After Much Needed Bye, Speed Seek First Win Against Norfolk
David Chappell
Thursday April 24, 2003
In fact, it would be hard to imagine a more difficult start to a season than the Speed (0-2) have endured this year. After having an almost certain victory snatched away by an Albany interception with a scant 34 seconds remaining in the season opener, things managed to go from bad to worse quickly.
Injuries were a major problem coming out of the opener. Rookie quarterback, Joel Gordon, suffered a broken finger on his throwing hand. OL/DL Al Ford and 2002 All-af2 FB/LB Rodney Sledge also suffered significant injuries. None of the three were able to play in the rematch at Albany. In that game, two weeks ago, Richmond was relying on speedster Richard Holland to be the team’s primary threat on offense. Holland was hurt during the first quarter trying to stretch for a first down and was unable to return to the contest. The Speed suffered a 45-13 blowout loss in game two.
While it was difficult starting the new season 0-2 with a young team, Richmond also had to deal with other off the field issues that arose almost simultaneously. Three prominent members of the Speed’s front office staff, including General Manager Bobbi Southard, left the team in the season’s first weeks. This week, Richmond’s 2002 leader in nearly all receiving categories, Jeff Townsley, decided to leave the team as well.
Noting the issues that have come up with his front office in the past few weeks, Speed head coach Richard Davis, who is also Vice President of the team, commented, “Not only were we 0-2 starting off the season the way we did, we then lost three major key full time staff members in a series of ten days. When it rains it pours.” In addition to Southard, Michelle Lawson and Tim Heavner from the Speed’s front office also left the team in that short span. Despite the timing of her departure, Davis said, “We wish Bobbi well in her future endeavors, and we’ll support her in whatever she does.”
Davis was quick to praise his remaining staff, which he says “has risen to the challenge like you wouldn’t believe.” Through a combination of hard work and modified job duties and responsibilities, the current front office staff “is working out well,” according to Davis. Further, Davis explained, “We have other people stepping up, and that’s what a true organization that’s built about winning does-people step up. And we’re doing that.”
The loss of Townsley was another blow the Speed has had to absorb in recent days. Davis said Townsley related to him that he had “lost his passion” for the game. Davis praised Townsley for admitting to his loss of vigor for football, something many athletes find difficult or impossible to do.
Citing his relationship with Townsley as “very solid,” Davis then asked Townsley to think about and reconsider his decision to leave football during the bye week. Davis also offered to trade or reassign Townsley at that time if those options were appealing to Townsley. Davis said Townsley’s response was the same, being that he simply no longer had the necessary passion to play football at the high level that he was accustomed to.
Reflecting on Townsley and his career with the Richmond Speed, Davis said, “He’s a favorite son. He is a true blue member of the Richmond Speed, and always will be. We wish him well. Jeff’s going to do well in life. He’s got a great family, and Jeff has a great head on his shoulders.”
In another matter, wholly unrelated to the Townsley situation, involving a long time Speed veteran, two time af2 Ironman of the Year award winner Kevin Harvey was placed on a one week suspension this afternoon by the team and will not play against Norfolk on Saturday. Davis said that Harvey’s future with the Speed would be assessed and determined during the upcoming week.
With everything going on with the team, Davis said last week’s bye week could not have come at a better time. Davis characterized the bye week as “much needed. We needed it badly.” There were no practices held last week. When the players returned Monday, Davis said he told the team, “We’re 0-2, forget it, the season starts now. We’re not going to live in the past. I’ll make you a deal, you don’t look back, and I won’t look back and let’s just move on.” The losses on the field and of team personnel made the bye week one of introspection and shifting of focus for the organization, and Davis says the initial returns have been positive and have translated onto the field. “We have had a great week of practice this week,” Davis said.
The off week was also beneficial in getting a number of Richmond’s injured players healthier. Al Ford and Richard Holland are both back at full speed, and will play Saturday night. Rodney Sledge was held out last night’s practice and he said that he was still nursing a nagging calf injury but was hopeful he would be in the lineup against Norfolk. Davis indicated that Sledge’s playing status for Saturday would be “a game time decision.” Davis also said that Joel Gordon is making a rapid recovery from his broken finger and is “raring to play.” But Davis cautioned, “ I’m not going to rush [Gordon] back. I will resist all temptation to play him early. I’ll play him when the doctors look at me and say he is 100% ready to go. That kid is going to be a great one, and we don’t need to rush something back out of greed.”
