Rampage Only Winless Team In AFL
Randy Snow
Monday February 21, 2005
Rampage fans must have thought it was déjà vu all over again as quarterback Michael Bishop fumbled the snap from center on the first play of the game. He recovered that ball however, and was able to make it back to the line of scrimmage on the play. In case you had forgotten, Rampage quarterback Nick Browder had several fumbles against the Arizona Rattlers in the season opener in Grand Rapids.
The Rampage were able to overcome that fumble, however, and got on the board first, taking a 7-0 lead when Bishop hit OS Chris Jackson on a 30-yard TD strike. On the ensuing kickoff, the Rampage tried an onside kick, but the Wranglers recovered the ball at the Grand Rapids 6-yard line. A penalty by Grand Rapids moved the ball to the 3. Two plays later, Austin tied the game when FB/LB Henry Bryant ran the ball in from the one-yard line.
The Rampage offense began to click after that, and they were up 20-7 at the end of the first quarter, but the Wranglers scored three unanswered touchdowns to start the second quarter. The game was tied 27-27 at the half.
Austin scored twice to open the third quarter, leaving Grand Rapids to play catch up the rest of the game. In the fourth, the Rampage came within five points of the Wranglers, trailing 60-55 with about five minutes remaining in the game. On the ensuing kickoff, Grand Rapids attempted another onside kick. This time it was scooped up by Wranglers DS Kelvin Hunter at the eight yard line, and run in for a touchdown making the score 66-55. The two teams exchanged touchdowns after that and the game was over.
Grand Rapids attempted three onside kicks during the game; Austin recovered all three.
Rampage quarterback Michael Bishop followed his record setting performance of 100 yards rushing two weeks ago in Denver against the Colorado Crush with another 74 yards on eight carries this week against Austin. He also completed 20 of 32 passes for 337 yards and threw eight touchdowns with one interception. He had 411 combined yards on offense. For his efforts, Bishop was named Offensive Player of the Game. OS Chris Jackson finished the game with seven catches for 132 yards and three touchdowns.
"Right now, offensively, were doing good things" head coach Sparky McEwen said after the game. "I’m not real concerned with the offense right now, I’m just kind of frustrated with what’s going on with us defensively. We’ve got to go back to the drawing board. We’re going to keep ticking away at that defense, but we’re going to get it right."
There were six new players on the field for the Rampage this week. Among them were WR/LB Clarence Coleman and WR/LB Anthony Hines, who made their first appearances of the season after spending the first two games on injured reserve. WR/DB Dennison Robinson was signed just this week and made an immediate impact catching 5 passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns.
"I think I did alright (offensively)," said Robinson. "But I need to give the team a lot more on defense because I’m here as defensive stopper also. I’ve just got to get into the flow of things and get us two or three stops on my own. I think with a break here and there, this team is close. They brought me in here to make plays on defense and I’ve got to step up and make plays on defense."
Coach McEwen was also impressed with Robinson’s performance. "He came out and played well," said McEwen. "If we get more efforts like that from everybody across the board, we could turn this thing around pretty quickly. I’m very proud of him and just happy that we got Dennison into town."
It seems that the players I talked to after the game have all bought into the team’s slogan this year of "No Excuses." The offense appears to have finally come to life, but the defense is still a work in progress.
HIGH KICKER
Wrangler’s kicker Tony Dodson had several of his kickoffs sail completely over the nets for touchbacks during the game. I thought that kind of thing only happened in Denver! When he did connect with the nets, twice the ball bounced away from the return man and was recovered by Austin for touchdowns.
COLLEGE NIGHT
The Rampage celebrated College Night at the Van Andel Arena by bringing in the mascots from four area colleges. "Brutus Buckeye" from Ohio State, "Sparty" from Michigan State, "Woody" from Northwood University and "Buster Bronco" from Western Michigan University. The president of Ferris State University, Davis Eisler, was also on hand to flip the coin at the start of the game. Rampage head coach Sparky McEwen and WR/LB Clarence Coleman are both Ferris State alumni.
NEXT GAME
Grand Rapids hosts the Columbus Destroyers (1-2) this coming Sunday at the Van Andel Arena in a 3:00 game. Former Detroit Lions linebacker Chris Speilman coaches the Destroyers. The game was supposed to be aired on NBC, but the network has decided it will not air the game. This is the fourth time in the last two years that NBC has booted Grand Rapids off their schedule.
Randy Snow covered the Grand Rapids Rampage of the Arena Football League for ArenaFan from 2003-2008. He also covered the Fort Wayne Fusion of arenafootball2 in 2007. From 2004-2008 and in 2010, he was a member of the Arena Football League Writer’s Association and, since 2011, has been a member of the Professional Football Researchers Association. Randy lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan but will travel just about anywhere for a football game or a great football story. He runs the web site www.theworldoffootball.com and hosts a podcast with his son, Adam, called “This Week in The World of Football.”
