Corks pop as Rage clinch Atlantic East title
June 13, 2005 - National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
RiverCity Rage News Release
High fives, smiles, and champagne!
River City Rage majority owner Scott Wilson probably summed up the feelings of players, coaches and fans of the 2005 Atlantic East Division titleholders as he dodged a bubbly spray in the Rage post-game locker room late Friday night.
"I love this football team."
Who wouldn't love perfection? As steady as The Rage have been on the road this season, this team has been over-the-top in all eight games played at Family Arena. And this past Friday night, in front of the most uproarious, vocal crowd seen this year, Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt's team took the first major step towards the ultimate goal set forth in March for this over-achieving group. The only end-of- the-road, final victory that Wyatt has claimed over and over again would be the final stamp of approval for his team, all but overlooked in the pre-season polls. That's an NIFL Championship title, and the road leading to it now has to roll through the Gateway City!
The River City Rage are the champions of the Atlantic East Division, and are assured of home field advantage throughout the conference playoffs which will get underway the first weekend in July. It was Friday's 75-54 win over the visiting Cincinnati Marshals that found Wilson drenched with champagne and offering congrats and shaking hands with players that he later called, "the hardest working group of athletes in this league."
"I looked around and saw some guys fighting back tears. There were players like Hurtis Chinn and Bruce Blue who had never been part of a winning team in college. For them, it was the high point of their careers as football players." Then with a grin, he summed up the attitude of everyone in The Rage organization, "the high point thus far!"
The quest for the NIFL grand prize is now a realistic and reachable goal for this team, loaded with depth and with different players each week finding ways to contribute. A great example is running back Sha-Ron Edwards, who Wyatt says, " has lived up to the expectations I had for him when he signed on in week two." Edwards has been a virtual scoring machine in the last two Rage games, scoring 11 touchdowns in wins over Lincoln and Cincinnati. Sha- Rons 4 TD's on Friday, said Wyatt, "is an example of both a player and an entire unit taking the game to the next level. He's getting great explosion through the line, and that's due to the fact that guys like Chase Denton, Jay Carmack , Gabe Dunkmann and Barry Brueggeman have stepped up their game and taken on the responsibility I placed on them after a poor performance a few weeks ago in the loss to Fayetteville. They responded well, and along with Robert Reeves, before his injury, have been a big reason this offense has been scoring at a record clip."
Along with win number 10 on the season, Friday's numbers were right on target for an offense that has been the high mark of consistency all year. The Rage found the end-zone on 9 of 10 Red-Zone chances, chalked up 24 First Downs, and kept two important scoring drives going with consecutive fourth down conversion attempts in the second half.
After Marshal's quarterback Brett Dietz opened the scoring in the first quarter by firing a touchdown strike to wide receiver Tobias Deans, The Rage Hurtis Chinn, back from the NFL-CFL combine tryout that caused him to miss the Lincoln game last weekend, stepped up for an 18 yard touchdown reception from Clay Groefsema and after another Marshals touchdown run by Dietz, caught a 2 yard strie from Clay to end the first quarter scoring and put The Rage in front 21-13.
Rage running back Sha-Ron Edwards found the end zone on two separate one yard plunges in the second quarter. Groefsema hit Scott Pingel with a 6 yard TD spiral, and Moses Regular slammed through the line for a 3 yard to paydirt. The Rage led at halftime 48-28.
After a Hurtis Chinn second half kick-off return of 27 yeards that gave The Rage a first and ten at the Cincinnati 15 yard line, Sha-Ron Edwards helped put the game out of reach for The Marshals by scoring on a 9 yard TD bolt on the second play from scrimmage. Rage kicker Mike Matheny put the P-A-T through the uprights, and River City took a 55-28 lead that was never threatened the rest of the night.
Wyatt had praise for his special teams unit after Matheny's high, arching kick-offs forced Cincinnati to begin operating deep in it's own territory most of the contest. "Matheny's getting the ball up and over, and it's given our special teams unit enough hang- time to get downfield and put the hit on the return man, especially in the last two games when we were able to hold two of the better return men in the league in check. It takes a bit of pressure off our defense when we can line up for first down and a team is at it's own 15 yard line or less."
With Edwards leading the way, The Rage as a unit rushed for 123 yards on 22 attempts and scored 6 rushing touchdowns. Groefsema was again effective through the air, connecting with 3 different receivers for 109 yards and 5 TD's. Clay was 14 for 19 on the night, hitting Scott Pingel and Chinn for 2 touchdowns apiece, and throwing to Moses Regular for another score. Chinn led all Rage receivers with 7 catches in the game, Pingel chipped in with 5, and Moses Regular hauled in two.
Defensive back Clarence 'CJ' Jones drew praise from Wyatt, who said CJ "showed leadership and picked off a Dietz pass at the goal line late in the game. Jones also made his presence felt midway through the second quarter when he recovered a Rayshawn Askew fumble at the goal line, and ran it back 35 yards. Four plays later The Rage found the endzone, and that 14 point swing, according to Wyatt, "was typical of the type of heads-up play the defense has come up with week after week, the kind of stops we'll need in the playoff stretch. It's good to know we're capable of that kind of aggressive attack when opponents are threatening to punch it in."
And it's good to know that with the division crown, all conference playoff games will be played on home turf, where The Rage are a perfect 8-0 on the season. True, the games will be moved to Savvis Center, the first game's actual date and time to be announced later in June. But after the roar of the crowd propelled The Rage to perfection on Friday, Rage Majority owner Tye Elliott said on Monday, "I'm more than confident our Family Arena fan base will be out in full force come playoff time and with the games at Savvis Center, it'll open up an opportunity for fans in other parts of the city and county to get to the games and cheer us on. Everyone in the organization is really excited about the playoffs, and our home field advantage will really be a factor for other teams to contend with, regardless of location."
So, the initial hurdle has been cleared. A first for indoor football in St. Louis, a Division Title next to the name River City Rage in the NIFL record books for 2005. With the constant reminder that 'nothing short of a championship will be sufficient for this team in 2005,' a checklist rests on the desk of Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt. On it are five major goals, each one taking this team a step closer to the ultimate prize. A division title, three playoff wins and the post-game celebration following the 2005 Indoor Bowl that crowns the champs, and secures the ring!
One down, four to go!! Release your Rage!
QUOTES FROM RAGE HEAD FOOTBALL COACH MIKE WYATT
(On the Division Title)
"It's great to have and it was even more exciting for me to see the players and our owners enjoying the victory as much as they did. It's certainly new territory for this franchise and a great way for our new ownership to debut in the NIFL. We've got a long road ahead, including these last two regular season games on the road coming up. But like most teams that win in situations like this, you give in to the celebration for the night, savor it, and then get back to work to finish the job."
(On playing the Lubbock Gunslingers this Saturday night on the road)
"It's a big test for this football team at probably the best time. We may have to play the NIFL Indoor Bowl on the road, and if we do, we had best get in the habit of winning away from home. These final two regular season games (Lubbock and Dayton) are almost like mini-playoff games for us."
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National Indoor Football League Stories from June 13, 2005
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