First Place in Atlantic East Division Up for Grabs
Published on May 11, 2005 under National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
RiverCity Rage News Release
It's the kind of match-up you live for as a coach or a player. I'll say this, you won't get a better game this season at Family Arena until the playoffs roll around."
That quote from Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt pretty well sums up the feeling this week at the team's headquarters in St. Charles. And in the statistical war of strength vs. strength, you couldn't slip a spiral pass through the differences.
It's that close!
The second half of the 2005 NIFL season gets underway Saturday night at The Family Arena with the Atlantic East leading River City Rage (6-1) squaring off against the second place and upstart Dayton Warbirds (5-2). Kick-off is slated for 7pm, and the game can be heard on 1380 ESPN with audio- stream on both the ESPN and Ragefootball.com web sites.
After back to back weeks of facing winless football teams, Wyatt says his team is anxious to test out against The Warbirds, currently on a three game winning streak, fundamentally sound, with a good number of Division One college and even a few former NFL players on it's roster. "It's good to have a game like this at the mid-way point of the season," stated Wyatt, "it goes a long way in helping you determine where you are as a football team. From the standpoint of preparation, we'll approach Dayton no differently than we have any other team this year, but emotionally, I've stressed the importance of this game to the team, and judging from the practices we've had and the attitude of the players, I'd say we're ready."
Which team is more ready could well determine the outcome of Saturday's contest, which promises to be an offensive shootout to even rival NIFL standards!
The Rage are undefeated at home this year, the Warbirds have split their two games on the road. Dayton is playing it's third game in eight days, and coming off an impressive 63-30 home victory last Monday night. The Rage defeated the New Jersey X- treme 62-13 Sunday night at Family Arena.
The Warbirds come in with an impressive roster, including a number of former Ohio State players and other D-1 additions. Among the more impressive are Joe Cooper, a 6'3" 220lb linebacker who was a four year starter and 2 year team captain for the Buckeyes. Cooper played his first NIFL game for the Warbirds on Monday night and according to Head Coach Matt King was the one who shut down the Marshal's top runner Rayshawn Askew. The Cincinnati running back had been averaging 86.7 yards per game, but managed only 27 net yards against Dayton. Askew was stacked up time and again at the line of scrimmage by Cooper, who had playing time in the NFL with both the Jets and Rams.
Dayton comes in Saturday with another former St. Louis Ram on it's roster. Steve Bellisari was a sixth round draft pick in 2002 for the Rams, converted to the safety position, and played in pre-season games before being injured and placed on IR for the remainder of the year. The former Ohio State quarterback now takes the snaps for the Warbirds, and has proven to be an explosive rusher as well. Bellisari is the fifth leading rusher in the NIFL this season, scoring 12 touchdowns and averaging 52.4 yards per game.
At Running Back is former San Francisco 49'er Pepe Pearson, another Ohio State standout. And rounding out the ex-Buckeye list for Dayton is Wide Receiver Maurice Lee, one of the leading pass catchers for the Warbirds in 2005.
From an offensive standpoint, fans may just want to forget the scoreboard and bring a calculator. Here's how it stacks up for Saturday night:
The Rage is second in NIFL Scoring Offense with an average of 59.7 ppg. The Dayton Warbirds come in to Family Arena ranked third, averaging 59.4 ppg.
The Rage lead the league in Total Offense with an average of 290.3 yards per contest. Not far behind, The Dayton Warbirds are third in the NIFL, with an average of 276!
Over the first seven games, The River City Rage have scored 60 touchdowns and put 418 points on the scoreboard. The Dayton Warbirds have punched in 58 TD's, good for 416 points.
The Rage in the all important 'Red-Zone' score on an impressive 75% of it's chances. Dayton finds paydirt 74.6% of the time!
Want more? How's this? Over the first half of the season, The Rage and Warbirds run neck-to-neck in the all important category of Non-Kick Scoring. The Rage in second place with 386 points, The Warbirds right behind, in third, having scored 380.
