A little over two months removed from their NAFL Final 4 meltdown, the Central Penn Piranha were seeking to finish the season strong by winning the American Football News Today AAA National Championship Game against the Central Florida Thoroughbreds (14-1) in Homestead, Florida.

Unfortunately for Central Penn, the outcome was the same.

The game started with a bang when Darren Echols (NAFL Eastern Conference Iron Man of the Year) returned the opening kickoff 45 yards. The drive stalled, and then Andar Rehm (NAFL Eastern Conference Kicker of the Year) had a 47-yard field goal attempt blocked.

Following a three-and-out series, the Thoroughbreds set-up in punt formation. A fumbled snap allowed the Central Penn offense to begin their next possession at the 22-yard line of Central Florida.

A few plays later, quarterback Jeremy Ricker scored on an acrobatic 6-yard touchdown run when he launched himself in the air, and was flipped over and into the end zone. Rehm’'s extra point gave the Piranha a 7-0 lead.

Another three-and-out by the Central Florida offense, coupled with a 17-yard punt return by Darren Echols, gave the Piranha possession at the 49-yard line of the Thoroughbreds. Mark Jarmon came off the bench to toss a 37-yard touchdown strike to Echols. The extra point was good, and the Piranha had jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the second quarter (14:06), meeting little resistance.

All of that would change during the second stanza.

Johnell Brown returned the ensuing kickoff to mid-field, and that was the first of many sparks provided by the electrifying running back / safety. The Thoroughbreds capped a 50-yard scoring drive with a 3-yard run by Greg Debose. Jason Yellin converted the extra point at the 8:35 mark.

Late in the second quarter, the game got a little crazy.

Central Florida had possession at the 47-yard line of the Piranha with around 40 seconds left in the half. That'’s when the lights went out, literally.  All of the lights shining on the football field and the adjoining soccer field went out. The only lights that remained on were the ones in the press box.

The twenty-minute delay was just the beginning of exciting events forthcoming.

On the first play after the power outage delay, Dee Anderson tossed a pass downfield, and it was intercepted by cornerback Mike Baldwin. The Piranha took over at their own 19-yard line.

Holding a 14-7 lead with 31 seconds left before halftime, it appeared that the Piranha would take a knee and head to the locker room. That wasn’'t the case. The Piranha were seeking to add to their lead, and came out throwing. Mark Jarmon fired a pass across the field from the far left side to the far right side. That gave Johnell Brown plenty of time to read the play, and use his speed to step in front of the intended receiver and return the interception 28 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked by defensive tackle Chris Stanley, making the score 14-13 with 13 ticks left on the clock.

At that point, the damage had been done. All of the momentum was on the side of the Thoroughbreds. The bizarre ending to the first half included a power outage, followed by back-to-back plays with an interception, with one resulting in a touchdown.

The aforementioned Brown appeared to pick up right where he left off, by returning the second half kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. However, there was a 15-yard chop block penalty that nullified the score. Otherwise, it may have been game over for Central Penn.

Both teams were forced to punt on their opening drives of the third quarter. On the next Thoroughbred drive, the Piranha defense stepped up and made a play. Mike Baldwin notched his second theft of the game, and this time he returned it 37 yards for the score. Midway through the quarter (8:19), the Piranha extended their lead to 21-13 and regained the momentum.

That lasted until the next play.

Similar to the last kickoff, Johnell Brown dialed up another long distance return. This time around it was from 83 yards. There were no flags on the ground, so it counted. The two-point pass attempt failed, but Central Florida was right back in the mix, trailing 21-19.

On the ensuing drive, the Piranha failed to convert a fourth down at the 37-yard line of Central Florida, and that may have been the final momentum-shifter.

The Thoroughbreds proceeded to gallop 63 yards to pay dirt, capped by a 10-yard run by Greg Debose. Following another failed two-point attempt, Central Florida held a 25-21 lead with 1:27 left in the third stanza.

Both teams exchanged punts on their next two possessions, setting up a dramatic finish.

With 4:38 left in the contest, the Piranha began a potential game-winning drive on their own 42-yard line. Jeremy Ricker was inserted back into the game as the Piranha quarterback. After earning a new set of downs on their first couple plays, the Piranha drive stalled, setting up a fourth down and 10 yards to go situation.

Ricker calmly connected with Jermaine Thaxton on a 15-yard strike down to the 28-yard line. Unfortunately, Ricker proceeded to follow-up that clutch play with an ill-advised pass that was underthrown, and ultimately intercepted in the end zone with 1:46 remaining.

With little time remaining, the Piranha forced a Thoroughbred punt. Jason Yellin ran out of the back of the end zone for a safety with 7 seconds left in the game, cutting the lead to 25-23.

Following the free kick, the Piranha had time for one last play. A short pass was completed to Darren Echols, but he was tackled before having a chance to lateral the ball.

Central Florida pulled out an exciting 25-23 win over the Piranha.

The Piranha defense had many standout players, including linebacker Mark McCutcheon (7 tackles), cornerback Mike Baldwin (1 tackle, 2 INT-37 yards, 4 passes defended), linebacker Donnell Donaldson (7 tackles), defensive tackle Brian Smith (5 tackles), linebacker Melik Brown (4 tackles, 1 sack), and defensive tackle Ray Styles (4 tackles, 1 sack).

Linebacker Yohance Clark led the Thoroughbred defense with a game-high 13 tackles.

The lone offensive star for the Piranha was Darren Echols. The rookie wide receiver notched 258 combined yards (173 kickoff return, 56 receiving, 17 punt return, 12 rushing).

TEAM STATS
First Downs: CPP 10, CFT 10
Rushing Yards (Avg.): CPP 102 (3.3), CFT 104 (3.9)
Passing Yards: CPP 88, CFT 55
Total Yards: CPP 190, CFT 159
Turnovers: CPP 2, CFT 2
Punts-Avg.: CPP 4-41.5, CFT 5-35.4
Penalties-Yards: CPP 11-74, CFT 7-62
3rd Down: CPP 4-13 (31%), CFT 0-9 (0%)
4th Down: CPP 1-2 (50%), CFT 2-2 (100%)

GAME NOTES
American Football News Today AAA National Championship Game

Offense MVP – Darren Echols, Piranha (258 combined yards, 1 TD)
Defense MVP – Johnell Brown, Thoroughbreds (2 INT-28 yards, 1 TD, 1 tackle, 161 kickoff return yards, 1 TD)

• Darren Echols – 2nd most combined yards in a single-game (258);  Record – Emne’ko Sweeney (272 vs. Hudson Valley Giants, 2002 home playoff game)
  
• Both teams combined for 336 kick return yards (CPP 175, CFT 161)
  
• Both teams combined to record 4 INT-65 yards, 2 TD (CPP 2-37-1, CFT 2-28-1)
  
• First 2-game losing streak in Piranha history
  
• Piranha finish the 2009 season 13-2, and ranked #9 nationally