Too little, too late for Titans

ASHWAUBENON, Wis. - Some holes are just too deep.

Just ask the Cedar Rapids Titans.

The Titans trailed, 20-3, before their offense even got the ball for the second time against Green Bay. The Titans couldn't overcome the slow start and never led as the Blizzard won, 59-40, late Saturday night at the Resch Center.

Knowing they already had clinched a playoff spot and facing a team that hadn't won a game, the Titans players may have been a little complacent, noted defensive back Travonti Johnson.

'We just started out flat,” Johnson said. 'We came out and busted a couple of plays that led to touchdowns and we just couldn't get back on track. ... It started from practice this week and I'm just going to let it be known, it wasn't a good week of practice. But we're going to fix it.”

Down by 17 points with three-and-a-half quarters still to play, Titans wide receiver Jefferson Hayes was confident his team could mount a rally.

'This is arena football, so you can come back from 20 points,” Hayes said. 'We just weren't connecting on our plays. We had plays there, we just missed them.”

Cedar Rapids (9-3) dropped its third road game of the season and came into the contest 3-0 against the Blizzard this year, winning by an average of 17 points. However, the Blizzard's offense and defense were in sync for the first time in 2014 as Green Bay picked up its first victory.

'Once we got up on them we felt like we could do a little bit more things on offense and kind of attack some of the things they did on defense,” said Tommie Williams, while cradling the game ball after earning his first win as the Blizzard coach. 'Once you keep scoring, they've got to play catch up and that's hard to do in our indoor game.”

Green Bay (1-11) came into the game averaging 41.5 points per game, but tallied 44 first-half points. Blizzard quarterback Nate Wara accounted for seven touchdowns - throwing four touchdowns and running for two more in the first half alone - and was 12-for-18 pass for 120 yards.

Cedar Rapids outscored Green Bay, 20-15, in the second half and outgained the Blizzard for the game, 222-177.

'We're a second-half team and we've got to get away from that,” said Hayes, who had seven catches for 80 yards and two second-half touchdowns. 'We always come out in the first half and make mistakes and we leave plays on the field. We've just got to come out and become a four-quarter team.”

The Blizzard didn't waste any time, scoring on their first drive to go up 7-0. The Titans responded with a field goal. Green Bay scored back-to-back touchdowns - one on a pass from Wara to Lucien Walker from 3 yards out and Wara a 19-yard run - after Titans returner Jereme Green fumbled a kickoff.

Cedar Rapids, which was missing running back LaRon Council for the second straight game, made it 34-20 after quarterback Spencer Ohm ran for a 9-yard touchdown and threw a 49-yard bomb to Carl Sims for another score.

The Titans defense didn't get its first stop until early in the second quarter, getting the ball back down by 14. However, a promising drive stalled at the Blizzard 12 and Rockne Belmonte missed a field goal after a high snap. Green Bay quickly scored another TD and tacked on a field goal to make it 44-20 at halftime.

Down by 30 in the fourth quarter, Ohm - who was just 10-for-26 for 166 yards and three interceptions - ran for one score and threw two more to Hayes.

The Titans players said the loss might be a good thing to get them prepared for the postseason.

'This is an eye-opener and some people are going to have to pay,” Johnson said. ''This won't happen again.”