COMETS TAKE CONTROL IN SECOND HALF

Hold Nighthawks to one score in second half of 48-28, season-opening victory

Antonio Davis threw four touchdown passes and ran for two more scores, as the Comets outscored the River City Nighthawks, 27-7, in the second half to claim a 48-28 win the Heartland Football League opener for both sides Saturday night at Western Hills High School in Cincinnati.

The score was tied, 7-7, before both teams put two touchdowns on the board in the final two minutes of the first half.

Eric Morton gave the Nighthawks a 14-7 lead on a 38-yard touchdown catch at the two minute warning. The Comets immediately answered when Davis hit Dyshaun Edwards for a 58-yard touchdown on the next play from scrimmage. Derrick Shearer put River City back on top with a 41-yard touchdown catch from Nick Byrd 55 seconds before halftime, but a 44-yard kick return plus a penalty set the Comets up at the River City 20, and Davis ran in a 9-yard touchdown to tie the score 36 seconds before the half.

Brandon Martin intercepted a pass to end River City’s opening possession of the second half and Dereck West recovered a fumble on its next, setting up two touchdowns that put the Comets in control of the game.

A 30-yard screen pass from Nick Byrd to Ty Armstrong enabled River City to pull to within 35-28 on the final play of the third quarter, but Tim O’Brien hauled in a 61-yard touchdown pass from Davis and JuJuan Peterson’s interception set up D.J. Alexander for a 25-yard touchdown run to end the scoring.

Davis completed 15 of 22 passes for 328 yards, with Dyshaun Edwards hauling in six passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns. D.J. Alexander added 114 yards on 16 carries with one touchdown.

Keilan Woods led the defense with six tackles, two for a loss, batting down one pass. Martin, Peterson, and Terrance Maddox each had an interception while Tim Johnson had one sack while West and Rico Middlebrooks shared in another.

The Comets are off next weekend for the Memorial Day holiday, returning to action against the West Virginia Lightning (0-1) at 7 p.m. on June 2 at Taft High School. The Lightning are coming off a 49-42 loss at the Northern Kentucky Bulldogs.

Click here for a full game story and stats

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COMETS OPEN SEASON SATURDAY NIGHT

Face River City Nighthawks in Road Game at West Hi

The Kings Comets officially open their 11th season of play Saturday night against the River City Nighthawks this Saturday night at Western Hills High School (2144 Ferguson Road, Cincinnati, OH 45238).

The game will mark the debut of head coach Derrick Davidson as Comets head coach. Davidson led the Mt. Carmel Fire to a 10-0 regular season record last year and the Heartland Football League South Conference championship game.

The Comets are coming off a 10-3 season, with all three losses come against Davidson’s Fire team, including a 41-39 loss in the HFL South Conference semifinals.

The Nighthawks also went 10-0 last season before losing in the HFL South Conference semifinals to the eventual HFL Champion Ohio Eagles.

Kings opens the season with three of its first four games on the road. The Comets home opener will be June 2 against the West Virginia Lightning at Taft High School.

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DAVIDSON NAMED COMETS HEAD COACH

New coach takes over for Comets 11th season of play

Derrick Davidson has been named the seventh head coach in Kings Comets history, taking over the team for the 2012 season.

Davidson guided the Mt. Carmel Fire to a perfect 10-0 record in the Heartland Football League last season, winning the South Conference Red Division championship over the Comets and advancing to the South Conference finals.

The Fire’s record included two regular-season wins against the Comets in addition to a 41-39 win against the Comets in the South Conference semifinals.

Davidson was 19-5 in two seasons with the Fire, talking over a team that was 3-19 in its first two seasons and guiding it to a West Conference South Division title and the United States Football Association (USFA) playoffs in his first season in 2009.

After the Fire took a year off in 2010, Davidson rebuilt the team almost from scratch and immediately turned it into a power in the HFL.

Davidson also has professional coaching experience as the head coach of the Dayton Bulldogs of the National Indoor Football League (NIFL) in 2006 and the Marshals in 2007 and as offensive coordinator of the Miami Valley Silverbacks of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) in 2010.

Davidson was also inducted into the United States Flag & Touch Football League (USTFL) Hall of Fame in 2008.

Davidson is expected to bring over his coaching staff with him.

The Comets will return to the Heartland Football League for 2011, going 8-2 in the league and 10-3 overall in 2011. League play is expected to begin May 19.

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HFL CHANGES FOR THE 2011 SEASON

• Columbus War Eages have moved to the South Conference and been renamed the Capital City Thunder.
• Pickerington Wildcats (5-5, 5-4 GDFL in 2011) have been admitted to the South Conference.
• Central Ohio Chaos have been admitted to the South Conference. They are a new team made up of several players from the Central Ohio Spartans, who will not be returning.
• Columbus Fire (9-3, 8-2 EMCFL) have been admitted to the South Conference.
• West Virginia Lightning (9-3, 8-2 EMCFL) have been admitted to the South Conference to fill the spot left when the Ohio Eagles folded.

HFL South Conference Teams Confirmed for 2012
Kings Comets	Capital City Thunder
West Virginia Lightning	Central Ohio Chaos
River City Nighthawks	Pickerington Wildcats
Northern Kentucky Bulldogs	Columbus Fire

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MARDY GILYARD UPDATE

Former Comets defensive back Mardy Gilyard (2007) accounted for 75 yards in the St. Louis Rams preseason opener, a 33-10 win against the Indianapolis Colts Saturday at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. Gilyard had two catches for 21 yards, five punt returns for 24 yards, and a 32-yard kick return to open the second half. He contributed to two second-quarter field goals, first with a 15-yard punt return to the Rams 45 that led to a 21-yard Josh Brown field goal and later his 10-yard catch converted a third-and-five that led to a 60-yard field goal by Brown.
The Rams play against 8 p.m. Saturday night at home against the Tennessee Titans.

Click here for an article about Mardy's first pre-season game

See pictures of Mardy against the Lions in 2010:
Kick return       Forced fumble
Click here to watch Mardy's first NFL reception in the Rams 30-16 win against Washington, Sept. 26, 2010