Rage rides the Edwards TD express to home victory over Lincoln
Published on June 6, 2005 under National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
RiverCity Rage News Release
Just before 10 PM last Friday evening at The Family Arena, the game clock worked it's way down to triple zeros on the overhead scoreboard. And it was only then that, according to Lincoln Capitols Head Coach Pat Schaben, "that guy, that number 20, finally stopped scoring touchdowns." That guy, who's name should surely be known to Schaben by now, ran 19 times, gained 97 yards, averaged 5.1 yards per carry, and found the end zone six times in every conceivable way, shape or fashion on the ground. And to accent one of the best performances in Rage franchise history, Sha-Ron Edwards even had some fun with the Caps secondary, hauling in 3 passes for 35 yards, and yep, you guessed it, cradled a Clay Groefsema spiral late in the third quarter while standing three yards behind the goalline!
Throw in a Gary Bolden 50 yard kick-off return for a touchdown, a comedy of errors fumble recovery in the end zone by Lenny Williams, and it all adds up to victory number 9 for The Rage in 2005, an undefeated record of 7-0 at home, and one step closer to the Atlantic East Title in the NIFL. A Rage victory at home Friday night against the Cincinnati Marshals will clinch the division for River City and give Coach Mike Wyatt's team home field advantage throughout the Atlantic Conference Playoffs. The way this team's fortunes have swung in the last 7 weeks, it's all but in the bank!
Friday's 69 to 59 win over Lincoln was a showcase of precision and depth for Wyatt's troops, a first rate example of a team that can lose a key player and replace him with one waiting in the shadows, a secondary player who steps up and takes his game to a higher level, making major contributions to another team victory.
According to Wyatt, "let's start with Barry Brueggeman, who filled in on the offensive line for Robert Reeves. He played an outstanding game, and one play in particular stands out. On Sha-Ron's 10 yard touchdown run in the second quarter, Gabe Dunkmann took out the linebacker, Chase slammed his guy into the boards, and there was Barry throwing a perfect reach block on their nose guard. The line was in sync most all night long, and Barry really brought his 'A' game to the starting role."
Fast forward to Gary Bolden, a defensive back who had prior to Friday night's contest, had seen limited duty in the secondary, and none in the role of kick- return specialist. But with Hurtis Chinn out of the line- up due to his participation in an NFL Combine tryout over the weekend, Bolden, said Wyatt, "made the most of his opportunity and really made a statement on special teams. On his returns, he hit that wedge full tilt and displayed just absolute great balance on the 50 yard return for the touchdown. He slipped out of a tackle at their 20 yard line, and had his face about a foot off the ground, running at a 45 degree angle, before getting upright and taking it in. That's something you can't coach."
Although the Capitols lost their 15th straight game, dating back to May of 2004, it was a different Lincoln team that hit the turf Friday night. A new quarterback in Michael Spriggs, a bull of a running back in John Hall, who had been on Injured Reserve in the Caps first loss to The Rage in April, and one of the more proficient kickers in the NIFL in Jess Palmer. And for a while, victory number one for the Caps in 2005 was not such a far fetched idea.
On the Caps first play from scrimmage, Spriggs found Wide Receiver Richard Cooper all alone in the end zone with a 34 yard strike and with Palmer's P-A-T, the Capitols shot out in front 7-0.
Two plays later, the show began for one of the biggest crowds this season at Family Arena. Rage running back Sha-Ron Edwards took the handoff from Clay Groefsema, ran 11 yards up the middle, and hopped into the end zone for the first touchdown of his record setting night. Rage kicker Mike Matheny, who displayed great end over end kick-offs all night long and seems to have emerged as the answer to Wyatt's search for consistency, made the point after and the score was knotted up at 7 apiece.
Touchdown runs of 3 and 4 yards later in the quarter by Edwards helped offset a 50 yard field goal by Palmer and another Spriggs to Cooper TD pass of 14 yards. The Rage led at the end of the first quarter 21-17.
