22 Point Run Keeps Tide Low
Steve Robinson
Monday August 12, 2002
Thanks to backup quarterback Matt Pike, a quick comeback resulted in a Peoria 22-12 victory, in front of 4,409 fans.
The comeback began with a touchdown pass from backup quarterback Matt Pike to offensive specialist Cornell Craig, with 13:50 left in the contest, capping a 7 play 44 yard drive. Kicker Kraig Baker’s extra point cut the Riptide’s lead to 12-7.
Nearly seven minutes later, Pike struck again, landing the ball in the arms of wide receiver Brandon Campbell on a 23 yard score, polishing off a 3 play 45 yard drive. The Pirates opted for a two-point conversion, using Craig to run the ball, giving Peoria (13-5) its first lead of the game, 15-12.
Peoria’s last possession in the game’s closing minutes, in the opinion of one Riptide lineman, had some controversy tied to it. Riptide defensive lineman L. P. Reynolds said he stripped the ball from Pirates’ fullback Robert Meyer, only to have officials blow the play dead, giving the ball back to Peoria.
Reynolds was agitated because he felt he had legitimately taken the ball out of Meyer’s hands during Peoria’s final possession. Officials ruled otherwise, and despite arguing the point, San Diego was not rewarded the ball.
After the final horn, frustrated, Reynolds hurled his Riptide helmet, sending it sailing in mid-air from the tunnel which led from the Carver Arena turf to the locker rooms following the game.
“It’s just one of those things,” Reynolds said, after composing himself. “You come into another team’s house (and) things go against you.”
Peoria’s last score came thanks to a 13-yard scoring strike from Pike to wide receiver Charles Sheffield with 2:59 left in the game. The extra point pulled Peoria, whom San Diego had scored a safety on earlier in the third quarter, further from the Riptide, 22-12.
Peoria will travel to the conference title game against the Birmingham Steeldogs next week. Birmingham upset Tulsa in the National Conference’s other semi, 53-34.
Peoria head coach Bruce Cowdrey credited Dick Adams, the team’s quarterback and receivers coach with the turnaround demonstrated against the Riptide. “We’re really fortunate that we have Dick, who has done a great job of co-ordinating the offense for the whole year,” Cowdrey began.
“Dick came back with a formation that (created) a mismatch on a couple people which gave (San Diego) problems. We were able to use that mismatch twice and run them in for touchdowns.”
Cowdrey said San Diego “was capitalizing on our mistakes. We were making many mistakes. You just have to overcome those and we did.”
“I’m as proud as a father could be for this team,” Morris said of his first year team. “You don’t always get to have the ball bounce your way, and tonight, we started out real solid, and played a great first half. We didn’t put as many points on the board as I would have liked to have, but in the second half, we just didn’t get it done.
“We’ve talked all year long about it is not how you start (but) how you finish, and the bottom line is that we didn’t finish tonight,” Morris said. “We didn’t execute in the second half like we ought to have the second half. Bottom line is, I didn’t make the right calls to get the job done.”
A Carver Arena crowd of 4,409, mostly Pirates faithful were stunned when San Diego looked to apparently with ease, be manhandling the Pirates. With 6:23 left in the first quarter, Riptide quarterback Kane Claunch hit favorite receiver Marty Graham for a 37-yard scoring strike, giving the Riptide their first points. The point after by kicker Ryan Geisler gave San Diego a 7-0 lead.
With two seconds until intermission, Geisler added a 25-yard field goal to give Morris’ squad a 10-0 halftime lead.
When the Peoria Pirates last played the San Diego Riptide in June, they breezed in, riding high on a seven-game winning streak, considering the game anything but another scheduled encounter. When they left San Diego Sports Arena, they had let a three-touchdown lead slip and gave Morris’ troops a 28-21 home victory.
Steve Robinson, a freelance writer since 1984, has written about the Peoria Pirates since the Pirates were members of Indoor Football League, beginning in 1999. He covers the Pirates currently for the Bloomington IL Pantagraph.
