Rage fumble away chance to stay undefeated
April 18, 2005 - National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
RiverCity Rage News Release
River City Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt used the words of another coach to put the game on Saturday night in perspective for his team after it's loss to the Tri-Cities Fever; "Bear Bryant once said you will do more things during the course of a game to lose it than you will to win it, and never was that more apparent for us than this game tonight."
Indeed!
In a rare and very un-Rage like display of mental mistakes and turnovers, the Rage suffered the first loss of the 2005 season at the Three Rivers Coliseum in Kennewick, Washington, falling to the Tri-Cities Fever by the score of 67-52. In a game that saw the lead change hands 13 times, The Fever capitalized on 3 different Rage turnovers in the final 5 minutes to score 22 unanswered points and drop the Rage to 3 and 1 on the year. Tri-Cities evened it's record at 2 and 2.
The Rage hit the turf running on both sides of the ball in the opening minutes of the game. A 5 play, 48 yard drive was capped with a 1 yard touchdown run by Quarterback Clay Groefsema at 11:09 of the first quarter. That score came about after Rage defensive back Andy Peterson intercepted the first pass thrown by new Fever Quarterback Doug Coleman on Tri- Cities second play from scrimmage. So the Rage were off and running, but from that point, the quarterbacks and wide receivers on both teams took over, trading touchdown passes in a first half shootout. Tri-Cities QB Doug Coleman, who came to the team just this past week after sitting out the first 3 games, found 3 different receivers open in the end zone, firing 5 TD passes. Coleman last year rifled 62 touchdown passes in 12 games as a member of the now-defunct Houma Bayou Bucks of the NIFL. Rage Quarterback Clay Groefsema's favorite first half target was Moses Regular, who caught scoring strikes of 1 and 14 yards, the second putting The Rage within one point at halftime, 33-32.
The Groefsema to Regular team-up was good for another quick score early in the third period when Moses hauled in a 5 yard pass for his third touchdown of the game. The two point conversion attempt failed, but the Rage were back in front 38- 33. Fever QB Doug Coleman brought his team right back when he used only 3 plays from scrimmage to find paydirt. Coleman rainbowed a 47 yard touchdown pass to Jarvis Dunn at 5:19 of the third quarter, and after a Fever failed 2 point try, Tri- Cities jumped back in front by 39-38. With just 36 seconds left in the quarter, Groefsema found Scott Pingel wide open in the end zone from 2 yards out, and again, after an unsuccessful two point try, the Rage led at the end of three quarters of play 44-39.
The Fever again used 3 plays to score just 2 minutes into the final quarter, capping a drive with a 28 yard TD run by Paris Moore. Coleman's pass fell short in the endzone on the two point try and The Fever led 45-44. With 8:37 left in the game, Rage wide receiver Scott Pingel pulled down his third TD pass of the game, scoring on a 4 yard strike from Groefsema , then capped the drive by hauling in the two point conversion, and putting The Rage in front by the score of 52-45.
The Rage defense held tough on the next series, forcing Tri-Cities to employ an already shaken kicker, Nick Thomlinson, to boot the ball out of their own end zone. Thomlinson's kick went out of bounds and the Rage had the ball first and ten at their own 20 yard line.
It's a known fact in football, one that coaches stress week after week: you can't turn the football over and expect to win games, especially on the road against good teams! The melt-down began on the Rage second play from scrimmage when Gabe Dunkmann's snap from center shot between Groefsema's legs and was recovered by The Fever's Michael Hodges at the Rage 8 yard line. A Rage encroachment penalty put the ball on the River City four, and with 4:40 to play, Tri-Cities Jarvis Dunn scooted into the end zone, and after a quarterback sack by Jay Carmack, the Rage still led 52-51. Rage woes continued when with first and goal at the Fever 6 and a chance to put the game away, lightning struck for a second time when Dunkmann's center snap was fumbled by Groefsema at the Tri-Cities 6, and was recovered at the 12 by Jeremey Bohannon. The Fever used that miscue to go 38 yards in 5 plays, and with just 41 seconds left in the game, score the go-ahead touchdown when Coleman hit Mike Rigell from 6 yards away in the corner of the end zone.
With The Rage down by 7 and time left Coach Mike Wyatt said, "I still liked our chances. Our offense can score quickly, we've done it before, and I felt like we were down, but by no means out of it. I was confident we could win."
Not this time. On the ensuing Kick-Off, usually sure- handed wide receiver Hurtis Chinn fielded the ball on one bounce and headed up- field. Chinn later said he felt he could turn the corner, get a block and go all the way, but " my knee bucked up against the ball and it just shot out.That hasn't happened to me before and I don't intend for it to happen again this year, but it was just a mistake, a bad break at a bad time." Tri-Cities Safety Rhondi Kirwan picked the ball out of mid-air and without breaking stride, strutted into the end zone where he was mobbed by his teammates. Jarvis Dunn's rush for the two point add- on left the Rage stunned and on the short end of a 67-52 final score.
One bright spot over the weekend was the fact that another top team didn't fare much better. The Miami Morays were upset by the Kissimmee Kreatures 41- 38, a loss to a division foe that still leaves The Rage in the top spot in the Atlantic Division. In the Atlantic East Division, the Rage are in first with a record of 3-1, Dayton stands at 2-1, Cincinnati at 2- 2 and New Jersey winless at 0-5.
The Rage look to get back on the winning track Friday night at Family Arena when they host the Lakeland Thunderbolts. Kick-Off is slated for 7pm.
The game can be heard on 1380 ESPN radio and audio streamed on the ESPN website.
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National Indoor Football League Stories from April 18, 2005
- Hawgs defeat Thunderbolts, 38-26 - Daytona Beach Hawgs
- Rage fumble away chance to stay undefeated - RiverCity Rage
- Football team supports non-profit organizations - Lakeland ThunderBolts
- Former WSU kicker to take over for Fever in Everett - Tri-Cities Fever
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