Avengers Rushed out of Playoffs, 52-45
by Tim Peterson
May 29, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Los Angeles Avengers
(Los Angeles)- The Los Angeles Avengers squandered a 14 point lead in the last nine minutes and were eliminated from the playoffs by the Chicago Rush 52-45 Sunday before 9,310 at Staples Center. The loss was the fourth consecutive for the Avengers in the first round and LA has still not won a playoff game.
"A loss in the playoffs is always hard. Whether it's the first round, second round or the Arena Bowl," said Avenger Coach Ed Hodgkiss. "It's heartbreaking every time and it usually takes me about a month to get over it. We'll be down for awhile but we'll regroup and try to get better."
The Avengers were in control since the opening quarter. When John Kale hit Tony Locke on a 13 yard touchdown pass with 12:03 left in the game, LA was up 45-31. They had a two touchdown lead, a raucous home crowd and they hadn't been stopped all night. Life was good. Then everything seemed to go the other way.
On the ensuing possession, the Rush came back with a 38-yard strike from Raymond Philyaw to C.J. Johnson to climb within seven. The Rush then stopped the Avengers on downs and took over at the LA seven yard line. Two plays later Johnson scored again, this time on a three yard run to get the Rush even.
On the kick off following the score, things went from bad to worse for the Avengers. Kevin Ingram was hit by John Moyer at the ten yard line, the ball popped loose and Charlie Cook fell on it to put the Rush in business again. Cook was then rewarded when he was given the ball at the two yard line and he responded by bolting into the end zone for a 52-45 lead.
The Avengers got the ball back with 2:26 left on the clock but three straight John Kaleo incompletions led to a fourth down. Kaleo was then sacked and the Rush took over with 38 seconds left.
"I thought we were in control from the start but we were stopped and then a fumble and now the momentum has swung towards them," Hodgkiss said. "We were in it all the way to the end but the bounces didn't go our way and we had the turnovers. But you have to give Chicago credit for playing hard all the way to the end and winning it."
The Avengers were seemingly given new life when Philyaw fumbled while trying to run out the clock and the Avengers recovered at their own 23 with 23 seconds left. Kaleo then hooked up with Ingram who was brought down at the Chicago 11. But after an incomplete pass, Kaleo fumbled after being sacked and the Rush recovered to finish it off.
The Avengers had built a 28-17 halftime lead as they exploded for three touchdowns in the second period. Kaleo threw a 14 yard touchdown pass to Locke to for a 14 -10 advantage and later hit Brian Sump on a 30 yard score for a 28-17 lead at the break Michele Spicer also scored in the quarter on a five yard run.
"We came in at halftime and we just talked about how we had been in worse situations then being down by 11 points," said Chicago Coach Mike Hohensee. "We needed to quicken the pace a little bit and shorten the field. We made some adjustments on defense to get some more pressure on the quarterback."
The Avengers took their biggest lead of the day when Lonnie Ford rumbled in from one yard out on the first possession of the third quarter to put LA up by 17. They maintained the advantage until the fourth quarter when the wheels began to come off.
"It's tough to be up the whole game at home and then to come up short," Locke said. "But when you lose momentum in this game it's hard to come back."
The Avengers, who still have a 2005 Western Division Championship to brag about finished the season at 10-7 overall. The Rush will now travel to Colorado to take on the Crush in the second round.
Chi. 10 7 14 21 52
LA 7 21 10 7 45
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 29, 2005
- Preds one game away from ArenaBowl - Orlando Predators
- Rush put a stop to Avenger season, 52-45 - Los Angeles Avengers
- Crush Gains Redemption, Moves on to Semifinals - Colorado Crush
- Avengers Rushed out of Playoffs, 52-45 - OSC Original by Tim Peterson
- Four teams to battle for ArenaBowl XIX title - AFL I
- Crush send defending champs home - San Jose SaberCats
- Dragons big rally falls short - New York Dragons
- Stunning comeback moves Rush into semifinals - Chicago Rush
- Storm Fall to Force in Divisional Round - Tampa Bay Storm
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.