It gets better! The Rage offensive firepower so far has come from the passing game as Quarterbacks Clay Groefsema and Anthony Fisher have combined to place The Rage second overall in Pass Offense, throwing for 42 TD's and spiking an average of 208.7 yards per game thru the air. But Dayton will hit the turf at Family Arena Saturday night geared to shut down the Rage air attack. The Warbirds are 5th overall in team Pass Defense, having allowed only 22 touchdown passes and a mere 143 yards per game from opposing QB's. Equally impressive is the stat showing the team second in the league with a Pass Defense Rating of 94.5%, giving up only 92 completions in 190 attempts and recording 14 interceptions.
Dayton's proven rushing game may well be a by- product of the Ohio State approach to winning football. It's stone wall Offensive Line has opened holes for it's two leading rushers, Bellisari and Pearson, both former Buckeyes. Dayton leads the NIFL in rushing, averaging 117.3 yards per game, and scoring 28 touchdowns in 7 games. The Rage rank 13th of 22 teams against the rush, although they've surrendered only 17 TD's and a mere 70.1 yards on the ground. That's a statistic that gives Wyatt a shot of confidence coming into the Saturday night showdown; "We've been improved and steady on defense these last 3 or 4 games. All New Jersey did last week was run the ball and we shut them down. I'm confident we can do it again, but of course, that remains to be seen."
Finally, how close could this one be? The Rage come in giving up an average of 41 points per game. The Dayton Warbirds currently surrender 46.7!
Saturday night's halftime entertainment at Family Arena has been tapped as 'Elvis Impersonator" night. A number of The King's look-alikes and sound-alikes will compete for a trip to Las Vegas.
But there will be no pretenders or wanna-be's on the field before or after that show, and the trip The Rage and The Dayton Warbirds will opt for could easily be the one that leads to home field advantage for the 2005 playoffs. And if anything at all can be guaranteed on Saturday night, it's this: Rage faithful at The Family Arena will be more than assured of some "Good Rockin' Tonight."
2 MINUTE DRILL
Quotes from Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt
(On the mental approach of his team to the game on Saturday)
"One thing the guys have to understand, you can't make mental mistakes against good football teams and expect to win the game. So, it's vital to our approach to minimize turnovers and mental errors. This game, I think, is going to be a great assessment tool for us. Anytime you play a good team, it usually comes down to turnovers, and it's the team making the least that more often comes out on top. From all indications in practice this week, we're ready to play. And the team is anxious, taking the attitude it's a sort of mid season playoff game."
(On playing an important game at home)
Certainly, It's an advantage when you play in front of the home crowd and Family Arena should be pumped up on Saturday. That's a big boost for the team and I think everybody plays better when the crowd noise is ringing in your ears."
(On the Dayton roster filled with former NFL players and Ohio State players)
"Well remember, we've got our share of D-1 and NFL camp guys, too. Plus, if you look at the NFL, there are probably a larger percentage of smaller college players on team rosters than big time schools. Sure, guys like Bellisari and Cooper lend credibility and talent to any roster, but talent is talent regardless of what school or league. I'd say we more than stack up man for man."
WASHINGTON RESPONSIBLE FOR 3 TURNOVERS
Rage linebacker Terrell Washington recovered 2 fumbles and had an interception in the Rage's blowout win over New Jersey.
National Indoor Football League Stories from May 11, 2005
- First Place in Atlantic East Division Up for Grabs - RiverCity Rage
- Hawgs have perfection at stake as well - Daytona Beach Hawgs
- There Won't Be A Better Game This Season Until the Playoffs - RiverCity Rage
- Cooper Learns As He Plays With Warbirds - Dayton Bulldogs
- Renegades kicker sets NIFL record and ties NFL record - Rome Renegades
- Third quarter binge buries visiting Cincinnati - The Marshals
- Maulers Introduce Tailgate Picnics - Montgomery Bears
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
