Avengers Crushed; Lose Fourth Straight
by Tim Peterson
April 5, 2008 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Los Angeles Avengers
(Denver) - Colorado went on a 41-7 run to erase a 13 point deficit and went on to beat the Avengers 67-54 Friday night before 11,159 at Pepsi Center. The Crush defense forced four turnovers and got a big passing day from quarterback John Dutton to improve to 2-3. Dutton was 32 of 50 for 334 yards and eight touchdowns and also ran one in for a score. The Avengers led 34-21 in the first half but were outscored 47-20 over the final 30:24 of the contest. Tim Hicks started in place of Sonny Cumbie who was a little banged up. Cumbie had started the previous 35 games for the Avengers over the last three years. Hicks completed 21 of 40 passes for 295 yards and five touchdowns but he was hurt by two interceptions. Hicks connected with Kevin Ingram for three touchdown passes in the first half to propel LA to a 34-28 halftime advantage. Ingram hauled in scoring strikes of 28, 9 and 44 yards as the last one lifted LA to a 13 point lead. J.R. Tolver was popped by Colorado's Jason Harmon early in the third quarter causing the football to roll out of the back of the end zone for a touchback. The Crush immediately capitalized two plays later when Dutton hit Ben Nelson for a 37 yard touchdown and a 35-34 lead. Colorado never looked back. On the Avengers next possession, Rashad Floyd intercepted a Hicks pass at the goal line to halt a drive and put Colorado in business again. The Crush moved the ball down the field and Dutton capped the march with a five yard strike to Nelson. LA tied it at 41 on a 45 yard scoring toss from Hicks to Timon Marshall but the Crush rattled off 20 consecutive points to go up 61-41. Harmon forced another fumble and Floyd picked off another pass during the onslaught. Former UCLA Bruin Justin Hickman intercepted a pass and rumbled 50 yards for a score for the Avengers to cut the margin to 61-54 late in the fourth but Dutton found Nelson again for a nine yard score on the ensuing possession to seal it. Nelson had a career day catching 13 passes for 174 yards and five touchdowns. Ingram led the LA attack with seven receptions for 109 yards and three scores. Colorado Coach Mike Dailey picked up his 100th career regular season victory, becoming only the fifth coach in Arena Football League history to hit the century mark. The Avengers fell to 2-4 with the loss and are looking to get well against the Utah Blaze Saturday night at Staples Center. Utah was 0-5 coming into this week's action.
LA 20 14 7 13 54
CO 14 14 20 19 67
Passing: LA - Hicks 21-40-295-5-2. CO-Dutton 32-50-334-8-1.
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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 5, 2008
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- Rampage Offense Slowed by New York in 63-34 Defeat - Grand Rapids Rampage
- Soul douse Blaze to remain unbeaten - Philadelphia Soul
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- Avengers Crushed; Lose Fourth Straight - OSC Original by Tim Peterson
- Dailey Gets No. 100 In 67-54 Win Over Avengers - Colorado Crush
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