The New Orleans VooDoo needed a little fourth-quarter voodoo of its own Sunday to defeat defending ArenaBowl champion the San Jose SaberCats.
New Orleans held off the SaberCats 62-61 thanks to two fourth-quarter miscues by San Jose kicker Dan Frentz.
San Jose took a 55-49 lead with 4:36 to play in the game. After a holding penalty against the SaberCats, Frentz’s second extra point attempt bounced off the upright.
New Orleans regained the lead 56-55 on an Andy Kelly touchdown pass to Jacques Rumph with 50 seconds remaining.
It took San Jose just eight seconds to reclaim the lead. Quarterback Mark Grieb connected on his seventh touchdown pass of the game to James Roe, giving the SaberCats a 61-56 advantage.
San Jose’s two-point conversion attempt failed, and Kelly’s club-record eighth touchdown pass of the game to Aaron Bailey with 20 seconds to play seemed to seal the decision for New Orleans.
But Grieb drove the SaberCats down to the New Orleans’ 17-yard line, setting up what would have been a 32-yard game-winning field goal by Frentz. His attempt sailed just right of the upright as time expired, giving New Orleans the victory.
The win was the second in a row for New Orleans (2-1), who defeated Nashville 59-34 last weekend.
Against Nashville, Kelly completed 29-of-33 passes for 277 yards and six touchdowns. His 87 percent completion percentage was a career-high.
In three games this season, Kelly has thrown 20 touchdown passes and was named the Offensive Player of the Game for the last two games.
New Orleans and San Jose mirrored each other for most of the first half. The lead only changed hands three times and the score was tied 35-35 at halftime.
The third quarter only saw two scoring drives, one by each team.
New Orleans opened the half with a 12-play, 32-yard drive which ate 9:47 off the clock. Bailey, who caught 12 passes for 166 yards and four touchdowns, took a pitch from Kelly for a one-yard touchdown run and a 42-35 lead.
San Jose answered as Grieb connected with Rashied Davis to tie the score at 42.
The SaberCats took a 49-42 lead with 12:02 to play when Grieb found Roe for the fourth time in the end zone.
New Orleans answered almost six minutes later, tying the score at 49 with Kelly’s touchdown strike to Thabiti Davis.