Have Offense, Will Travel
April 13, 2005 - National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
RiverCity Rage News Release
It'll be a showdown for sure this Saturday night, April 16th, when the high-scoring River City Rage look to out-sling the Tri-Cities Fever in an NIFL shootout at the Three Rivers Coliseum in Kennewick, Washington. Kick-Off is slated for 9:05pm St. Louis time. The game can be heard on 1380 ESPN, with the pre-game show on tap for 8:45pm.
After last weekend's 90-39 defeat of the Montgomery Maulers at Family Arena, the Rage find themselves to be one of only four undefeated teams in the 22 team NIFL. Even in a league known for putting points on the board, the Rage offensive statistics are more than impressive. The Rage currently lead the NIFL with a 63.7 points-per-game average! The team is second overall in total offense with a 296 yards-per-game average on the strength of 26 touchdowns scored. Quarterback Clay Groefsema leads a team that is 5th in pass offense and scoring in the 'red zone' a remarkable 82% of the time. Groefsema on Wednesday (April 13th) was selected as the 'On Sports Central" player of the week as a result of his performance against Montgomery on Saturday. Clay completed 18 of 28 passes for 176 yards and 7 touchdowns. He also punched it in twice from behind center, accounting for 9 of the team's 12 scores.
Wide Receiver Hurtis Chinn leads the league with 22 receptions after 3 games and is also number one overall in total yards, chalking up 205. Teammate Scott Pingel already shows signs of being in mid- season form, pulling down 20 passes and accounting for 207 total yards, good for 3rd and 4th respectively.
The Rage enter Saturday's game facing a Tri-cities team embroiled in a bit of controversy. The Fever announced last week that Head Coach Craig Beverlin had resigned due to difference with team management regarding coaching policy and team direction. He has been replaced by Special Teams Coach Dan Whitsett. The Fever also this week looked to beef-up their offense with the signing of NIFL veteran Quarterback Doug Coleman, a product of Eastern New Mexico University.
The Rage currently lead the Atlantic East Division of the NIFL with a record of 3-0. The Dayton Warbirds are 1-1 on the year, the Cincinnati Marshals stand at 1-2 and the New Jersey Extreme round out the division winless at 0-4.
2 MINUTE DRILL Quotes from Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt
(On Saturday's 200th career victory) "It was great to get it and I'm appreciative of all that the players and owners did to make it extra special. I'm thrilled about it, , but now it's time to stay focused on this team getting win number four rather than my getting victory number 201. From here on out, it's about the team putting wins together as a unit, both offense and defense. That's what's important."
(On the play of the Rage defense)
"The defense really stepped up last week and did a fine job. I think the 51 point difference in the score was really more of a credit to the defense being able to hold Montgomery in check and keep them at 39 points. Special teams recorded a safety, Terrell Washington, I feel, had an exceptional game and is beginning to understand and fill his role on the team. I was especially pleased to see a number of really big hits on their receivers. There were a few times when our defensive backs just separated the receiver from the ball and our coverage overall was much better."
(On playing the Fever in Washington)
"It's always tough in this league to win on the road, especially a situation like this where we'll cross two different time zones. The prep in a number of areas for a game like this will have to be stepped-up."
GROEFSEMA ACCOUNTS FOR 9 TDS
Shooting from the hip, Clay Groefsema led the Rage to their 90-39 victory over Montgomery, personally accounting for 9 TDs in the process. He launched 7 TD passes and ran in 2 scores on the night.
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National Indoor Football League Stories from April 13, 2005
- Have Offense, Will Travel - RiverCity Rage
- Fever sign NIFL veteran quarterback and defensive back - Tri-Cities Fever
- Maulers to broadcast weekly radio show from local restaurants - Montgomery Bears
- Warren heads overseas - Fayetteville Guard
- Drillers mid-week report - Beaumont Drillers
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.