Capitols kicker Jess Palmer again displayed great indoor accuracy when he drilled a 32 yarder through the uprights at 11:41 of the second quarter. But the game had the same spin all night long, the Caps get close, and The Rage strike again and pull away. Chalk one up for QB Clay Groefsema, who has emerged as one of the leading signal callers in the league. A 6 play, 18 yard drive was capped by Groefsema's one yard plunge into the end zone at 7:58. Mike Matheny's kick split the posts and The Rage led 28- 20.
Spriggs hit Cooper again for a 6 yard score, but by now an out-of-control Sha-Ron Edwards couldn't be stopped and on first and goal at the Lincoln 10, popped through the line behind some great blocking and hit paydirt for his fourth TD of the first half. Groefsema to Pingel with a two point conversion and The Rage have a ten point lead at 36-26.
Palmer again! This time a 41 yard field goal that had the fans out of their seats and following the ball through the uprights! He hit another 31 yard bullet just before the end of the first half, but those two kicks were wedged between "one of the best runbacks I've seen all season," said Wyatt, shaking his head, "I thought at least three times Gary (Bolden) was down, but he kept his balance and gave us a shot in the arm just before halftime that we carried out with us in the third quarter." The 50 yard TD return by Bolden gave The Rage a 43-32 halftime advantage.
And just three minutes into the third quarter, the play occurred that gave The Rage the margin it maintained the rest of the night and showed why it's mostly performance, but sometimes sheer luck, that helps teams win games. On second and ten from the Rage 15 yard line, Spriggs watched the center snap fly over his head. He chased the football as it bounded downfield towards the Lincoln goal line. At least 5 players had a shot at recovering the ball, but it was Rage defensive end Lenny Williams who finally fell on it in the Capitols end zone, the NIFL's version of the infamous 'Holy Roller' fiasco of Oakland Raiders fame, circa 1970 something! Rage 49. Capitols 32.
There was more game in Sha-Ron Edwards before this one came to an end. He had TD runs of 6 yards, 2 yards and a 15 yard TD pass late in the fourth quarter to round out a record setting performance.
"Sha-Ron had an outstanding game," stated Wyatt, "he served notice to the league that he's capable of this kind of night and doesn't have to take a back seat to anyone."
Edward's 6 rushing TD's were a St. Louis based franchise record and coupled with his touchdown pass reception, his 7 touchdowns overall were also a record for an individual player in one game.
Other stat leaders on offense included Quarterback Clay Groefsema, who completed 15 of 23 passes for 180 yards and one touchdown. Wide Receiver Scott Pingel caught 5 passes for 50 yards, Moses Regular hauled in 4 spirals good for 62 yards, and sure handed Corey Bethany stepped into the role vacated by Hurtis Chinn to catch 3 passes and account for 33 yards.
The Rage play the Cincinnati Marshals on Friday night at The Family Arena in the regular season home finale. Its Fan Appreciation Night and Kick-Off is slated for 7 PM. The game can be heard on 1380 ESPN and audio-streamed on both the ESPN and ragefootball.com websites.
QUOTES FROM RAGE HEAD FOOTBALL COACH MIKE WYATT
(On being undefeated at home this year))
"Well, we've established a record this year of 7-0 so far at Family Arena, and we've tried to make it difficult for opposing teams to come in and play us at home. I think we've done that, and sent that statement to the other teams in the NIFL. It'll hopefully serve us well come playoff time."."
(On the approaching playoffs)
"The team is excited about the playoffs but not really thinking about that facet right now. We've got three more regular season opponents to play and we can't look past that. So while we look forward to the post-season, our focus is to finish strong in an effort to get there in the right frame of mind and carry that momentum into the post-season."
National Indoor Football League Stories from June 6, 2005
- Rage rides the Edwards TD express to home victory over Lincoln - RiverCity Rage
- Tony Wells Earns First Win As Marshals Head Coach - The Marshals
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