San Antonio Commanders' Greg Ward Jr., of Tyler, had the highlight of the evening when in the second quarter he caught a 39-yard pass from quarterback Logan Woodside. The Alliance/Photo

SAN ANTONIO — Football is back in San Diego. But on the first night of play in The Alliance of American Football, it was San Antonio that came away with the victory.

Before a crowd of 27,857 at the Alamodome, the Commanders pulled away from the Fleet in the final 15 minutes, scoring a pivotal touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter and adding a field goal late for a 15-6 victory.

The Fleet play their first home game on Sunday, Feb. 17 against the Atlanta Legends at SDCCU Stadium.  

The Commanders are home again Sunday, Feb. 17 against the Orlando Apollos, who are coached by Steve Spurrier. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.

The Apollos defeated the Atlanta Legends 40-6 on Saturday in Orlando, Florida.

Former John Tyler High School and University of Houston quarterback Greg Ward Jr. switched to wide receiver and made some catches.

The Commanders cracked open a hard-fought defensive struggle with one big play to end the third quarter. After taking over on the Fleet 49 following an interception, Commanders quarterback Logan Woodside hit Alonzo Moore for 46 yards to the Fleet 3-yard line. Then on the first play of the fourth quarter, Kenneth Farrow II scored on a 3-yard run to give the Commanders a 12-6 lead. A 2-point conversion run failed.

The Commanders added a 28-yard field goal by former Texas kicker Nick Rose with 3:34 remaining to close out the scoring.

Fleet quarterback Mike Bercovici completed 15 of 25 passes for 176 yards, but was sacked six times and threw two interceptions, the latter leading to head coach Mike Martz replacing him with Philip Nelson to begin the fourth quarter.

Bercovici celebrated his 26th birthday on Saturday, and in the early going, his offensive line gave him a most sought-after present by keeping him upright. Bercovici completed the first pass attempt in Fleet history, hitting former Dallas Cowboy Gavin Escobar for 18 yards, then later connecting with Dontez Ford for 32 yards to the Commanders’ 42.

But then the San Antonio defense began to wreak havoc in the backfield, as linebacker Shaan Washington of Texas A&M leveled Bercovici for a sack and fumble, but the Fleet recovered near midfield to retain possession.

On the other side of the ball, the Fleet were in bend-but-don’t-break mode for much of the first half, allowing the Commanders to put together time-consuming drives that ate up chunks of yardage, but never letting San Antonio cross the goal line.

One drive ended with the Fleet breaking up a fourth-and-6 play from the San Diego 34. The next two times the Commanders took possession, they drove deep into Fleet territory, but the Fleet came up with big third-down stops on both occasions, forcing San Antonio to settle for a pair of Rose field goals and a 6-0 lead.

The first stop came on a third-and-goal from the 8 with 11:24 left in the half, when defensive tackle Tani Tupou sacked Woodside.

The next save was perhaps the biggest of the half. Following the field goal, the Fleet drove to the Commanders’ 19. But on second down, Bercovici was sacked for a 12-yard loss, then was intercepted at the goal line on third down. Baylor’s Orion Stewart made the pick and returned it all the way to the Fleet 31, and soon the Commanders had a third-and-goal from the 4.

But safety Ryan Moeller then made his first big play, doing just enough to bother tight end Cole Hunt on a pass to the end zone, resulting in an incompletion. Again, San Antonio settled for a Rose field goal, taking a 6-0 lead with 3:50 left in the half.

Bercovici quickly led the Fleet down the field, hitting Escobar for 26 yards, then running for 14 to the Commanders’ 29 with just under two minutes to play. Kicker Donny Hageman, signed earlier this week, did the rest, hitting from 47 yards out with 1:17 left in the first half to give the Fleet its first-ever score, cutting the deficit to 6-3.

Moeller then struck again, intercepting a deflected pass over the middle and returning it to the Commanders’ 23 before Hageman connected on a 28-yard field goal with two seconds left to tie the score at 6-6.

Following the game, Fleet head coach Mike Martz announced a change at quarterback. Next week, Nelson will start in place of Mike Bercovici.