'All the Rage' released last weekend
March 20, 2006 - National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
RiverCity Rage News Release
The RiverCity Rage of the National Indoor Football League turned a first half Texas waltz into a football version of the Cotton-Eyed Joe in the final two periods, stepping up to outscore the Katy Copperheads 42-14 in the second half and get out of town with a 69-33 opening game victory in suburban Houston on Saturday night. The Rage is 1-0 on the new NIFL season and will host the Cincinnati Marshals on Sunday in the 2006 home opener at Savvis Center. The Copperheads fell to 1-1.
With Rage quarterback Clay Groefsema on target with his receivers most of the game, and operating behind a solid offensive line, the second half explosion left Copperhead's coach Bryan Blake shaking his head. "I told my defense before the game that they were facing the most prolific offense in the NIFL. I just didn't think they would roll over us the way they did in the second half. I guess you just can't stop a fast moving train. They were on their game tonight, but you only improve in this game from facing the best, and we'll learn from this one."
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For Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt, the pre- game plan was fairly simple. Get to the quarterback, avoid turnovers on offense, and don't let the big guy (ex-NFL running back Bam Morris) beat you. It worked to near perfection. "We kept pressure on their quarterback all night long and the four sacks we registered don't even tell the full story. A lot of those hurried throws aren't reflected in the stats. He had two scores, but we basically shut down Bam Morris (13 carries, 64 yards) and held on to the ball and didn't hurt ourselves with penalties (one). I'd have to say it was impressive on both sides of the line, although I was a bit disappointed with our play on special teams. Our timing needs to improve, but that's for practice on Tuesday."
A 41 yard touchdown pass from Copperhead's quarterback Mark Saldana to Jason Deml gave Katy it's final lead of the game at 9-7 early in the second quarter. A Joe Bevis 18 yard touchdown interception and a 1 yard Groefsema to Hurtis Chinn TD pass put the Rage in front 27-19 at halftime. The lead would roll back and forth between 8 and 15 points before the Rage put the game out of reach in the forth quarter. Two touchdown runs of 1 yard each by Groefsema and a 34 yard TD rainbow aired out to a streaking Hurtis Chinn set the stage for the Rage- Marshal's rematch at 3pm this Sunday. Reserve quarterback Anthony Fisher put the finishing touch to a nearly perfect Rage debut with a 2 yard touchdown run in the final two minutes.
Groefsema was 20 of 27 on the night, accounting for 7 Rage touchdowns (3 rushing, 4 passing) and 218 yards through the air. Rage receiver Hurtis Chinn caught 8 passes good for 140 yards and scored 4 TD's. Moses Regular and Corey Bethany each had 5 catches on the night. The Rage were led in rushing by Sha-ron Edwards, who carried 19 times for 79 yards.
The Rage defense sacked Saldana four times, and coupled with an interception, the Rage defense kept the Copperhead's starter on the run most of the evening, and he finally gave way to reserve Ryan Breedlove early in the fourth quarter who was also intercepted twice. "They pressured us from a lot of different angles and their defensive backs were right with our receivers most of the game. It was tough." stated Saldana.
The Rage is part of the 24 team NIFL, set to begin it's 6th season of play. Tickets for all RiverCity Rage home games can be purchased at the Savvis Center box office, or on line at Ticketmaster.com. For all RiverCity Rage information in 2006, visit the team website at www.ragefootball.com.
QUOTES FROM RAGE HEAD FOOTBALL COACH MIKE WYATT
On making good the promise that Bam Morris would not beat the Rage:
"Part of that is due to the fact that we can score a lot faster than a lot of teams, so no team can stay set in a power (run) offense all day and expect to win against us. Morris is a good player and he did score two touchdowns, but we kept him in check for the most part, and while he certainly didn't cost them the game, they had to get away from using him again and again like they had done the week before in the Beaumont game."
On the Katy Copperheads:
"They are a good, solid football team and they stayed with us for 3 quarters. There was no real turning point in the game, we just outgunned them in the final quarter and made the defensive plays we had to make."
National Indoor Football League Stories from March 20, 2006
- 'All the Rage' released last weekend - RiverCity Rage
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