Xplosion Advance in Playoffs
by Randy Snow
Published on June 15, 2008 under Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL)
Kalamazoo Xplosion
For the second year in a row, the Kalamazoo Xplosion has advanced to the Great Lakes Conference championship game in the Continental Indoor Football League. The Xplosion came away with a 50-33 win Saturday night (June 14) over a determined Muskegon Thunder team that kept the score close for most of the game. Kalamazoo remains undefeated at Wings Stadium and is now 14-0 at home over the past two seasons.
Muskegon got on the scoreboard first after Kalamazoo running back Little John Flowers fumbled the ball on Kalamazoo's second play from scrimmage. The Thunder took possession of the ball at the Kalamazoo 23-yard line and nine plays later, quarterback Dan Richard connected with wide receiver Richard Gills on a two-yard touchdown strike. The point after failed, but Muskegon had a 6-0 lead early in the game.
From there, the two teams traded scores for most of the first half. Kalamazoo held a 26-20 lead with one minute to go before halftime. They extended their lead to 29-20 when Xplosion kicker Brad Selent booted a 39-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
The third quarter saw only one touchdown, a four-yard run by Thunder running back Preston Garris that brought Muskegon to within two points of Kalamazoo, 29-27. The touchdown was set up by an interception by Muskegon linebacker Eric Malloy, giving the Thunder the ball at the Kalamazoo 4-yard line. There were a total of four missed field goals in the third quarter, two by each team.
Muskegon took the lead early in the fourth quarter 33-29 when Garris caught a 15-yard touchdown pass. However, their lead did not last long as Kalamazoo's Eric Gardner returned the ensuing kickoff 48-yards for a touchdown, putting the Xplosion back on top, 36-33.
A 20-yard catch and run by wide receiver Brian Dolph gave Kalamazoo a 10-point lead, 43-33, with 2:13 remaining in the game. But Muskegon refused to quit. With the ball on the Kalamazoo 2-yard line, Muskegon appeared ready to score when Xplosion defensive back David Gator intercepted a pass in the end zone and brought it out to the two-yard line with 54.3 second remaining in the game.
Following the interception by Gator, Dolph began celebrating on the field and accidentally collided with an official, who threw a flag. Dolph was furious with the call and angrily protested. After several minutes, cooler heads prevailed and the flag was picked up.
The Xplosion added an insurance touchdown with 15.4 seconds on the clock, a one-yard touchdown catch by Eric Gardner, making the final score 50-33.
"(Muskegon) is a good opponent," said Kalamazoo head coach Mike Sparks. "We knew that they would come in here with intensity. They hung right in there and they had a good game plan. I like to think that between the home crowd and our defense, we managed to pull through some critical situations."
For Kalamazoo, quarterback Randy Hutchison completed 18 of 26 passes for 242 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. Brian Dolph caught eight passes for 84 yards and a touchdown, while team mate Eric Gardner caught six passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Gardner also returned a kickoff for another score.
Muskegon quarterback Dan Richard completed 17 of 35 passes for 158 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. Wide receiver Richard Gills caught nine passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Preston Garris caught four passes for 27 yards and a touchdown. He also ran the ball five times for 17 yards.
TOUGH SEASON FOR MUSKEGON
The Muskegon Thunder started out the season 4-1 and they are the only team to defeat Kalamazoo so far this year. But after that, they lost six of their last seven games, including the last four games of the regular season.
Thunder head coach Shane Fairfield summed up his team's season after the game. "We lost seven key guys to injuries this season. Offensively, we just haven't been able to find the groove to consistently put 40-45 points on the board. I think we averaged 35 points per game. In this game, you have to put up 45-50 points to be a true contender. For everything we've been through, it would have been easy for our players to fold it up and come get a paycheck (against Kalamazoo), but obviously the guys played to the best of their abilities and you can't fault them for that. Unfortunately, it wasn't their night."
NEXT GAME
Kalamazoo (12-1) will host the Rock River Raptors (8-5) in the CIFL Great Lakes Conference championship game on Saturday night, June 21 at Wings Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30. Kalamazoo defeated the Raptors twice during the regular season. The first game at Wings Stadium went into overtime with Kalamazoo prevailing 33-26 and in the second meeting on May 10 in Rockford, Illinois, the Xplosion won 36-28.
CIFL CO-OWNER SPEAKS
Eric Spitaleri, one of the owners of the CIFL, was at the Kalamazoo-Muskegon game Saturday night and commented on a couple of subjects concerning the league.
In regards to expansion, the Wheeling Wildcats from Wheeling, West Virginia have already been added for 2009 and Spitaleri indicated that there could be one more expansion team added as well. He also said that a couple of current CIFL teams may not be returning next year.
And then there is the situation with the Rochester Raiders. The defending league champions bolted from the CIFL last Sunday at the conclusion of the regular season and have already joined the American Indoor Football Association.
"It wasn't really a surprise because it was something that we feel had been brewing for a while," Spitaleri said. "A number of times we had been told (by them) that they were leaving the league. It's best for both sides."
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Randy Snow is a freelance football writer from Kalamazoo, Michigan and is the organizer of Operation Gridiron Airlift, which is collecting footballs that will be sent to our troops serving overseas. Since 2003, he has covered the Arena Football League, arenafootball2, United Indoor Football, the Continental Indoor Football League, the All American Football League and the Canadian Football League. Randy has been a member of the Arena Football League Writer's Association since 2005 and can be reached at randysnow22@yahoo.com
Continental Indoor Football League Stories from June 15, 2008
- Xplosion Advance in Playoffs - OSC Original by Randy Snow
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
