Speed Magic Returns, Richmond Edges Norfolk On Late Touchdown
David Chappell
Sunday April 27, 2003
Trailing 33-32, the Speed (1-2) started their game winning drive from their own three yard line with 2:35 remaining after Darrell “Nip” Henderson did well to field a nicely placed kickoff from Norfolk’s Stephen Scaldeferri. The Nighthawks (2-1) had taken the lead just seconds before on a two yard touchdown run by quarterback Aaron Sparrow.
Quarterback Roy Johnson, named Offensive Player of the Game, completed two straight passes to OS Damon “Redd” Thompson to move Richmond to the Speed 22 yard line as the clock wound down to around a minute to play. On first and ten, Johnson then launched a high deep pass down the middle that Thompson made a spectacular leaping catch on in the back of the end zone with: 57 remaining on the clock. Thompson made the grab despite tight coverage by Norfolk’s DB Dominic Banks. After a brief discussion, the officials ruled Thompson made the catch inbounds and confirmed Richmond’s go ahead score. Nathan White converted to give Richmond a 39-33 lead.
Commenting on his game-winning grab, Thompson said, “I just saw [the ball] way up in the air and I was determined to go up and get it. I try to take advantage of every opportunity I get, and just want to improve every weekend.” Thompson explained that part of his motivation on the Speed’s final drive came about from a mishap that occurred on Richmond’s previous offensive possession. “The series before, I slipped on my curl and that would have been a touchdown, so I had to make up for that and I wanted them to come back to me.” Thompson was outstanding throughout the contest, snaring 14 passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns.
Despite the heroics of Thompson and Johnson, Norfolk still had a chance to win the game in the closing seconds. The Nighthawks started their last possession at their own 12 yard line with :52 remaining against the backdrop of a boisterous Coliseum crowd. The Richmond pass rush, which picked up intensity as the game progressed, harassed Sparrow repeatedly in the game’s final seconds. Led principally by Ironman of the Game Lawrence Lewis and Al Ford, the Speed defense forced Sparrow into four straight incompletions, the last one on fourth and ten with :35 left that ended Norfolk’s hopes.
Richmond started impressively, stopping the Nighthawks on defense on the game’s first series, and taking a 7-0 lead on Johnson’s one yard TD run with 10:20 remaining in the first quarter. The teams went back and forth for the remainder of the first stanza, which ended with the score tied at 13-13.
The second quarter was highlighted by superb goal line stands by both teams. Already leading 20-19, Norfolk recovered a Richard Holland fumble early in the quarter and drove to a first and goal at the Speed three yard line. Richmond’s defense stiffened, denying both Sparrow and FB Daryl Richardson from inside the one yard line, and got the ball back on downs for the Speed.
The Speed immediately drove the length of the field, setting themselves up with a first and ten at the Nighthawk’s 11 yard line. On fourth and four, Richmond gambled and attempted to go for a first down. Johnson went up the middle on a quarterback draw and was hammered at the one yard line by Norfolk’s DT Chris Stahl. The officials brought out the chains to measure, which produced the nose of the football right at the stick. Norfolk players and coaches signaled they had held on downs, while Richmond was signaling a first down. After a lengthy conference, the officials finally ruled that Johnson had come up just short, and Norfolk was given the ball on downs at their own one yard line.
The Nighthawks picked up momentum from this defensive stop, and drove 49 yards in only 30 seconds to take a 27-19 lead into intermission. Sparrow hit OS Travis Burns for a 33 yard TD to pad Norfolk’s lead to eight at halftime.
Richmond scored the first two touchdowns of the second half, both on Johnson to Thompson TD tosses. The second of which came on a fourth and goal from the Nighthawk’s one yard line, which gave Richmond a 32-27 lead with 11:38 left to play. Sparrow’s two yard TD run gave Norfolk its last lead at 33-32 with 3:37 remaining, and set the stage for the Richmond’s winning comeback moments later.
