Bellisari leads Dayton over River City

June 25, 2005 - National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
Dayton Bulldogs News Release


DAYTON, Ohio It didn't take Steve Bellisari long to establish what the Dayton Warbirds were going to do with the Friday night opponent at the Nutter Center.

With a defense bent on making good on some revengeful motivation, Bellisari led the Warbirds to a 34-6 halftime lead and finished with a whooping reminiscent of the type behind the woodshed. The biggest crowd (4,200) of the year watched the, 67-46, dissection.

Why shouldn't it have been? Dayton went to St. Charles, Missouri, and after the head coach went into a Rage over the missing game tape, his registered complaint got Dayton head coach suspended and fined. Lucky him.

This time, Dayton (7-6) let it all hang out. In the first half, interceptions by newcomer Milt Bowen and BJ Paulus were instrumental in maintaining the offensive surge.

Dayton scored twice in the final 1:41 of the second quarter as Bellisari ran the first from one-yard out to give the Warbirds a 28-6 margin. The former Ohio State quarterback then found Sam Crenshaw for five yards with 19.7 seconds remaining before intermission. The lead was 34-6, and the Rage made up only eight points, outscoring the Birds, 40-32, in the second half.

Statistically, it was no contest. Individually, Dayton powered up the offense, scoring the 4th most points all season.

There was no question Bellisari was the game's MVP. He scored 3 rushing touchdowns on 15 carries and all the touches were from one yard out. He was responsible for 4 passing scores, 3 of those to Maurice Lee.

Despite the Rage (10-4) starting backup quarterback Anthony Fisher, he had to be relieved early after two picks on only three passing. Regular starter Clay Groefsema was 19 of 38 for 202 yards and six touchdowns. Both signal callers had the wrath of linebackers and linemen bearing down on them all night.

Brought in to chore up the running game, Yusef Kelly, out of Clemson, showed so much promise at linebacker he was moved there

by Coach Matt King. He had 7.5 total tackles, a fumble recovery, a sack for a 4 yard loss, and three quarterback hurries. In fact, the line and linebackers had 17 total hurries.

Lineman Robert Akindele, a newcomer out of Northern Illinois, had three QB's, ½ tackle for a loss of four yards. Veteran linemen Ryan Terry and Brandon Tisdale each had 4 of the quarterback cappers.

Running back Keith Brooks carried the ball 10 times for 54 yards and one TD and backup quarterback Kerrick Cooper got into the act for the Birds with 7 carries, 24 yards and a touchdown. Mike McConnell saw action with 8 totes for 15 yards and a score. That was a team-record 40 rushes and tied the most TDs on the ground with 6. The Warbirds had 38 rushes at Tri-Cities on May 27 and 6 scores at Rome on June 11.

Daytona's Maurice Lee led all receivers with 6 catches for 90 yards and three touchdowns. Crenshaw, moved from defensive back to receiver this week, had 5 grabs for 83 and a touchdown.

Bellisari's 229 yards broke a personal high of 220 versus Cincinnati on May 21.

Dayton will be awarded a forfeit next week against New Jersey to give the first-year Warbirds an 8-6 record. Following next week's light schedule, the league will determine the playoff teams and who plays where. It appears that Dayton will get a first-round home game.



National Indoor Football League Stories from June 25, 2005


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