There are a lot of questions in Milwaukee and not many answers following another loss. Week five brought fresh heartbreak with a 29-27 home loss to the Columbus Explorers, dropping the Warriors to 1-4.
“I’m disappointed in the team, and I’m disappointed in myself,” said Coach Dave Dickenson. “We’re not playing the kind of football our fans deserve, and I’m sorry for that.”
Columbus held a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter on a pair of field goals, and Milwaukee answered with a pair of scores from Matt Barkley to Donald Parham. The first was from 13 yards, and the second was a massive 71-yard catch and run for a 14-6 lead.
The Explorers surged in front with a field goal and an Austin Ekeler 7-yard run. Milwaukee regained the lead heading into the half at 17-16 on a 20-yard Elliott Fry field goal.
CBus swung back in front with a Josh Dobbs-Dan Arnold TD pass and a field goal to lead 26-17 early in the fourth. Fry hit from 46 yards, and the Explorers extended their lead to 29-20 on a field goal with 5:14 left.
Milwaukee wouldn’t go away. Barkley tossed his third TD of the game from 13 yards to Antonio Brown to pull within 29-27 with 2:12 left.
The Warriors got one more chance on offense, but they could not convert and lost the game.
The offensive line woes continued, and Barkley was sacked 4 times, fumbling it away three times. That limited what was otherwise a strong game, as he completed 29 of 43 for 387 yards with 3 touchdowns and an interception.
Andrew Harris ran for 60 yards on 15 attempts.
Brown caught 6 passes for 67 yards and a score. Parham caught 4 passes for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Foye Oluokun paced the defense with 9 tackles. Joe Ostman tallied 8 tackles and a sack. Aaron Grymes added 7 tackles and an interception.
Time is running out to turn the season around, and this week the Warriors meet a team in the same boat, as they travel to play the 1-4 Dallas Six-Shooters.
