SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Commanders had a 12-point lead halfway through the third quarter; from that moment on, it was all Orlando, who scored 20 straight points in the final two quarters to clinch a come-from-behind victory. San Antonio drops to 1-1 in the inaugural season.
Fourth Quarter: Commanders 37, Apollos 29
The fourth quarter starts with a second straight field goal from Apollos kicker Elliott Fry as the Apollos cut a 12-point lead in half.
The Apollos kept up their scoring streak with a 23-yard pass from Garrett Gilbert to Jalin Marshall. Orlando failed their two-point conversion but has scored 12 straight points to even the game at 29 with just under eight minutes left in the final quarter.
On the next drive, Commanders quarterback Logan Woodside threw a costly interception to Apollos cornerback Keith Reaser, who's able to return it 39 yards for a touchdown. Orlando was able to convert the two-point conversion for their 20th straight point and the lead, 37-29.
Third Quarter: Commanders 29, Apollos 20
The Commanders added to their lead early into the third quarter with Nick Rose's third field goal of the contest, putting San Antonio up 21-17 with 9:28 left in the quarter.
On the next drive from the Apollos, the Commanders defense contributed to San Antonio's scoring effort. Jayrone Elliott was able to knock the ball loose from Apollos quarterback Garrett Gilbert, and defensive tackle Joe Mbu scooped up the loose ball for an eight-yard return for a touchdown. Commanders quarterback Logan Woodside tossed a successful two-point conversion to increase the home team's lead to twelve, 29-17.
The Apollos responded with a 24-yard field goal to cut San Antonio's lead to 29-20 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter.
Second Quarter: Commanders 18, Apollos 17
The Apollos were able to cut into the Commanders' lead early in the second quarter on a 1-yard run from running back De'Veon Smith, who also converted the team's two-point conversion.
The teams then traded field goals on their next drives to put the score at 15-11 with just over five minutes left in the first half.
With just under two minutes left in the first half, Apollos quarterback (and former Texas longhorn) Garrett Gilbert tossed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Charles Johnson to give Orlando their first lead of the game. The Apollos could not complete the two-point conversion.
To close out the half, Commanders kicker Nick Rose nailed his second field goal of the game to give San Antonio a slim one-point lead going into the break.
First Quarter: Commanders 12, Apollos 0
A commanding start to this game by San Antonio! The Commanders' two first-quarter drives were capped by touchdowns. RB Kenneth Farrow II scored on a 15-yard run for the home team's first TD, and Logan Woodside connected with tight end Evan Rodriguez at the very end of the quarter to put the Commanders up 12. San Antonio couldn't convert either two-point attempt though (Reminder: there are no extra points in the AAF.)
Pregame
Game two of the San Antonio Commanders era, and the team has an early test on its hands Saturday afternoon at the Alamodome.
After defeating the San Diego Fleet 15-6 last weekend, the Commanders will be welcoming the Orlando Apollos to town. Last week Orlando defeated the Atlanta Legends at home in a 40-6 beatdown.
Head coach Mike Riley and his team said they're looking forward to what should be a competitive matchup.
Kickoff is at 3 p.m. Follow along here for quarter-by-quarter updates and analysis.
