarterback Mario Davis out of the pocket and hurry his pass attempts.
After last week’s impressive 165 yard rushing performance by Patrick “Choo Choo” Brown against the Florida Stingrays, the Cowboys held Sarasota’s lead running back to just 14 yards on 12 carries.
Broward County recovered a Millionaires fumble at the Sarasota six yard line, one of four Millionaires turnovers in the game, early in the second quarter. Sarasota mounted a classic goal line stand and got the ball back on their one yard line. But on the next play, the Cowboys stopped “Choo Choo” Brown in the end zone for a safety to go up 10-0.
That score remained through halftime and the entire third quarter.
The Millionaires got the ball late in the third quarter and started to move the ball down the field. On a fourth and inches, Sarasota appeared to get a key first down to keep the drive alive at midfield, but were called for an aiding the runner penalty and were forced to punt. A six minute possession resulted in no points.
The Cowboys responded with a 72 yard touchdown pass play from Daryle Hopper to Tommy Pringle to give Broward County a 16-0 lead after a missed two point conversion with 10:32 left in the fourth quarter.
The Millionaires finally got on the scoreboard with a 52 yard drive capped off by a four yard touchdown run by “Choo Choo” Brown. Mike Ford added the two pointer pulling Sarasota to within 16-8 with 5:35 remaining in the fourth quarter.
After the ensuing kickoff went out of bounds giving Broward County the ball at their own 45 yard line, D’Andre Stringer took the next handoff and broke through the middle and galloped 53 yards to the Millionaires two yard line. Stringer then scored from two yards out to put the game away for the Cowboys who were up 24-8 with 4:23 left in the game.
Stringer finished with 92 yards on 10 carries for Broward County. Daryle Hopper completed 6 of 22 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns
.
The Millionaires will try and get that first home victory next Saturday (March 23) when they host the Tampa Bay Stallions, a division opponent, at Booker High School in a 4:00 p.m. kickoff. The Millionaires defeated the Stallions 34-6 in week one of the regular season February 9th in Oldsmar.
The Sarasota Millionaires postgame show (posted to this article) features an interview with team owner Calvin Williams.
Comments