 | This articledoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved. Find sources: "ArenaBowl III" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Date | August 18, 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arena | Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | George LaFrance, OS, Detroit
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 12,046 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Winning coach | Tim Marcum | ||||||||||||||||||
| Losing coach | Joe Haering | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | Prime Network | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Dave Enet,Howard Balzer | ||||||||||||||||||
Arena Bowl '89 (orArena Bowl III) was theArena Football League's third Arena Bowl. The game featured the #2Pittsburgh Gladiators against the #1Detroit Drive. Both teams finished their seasons at 3-1, yet the Drive greatly led in points against (84-147).
In the first quarter, Detroit drew first blood with OL-DL Reggie Mathis sacking Gladiators quarterbackWillie Totten in the end zone for a safety, while Drive quarterbackTony Burris got a 1-yard quarterback sneak run for a touchdown. Pittsburgh kickerRusty Fricke made a 55-yard field goal, and Detroit responded with FB-LB Lynn Bradford's 17-yard touchdown run.
In the second quarter, the Drive increased its lead with kickerNovo Bojovic's 50-yard field goal, yet the Gladiators refused to go down with Fricke getting a 30-yard field goal. Bradford made a two-yard touchdown run, yet Pittsburgh responded with FB-LB Mike Powell's two-yard touchdown run (with a failed two-point conversion).
In the third quarter, the Gladiators drew closer with WR/DB Cornelius Ross returning a fumble 23 yards for a touchdown, yet the Drive responded with Burris completing a 32-yard touchdown pass to OSGeorge LaFrance (with a failed PAT) and a 12-yard touchdown pass to WR/DBGary Mullen.
Pittsburgh would respond with Totten completing a 19-yard touchdown pass to WR-DB Brian Gardner, yet afterwards, Detroit's defense held the Gladiators down for the rest of the game.
With the win, the Drive became the first team in Arena Football history to win back-to-back ArenaBowls.
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter