Written by Adrian Beecher
Oviedo FL – After starting the game about as badly as you can without turning the ball over, Orlando Apollos quarterback Garrett Gilbert turned the tide of his first professional start in a big way!
The first drive opened up with 3 straight throws off target. A bomb downfield, thrown at least 5 yards too long. A throw to the left side that felt just too short of running back Akeem Hunt. And then one to the right side that he zipped out to tight end Scott Orndoff, which was nowhere near him about 3 yards short as Orndoff came back for it.
After a field goal from Atlanta, Gilbert was under center again, continuing to struggle. An incomplete pass to Hunt, was negated due to a defensive penalty, so his next counted pass was a completion to Jalin Marshall for 16 yard. However, then it was three straight incompletions again from Gilbert as the team was forced to punt at the Legends 48 yard line.
And then… On the next possession… It just started to click for Gilbert.
Opening up the drive with back-to-back completions to Charles Johnson set the tone as the Apollos got quickly to midfield, then an unsportsmanlike penalty against the Legends moved the ball to the 36-yard line. Gilbert would throw an incompletion to the endzone looking for former UCF wideout Rannell Hall to end the first quarter.
1st pass in the 2nd quarter came on the 2nd play of the quarter and was a slingshot of a pass to Marshall over two defenders for a 26 yard TD connection, that had to be reviewed and overturned to be called a TD, marking the first-ever TD in the history of the Alliance of American Football. This gave the Apollos the lead, as they converted the 2pt conversion, and they never looked back.
An interception by the Apollos Defense flipped the field back to Gilbert at the Legends 35 yard line just two plays later. Then three plays later, Gilbert connected with Marchall at the 1-yard line to set up a 1 yd rushing TD from De’Veon Smith.
Gilbert once again led the Apollos into scoring position on the teams next offensive possession. However, a decision to go for it on 4th an 1 from the 12-yard line of Orlando didn’t pay off as they turned the ball over as Gilbert failed to make the one yard.
However, on the next possession, a 36-yard pass interference would set the Apollos up with a 1st and goal at the Legends 5 yard line. This was where Gilbert hauled in his receiving TD from Marshall on a play that looked like the “Philly Special”, but Gilbert and coach Spurrier emphasized was just another play, nothing special about it.
This put the Apollos up 22-6 at the half. Gilbert started out 1-7 passing for only 16 yards. However, he finished it 9 of 12 for 115 yards 1 TD through the air and one receiving.
“It was a lot of fun, a lot of fun to be back out there. I think once you get into the game, it doesn’t feel like your first time playing in a long time,” said Gilbert of his first professional start. “I think our offensive unit as a whole did a great job tonight getting into a rhythm. Like I said a little bit of a rocky start in the first quarter but did a nice job bouncing back.”
In the second half, the party continued as Gilbert continued to get on a roll. He opened first drive going 79 yards in 12 plays to set up a 33-yard field goal from Elliott Fry., eating off 7 minutes and 10 seconds from the clock. On that first drive, Gilbert went 3 of 4 for 55 yards and had a rush for 10 yards, which came after taking a 10-yard sack and put his team back into field goal range.
The second drive was supposed to end in a punt, however, the Legends muffed the punt and the Apollos took over at the ATL 35-yard line. It then took just two plays before Gilbert connected with De’Ernest Johnson on the left side of the field near the 5-yard line, where he broke a tackle and found his way into the endzone to make it a 31-6 game with only 13:33 left to play.
That would mark the end of the night for Gilbert as Austin Appleby came in relief after a 51-yard pick six by Terence Garvin made it a 37-6 advantage for the Apollos.
Gilbert finished the night 15 of 25 passing for 227 yards and two TD’s adding another receiving. In the 2nd half alone, in limited playing time, he completed 8 of 9 passes for 96 yards and a TD.
