Riptide Win 3rd Straight, 45-24
June 6, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
San Diego Riptide News Release
FRESNO, Calif. â They may have scored 46 fewer points than they did last week, but the Riptide still found more than enough offense to defeat former head coach Cree Morris and the Central Valley Coyotes 45-24 Saturday night at Selland Arena to win their third straight game.
After lighting up the scoreboard last week, putting up 91 points against Hawaii, the Riptide offense was slowed slightly in Week 10 against the Coyotes, scoring just 45 points, but the defense held Central Valley to just 24 points, including just three in the first half, to win their third straight game, the longest such streak in franchise history. Quarterback Kane Claunch, who threw 15 touchdown passes in his last two games, was held to just three passing scores and threw two interceptions, but the Riptide running game more than made up the difference, scoring four times on the ground, and putting up a season-high 77 yards rushing. The defense chipped in by forcing five turnovers (four interceptions and a forced fumble) en route to giving up a season-low 24 points.
San Diego (4-5) is now just a game behind the Hawaiian Islanders for second place in the division and boast their best winning percentage of the year. They will be off next week but then return to Hawaii for the second time in three weeks in a game that could put the âTide back into the playoff picture, despite a dreadful 1-5 start. Central Valley (1-8) was hoping to turn around their season with a win this week, but after scoring just three points in the first half it was obvious that they would be no match for the red-hot Riptide.
The Coyotes held a 3-0 lead entering the second quarter after kicker Justin Levine connected on a 30-yard field goal try and Riptide kicker Rich Ehmke missed a try from 37 yards out. The Riptide finally found the end zone with 11:50 left in the first half, however, on a Matt Guardia one-yard run and never looked back.
Dwight Carter scored on a nine-yard pass 5:29 later and Nakoa McElrath scored on his only catch of the game as time expired in the half, sending the âTide to the locker room with a 20-3 lead.
Mouse Davis' crew came out firing in the second half as well as U.S. Army Ironman of the Game Ryan Cuthbert scored on a 2-yard run, followed by a 38-yard Jesus Reyes touchdown catch with 5:50 left in the third to put San Diego up 33-3.
LaMonte Jones added two second-half receiving scores for the Coyotes after starting quarterback Kyle Biggs was relieved in favor of Frank Borba, but the Riptide answered with rushing scores from Cuthbert and Guardia to maintain their lead. Central Valley added a late touchdown on a four-yard Borba run with 53 seconds left, but the game had effectively been over since halftime.
Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game: Kane Claunch (SDG)
U.S. Army Ironman of the Game: Ryan Cuthbert (SDG)
ADT Defensive Player of the Game: Quincy LeJay (SDG)
SHARK BITES: The three-game winning streak is the longest such streak in franchise history for the âTide... Claunch won his fourth consecutive Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game Award despite his worst performance since Week 1... Claunch's three touchdown passes end a streak of seven consecutive games in which he'd thrown at least four touchdowns... Carter's second-quarter touchdown catch was his 14th of the season, tying him with Marty Graham (2002) for the most in a season in franchise history... Carter has led or tied for the team lead in receptions in every game this season... Guardia's 46 yards on the ground against the Coyotes are a season high for the Riptide... After forcing two fumbles last week en route to U.S. Army Ironman of the Week Honors, McElrath added two more interceptions in Week 10... After connecting on 13-of-13 PAT's in Week 9, Ehmke had trouble splitting the uprights this week, making just 3-of-7 extra-point attempts... Central Valley controlled the ball for nearly 17 minutes more than the Riptide and ran 16 more offensive plays despite the meager 24-point scoring output... The four rushing touchdowns tied for a season high for the Riptide and the 77 yards on the ground were 50 more than their previous season high... The five turnovers forced by the Riptide defense also tied for a season high. Week 10 marked the third time in 2004 the âTide had forced five turnovers by an opponent... The Riptide receiving corps was extremely depleted for the game as Marty Graham was unable to play with an injury. WR/DB Ashley Burrows was already on the injured reserve with a leg injury... QB Tony Corbin also remains on the injured reserve with a shoulder injury...
NEXT GAME: The Riptide will go into their second bye week of the season next week having won three straight. They can move into second place in the division the following week when they return to Honolulu for the second time in three weeks to face the Islanders on June 19. They return home on June 26 to take on the Bakersfield Blitz for the first time this season at the Sports Arena. The first 3,000 fans will receive complementary Riptide ball caps, courtesy of Sportsbook.com. Fans can catch all the action for every Riptide game with Mark Rogondino calling the play-by-play, by visiting www.WorldTalkRadio.com.
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