Crush Stops Skid, Turns Back VooDoo
May 8, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Colorado Crush News Release
NEW ORLEANS -- John Dutton fired eight touchdown passes and the Colorado Crush defense kept the New Orleans VooDoo offense out of the end zone on back-to-back fourth-quarter possessions, allowing Colorado to pull out a 63-57 win in front of 14,205 at the New Orleans Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Crush, boosted the team's record to 9-5 and put the team back in control of its playoff future. Losses by the San Jose SaberCats and Chicago Rush earlier in the weekend dropped those teams to 8-6, one game back of the Crush in the playoff chase.
Colorado got off to a quick start, taking a 7-0 lead 2:31 into the game via the first of four Dutton-to-Damian Harrell touchdown connections. That marked the first time the Crush had led in a contest since the final buzzer of a 77-56 win over the Philadelphia Soul on April 10.
A late-first-quarter fumble by Dutton set up an Andy Kelly-to-Aaron Bailey touchdown that gave the VooDoo a 14-7 lead after one period. The Crush then scored twice in the first four minutes of the second quarter to claim a 21-14 lead, and did not trail again until the fourth quarter, when New Orleans' Denario Smalls recovered a kickoff off the rebound net for a touchdown that put the VooDoo in front 51-49.
New Orleans' lead lasted only 3 minutes and 17 seconds -- the length of time it took the Crush to drive 42 yards to a 9-yard touchdown pass from Dutton to Ahmad Hawkins. The Crush tried an on-side kickoff following the score and failed, but its defense stopped the VooDoo on four plays from inside the 5-yard-line.
"Defense is all about that fire and hunger to get to the ball," said defensive specialist Rashad Floyd, who returned to the lineup after being inactive for the Week 14 loss at Grand Rapids. "We've got to understand and be mature about not getting down when they make plays. Today when we needed to make plays, we stepped it up, and we had that fire in us and that belief in ourselves that they are not going to score."
The Crush went nearly 10 full quarters without a defensive stop from late in the second period at Chicago on April 17 to the last minute of the final quarter at Grand Rapids on April 30. But Colorado posted three defensive stops Sunday -- one on a Floyd fumble recovery that was forced by Saul Patu and two in the final period.
"We just belive in ourselves and we're back," Floyd said. "The fire's back."
The VooDoo had one last chance with four seconds left, but a desperation 33-yard heave from Kelly fell incomplete in the end zone as the buzzer sounded, sealing the Colorado win.
New Orleans dropped to 8-6 and lost its chance to defend its Southern Division championship of 2004, as its division rivals, the Georgia Force, defeated the Tampa Bay Storm on Sunday afternoon. The VooDoo remains in the playoff hunt, but if the postseason began today, would be on the outside looking in as the No. 5 team in the American Conference.
NOTES: Dutton threw eight touchdown passes, marking the sixth time in the last seven games that he has thrown at least six touchdowns in a game. He now has 82 for the season -- which breaks his career high of 77 set in 2003 -- and is on pace for 94 touchdown passes ...
... Both Harrell and Willis Marshall had over 100 yards receiving -- Harrell with 130 on 13 receptions and Marshall with 110 on 12 grabs. It marked the first time since Week 1 at Orlando that the Crush had two 100-yard receivers (Harrell and Kevin McKenzie) ...
... Harrell's four touchdowns meant that this was his seventh game this year with three or more scores. It was also his 47th consecutive game with at least one touchdown, adding to his ongoing league record ...
... Colorado is 2-0 at New Orleans, also winning 47-44 in the first round of last year's playoffs ...
... With the win, the Crush clinched its second consecutive winning season and is now 20-10 under Head Coach Mike Dailey ...
... Floyd had 10 tackles in his return to the lineup, giving him his sixth game with a double-digit total in unassisted stops. He also led the Crush with two passes defensed and recovered a fumble ...
... Marshall had 101 yards on four kickoff returns, good for his third consecutive 100-yard day on runbacks. He has 18 returns for 441 yards in the past three games, good for a 24.5-yard average. His 51-yard runback late in the first quarter set up the Crush's second touchdown of the afternoon.
GAME TRACK Defensive specialist Rashad Floyd was back in the starting lineup after missing last week's game at Grand Rapids; he was pulled from the loss to the San Jose SaberCats 16 days ago by basis of what Head Coach Mike Dailey termed a "coach's decision."
New Orleans won the coin toss and elected to defer its option, so the Crush received the opening kickoff.
FIRST QUARTER
Willis Marshall fielded the opening kickoff seven yards back in the end zone and returned it 23 yards to the Crush 16-yard-line. Marshall was John Dutton's target on the game's first play, gaining 10 yards for a first down to move the Crush into VooDoo territory for the first time. Marshall gained 13 yards on the next play via a reception from Dutton, but fumbled when Leroy Thompson hit him. Kevin McKenzie had a chance to recover and failed, but lineman Chris Watton fell on the ball at the New Orleans 6, giving the Crush a net gain of 18 yards and a first-and-goal. Two plays later, Damian Harrell gave the Crush its first lead since April 10 on a 6-yard touchdown catch. Clay Rush hit the extra point to put the Crush up 7-0.
New Orleans responded with a touchdown drive to tie the game three minutes later. The Crush had a chance to prevent the march from happening, but could not recover a loose ball off the net on the kickoff. A forced fumble two plays later was also nullified via a down-by-contact ruling, and two plays later Andy Kelly found Jacques Rumph for a 26-yard touchdown connection.
Colorado moved across midfield on its next drive when Dutton hooked up on a third-and-five, 8-yard connection to Damian Harrell on a crossing route to resuscitate the driuve. But one play later, the pocket collasped around Dutton and he fumbled. New Orleans' DeWan Moss recovered at the Crush 24. The fumble proved costly, as the VooDoo took its first lead six plays later when Kelly found Aaron Bailey in the back of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown on third-and-goal. Brian Schmitz's extra point extended the lead to 14-7 with 44 seconds left in the quarter.
