Renegades advance with 64-39 win
June 20, 2006 - American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) News Release
ROME, Ga. - So what if Lew Thomas didn't get one of his four touchdowns on a hook-and-ladder play called by Rome Renegades coach David Humphreys in the third quarter of Monday's American Indoor Football League Southern Conference semifinal?
He still thought it was a sweet play in a sweet second half that saw the Renegades pull away from a 27-25 halftime battle to claim a 64-39 rout over the Chattahoochee Valley Vipers and a berth in next Monday's conference championship game.
Undefeated in the Forum this season, Rome (13-2) will host its sister team the Raleigh Rebels (9-6) next Monday night. Raleigh benefited from the defending league champion Richmond Bandits being suspended from the playoffs.
The hook-and-ladder, rarely seen in indoor football, calls for the receiver to catch the ball and then lateral it back to another player in full stride. Bart Gloyd caught the pass from Bo Bartik and pitched back to Thomas, who streaked along the sideline and thought he had a touchdown, but was called out at the 2. Thomas scored two plays later, and Rome was in control at 44-25.
"It was just like we practiced it," Thomas said.
Humphreys, whose storied career as a Rome high school football coach includes one year when a hook-and-ladder by an opponent ended a playoff run, admitted he relaxed his play calling in the second half after the two teams played to a standstill in the opening 30 minutes. Then again, it didn't hurt when Bo Bartik connected with Andrew Amerson for a thirty-yard strike on the opening play of the second half that started a 23-0 Rome run.
With Leon Moore (2.5 sacks) putting pressure on Vipers QB Joey Conrad and the secondary neutralizing receiver Garvin Graves - Graves was held scoreless -- Rome made three consecutive stops and kept the Vipers out of the end zone until Marcus Ross' second touchdown made it 50-31 with 7:31 to play. And that was the closest it got.
Danny Marshall set the tone for his evening by nailing the first of five rouges on the opening kickoff, and after Jermaine Collins' pick set a Thomas 6-yarder, made another rouge to stake an early 9-0 Rome lead. Marshall finished the night with 14 points, including two field goals and three PATs.
The Vipers took their only lead at 21-20 on Conrad's 9-yarder to Roshan Gilyard with 6:57 remaining in the first half. After the teams exchanged interceptions, Rome regained the lead on a 2-yard Thomas run 53 seconds before halftime. Viper kicker Gene Davis hit a 41-yard field goal and a rouge that cut it to a 27-25 halftime game.
Bartik managed the game wisely, completing 17 of 25 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns in the air while adding another on the ground. He even pulled a Doug Flutie by kicking an extra point.
Gerald Gales had six catches for 82 yards and one score. Collins added a cosmetic score with a 15-yard return of an onside kick attempt late. Conrad finished with 278 yards and three touchdowns, two going to Roshan Gilyard (six for 49) and the other to Brandon Williams (6 for 97).
American Indoor Football Association Stories from June 20, 2006
- Renegades Advance With Victory Over Vipers - Rome Renegades
- Renegades advance with 64-39 win - AIFA
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