Avengers Can’t Find Way to Win

All you need to know about the Avengers’ 51-36 Arena League Football loss to Houston on Friday--and the Avengers’ 0-6 season--can be summed up in a couple of plays.

Down 14-10 in the second quarter, Los Angeles had a chance to stop Houston on a fourth-and-four from the Avenger 20. But quarterback Robert Hall completed an 11-yard pass to Ben Bronson, who later caught a nine-yard touchdown pass.

Trailing 28-23 in the third quarter, the Avengers had a fourth-and-three at the ThunderBears’ 11-yard line. But Todd Marinovich’s pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage and fell harmlessly to the turf.

There were other reasons for Houston’s victory, before 10,781 at Staples Center.

Despite being sacked six times, Hall passed for 228 yards and six touchdowns. Bronson caught 12 of Hall’s 23 completions (in 35 attempts) and scored three times for the ThunderBears (2-3).

Marinovich, making his second start for Los Angeles, passed for 235 yards and two touchdowns. He also had two interceptions, the most damaging coming with 3:04 to play in the fourth quarter, when Ed Howard picked off Marinovich and returned it 21 yards to the Avenger 18. Hall immediately threw a touchdown pass to Bronson.

Don’t forget the truckload of penalties (11 for 57 yards), flubs and miscues that have defined and maligned every Avenger game this season.

The Avengers, who have never had a second-half lead, haven’t been able to sustain a level of consistency on offense. A big reason for that is the continued shuffling of players into and out of the team.

“We’re not giving up on the season,” lineman Eric Graves said. “But this is Week 6 and we’ve already had a lot of changes. It’s hard to [learn the offense] in a week’s time. Guys need time to gel.

“What’s hard is we’re close to winning. The coaches keep telling us that and they’re right.”