The Katy Ruff Riders won their second straight game and avenged an earlier loss to the Barracudas with a 72-63 win over CenTex on Saturday night.
Katy quarterback Jermaine Alfred burned the Barracuda secondary for three long scores and seven touchdown passes before putting the finishing touches on the Ruff Rider win by rushing for the clinching touchdown with only five seconds remaining.
The Barracudas (5-4) grabbed a 56-52 lead with six seconds left in the third quarter when Derrick Wallace capped an eight-play, 41-yard drive by taking an end-around in for the score. But Katy (3-5) responded with 14 straight points to build a 10-point lead with only 4:33 remaining.
CenTex got it back to a three-point game with 2:09 to play when fullback Matt Hoisington ran in from 1 yard out for his third touchdown of the game. The TD was set up by a 30-yard pass from former Texas quarterback Brown, who was signed four weeks ago, to Kelvin Irving.
But the Barracudas, who beat the Ruff Riders 79-62 two weeks ago in Belton, were unable to make a defensive stop and Katy put the finishing touches on the game.
The Barracudas grabbed an early lead by scoring on their opening possession when Brown found Kendrick Wade streaking down the left sideline uncovered for a 25-yard touchdown pass. Katy quickly responded when Albert found Juan Reese open on a crossing pattern in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown pass.
Early in the second, Katy fullback Carlos Alsup broke off a 34-yard run, then two plays later ran in untouched to tie the game at 14.
Olan Coleman returned the ensuing kickoff to the Katy 7. Brown rushed to the 2, and Hoisington put the Barracudas back on top.
As he has so many times before, Barracuda return specialist Coleman delivered when he came up just 7 yards short of his fifth kickoff return for the touchdown this season. Brown scrambled for 5 yards before Hoisington scored the first of his three rushing touchdowns to put CenTex back out in front.
With 12 seconds remaining in the first half, the Ruff Riders took their first when Darren Brown nailed a 37-yard field goal.
The defenses slowed things down briefly in the second half, and the lead changed hands several times until the final quarter, when Katy was able to take a two-score lead, which the Barracudas could not overcome.
The Barracudas, who fell to fourth place in the IFL standings, will try to climb up the standings as they return home Saturday to host the Alaska Wild at 7 p.m.