Johnson, who quarterbacked Norfolk the last time these two teams played in Richmond, played a near flawless game against his former mates. Johnson completed his first ten passes in succession, and overall was 21 of 27 for 210 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. The Richmond quarterback was also a significant factor as a ball carrier, toting the ball a whopping 16 times for 32 net yards and two scores. While many of Johnson’s carries were by design, a number were also by necessity due to a fierce pass rush the Nighthawks generated early in the game.
Despite his gaudy numbers, Johnson was quick to give others credit for his performance, particular the Speed’s coaching staff that he said put him in position to make plays. Johnson explained, “It was all Coach [Richard Davis]. He put in a game plan for me this week where nothing was hard and I didn’t have to over think. We kept it simple.” Johnson went on to comment that the Speed’s first victory in 2003 was a total team effort. “It was about the receivers making plays and me throwing the good pass. Everybody did their job, and we came out on top.”
Speed head coach Richard Davis said, “Roy Johnson was absolutely unbelievable. I could not be happier for anyone.” But Davis echoed Johnson’s sentiments that the victory was really a team effort. “Our kids played their butts off,” Davis said. Davis also singled out the play of Redd Thompson and kicker Nathan White as standing out to him. White, in addition to being solid on his kicks, made two critical unassisted tackles on Norfolk kickoff returns that may have saved touchdowns.
Davis said he was pleased with the Speed’s late pass rush ferocity that enabled the secondary to make several big plays. Davis’ primary negative to come out of the game was some costly missed tackles. Davis noted, “We did miss tackles, and we will focus on some tackling work this week.”
Like Johnson, Davis said game preparation and practice work had a lot to do with the successful result on the field last night. In particular, Davis was quick to credit the efforts of his coaching staff at practice for having the Speed ready to play last night. Davis explained, “The coaching staff stood out last night. We were prepared. Forget the fact that he’s my brother, (Defensive Coordinator) Chad Davis had this football team prepared, because he also helped me out offensively. We were on them scheme-wise. My coaches deserve a heck of a pat on the back. They take the brunt of things when I’m stomping around and screaming at everybody, but they are the ones that go out and fix this stuff, not me. What a great effort by them.”
The loss not only knocked the Nighthawks from the ranks of the unbeaten, but it also spoiled a number of fine individual performances on the Norfolk side. Sparrow threw for an impressive 274 yards on 18 of 31 passing and three touchdowns. He also ran for a score. Burns caught seven balls for 136 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to running back four kicks for 114 yards. WR Dominic Banks pulled down six passes for 86 yards and a TD.
Norfolk’s Scaldeferri, who was able to keep the Speed’s return game bottled up for most of the night with his booming kicks, had every belief his team was going to score a touchdown at the end where he would have been called upon to kick the potential game winning extra point. Commenting on the narrow loss, Scaldeferri said, “No words can describe it. Things just didn’t fall our way. Sometimes the ball bounces the other way.”
DT Stahl had an outstanding game for Norfolk on defense, registering five tackles and four more assists. Stahl said he knew early on that this contest was going to be a tight one, and said that mistakes ultimately cost the Nighthawks the chance to go to 3-0. Stahl commented, “I knew it was going to be a tough game from the start. They were fighting for their lives. In big situations we made mistakes, and I made a couple of them. You just can’t shoot yourself in the foot when you have these opportunities.” Norfolk was hampered by penalties throughout, amassing 11 flags for 80 yards. Conversely, Richmond drew only four penalties for 26 yards.
Other Speed notables had Deshane Dennis being named the ADT Defensive Player of the Game for his fine overall play on the defensive side of the ball. The Speed defense as a whole held the Nighthawks to only ten net yard rushing. Utilizing a precision short passing game, Richmond was able to garner an eight minute edge in time of possession.
In reflecting on what turned a dead even game in the fourth quarter over to the Speed’s side, Davis paused, and then commented that his young team may have drawn something from the Speed’s rich past to put them over the top last night. Davis explained, “I asked the guys to believe in the black and blue (Richmond’s team colors) magic. Believe in the Speed’s history. That’s all real stuff. It’s not a myth what we’ve done. We needed to rely on what got us here, and what got us here was making plays down the stretch when the money was on the table. So, if it came from anything, maybe it came from Speed magic. Make the plays when you have to.”
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.
