Riptide Get First Win, 59-34 over Coyotes
April 24, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
San Diego Riptide News Release
SAN DIEGO â Two former teammates squared off Friday night at the Sports Arena as Riptide quarterback Kane Claunch threw five touchdowns to top former Riptide signal caller Wesley Phillips and the Central Valley Coyotes, earning the âTide their first win of the season, 59-34.
Claunch ruined the homecoming of former coach Cree Morris by completing 13 of 23 passes for 221 yards and throwing five touchdowns for the third straight game. He also ran for another, taking home Offensive Player of the Game honors. Rico Curtis added a receiving score and recovered a fumble for another, while racking up six tackles and Dwight Carter caught a touchdown pass and returned a kickoff for a score as well. Nakoa McElrath also hauled in the first three af2 touchdowns of his career to help propel Mouse Davis and the âTide to their first victory of the year. Phillips finished the game 16 of 30 for 171 yards and two scores.
San Diego (1-3) remains one-and-a-half games out of first in the National West Division, trailing both Bakersfield and Hawaii. The Islanders will be the âTide's next opponent, visiting the Sports Arena on May 8. Central Valley remains winless, falling to 0-3, last in the National West.
The Riptide jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead, scoring on two long passing plays from Claunch. San Diego scored on their first drive, a 25-yard Claunch to Curtis bomb, then got the ball right back when Ryan Smith picked off Phillips. The interception turned into a 38-yard touchdown pass from Claunch to Marty Graham. The score was the first of the season for Graham.
The two teams then exchanged touchdowns with Claunch throwing two more scores, both to Nakoa McElrath, and Phillips running in a score and throwing for another. San Diego failed to connect on a point-after try and a two-point conversion attempt, but still led 26-14. Claunch then connected with the âTide's leading receiver in the waning moments of the first half, tossing a 35-yard score to Dwight Carter to send San Diego into the half with an 18-point lead.
The âTide kept rolling as the second half got underway. Curtis recovered a Coyote fumble for a touchdown and Chris Arnce connected on a 29-yard field goal during the third quarter, while Central Valley continued to battle turnovers, mustering just one Phillips-to-LaMonte Jones touchdown.
San Diego led by 21 to start the fourth quarter when Carter took the kickoff and returned it 49 yards for a score. It was the first kick return touchdown of the game for the âTide and the second score of the game for Carter.
After Claunch ran in a score for his sixth touchdown of the game, Central Valley returned a kickoff for a touchdown of their own, but it wasn't nearly enough to overcome the âTide onslaught. San Diego continued to pound away as backup quarterback Tony Corbin came in to add another touchdown. McElrath hauled in the pass, his third touchdown of the game. The Coyotes added a late score, but it was too little too late as the Riptide garnered win number 1, 59-34.
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