Marshall gave the Crush a jolt on the ensuing kickoff when he bounced off of a pair of VooDoo players, put his hand down to maintain his balance and sprinted 51 yards to the New Orleans 3 before Schmitz brought him down. But Marshall lost 2 yards on the first-and-goal that followed as the period concluded.
SECOND QUARTER
A pass-interference penalty in the back of the end zone set up the Crush's second touchdown of the day via a pass from Dutton to John Peaua. Rush tied the game with his extra point at 14-apiece 58 seconds into the period.
A long kickoff return and an 8-yard penalty against Kevin McKenzie for grabbing Rumph's face mask and yanking his helmet off gave the VooDoo the ball at the 20 and nullifying a fumble on the return. But one play later, New Orleans' Leroy Thompson fumbled after a 7-yard gain. Saul Patu forced the loose ball and Rashad Floyd recovered at the Crush 13.
The Crush capitalized, thanks to Dutton and Kevin McKenzie. The two connected on passes of 33 and 4 yards to push the Crush to its third touchdown of the half, giving the team a 21-14 lead with 11:11 left in the period.
A four-play, 30-yard drive that followed a kickoff that went wide of the rebound nets allowed the VooDoo to tie the game at 21-apiece midway through the quarter on Kelly's 700th career touchdown pass. But the Crush replied with a 7-play, 36-yard drive that Chad Dukes capped with a 2-yard touchdown run, his first of the year after missing the first 12 games with a groin injury that kept him on injured reserve. Rush tacked on the extra point to make the score 28-21 with 1:43 left before intermission.
New Orleans tied it 48 seconds later on a scoring connection from Kelly to Thabiti Davis, and then attempted an on-side kickoff that Harrell knocked out of bounds at the VooDoo 13 with 53 seconds left before intermission.
Thanks to a fumbled snap, a pass-interference penalty, two running plays that fell short of the end zone and an incomplete passes, the Crush chewed up 50 seconds of the clock and forced the VooDoo to use all of its remaining timeouts in the first-half end sequence. But it took a fourth-and-goal, 3-yard touchdown pass from Dutton to Marshall with three seconds left to make the management successful and give the Crush its first halftime lead in four games, at 35-28.
THIRD QUARTER
Pass interference gaveth and taketh away on the first drive of the second half. An offensive-interference call nullified a touchdown pass to Thabiti Davis, but a defensive-interference call against Rashad Floyd on a third-down incompletion set up the 6-yard drive-capping scoring strike from Kelly to Rumph, tying the game at 35-apiece.
Another penalty proved costly on the Crush's first second-half drive when Hugh Hunter was whistled for holding, nullifying a 39-yard touchdown strike from Dutton to Andy McCullough. McCullough dropped a first-and-15 slant route on the play that followed. But Harrell did all the work from there, gaining 12 yards to set up a third-and-3 and then going 32 yards with a pass for a score -- his second of the day. Rush's extra point put the Crush up 42-35 with 7:10 left in the period.
An exchange of scores rounded out the period, capped when Dutton found Harrell for the third time in the afternoon to put the Crush up 49-42.
FOURTH QUARTER
The VooDoo drove to the Crush 5, but back-to-back 10-yard penalties forced it into a first-and-goal from midfield. New Orleans could only get back 8 yards of the 25, and was forced to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Schmitz.
With a 49-45 lead, it appeared as though the Crush offense would have the chance to give the team a two-score lead. It never got it. The ball bounced off the net on the kickoff and was never touched by the Crush, giving Denario Smalls the chance to recover for the VooDoo and score the touchdown that put his team in front for the first time since early in the second quarter. Schmitz missed the extra point, leaving the Crush behind 51-49.
Four plays later, the Crush re-took the lead when Dutton found Ahmad Hawkins for a 9-yard score, capping a 42-yard drive and putting the Crush in front 56-51 with 6:26 left in regulation.
Colorado tried an on-side kickoff, but it failed, and an offsides penalty allowed the VooDoo to take the ball at the Crush 4-yard-line. But New Orleans could not capitalize, losing one yard on the next four plays with a pair of incompletions, including a fourth-down pass attempt to Thabiti Davis. The turnover on downs gave the Crush first-and-10 at its 5-yard-line with 4:05 left.
A pair of Dutton-to-Marshall passes moved the Crush 21 yards to the midfield stripe as the clock wound under the three-minute mark. A 4-yard pass to Harrell and an incompletion forced the Crush into third-and-6 with one minute left, but a 12-yard pass to Marshall gave the Crush a vital first down. Three plays and three VooDoo timeouts later, Dutton and Harrell connected for their fourth touchdown of the day on a 5-yard pass with 33 seconds left. New Orleans scored with five seconds left and then recovered a subsequent on-side kickoff, but a desperation toss for the end zone as time expired fell incomplete.
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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 8, 2005
- Crush beat VooDoo, 63-57; Kelly reaches 700 career TDs - New Orleans VooDoo
- Crush Stops Skid, Turns Back VooDoo - Colorado Crush
- Storm Fall on Road, Force Clinch Division - Tampa Bay Storm
- Rampage out of tune in Music City, lose 54-33 - Grand Rapids Rampage
- Avengers Defeat SaberCats 54-42 - San Jose SaberCats
- Las Vegas downs Desperados, 58-38 - Las Vegas Gladiators
- Wranglers Pound Predators 56-42 - Austin Wranglers
- Dragons outlast Destroyers, 56-44 - Columbus Destroyers
- Grand Rapids loses to Nashville - Grand Rapids Rampage
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