FUN, GAMES FOR AVENGERS AVENGERS 65, BUFFALO 14.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

The Avengers were ahead by three touchdowns and well on their way to an easy victory Friday night. Then Buffalo Destroyers quarterback Kevin Mason suffered the greatest indignity of his first Arena Football League start in nearly two years.

Mason, a player who had been a practice squad wide receiver/linebacker until this week, suffered a strained neck when he tried to tackle the Avengers' Cornelius Coe after an interception, putting a fitting touch on the Avengers' 65-14 victory in front of 11,410 at Staples Center.

Mason was Buffalo's fifth quarterback this season and had completed as many passes (one) to Avengers defenders as his own receivers in the first quarter. He decided to take matters into his own hands after the interception by Coe, and disastrous results soon followed.

Mason was hurt when he dived headfirst into the padded wall surrounding the field trying to tackle Coe, straining his neck in the process and drawing groans from the crowd.

For the Avengers (9-3), Tony Graziani completed 14 of 31 passes for 175 yards and six touchdowns. Chris Jackson caught five of those scores, and the team's beleaguered defense stopped Buffalo on its first five possessions and allowed the fewest points in franchise history.

And, in perhaps the most telling moment, Avengers backup quarterback Scott Dreisbach was caught yawning on camera from the bench. Dreisbach later entered in the fourth quarter.

With three road games left on their schedule, the Avengers know the rest of the season will be far from easy. They also weren't perfect against Buffalo (4-8), which has lost seven of eight. But Friday night's rout nevertheless was remarkable for many reasons.

The Avengers' defense, which ranked last in the AFL entering the game, didn't allow Buffalo a first down until the last 30 seconds of the first half. By then, they already had scored the game's first 35 points.

The Avengers also set a single-game record for fewest points allowed. The Avengers also set a franchise record for victories in a season with the widest margin of victory (51 points) in their four-year history.

About the only problem for them came with 2 minutes, 56 seconds left in the second quarter when kicker Remy Hamilton missed a 20-yard field goal. It came after Hamilton missed a pair of game-winning kicks a week ago that cost the Avengers an 82-76 loss to Arizona.

But Mike Ulufale recovered Hamilton's missed kick off the left net to give the Avengers the ball back on the 4-yard line. And Graziani needed just two plays to connect with Jackson in the end zone to put the Avengers ahead 35-0. Hamilton also missed an extra point and field goal later.

Buffalo finally got on the scoreboard with 16 seconds remaining in the half as backup quarterback Chris Sanders wobbled a 13-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to Jason Collins-Baker sliding in the corner of the end zone.

Alas, the Destroyers could not even score right. Collins-Baker rose in a fury and drew a misconduct penalty for spiking the ball in Siaha Burley's face. That pushed Buffalo out of extra-point range and sent the team into the locker room down 42-6.

Searching for a spark on offense, the Destroyers decided two hours before the game to start Mason, who had last played quarterback for Buffalo in June 2001. He finished just 1 of 9 for 3 yards with two interceptions.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

The Avengers' Chris Jackson celebrates after scoring a touchdown Friday.

Edna T. Simpson/Daily News