Rush put a stop to Avenger season, 52-45
May 29, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Los Angeles Avengers News Release
LOS ANGELES -- It just didn't seem fitting that the season would end for the Los Angeles Avengers with a 52-45 loss in the playoffs to the Chicago Rush after all the adversity the team has overcome this season. However, that is the harsh nature of the Arena Football League, where no lead is safe. Not even the one the Avengers had on Sunday afternoon at STAPLES Center, which didn't hold up as Los Angeles lost for the fourth consecutive year in the playoffs.
Two plays into the second half, the Avengers were firmly in command with a 35-17 lead. But, with their season on the line, the Rush refused to cave in. After Chicago tied the game at 45-45 with 4:24 remaining, Avenger WR/DB Kevin Ingram fumbled the ensuing kickoff right back to the Rush, and Chicago FB/LB Charlie Cook closed out the scoring with a two-yard touchdown run with 3:08 remaining.
The Avengers had two opportunities to respond in the final moments of the game, but both attempts were turned back by the Rush defense, which allowed no points in the final 12 minutes of the game.
With the game seemingly wrapped up and Chicago draining the final seconds off the clock, Avenger LB/WR Greg Hopkins forced Rush quarterback Raymond Philyaw to fumble, which was then recovered by FB/LB Lonnie Ford. It almost seemed like it was destiny that the Avengers would come back and win. But, after quarterback John Kaleo was buried in the turf on fourth down, the dream of moving on in the playoffs toward ArenaBowl XIX ended.
"I still can't believe this," Avenger kicker Remy Hamilton said. "This is unreal. This is the worst loss I have ever been around. Everything we have overcome this season, and to be in the lead and let it slip away is so disappointing."
Avenger offensive specialist Tony Locke, who played valiantly in defeat with three touchdowns, said: "We felt destined to win. No disrespect to Chicago, but I felt like this was our year and we were the better team."
Even with the playoff loss, it was a season of tremendous accomplishment for a team that few gave a chance at the beginning of the season. L.A. accomplished its No. 1 goal when the season started and won the first Western Division title in the six-year history of the franchise.
"I just told the team that it was a good run," Avenger head coach Ed Hodgkiss said. "We exceeded expectations and they should be proud of the season."
Kaleo finished 14-of-31 for 245 yards and four touchdowns. His counterpart, Philyaw, was 23-of-36 for 254 yards to go along with three touchdowns and one interception.
Chicago now moves on to face the Colorado Crush in Denver on Sunday, June 5, with the American Conference championship and a trip to ArenaBowl XIX on the line. The other semifinal will pit the Orlando Predators versus the Georgia Force in the National Conference title game on Saturday, June 4. The winner of those two games will meet on Sunday, June 12, in Las Vegas for ArenaBowl XIX.
The L.A. defense was the squad that started the game strong, keeping the Rush out of the end zone after earning a first-and-goal at the two-yard line. Chicago had to settle for an 18-yard field goal by Keith Gispert to take a 3-0 lead.
Then, it was the Avenger offense's turn to go to work, and Kaleo came out firing for his man Locke, who was wide open down the field for a 39-yard touchdown that put the Avengers up 7-3.
The Rush came right back when Philyaw found offensive specialist C.J. Johnson for the score from 10-yards out.
But the Avengers answered with Locke once again, proving why he has become one of the best offensive specialists in the game when he hauled in a Kaleo pass with one hand in the back of the end zone to give L.A. the lead back at 14-10.
After a leaping interception by Hopkins, FB/LB Michale Spicer powered his way across the goal line from five yards out to extend the L.A. lead to 21-10.
The Rush countered with a 16-yard touchdown catch by WR/LB Etu Molden, but L.A. kept it rolling when Kaleo ht WR/DB Brian Sump for a 30-yard bomb.
The Avenger defense stiffened right before the half, preserving a 28-17 lead after OL/DL Silas Demary did what he does best, sacking Philyaw and forcing him to fumble the football. Fellow lineman Sean McNamara picked up the loose ball and nearly returned it for a touchdown as the first half buzzer sounded, getting only to Chicago's three-yard line.
The Rush mounted their second-half comeback after L.A. struck first on a one-yard touchdown blast by Lonnie Ford. Chicago FB/LB Bob McMillen punched it in from a yard out to slice into the Avenger lead.
Then, the Rush defense then held the Avengers out of the end zone for the first time in six possessions, and L.A. was forced to settle for a 35-yard field goal by Hamilton.
With just over a minute remaining in the third quarter, Cook's one-yard touchdown cut the L.A. lead to 38-31. But, just as it looked like the Rush defense was going to hold L.A. to a field goal attempt for the second straight possession, an illegal formation on fourth down gave L.A. new life. Kaleo took full advantage, finding Locke for his third scored of the day to give the Avengers a 14-point cushion with just under 12 minutes to go.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 29, 2005
- Preds one game away from ArenaBowl - Orlando Predators
- Rush put a stop to Avenger season, 52-45 - Los Angeles Avengers
- Crush Gains Redemption, Moves on to Semifinals - Colorado Crush
- Avengers Rushed out of Playoffs, 52-45 - OSC Original by Tim Peterson
- Four teams to battle for ArenaBowl XIX title - AFL I
- Crush send defending champs home - San Jose SaberCats
- Dragons big rally falls short - New York Dragons
- Stunning comeback moves Rush into semifinals - Chicago Rush
- Storm Fall to Force in Divisional Round - Tampa Bay Storm
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