Avengers Finish off Rattlers
by Tim Peterson
April 7, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Los Angeles Avengers
(Los Angeles)- It's not how you start but where you finish. For the Los Angeles Avengers the finish was fantastic as they outscored Arizona 27-7 in the fourth quarter to beat the Rattlers 64-45 Friday night before 12,972 happy fans at Staples Center.
The Avengers were down by one after three in what had been a see saw battle. But the momentum swung the LA way in the fourth period. Kevin Ingram hauled in a seven yard pass from Sonny Cumbie to put the Avengers up 44-38. The ball was headed into the stands behind the end zone when Ingram reached up pulled it down with one hand for the score. On the ensuing kick off, Remy Hamilton booted the ball high off the net, the Arizona returner was unable to field it cleanly and Lenzie Jackson fell on it the end zone for the touchdown. "Remy was saying he was going to get one off the iron and the returner was having some problems with the ball," Jackson said. "So I just got down there and made a play." On the Rattlers next possession, LaShaun Ward stepped in front of a Sherdrick Bonner pass and returned it to the Arizona ten. Ward was hit and the ball squirted loose but James Bethea picked it up and returned it to the six. Four plays later Lonnie Ford plunged in from the one yard line with 5:30 left in the contest. A 38-37 deficit was suddenly a comfortable 57-38 lead. With 20 consecutive points, the Avengers were able to put the game away. "I'm happy with the way the guys come out tonight and continued to battle the whole game," said Avenger Coach Ed Hodgkiss. "The defense and special teams gave us some momentum towards the end there. That's what won the game for us." The Avengers defense came up big in the first quarter as well as they stopped Arizona twice inside the ten yard line. Jackson caught a 14 yard pass form Cumbie to give LA a 6-0 first quarter lead. The teams exchanged points in the second period. Ingram and Rob Turner were on the receiving end of Cumbie touchdown strikes and Hamilton kicked a 33 yard field goal. The Rattlers kept pace as Bonner fired scoring passes to Trandon Harvey and Jeremiah Pope. Bonner and Pope connected again on a five yard pass just before the end of the third quarter for a 38-37 advantage before the Avengers turned it on in the fourth. Cumbie finished with 254 yards passing while completing 23 of 37 and five touchdowns. But it was Ingram who had a banner night. K.I. caught 12 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned an onside kick off for a touchdown for the Avengers final score. LA improved to 3-2 with the victory while the Rattlers dropped to 1-5. Next up for the Avengers is a road trip up to Utah next Friday night to battle the Blaze. "We have a good team but now we have to go back on the road to face a very good Utah team," Hodgkiss said. "But I definitely think we have played well with the exception of last week. It's good to be back home for a week or so and then have a full three days of practice before going to Utah."
AZ 0 17 21 7 45
LA 6 17 14 27 64
Passing: LA- Cumbie 23-37-254-5-0. AZ- Bonner 22-37-303-5-1.
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