L.A. Avengers beat Las Vegas Gladiators, 62-55
February 14, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Los Angeles Avengers News Release
LAS VEGAS -- Kevin Ingram scored three touchdowns in the Los Angeles Avengers' 62-55 victory over the Las Vegas Gladiators on Sunday, but none of them were his biggest play of the afternoon.
Ingram's top moment came after the final buzzer as he batted down a pass that denied Terrill Shaw his fifth touchdown reception of the game and kept the Avengers undefeated at 2-0. In losing their home opener before 7,862 at the Thomas & Mack Center, the Gladiators fell to 0-2.
Playing without defensive specialist Damen Wheeler, who was sidelined with an injured hamstring, the Avengers won despite allowed Las Vegas to score touchdowns on eight of their 11 possessions.
"We were just waiting for that one stop," said Ingram, who was selected as the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game for the second consecutive week and the sixth time in his last 12 games, dating back to last season. "Our defense was struggling out there a little bit, so we just had to buckle down."
Avenger quarterback Tony Graziani was 23-of-30 for 265 yards and seven touchdowns. His final touchdown pass was also veteran wide receiver/linebacker Joe Douglass' first reception as an Avenger. The 27-yard score on a crucial third-and-17 play put L.A. up 62-55 with 1:53 remaining.
After the ensuing kickoff, Gladiator quarterback Clint Dolezel got the football at his own 14-yard line and completed four passes, driving Las Vegas to the Avenger three-yard line with four seconds left. After failing to connect with Shaw in the back of the end zone, Dolezel had one final attempt left as one tick remained on the clock.
That's when Ingram dove along the goal line, near the right wall, braking up the game's final play.
"Kevin Ingram really came up big for us," Avenger head coach Ed Hodgkiss said. "But Russell Shaw and Cornelius Coe also stepped up and made some good plays, as well, especially at the end."
Russell Shaw, a wide receiver/defensive back who along with Ingram was asked to assume some of Wheeler's usual responsibilities, led the team with seven tackles. Coe, the only traditional defensive specialist to play in the game for the Avengers, finished with six stops and forced a key fumble.
In a move that represented a first in the five-year history of the Avenger franchise and an extreme rarity in the Arena Football League, Hodgkiss and defensive coordinator Doug Kay chose to designate lineman Arnold Miller as L.A.'s defensive specialist in place of Wheeler, who is regarded as the team's top coverman. The decision was aimed at generating an upgraded pass rush, which would in turn benefit the "two-way" Avengers in the defensive backfield, who were playing more additional minutes due to Wheeler's absence.
Dolezel, however, did not feel the kind of pressure that Arizona quarterback Sherdrick Bonner did in L.A.'s 51-32 victory in last week's season opener and was extremely sharp, completing 24-of-32 for 312 yards and eight touchdowns. While Bonner was intercepted four times and sacked twice, Dolezel didn't throw a pick and was brought to the turf just once.
"Dolezel is so good with the ball and gets it out quick," Hodgkiss said. "That negates our pass rush a little bit. But at the end, we had the guys we wanted in there up front (Arnold Miller, Al Lucas, Mike Ulufale and Lonnie Ford) and I think that made a difference.
"We have to get a lot better," Hodgkiss added. "I told the team after the game, 'You don't get any points for being good ... you have to earn them.' This game will serve as a little bit of a wake-up call for us. We've got to get back to business and improve if we are going to do the things we are capable of doing."
Hidden among all the offensive firepower and late-game heroics was an outstanding performance by Avenger kicker Remy Hamilton, who made both of his field goal attempts, all eight of his extra points and pulled off the special teams play of the day.
After WR/LB Greg Hopkins caught his second touchdown pass of the day, Hamilton's PAT tied the game at 55-55 with 6:01 left. Then, he popped a perfect on-side kick along the right sideline that settled into the hands of Avenger WR/DB Russell Shaw at his own 17-yard line, setting up the drive that ended with Douglass' touchdown.
Ingram, who finished with 180 all-purpose yards, scored his career-high three touchdowns before the game was even 22-minutes old. In between a pair of receiving scores, he lined up in the backfield behind Graziani and plowed into the end zone from a yard out on the last play of the first quarter.
In the last three minutes of the first half, the Gladiators and Avengers went back and forth with unsuccessful onside kick attempts that resulted in three short touchdowns. Los Angeles scored two of the three to take a 35-34 lead into the locker room at halftime, the only difference being a missed extra point by Las Vegas kicker Daron Alcorn.
The Avengers started the second half with a 38-yard kickoff return by Ingram and then a 20-yard touchdown pass from Graziani to Hopkins, which put L.A. up 42-34.
That was one of two quick-strike, one-play touchdown possessions for the Avengers. All eight of L.A.'s touchdown drives last no more than four plays.
After two road victories to open the season, the Avengers will play their home opener on Sunday, Feb. 22, against the San Jose SaberCats (1-0) at STAPLES Center. The game kicks off at noon (Pacific) and will be televised on KNBC Channel 4.
Nine-game season ticket packages and individual game seats are available by calling 1-888-AVENGERS.
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