RiverRats Pick Up Road Win in Danville

Published on March 11, 2007 under American Indoor Football Association (AIFA)
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Danville, IL - The Pittsburgh RiverRats recorded their first road win in franchise history by scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 31 seconds left in the game to defeat the Danville Demolition for the second time in 6 days, in a thrilling finish, by the final score of 34-29.

Danville took its first lead of the game 29-28 on a field goal with less than 3 minutes remaining. The RiverRats responded with a touchdown drive culminated by a 36-yard TD pass from QB Niel Loebig to WR Marko Thomas. The game was not decided until Pittsburgh CB Reggie Blanchard intercepted Danville QB Willie Davis at the RiverRats 2-yard line to secure the win for Pittsburgh (2-3, 2-2).

RiverRats head coach Shawn Liotta was pleased with his team's effort at the end of the game on the road. "I am proud of our guys for staying together and always believing that we were going to win. Particularly as a first-year expansion team, going into a hostile environment on the road and pulling out a tough win like this, speaks volumes about the heart of our football team."

In his QB debut for Pittsburgh, Niel Loebig completed 12 of 30 passes for 157 yards and 5 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Loebig was signed by the RiverRats earlier in the week to replace starting QB Brian Eyerman who will miss 4-6 weeks with a groin injury suffered against Danville the previous week.

"Niel just signed on Tuesday and was only able to practice once with the team. Under the circumstances, I thought he was very productive for his first game. He's an indoor rookie who is clearly very talented and will greatly improve over the next several weeks as he learns the indoor game. I'm confident that Niel and our offense will continue to progress", commented Liotta.

All three Pittsburgh starting wide receivers had touchdown receptions in the game, including 2 by converted QB David Dinkins, 2 by Claude Whitaker in his RiverRats debut, and the game-winner by Thomas.

However what excited Liotta the most was the performance of the Pittsburgh defense. "Our defense was the key for us today, just as they were last week. We got key stops when the momentum started to shift towards Danville, especially in the second half. We got the 4 sacks and forced 3 turnovers, and pressured them into the intentional grounding call in their end zone, which gave us some points."

DE Damian Birch and LB Mike Broadnax led the RiverRats defense with 7 tackles and 1 sack apiece. DT Phil Tillman added another sack and a fumble recovery, and CB Eugene Padgett and CB Reggie Blanchard each added an interception.

The RiverRats are anticipating the return of playmaking WR Garvin Graves to the starting lineup as their AIFA schedule continues on Saturday, March 17 in Johnstown, PA, starting at 7:00 PM, with a Northern divisional matchup against the Johnstown Riverhawks.

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