Defense Lifts Avengers in Opener
by Tim Peterson
January 29, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Los Angeles Avengers
(Los Angeles)- In a game that revolves predominantly around offense, it was the defense that was the story in the Los Angeles Avengers 40-31 victory over the Arizona Rattlers on Sunday before 11,731 at Staples Center. The game marked the beginning of the 2006 Arena Football League season.
"Early in the season your defense is going to be ahead of your offense and our defense played exceptionally well," said Avenger Coach Ed Hodgkiss. "It kind of came down to the kickers. They missed their field goals and we made ours and our defense did a great job of putting them in kicking situations."
It was a struggle in the first half offensively for the Avengers. They managed just one touchdown and three Remy Hamilton field goals. The last one from 20 yards came at the end of the first half and sent the Avengers into the locker room down 21-16.
The Avengers D held Arizona to just ten points in the second half and none in the fourth quarter. Then the offense began to click.
On the first possession Brian Mann hit Greg Hopkins for a 36 yard scoring strike to put the Avengers up 23-21.
The Rattlers bit back on the ensuing kick off. Clarence Lawson fielded the kick in his own end zone, broke a tackle at the ten and scampered 57 yards for a touchdown to put Arizona back in front.
The Avengers responded quickly. Mann, now feeling his groove, hit Kevin Ingram down to the one yard line. From there Josh Jeffries bulled into the end zone and LA had the lead back at 30-28.
Later in the third, the Avengers defense stopped Arizona at the one yard line. After a false start penalty pushed the Rattlers back to the six, Gary Kral booted a 21 yard field goal to give the Snakes a 31-30 lead. It was their last score of the night.
From there the Avengers defensive unit clamped down and completely shut out the Rattlers.
"Our defense played great," said defensive specialist Anthony Derricks. "We just started playing more man to man as opposed to zone defense. They didn't really come out with anything to surprise us. The victory felt pretty good especially since we didn't have a scrimmage game."
Mann then hooked up with Ingram on a 42 yard touchdown pass to put the Avengers ahead to stay with 18 seconds left in the third period.
The Rattlers were stopped cold on all three possessions in the fourth. Meanwhile Hamilton split the uprights for a 42 yard field goal with 2:39 left in the contest.
Ingram then iced it with a diving interception of a Sherdrick Bonner pass with less than two minutes remaining.
Bonner threw two touchdown passes in the first half including a 37 yard strike in the first quarter to Shannon Culver to get Arizona started. However in the second half The Avengers pressure forced him into some bad throws. He finished the day 13 of 26 for 167 yards, two scores and one interception.
Mann split time with Ryan Van Dyke in the first half but played the entire second half. He threw for 193 yards and three touchdowns while completing 10 of 27.
"I thought we did some good things. We were able to put some points on the board and take care of the ball which was the difference in the game," Mann Said. "But we definitely struggled in that first half. It's the first game for us and we're still shaking off a little bit of rust."
The game marked the AFL and Avenger debut of former USC star Kareem Kelly. Kelly caught four passes for 48 yards including a 17 yarder from Mann in the first quarter.
"It feels great. Anytime we can get a victory it's a wonderful thing," said Kelly, who also spent time in the NFL. "This is a different game with the field length and playing indoors. But it still boils down to executing and running precise routes and paying attention to detail."
The offense did enough but the victory was all about the D.
"We tried to pressure the quarterback and make our plays on defense," said Ingram, who came up with the biggest play of the night. "We probably should have had about five picks out there."
The Avengers now hit the road for the next two weeks before returning home Saturday night February 18 to battle the Chicago Rush at 7:30.
AZ 7 14 10 0 31
LA 10 6 21 3 40
Passing: AZ- Bonner 13-26-167-2-1, Travis Cole 1-4-24-0-0.
LA- Mann - 10-27-193-3-0, Van Dyke 6-10-56-0-1.
Total Yards: AZ- 183, LA- 274.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from January 29, 2006
- Defense Lifts Avengers in Opener - OSC Original by Tim Peterson
- Storm Fall in City of Brotherly Love - Tampa Bay Storm
- Brigade hangs tough in opener, but falls 58-44 at Dallas - Kansas City Brigade
- Soul get defensive, cruise to 52-34 opening game victory - Philadelphia Soul
- Destroyers win 2006 opener, 53-30 - Grand Rapids Rampage
- Heartbreak again in Colorado - Chicago Rush
- Arizona drops opener, 40-31 - Arizona Rattlers
- Turnovers do in Rampage in Davis' debut - Grand Rapids Rampage
- L.A. Avengers open season with victory over Rattlers - Los Angeles Avengers
- Dragons falter in season opener - OSC Original by David Holusha
- Blaze return to Salt Lake City after victory - Utah Blaze
- Blaze spark existence with 48-35 victory over SaberCats - Utah Blaze
- Blaze beat SaberCats in opener - San Jose SaberCats
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
