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Bandits Regroup for match-up with Raleigh Rebels

April 29, 2005 - American Indoor Football Association (AIFA)
Richmond Bandits News Release


One week after the first loss in team history, the Richmond Bandits and head coach Rik Richards will look to reform ranks as the Raleigh Rebels come to town this Saturday, April 30 in Atlantic Indoor Football League (AIFL) action.

"It's disappointing to lose a game with the talent that we have, but it's not the end of the world. It is still very early in this season," said Richards. "We've talked about the game, we've watched and broken down the film, and it's behind us. I don't think that we'll soon forget it, but as a team, we have to move forward and concentrate on Raleigh."

The Rebels are the second of the two teams forced to travel for every game during the inaugural AIFL season. The Bandits knocked off the other traveling squad – the Ghostriders – in convincing fashion for the franchise's first win, 66-13.

Raleigh, the closest home-based franchise to Richmond, enters the game at 1-0 after a week one victory over the Canton Legends, 50-28. The Rebels scored at least 12 points in each quarter in the victory. They head to Richmond after having last week off, a date that was originally slated with the defunct Charlotte Sharks who became the traveling Ghostriders.

The Rebels are led by quarterback Jared Hall (North Carolina), who threw four touchdown passes on three quarters of work in the opener. He finished the game 11-of-17 for 150 yards and the four scores. His favorite target on the night was Charles Radford, who scored the team's first-ever touchdown on a 22-yard strike from hall in the first quarter.

Raleigh's defense held Canton to seven first half points, only surrendering 28 for the game. They also accounted for 12 points for the Rebels as Sigmund Platt intercepted a Legends' pass and raced 50 yards to pay dirt in the first quarter and Willie Smalls (Benedict College) scored a pick six, taking an interception back 48 yards and a touchdown.

Richmond employed a few new faces of their own in the game at Erie. Former Auburn standout, Marcel Willis, Marcus Richardson, and Bobby Phillips, who played for the Minnesota Vikings, all saw their first indoor action last Saturday.

It only took two minutes, 45 seconds for Willis to scratch his name into the Bandits' record books. He hauled in a 29-yard scoring strike from starting quarterback Will Burch to give the Bandits the early 6-1 lead. Phillips was right on his heels, adding the two-point conversion to stretch the advantage to 8-1. Willis finished with six catches for 75 yards while Phillips accounted for 13 yards rushing on four total carries with three 2-point conversions and a touchdown. Also in his first start for Richmond, Nate Daniels returned a missed field goal 55 yards for a score.

The road was a bumpy one, however, for the Bandits as Burch was knocked out of the game with a separated left shoulder – not his throwing arm – midway through the second quarter. The arena football journeyman was having a stellar game at the time of his injury, already having completed 10-of-16 passes for 138 yards and three touchdowns. His back-up, Robbie Jenkins from Bridgewater College, finished 9-of-19 for 134 yards with one score and the season's first interception, which did go for seven for Erie.

Following the Erie game, Richards said that Jenkins would probably be the starter on Saturday night versus the Rebels.

"I believe in Robbie," said Richards of his signal caller. "He didn't play great against Erie, but did some nice things in his time in the season opener."

He added that Burch would more than likely serve in a back-up role this weekend.

Bandit-regulars Redd Thompson, Bryan Still, and DeAndre Green combined for 158 yards, including 81 from Green. The trio also contributed a pair of touchdowns.

Despite surrendering 55 points to the Freeze, Richards' defensive unit played well overall. The defense limited Erie to a pair of field goal opportunities in the first half, and in the indoor game, a field goal attempt is as good as a stop.

"If we continue to get the stops like we did against Erie as far as holding them to field goals, we'll be ok," said Richards. "Add in the interception return for a touchdown and we only gave up six scores. I'm not happy with that fact, but this is an offensive game and your defense has to give you a chance to win."

The Bandits are offering pro-rated season tickets for the remaining six home dates, starting at $33.50. Single-game tickets for Saturday's home game versus the Rebels range from $5.50 for upper level general admission seats to $36 in the lower level near the dasher boards.

Kickoff for Saturday's tilt with the Rebels is slated for 7:05 pm at the Richmond Coliseum.

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