Rage throw house party at Savvis
March 27, 2006 - National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
RiverCity Rage News Release
Any football fan looking to get an autograph from RiverCity Rage wide receiver Hurtis Chinn during the post-game celebration following the team's 76-34 victory Sunday at Savvis Center would have been wise to simply wait in the end zone. Give him some time and he would most surely be there, the end zone, where he'd spent most of the afternoon. Just ask the Cincinnati Marshals.
On a day dedicated to honouring the military with pre-game and half-time ceremony, the Rage used all the time in between to reign down with an air attack that would have made the nearly 1,000 military personnel in attendance at Savvis Center stand at attention.
From the opening drive in the first quarter when quarterback Clay Groefsema found Chinn wide open for a 3 yard touchdown, to the final play of the game when reserve Anthony Fisher hit Sha-Ron Edwards with a 9 yard TD strike, the Rage used the 2006 home opener to serve notice to some 7,942 fans that this football team had grabbed the home bull by the horns and had no intention of letting go. "Sure, it's very early in the season," said Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt after his team's 2-0 start, "but I feel like we've steamrolled two teams and gotten off to a better start on both sides of the ball than even I felt we would. Clay's on target, Hurtis is running under everything, and the defense has stepped up to create some turnovers and make key plays. Understand, we've got more work to do, we need to stay focused, our special teams play needs to improve, and it's always going to be week to week in this league. But the grade-out, at least so far, has been good."
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The Rage led 20-13 at halftime and for the second time in as many games, used some hard-nosed defense and a pair of offensive blasts to pull away. An eight yard scoring pass from Groefsema to Chinn was countered minutes later by a 19 yard TD strike from Cincinnati quarterback Deontey Kenner to Troy Albea. With the score 27-20 in favour of the Rage, Groefsema again hooked up with Hurtis Chinn for what Wyatt later called "the play of the game, the turning point and the one play that swung the momentum around ."
Facing 2nd and 7 from the Rage 8 yard line, Chinn got behind two Marshal defenders and hauled in a 42 yard air-out from Groefsema and high stepped into the end zone to put the Rage in front 34-20. That, says Wyatt, put some "psychological breathing room between us and them. They came back to score after that play, but I feel we wore the Marshals down just a bit and when we shot ahead 41-27, our defensive stop on their fourth and goal pretty well put it away."
That stop came near the end of the third quarter. On third and goal at the Rage two yard line, Cincinnati twice relied on running back Ray Jackson to barrel into the end zone and again put the Marshals within seven points. But Rage defensive back Clarence "CJ" Jones came up to stop Jackson short of the goal line, then turned things over to defensive back Brandon "BG" Gregory and linebacker Terrell Washington, who slammed Jackson for a two yard loss on forth and goal, and set up a 35-7 fourth quarter Rage takeover that sent shock waves throughout the post-game Marshals locker room. "We got beat, and we got knocked around pretty good," said Head Coach Steve Carpenter, "I felt we played a good first half and hung tough for about three quarters, but they've got some offensive guns that just keep firing away and my defense just wore down towards the end. I think it'll be better for us when we hook up again, after all this was our first game of the year, but for today, they just took it to us. They earned it."
Hurtis Chinn was the favourite target of quarterbacks Groefsema and Fisher, hauling in 9 passes for 129 yards and 6 TD's. The 42 yard strike from Clay was according to Wyatt, "a real beauty and it was great to see the fans on their feet, rocking the place when that one came down. Hurtis got a step on the defense and caught it over his shoulder, and danced it in. I gotta feel, from a fan's standpoint, that it's the kind of play that'll get talked about afterwards and will compel fans to want to be back in a few weeks to see us again. We got us a little buzz going today."
And it's the Marshals who must have felt zapped by the shock of a Rage blitz that dominated almost every aspect of the second half. For the Rage, Majority Owner Tye Elliott had only one word to offer when asked about the game, the crowd, the âSalute to America's Heroes' theme, the media coverage, the excitement overall, and the Rage new home.
"Awesome!!"
QUOTES FROM RAGE HEAD FOOTBALL COACH MIKE WYATT
On the Marshals defense which played tough through most of the game "I thought they played well defensively most of the game. We scored 76 points on them, but it wasn't until the fourth quarter (35 points) that we really took it home. They stopped us twice in the red zone and took some scoring opportunities away, but I attribute some of that to the fact they had game film on us from the previous week, while we had none on them."
On the Rage defense stepping up in the second half: "I was proud of our effort. The defense kept us in the game through three quarters when we missed some scoring chances that could have widened our lead. âBG' (Rage defensive back Brandon Gregory) got two picks, but I think the pressure from our defensive line and linebackers, especially Terrell Washington, brought that about. We pressured them all day and it paid off."
On opening day at Savvis Center "It was exciting, the fans were vocal and we served notice to the rest of the league that it'll be a tough place to come in and take it from us. It's our house now, but just like when you move into a house of another sort, you have to do the things that make it your home, yours and yours alone. We stepped up and did that today for this team, this organization and our fans."
The RiverCity Rage is part of the 24 team National Indoor Football League, now in it's sixth season of play. For ticket information on the Rage at Savvis Center in 2006 log on to www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets for all Rage home games can be purchased at the Savvis Center box office. For information on the RiverCity Rage of the NIFL, visit the team website at www.ragefootball.com
Don't Miss "In the Red Zone", Rage Football's weekly call-in radio show on WGNU 920 AM WEDNESDAY NIGHTS from 7-8 PM sponsored by Maggie Obrien's. To call with "on air "questions, dial 314-454-0400.
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National Indoor Football League Stories from March 27, 2006
- Sandsharks Offensive Lineman Moving on to NFL's Tampa Bay Bucs - Charleston Sand Sharks
- Week three wrap-up - NIFL
- Rage throw house party at Savvis - RiverCity Rage
- Marshals Fall To River City Rage in 2006 Season Opener - The Marshals
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