Beef Battle Cobras to Stay Undefeated

GREENSBORO, NC — The Carolina Cobras hosted the Omaha Beef Sunday afternoon for Military Appreciation Night, falling to the Omaha Beef 54-43. 

Starting the game off strong, the Cobras received a early advantage, kick returner Adam Smith took on a  massive return getting the offense within 17-yards of a score Cobra Nation fans found themselves on their feet early. Omaha had their own big return as Jordan Barton made a quick return at their 14-yard line. Omaha's Tommy Armstrong would be the first to score in the Cobras home opener. Cobras quarterback Greg Myers threw a complete pass to Smith for a touchdown. Cobras league leading kicker Kevin Didio-Weber knocked down the extra point to put the Cobras in the lead.

With 7:49 left in the quarter Omaha gained a passing touchdown but another missed extra point put the Beef up 12-7. Smith proving to be the Carolina workhorse gave the Cobras more field advantage from special teams sliding to the 25-yard line. After a tough attempt and failing the 4th down, the ball returned to the Omaha who scored on another drive but this time kept their kicker on the bench while converting on the 2-point conversion making up for some missed PATs. Cobras Adam Smith had a quick score but Carolina still trailed Omaha by a touchdown.

Into the second quarter Carolina quarterback Myers took matters into his own hands scoring a rushing touchdown to to tie the game. The Beef attempted to regain the lead but it backfired with a pick-six giving the Cobras the lead instead. Omaha looking to bounce back struggled to punch in a score from the goal line the Cobras stopped them twice but Omaha eventually scored with a rushing touchdown from receiver Jordan Barton. With time ticketing down, the Cobras tried for one more score but a potential touchdown turned into a interception by Omaha's defensive back Trey Dudley-Giles.

Going into the second half the Cobras were up by two with a roaring Carolina crowd that proved that they missed Arena Football and were ready for another great season. The first seven minutes were a stalemate with defensives on both sides shutdown any chance of scoring. Out of scoring range, Coach Negron called on his All-NAL Kicker Kevin Didio-Weber who attempted a field goal that was close but no good. Finally points started to come in on both sides, the Beef with a score on a turnover and Cobras receiver James Summers scoring on a  somersault touchdown to give the team a 3-point lead proved how hard it was for both teams to manage to score, the Beef answered with another touchdown to put Omaha up by four.

In the fourth quarter, Myers led the Cobras down the field leading the team to a much needed score but the Beef recovered and scored quickly. In a arena football game that began to turn into a heavy weight boxing match the teams stood in a break the score board 46-35 with clock at 4:56 left in the game the hard fighting Carolina Cobras home team had one last blow to deliver with heavy blow delivered by Cobras quarterback Greg Myers with a touchdown pass followed by a two-point conversion but the Omaha Beef got the final blow, not as strong with another missed PAT but strong enough to hold the lead to win the game the Omaha Beef takes the first win in this heavy weight rivalry 54-43. The Cobras return to the snake pit next week to host the Idaho Horsemen on April 1 at 7:30pm at Greensboro Coliseum.