Rampage Edge Destroyers For First Win
Randy Snow
Tuesday March 1, 2005
But it was a nail biter right to the end as the Rampage (1-3) held off the Columbus Destroyers 66-57 before a crowd of 6,622 at the Van Andel Arena. The win on Sunday snapped a 10 game losing streak dating back to last season. Grand Rapids had also lost 13 straight regular season home games dating back to the 2003 season. (14 games if you count the 55-54 home playoff loss to the Detroit Fury on May 25, 2003) Their last home victory was a 69-21 win over the Las Vegas Gladiators on April 13, 2003.
Columbus (1-4) broke a 3-3 tie in the first quarter when Destroyers quarterback Matt D’Orazio threw a swing pass to OL/DL Jamarr Ward for a 6-yard touchdown to put Columbus up 10-3. Ward, who is listed at 375 pounds, was also the designated tight end on the play. Grand Rapids countered on the ensuing possession with a touchdown of their own. Quarterback Michael Bishop hit WR/LB Anthony Hines with a 27-yard touchdown pass. Hines made an incredible juggling catch in the end zone, but the extra point was missed leaving the Destroyers in the lead 10-9 at the end of the first quarter.
The Rampage were up 29-17 in the second quarter when Columbus mounted a comeback. Jamarr Ward scored for the second time in the game on a one-yard run to close the gap to 29-24. The Destroyers then recovered their own onside kick which led to D’Orazio connecting with OS Randall Lane for a 40-yard touchdown play to take the lead 31-29 with 53 second left in the half. Grand Rapids got the ball back but they were deep in their own territory. That’s when Bishop fumbled the ball in the end zone and was tackled for a safety. Grand Rapids then had to kick off to Columbus, who added a 39-yard field goal before the half ended. Columbus scored 19 unanswered points to close out the second quarter and took a 36-29 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, Bishop had two rushing touchdowns for Grand Rapids to tie the game at 43-43. After stopping Columbus on their next possession, the Rampage took a 50-43 lead when Bishop’s pass ricocheted off the nets and into the hands of WR/DB Dennison Robinson for the score on what looked like a designed play.
"Mike (Bishop) might have designed it in his head, but I didn’t know anything about it," said Robinson. "I just adjusted to (the ball). He saw the (defender) looking at me and not at the ball, so it was a smart play on Mike."
As it turns out, