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Crush Holds Off Brigade

April 16, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Colorado Crush News Release


Damian Harrell snared 14 catches for 196 yards and five touchdowns, then successfully fielded a short kickoff as time ran out to preserve a 55-49 win over the Kansas City Brigade at Kemper Arena on Sunday.

Colorado improved to 9-3 with the win, while Kansas City dropped to 2-10 in its expansion season.

Harrell's reception and touchdown totals tied a career high. His scores allowed the Crush to grab a 49-20 third-quarter lead before the Brigade rallied with four consecutive touchdown drives while holding Colorado to three Clay Rush field-goal tries. Two connected; the other, an 18-yarder, missed wide right in the final minute.

Kansas City's final touchdown came with two seconds remaining on a pass from Chris Sanders to Aaron Boone and accounted for the final margin. The Brigade outscored the Crush 29-6 in the game's final 16 minutes.

Colorado staked its lead thanks to Harrell's scores and interceptions by Rashad Floyd, Ahmad Hawkins and Delvin Hughley. Floyd's interception came in the second quarter and gave the Crush its first defensive stop of the game; the others came in the third period and allowed Colorado to stretch its lead from 15 to 29 points after halftime.

"Just coming out and playing inspired, that was the difference," Harrell told KHOW-AM 630.

Colorado quarterback John Dutton completed 24 of 39 passes for 280 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions. Ahmad Hawkins and Andy McCullough had the only two scores that Harrell did not produce for the Crush.

Colorado has a short week upcoming, as the team faces the expansion Utah Blaze on Friday night at the Pepsi Center. Sunday's game was the Crush's final regular-season contest to air on NBC; the Crush is unbeaten on the network this season.

NOTES: Rush went over the 1,000-point mark with a fourth-quarter field goal ... Harrell hobbled off the field with 10 minutes left in the game, but returned on the following possession ... Colorado has just one road game left in the season; the team is 5-2 away from the Pepsi Center this year ... The Crush clinched its third consecutive winning season with the triumph at Kansas City. The team had clinched a third straight playoff berth two days earlier ... Colorado needs wins in two of its last four games to clinch the Central Division. The Crush clinches home-field advantage in the American Conference with either three wins over the next four games or one win in the next three games combined with a win over the Arizona Rattlers in the regular-season finale.

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