Rage look to 'Capitol'-ize on first place in standings
April 27, 2005 - National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
RiverCity Rage News Release
The high-flying River City Rage of the NIFL will be looking to stay atop the Atlantic East division and add to it's impressive offensive firepower statistics when the team travels to Lincoln, Nebraska to play the Lincoln Capitols on Friday night. Kick-Off at the Pershing Center is slated for 7:05PM St. Louis time and the game can be heard on 1380 ESPN Radio and audio-streamed on the ESPN and Rage websites.
The Rage are coming off an impressive 60-38 victory over the Lakeland Thunderbolts at the Family Arena last Friday night. The team currently is in first place in it's division with a record of 4-1, and at or near the top in a number of team and individual offensive categories. The Capitols are winless at 0-3, in last place in the Pacific West, and are coming off a bye week. One big plus for the Lincoln team is the return of 6"5" 275lb Defensive End Kareem Sears, who was a mainstay last year on Coach Pat Schaben's defensive line before a broken ankle late in the year ended his season. After undergoing extensive re-hab and enduring some setbacks along the way, Sears has returned for the Rage game, much to the relief of his teammates and the delight of the Capitol fans.
The Rage come into Fridays game sporting an offense that is the talk of the NIFL. The River City Rage have the number one scoring offense in the entire NIFL, averaging some 60.3ppg. In it's first five games, the team has scored 43 touchdowns, and coupled with the PAT's and two-point conversions, has put 303 points on the board. The team is all but automatic in the "red-zone", scoring an amazing 80% of the time inside the 10 yard line!
Quarterbacks Clay Groefsema and Anthony Fisher combine to give the Rage the number one passing offense, with 32 touchdowns and an average of 215 yards thru the air over 5 games.
But the Rage will need to be on top of their game in that capacity, as the Capitols come in as one of the top 5 teams overall in pass defense, allowing only 10 touchdowns and an average of 137 yards per game. Lincoln's defense has picked off opposing quarterbacks nine times and has allowed it's opponents an average of only 27ppg and given up only nine touchdowns, so Friday's match-up is a real case of one team's strength against another's.
The Rage overall offensive package shows the team second in total offense, averaging 420 rush yards and 1075 passing yards per game for an yards per game average of 299. The team is second in first downs with 103, while allowing only 77. Finally, the team is also in the Top Ten in rushing offense, with 420 yards and 11 touchdowns rushing, averaging 84 yards per game. Rage individual leaders include Wide Receiver Scott Pingel who leads the NIFL in receptions with 34, good for 337 yards. Pingel is also fourth in scoring with 14 touchdowns and 10xpt for an impressive total of 94 points! Quarterback Clay Groefsema over five games has completed 101 of 158 passing attempts. He's thrown for 30 touchdowns, totalled up 1,021 yards thru the air and has been picked off only 5 times. On the defensive side, the Rage are getting a boost from former Missouri University standout Clarence Jones. Known to fans and teammates as "CJ", Jones is a Top Ten leader in the NIFL in tackles with 20 Un- assisted and 25 Assisted tackles over the first five games of the season. The Rage "D" has sacked opposing quarterbacks 5 times this year, while the Offensive Line has been stingy and steady, giving up only 3.
SPECIAL MOTHER'S DAY GAME ADDED!
The ownership of the RiverCity Rage negotiated with the NIFL and the New Jersey Xtreme to bring an additional home game to the Family Arena for the 2005 season.The game has been scheduled for Sunday, May 8, 2005 at 5 PM. The game was originally scheduled to be played in New Jersey, but a conflict arose between the home team and their home venue and the Rage made an offer to help solve that problem to the mutual satisfaction of both teams.
The good news for Rage fans is that they will get an extra opportunity to see their team play at home.
"When we found there was some interest in moving the game, here, we jumped at the opportunity. We just felt it would be a nice opportunity to give our fans another chance to come see their team." Stated Tye Elliott, President of the RiverCity Rage. "This game is not a trade-out. New Jersey will keep their regular date on Sunday, May 29 as originally scheduled. This is just an extra game for the fans and will help us celebrate Mother's Day in a unique way." Elliott added.
Game time for the Mother's Day event is scheduled for 5PM in the Family Arena.
Fans will be able to purchase a ticket to the game for only $2.00 Any fan who does so will be allowed to bring his or her Mother to the game free-of- charge! That's a $2 ticket, and Mom's in free!
2 MINUTE DRILL
Quotes from Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt
(On the Lincoln Capitols and the game Friday night)
"Lincoln is a team hungry for it's first win and sometimes those teams are the most dangerous one to play, especially when you're playing them on the road. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Remember, they've had two weeks to prepare and two weeks to heal up. We're coming off a game, we're making the trip and there is more unknown than known about this team. We'll need to be ready."
(On the status of Hurtis Chinn and Bruce Blue with the NFL)
"Those are determinations that will be made later by the various teams involved. The Seahawks and Rams are interested in Hurtis and the Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs are looking strongly at Bruce Blue. It's a situation that could go either way, with a lot of intangibles involved. You gotta remember, there is a lot of time between now and summer training camp for the NFL teams and the numbers game comes into play a lot in situations like this. But both guys are right in that mix."
8 is Great!
Rage QB Clay Groefsema through for a league and team high 8 TDS in the Rage's home win over the Lakeland Thunderbolts. That give the former U of Redlands star 29 TDs on year through the first 5 games.
National Indoor Football League Stories from April 27, 2005
- Rage look to 'Capitol'-ize on first place in standings - RiverCity Rage
- Kissimmee travels west to meet Cavalry - Kissimmee Kreatures
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