[revrew]

Season 1, week 1: The Dragons take the field for the first time

While dragons may be typically associated with fire and brimstone, the Des Moines Dragons began their football franchise in frigid form. On an unseasonably cold and cloudy day in Los Angeles, the fledgling Iowa franchise managed just two plays before fumbling the ball away. The fumble was returned for a touchdown, and the Dragons' season started down 7-0.

But something stirred in the squad's secondary, as the opposing Chargers were stymied in the air. Los Angeles failed to find a first down in the first quarter, and the second started with an interception by Des Moines' safety Herb Dallesandro.

And even while the Dragons' offense stumbled, the veterans in their secondary donned the mantle of leadership. Captain cornerback Ashton Dodge added an interception, and Dallesandro swatted 3 passes out of the air, consistently confounding the Chargers.

Twice the heralded defenders gave the Dragons the ball in opponents' territory. And then …

And then, an echo of glory resounded. A fire, once dim and smoldering, was re-ignited in an old heart. Dragons quarterback Nathaniel Witt, who ten years ago had led the Iowa Hawkeyes to victory on the strength of his arms and indomitable legs, found within himself a fount of youth.

At a pivotal moment in the third quarter, the former Hawkeye evaded an oncoming blitzer, looked off a retreating secondary, and burst out of the pocket for a scrambling first down. Again and again, Witt eluded the rush by rushing for yards. Then, just as the defense keyed in on the athletic QB, Witt found receiver Preston Evans for the very first Dragon touchdown.

The fourth quarter turned into a battle of field position, as the two teams exchanged field goals and punts. But the Dragons were pushing the Chargers back and back in the battle. Forcing a three-and-out and then another, the Dragons had compelled the Chargers to punt from their own end zone. With only 3 minutes left on the clock, and trailing 13-17, the Dragons returned the punt into Charger territory.

Nathaniel Witt was given one more chance. One more drive to forever determine which foot the Dragon franchise would begin upon.

A completion. Another. Another. Within 4 plays, Witt had the Dragons knocking on the door, 1st and goal from the Charger 5 with barely more than a minute to play.

Inside the 2-minute warning, Witt faked the handoff to the back, than turned to look for the tight end in the flat on a play-action pass. But the Chargers had read it perfectly. The tight end was locked down. Witt looked for his secondary receiver but saw only two Charger defenders charging in on him. The wily quarterback pulled a pump fake to send the first pass rusher skyward, then tucked the ball and spun to elude the second. He ran left along the line, but the pocket had broken down, and a linebacker came free. Witt lunged forward, slipped out of the linebacker's grasp, then cut to the right. His tight end target turned to run block, and Witt took off into open green, ten yards from the end zone. Just ten yards, and the Dragons would take the first lead in Des Moines pro football history. Just 9 more yards, just 8, just 7, just 6, just 5. Sidestepping a safety who cut the angle too sharply, Witt lunged forward from the four, diving for the goal line …