Talons Overcome KISS, 72-65 San Antonio QB Matt Bassuener threw for 243 yards and six touchdowns to lead the Talons to victory over LA

July 20,2014





LA KISS Press Release

LOS ANGELES - With over 11,000 fans in attendance, the LA KISS (3-14) fell just short to the San Antonio Talons (2-15) Saturday evening at the Honda Center in Week 19 of the 2014 AFL season.
Taking an early lead in the first quarter, Talons quarterback Matt Bassuener connected with wide receiver Robert Quiroga on a 21-yard pass (13:55). The following kickoff was then recovered by Talons' top defensive back, Kelvin Rodgers for a touchdown. Later, Talons wide receiver Brent Holmes rushed the ball for a touchdown putting the Talons up, 21-0. With just 45 seconds left in the first, San Antonio reciever PJ Berry pushed in one final touchdown, putting the score at 28-0 going into the second quarter.
The KISS struck back to open up the second quarter. LA KISS quarterback J.J. Raterink tossed a 24-yard long ball to receiver Donovan Morgan, who walked it in for the touchdown. But San Antonio was quick to respond. Bassuener connected with Holmes on a 33-yard touchdown pass to make it 35-7. Both teams went back and forth on touchdowns for the remainder of the quarter. Raterink connected two more times with Morgan and Andres Vargas launched himself into the end zone for a touchdown. Bassuener completed passes to both Holmes and Solomon which set up a successful 27-yard field goal attempt by Lindholm to give the Talons a 44-28 lead at the half.


Los Angeles opened up the second half on a 39-yard pass from Raterink to backup quarterback Kenny Guiton. At the 6-minute mark, Raterink ran the ball in from the LA KISS 1-yard line, which closed the gap on the Talons' lead to 44-41. With 34 seconds left in the third, Bassuener connected with Holmes, extending the Talons' lead to 10 points. The fourth quarter proved to again be a back and forth battle between LA and San Antonio. Raterink ran the ball in for a touchdown and later had another completed pass to Morgan. Bassuener connected with Solomon for a touchdown and Berry also added a touchdown. With the clock reading 29 seconds, Rodgers intercepted the ball and ran it back for a touchdown, to make it 55-65 Talons. Raterink then threw a 45-yard pass to Brandon Thompkins for a touchdown followed by a successful 2-pt conversion to tie it up 65-65. But the Talons sealed the deal on a 34-yard touchdown pass to Berry making the final score, 72-65.