Rage win in OT for second straight
May 31, 2008 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
RiverCity Rage News Release
St. Charles, MO - The RiverCity Rage finally returned home after four straight games on the road, but it was worth the wait. The Rage defeated the Bloomington Extreme 32-29 in a thrilling, come from behind, overtime win in front of 3,906 raucous fans at the Family Arena. RiverCity trailed by 17 points at one point in the second half. This was the third meeting of the season between these two Eastern Division rivals and the third straight game to be decided by less than 10 points.
"We knew it was going to be a tough battle," said Rage Head Coach Ken Stills. "It always is when the two of us hook up. I can't tell you how thrilled I am the way our defense stepped up tonight. The Extreme came in averaging over 40 points a game. Then to hold them empty on their last drive was a thing of beauty."
Bloomington got the ball with 2:16 left and the game tied at 26. However, the Rage defense, led by safety Milton Proctor, forced a 40-yard field goal attempt that came up short and sent the game to overtime. Proctor broke up two Dusty Burk passes, the second on a crucial third down play. Proctor had a total of three pass breakups in the game as well as his league-leading ninth interception.
The Rage (5-7) trailed 23-6 with under 12:00 to go in the third quarter before a Hurtis Chinn touchdown run started a string of 20 straight RiverCity points. Chinn followed his TD run with his team-leading sixth TD catch that closed the gap to 23-20. Then, what might be the play of the year to this point; Jamal Cooper took the ball out of Burk's hands at the one yard line and ran 49 yards for the go ahead touchdown. Bloomington kicker, Peter Christofilakos tied the score at 26 with 5:03 remaining, leading to the first overtime game of the Rage season.
Bloomington (6-6) had the first possession in the overtime and came away with just a field goal from 40 yards out. The Rage then marched 25 yards on five plays for the game winning touchdown. Rage quarterback Ryan Maiuri ran the ball in from just one yard out for the victory.
With the win, combined with the Sioux City Bandits 41-34 loss at home to Sioux Falls, the Rage currently sit alone in second place in the division with a leg up to host a first round playoff game. The Rage now head to Sioux City next week for a huge game against the Bandits. With a victory, the Rage will clinch the home field for the first round of the playoffs with a shot at the overall top seed in their division. The Rage will then play their final regular season game at home on Saturday, June 14th against the Billings Outlaws. For tickets call (636) 896.4285 or visit ragefootball.com.
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United Indoor Football Association Stories from May 31, 2008
- Rage win in OT for second straight - RiverCity Rage
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