The Pittsburgh Power instituted a new policy this week to open the lines of communication between the team's four captains and coach Chris Siegfried.
It's doubtful anything like this was discussed.
The Power rallied from a 31-point deficit in the third quarter to force overtime and earn a 57-54 win over the Orlando Predators on Saturday in front of 4,464 fans at Consol Energy Center.
"At halftime, we just told them to forget about the score, that they're not going to get it back in one series," Siegfried said. "Then something magic happened, and we showed some life in the second half for the first time this season."
Power quarterback Derek Cassidy, who replaced injured starter Andrico Hines early in the second quarter, engineered the comeback by completing 12-of-22 passes for 148 yards and five touchdowns. He threw four interceptions.
Cassidy found Christian Wise, who was playing his first game for the Power (2-3), for a 19-yard touchdown on the Power's first offensive play in overtime after P.J. Berry's 38-yard kickoff return.
The win snaps a three-game losing streak that started after a 46-20 win at Orlando (0-5) to open the season.
"We just needed a win," Berry said. "It didn't matter how it happened or who it came again. We just needed a win."
Justin Roper was making his first start of the season for Orlando after Collin Drafts threw six interceptions in four games. He passed for 245 yards and six touchdowns. AFL veteran Bobby Sippio, signed this week by Orlando, caught three of those scores.
Roper at least had some prep time, whereas Cassidy, the Power's fourth quarterback in five games, entered early in the second quarter when Hines went down with what Siegfried said was likely a groin injury.
Roper led Orlando to touchdowns on six straight drives to open the game, as the Predators built a 48-17 lead after his 4-yard touchdown pass to Nate Forse with 9 minutes, 25 seconds left in the third quarter.
It was at that point, though, that Cassidy, who made 29 starts at Rhode Island and spent 2011 with the New Orleans VooDoo, began to find his comfort zone after throwing an interception on his first drive. He lifted the Power out of that 31-point hole to make it a four-point game after finding Mike Washington (65 yards, two touchdowns) for a 19-yard score with 5:52 left in the fourth quarter.
That made the score 48-44, and, after Orlando's Mark Lewis kicked a 23-yard field goal, Cassidy found Randy Hymes for a 23-yard touchdown with 37 seconds left in the game to tie the score, and the teams went to overtime when Lewis' last-second attempt sailed wide left.
"It seemed like nobody stopped believing," Cassidy said. "I don't think anybody has been a part of anything like that, but we just stuck together."
The Power are off until Friday when they travel to New Orleans to play the VooDoo at 8 p.m.
