Willis Marshall and the Desperados couldn't finish off Columbus a third consecutive time.

DALLAS - Coaches paced aimlessly outside the locker room in the darkened corridors of American Airlines Center. Players, still in uniform, slowly streamed in and out of the entrance. Family members waited patiently in the hallway, some in tears.

This was not the expected end to the Dallas Desperados' record-setting 2007 season. A seemingly destined ArenaBowl celebration was replaced by telling looks of anguish and bewilderment Saturday night following their 66-59 loss to the underdog Columbus Destroyers in the divisional round of the National Conference playoffs.

The team which finished the regular season with the best record in AFL history (15-1) and earned a clear path to ArenaBowl XXI with home-field advantage throughout the playoffs instead will have to watch Columbus (7-9, 2-0) play the Georgia Force (14-2, 1-0) next weekend for a trip to New Orleans on July 29.

"Fifteen and one means nothing - absolutely nothing," quarterback Clint Dolezel said outside the locker room. "You play to win championships and that's what our goal was. It's like losing a loved one in there right now."

The Desperados felt similar disappointment last season after losing the conference championship at home to Orlando. But this one might hurt worse, knowing they squandered a 10-point halftime lead against a Columbus team that squeaked into the playoffs with a 7-9 record and got swept by Dallas during the regular season.

The Desperados had never beaten a team three times in one season, however, and Columbus seemed to have luck on its side in the final meeting.

The Destroyers quickly built a 42-38 lead in the third quarter with two fortunate bounces off the end zone iron. Peter Martinez' first two kickoffs of the half fell into the hands of his Columbus teammates, both leading to touchdowns.

The Desperados were outscored 17-0 in the third quarter (the franchise's first scoreless playoff quarter) thanks to two more turnovers - a Willis Marshall fumble near the goal-line and a Dolezel interception in the end zone, the pass bounding off the net and into the hands of the Destroyers.

Dallas never got within seven points in the fourth quarter, and Dolezel lost his top receiver when All-Ironman selection Will Pettis left with back spasms.

Former Desperados receiver Jason Shelley's 8-yard touchdown reception essentially iced the game with one minute remaining, giving the Destroyers a commanding 66-52 lead. After the Desperados scored and failed a subsequent onside kick attempt, Columbus quarterback Matt Nagy eventually ran out the clock for perhaps the biggest upset in AFL playoff history.

Dolezel finished 27-of-36 for 320 yards and seven touchdowns, and wide receiver Marcus Nash caught seven balls for 129 yards and two scores in his return from a broken hand. But Desperados head coach Will McClay and his players pointed to Martinez' third-quarter kickoffs as the turning point in the game.

"In Arena Football you can't count for all the bounces," McClay said. "You can talk about it and hope to rehearse it and get it done, and we didn't do it."

Said Dolezel: "Their kicker won the game for them, hands down. Fourteen-point swing in a matter of 30 seconds."

Saturday's loss only prolongs a year of playoff despair for the city of Dallas. The Cowboys' heartbreaking loss to Seattle will forever be remembered for Tony Romo's infamous botched hold. The Mavericks lost in the first round after flirting with a 70-win regular season, and the Stars clawed back into their first-round series with Vancouver only to drop Game 7.

Now this.

"Last year they (Orlando) just beat us," defensive back Jermaine Jones said. "This year, I don't know. It was ball to metal. Those (two) ball to metal plays, that summed it up right there."

Having won 28 games in the last two years, the Desperados are clearly built for ArenaBowl contention. But McClay and his team can only look to next year once again.

"It's utter disappointment," McClay said. "There's nothing that I can say that's positive about it. Hey, we had a great regular season, but that doesn't mean anything.

"We'll just go and rebuild, and we'll get an opportunity to hopefully be here again."