Carolina Closes Out Second Straight Last Minute Win
Chuck DiLullo
Wednesday May 26, 2004
“The Rampage were 1-13 coming into the game and they were trying to lay it out on the field like we did last year,” said OS Bernard Holmes, a member of last year’s 0-16 Cobras’ team. “There was a lot of emotion on the field and we found a way to come through.”
“I give the Rampage a lot of credit,” said head coach Ron Selesky. “We dominated them at the start of the game, but they slowed the pace of the game down to a grinding halt. They dictated the flow of the game and our guys got a little frustrated. This was a game we could have easily found a way to lose, but to our credit we found a way to win. A few weeks ago we were a team in disarray, and a game like this, who knows what would have happened. We have emphasized a culture of getting everyone to believe in themselves and the direction of the team, and that goes a long way to helping win games like this.”
Rob Bironas connected on a 23-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter and followed up with a great squib kick that forced the Rampage to start from their own 5-yard line, needing to drive almost the length of the field for the win. This was the second week in a row that Bironas kicked a clutch field goal at the end of the game to seal the Cobras victory; the week before he booted the winning field goal versus Philadelphia as time expired.
Bironas’ field goal was set up by a deep pass from the offensive player of the game, Ricky Foggie, to Holmes, the game’s leading receiver with six catches for 117 yards, which set the stage for the Cobras to finish off the Rampage.
“I was in motion all night and coming out for that play I thought they were going to run a zone,” said Holmes. “I saw the defender squat and I had the option to run the pattern short or deep and I took the deep route and we made a big play.”
“I told Rickey (Foggie) before the play to watch because we were so backed up against our end zone that they were probably going to squat on our routes thinking everything we were going to do was going to be short, and sure enough that’s what they did,” said Selesky.
The Rampage did find a way to put themselves in a position to make a play at the end of the game to win, but ADT Defensive Player of the Game, Fred Vinson, broke up a pass in the end zone to OS Carlos Johnson to preserve the win with four seconds left on the clock. Vinson was by far the most dominant defensive player on the field for the Cobras, leading the team with 11 tackles, and his performance is even more impressive considering he played the entire second half with a foot injury.
Vinson and DS Henry Baker started their second straight game together and have had an immediate impact, addressing one of the weakest areas of the Cobras all season, defensive pass coverage.
“The main thing is communication, and with Henry (Baker), myself and (Jarrick) Hillery we are all on the same page; we know that everyone is covered,” said Vinson. “Once we know that, we can tell where the help is and that makes it easier to go out and make plays.”
“Fred Vinson played the entire second half on a severely injured foot, which was one of the reasons we looked so soft in our coverage,” said Selesky. “But when we needed a play, he was the guy who came up with the type of play our defensive specialists have failed to do all season long. All we asked him to do in the second half was to not give up anything deep and to not miss tackles, and he did that and more.”
“(Defensive) coach (Mo) Blanding is definitely giving us plays to really pull out our athleticism,” said Vinson. “As he gets a feel for what the other team is doing, he really begins to call the coverages that allow us to make the plays and he does a great job of that.”
Cobras OS Todd Doxzon set a new franchise record with his 20th touchdown reception, while Rampage DS Cecil Doggette became the Arena Football League’s all-time leader in pass breakups.
The Cobras look to finish the season on a three-game win streak and match the best single season win total
in franchise history at seven when they tangle with the Georgia Force this Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. A win would contribute to only the second three-game win streak in franchise history. The team has responded well under the guidance of Selesky and Blanding, going 3-2, with all three wins coming down to the last play of the game, and they’ll look to close out the season on a strong note to garner momentum for the 2005 season.
Chuck DiLullo works for a manufacturer of process control instrumentation as a sales engineer. He has been a fan of professional, college and high school football since he could walk. Chuck is originally from Philadelphia and he became a huge Arena Football League fan while living in Buffalo. Chuck has lived in Charlotte since 2000 with his wife & three children.