Richmond has added three significant new additions to its roster since the April 11 game at Albany. Matt Hicks has been brought in as a backup for current starting quarterback Roy Johnson. Hicks is a five year veteran of arena football, including stints in the AFL as well as in af2. Hicks replaces Wes Counts on the roster, who was recently put on waivers.
Despite appearing in only one game for Richmond before being released, Counts left an extremely positive impression on Davis. “Wes Counts is a wonderful young man and a heck of a quarterback, but probably not the fit this year for what we need in our current circumstances,” Davis said. Davis went on to explain that due to continued tweaking of the Speed’s offensive line, Richmond is looking for a more mobile quarterback, or one with more bulk than Counts in order to be able to better handle the defensive rush. Davis further commented that he urged Counts to continue playing, and that if after his playing days were over Counts acted on his expressed desire to become a coach, Davis told Counts that he would “hire his butt, because Wes is a smart son of a gun.”
Also joining the Speed this week is Jason Ford, a 6’5” rush end from the University of Central Arkansas. According to Davis, Ford is “a stud getting off the ball. He’s a high tempo, high motor running guy and we need that right now. He’s a legitimate 6’5” with long arms that can rush the passer. He’s going to help us, and he will play Saturday.”
Bolstering the Speed on the offensive line is newcomer Mpumi Massimini, who played college ball at East Carolina before transferring to Howard University. Massimini had brief stints with Charleston and Peoria previously this season. At 6’5” 350 pounds, Massimini is an offensively based player, and Davis says he will line up at center for the Speed and play a big role in protecting the quarterback. “Mpumi is a nice upgrade for us,” Davis noted.
In looking ahead to Saturday’s game with undefeated (2-0) Norfolk, Davis says that the game is vital to Richmond and that he has been impressed with a lot of what he has seen of the Nighthawks on film. The game will be a reunion of sorts between the head coaches, as Nighthawk’s first year coach Rick Frazier coached Davis as an assistant coach when they were both at Cisco Junior College in Cisco, Texas. Davis said, “Rick is a good fellow, he’s a guy I emulate a little bit. He’s been a person in my career path that I’ve reached out to in the past. He’s been an Arena1 head coach for I think 7-8 years, if I’m not mistaken. So Rick knows the game.”
The Speed will have to contend with a Nighthawk’s defense on Saturday that has given up but a paltry 48 points combined it its first two games. On offense, OS Travis Burns continues to be a huge threat for Norfolk. In the Nighthawks’ first two games, Burns has caught three touchdown passes and has gained 154 yards through the air in total. Burns has also been a dangerous kick return man for Norfolk so far this year.
Richmond will unveil a new receiving corps against Norfolk that will feature Deshane Dennis, Damon “Redd” Thompson and Richard Holland. “Nip” Henderson will also now be utilized as a fourth receiver on offense. According to Davis, this quartet will be as fast as any team in arena football. “We will blow your doors off. We can run with the United States Olympic sprint relay team. We will run with anybody. This group is as fast, if not faster, than every team in arena1 or arena2. They can fly.”
The new look and faster Richmond Speed will be attempting to get back on the winning track against their biggest rivals on Saturday. According to Davis, the current focus is on doing the little things that often can make the difference between winning and losing. “Winning is a series of little things. We’re trying to go back and put those little things together again with the new folks in a new way. We’re not worrying about what has been, we’re going to focus on what will be. And I have a feeling, given the bye week we had to recover here, we might just be okay.”
Odds and Ends; This and That
Richmond and Norfolk have played a total of six times with the home team winning every game. The two teams played in Richmond on the same weekend last year. The 75 points scored by the Speed in Richmond’s 75-12 win over Norfolk on April 27, 2002 is a Speed franchise high. Current Richmond starting QB Roy Johnson was Norfolk’s starting QB in the April 27, 2002 game between the same clubs. Nighthawk’s QB Aaron Sparrow was the af2’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2000. Both teams continue Atlantic Division play after their meeting, with Norfolk hosting Cape Fear and Richmond traveling to Greensboro next weekend.
David Chappell is a native of Richmond, Virginia. He has closely followed local sports in Richmond and vicinity for over thirty years, and Arena Football 2 since its inception. David currently writes extensively for a website that he co-founded which documents professional wrestling in Virginia and surrounding areas from 1974-1986. A former elected prosecutor, David is currently a practicing attorney in a large downtown Richmond law firm.
