Peoria Gets Third Victory--At A Price
Steve Robinson
Sunday May 18, 2003
With 3:45 left in the contest and a third Pirates victory assured, head coach Bruce Cowdrey gave quarterback Charlie Peterson the rest of the night off, handing the offense over to backup passer Matt Pike. Starting a drive from Peoria’s 10-yard-line, Pike dropped back to pass, could not find an opening and then found--but couldn’t get away from--Greensboro defender Kelron Sikes.
Sikes grabbed Pike by the facemask in an attempt to bring Pike down, finishing the tackle off by landing on him. Pike did not move, prompting team medics and a call for a stretcher.
As medical personnel worked on delicately lifting Pike off of the Carver Arena turf onto the stretcher, the crowd of 5,472 obeyed public address announcements for quiet while Pike was worked on. There were a few intermittent cheers during the silence, but the episode prompted one fan to break the silence with a shout of “call the game (off).”
As he was wheeled off the field, Pike was given a couple rounds of applause. He was taken to Methodist Medical Center where his condition was not known immediately following the contest. Pike was 1-for-3 for 9 yards before the injury.
“The cost was way beyond the reward,” Cowdrey said afterward. In addition to Pike, Peoria lost two linemen to injury as well. “That was a real steep price to pay for a pretty lopsided win,” said Cowdrey.
Pike’s injury had an affect on a number of people from the Pirates family, as many gathered outside the locker room following the game, some of them teary-eyed over his condition.
In spite of the devastating conclusion, Cowdrey said, “I was really proud of the way those kids fought through. You had four linemen who had to play the entire second half. That is a load to ask those kids.”
Linemen Brock Zierden and Paul Steffeck were among the players who had to call it a night due to knee ligament injuries. “I lost some quality linemen tonight,” Cowdrey said, explaining that he will be working the phones this week seeking more linemen to replace them before the Pirates face Wichita at Carver Arena next Saturday. “(Those linemen) went for 30 minutes in a pro football game and they didn’t bitch. They didn’t bellyache. They went and took care of their business.” Cowdrey said substitutions on the offensive line were, at times, impossible to make. He said he had to ask them “if they could keep going.”
The Rundown: Greensboro (3-4) struck first with 14:04 left in the first quarter on a 26-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Caleb Slover to receiver Corey Sullivan. Josh Jones’ point-after gave the Prowlers a 7-0 lead.
Peterson’s 2-yard touchdown strike to receiver Jack Walker with 10:21 left in the first quarter cut the lead to 7-6, but kicker Brett Majors missed the extra point try, giving Greensboro a slight 7-6 lead. Walker finished the night with 5 catches for 106 yards and five touchdowns. Newcomer Jurron Kelly caught 11 catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns in his first effort in a Pirates uniform.
Peoria’s second score of the night gave them the push to continue toward victory as Charles Sheffield picked off a Slover pass while the Prowlers were deep in their own territory. Sheffield ran the ball back 10 yards for the Pirates’ go-ahead score. Majors’ point-after gave Peoria a 13-7 lead.
Peterson was 23-for-33 Saturday, racking up 238 yards, passing for 7 touchdowns. Special teams got a boost when Chris Martin scored a 57-yard touchdown kickoff return. He retrieved 4 kickoffs on the night, garnering 97 yards in all.
Peoria (3-4) would mount a 32-16 halftime lead on the Prowlers. Slover finished the night going 6-17 passing for 73 yards and one score. His backup, Kenton Evans, was 4-10 for 116 yards and 3 touchdowns.
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.
