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James, Revolution Hold on to defeat Thunderhawks

April 11, 2010 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Richmond Revolution News Release


RICHMOND, VA: Demarcus James isn't a receiver but the Richmond Revolution will no doubt give him the best hands award after tonight's victory over the West Michigan Thunderhawks at the Arthur Ashe Center. James intercepted two passes in the final 90 seconds to help the Revolution hold on for a 45-39 victory. Richmond went into the final quarter with a 42-16 lead and James' heroics were huge in keeping the visiting team from completing the comeback in front of a crowd of 2,965.

Richmond improved to 4-1 and moved into first place in the Indoor Football League's Atlantic East Division. West Michigan suffered its first defeat in four games. James now has seven interceptions, tops in the IFL. His first tonight was "assisted" by teammate Stephen Cason, who tipped the ball before James secured it. The second was all James, who dove into the boards to come up with the game-saver with only 25.1 seconds left.

"We let a couple of plays slip away. We made up for it, came together and tried to make something happen," James said. "It's always in your mind to try and make a play for the team."

Revolution Coach Steve Criswell knew the Thunderhawks were too talented not to make a run at Richmond in the fourth period. It got a little closer than Criswell would have liked. Richmond's only points of the quarter came on a 45-yard field goal by Chris Segaar with 59.3 seconds to play.

"I said before we started this was the best football team we've faced and you can see why," Criswell said. "They're well coached and they've got players. One of the beauties of this game is you can never leave the stadium. It's never over until the final tick."

The Revolution was the dominant team through three quarters, racing to the big lead behind quarterback Bryan Randall. He threw five touchdown passes, including the first two of the season to receiver Rodney Landers. Antwun Williams caught two touchdown passes and Damon "Redd" Thompson one. Landers, like Randall, is a former winner of the Dudley Award that goes to the college player of the year in the state. Randall won his at Virginia Tech in 2004. Landers won his at James Madison in 2008. He was a quarterback for the Dukes and is enjoying his transition to receiver.

"Some of the guys were joking, saying it's been a while since I've been in the end zone," Landers said. "It's a great feeling to score and help our team get a win tonight. I just enjoy football in general, enjoy competing. We've got a great set of guys. We're not worried about stats. We just want to go out and put on a show."

The best part of the show came in the second quarter, when the Revolution scored 17 points in a span of 1:17. It needed just four plays (one of them by the Thunderhawks) to do so. Randall hit Landers from 7 yards out and Brandon Isaiah ran in for the two-point conversion. On the next play, Richmond's Sherman Logan tackled quarterback Brad Iciek in the end zone for a safety. Richmond got the ball back and Randall found Thompson from 19 yards for another touchdown. Segaar added the extra point on a kick.

The Revolution added two touchdowns in the third quarter, one of them set up by a Cason interception, and built its 26-point edge going into the final period. But, as Criswell noted, it's never that easy indoors. West Michigan scored two quick fourth-quarter touchdowns and added two-point conversions after both to make it a 10-point game with 11:19 to play. The Thunderhawks got within three on a 1-yard run by Iciek with 3:59 left.

West Michigan recovered a fumble with 2:15 left. James' first interception, tipped by Cason, ended that threat. The Thunderhawks had a final chance after Segaar's field goal but James got in their way again.

"The defense has been doing a great job all year," Randall said. "They stepped up again when they needed to. Demarcus is having a remarkable year. It seems like he shows up every time we need a big play."

The Revolution will return to the Ashe Center on April 24 for a 7:05 p.m. kickoff against the Maryland Maniacs. The team will play a Sunday contest next weekend in Rochester. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.



Indoor Football League Stories from April 11, 2010


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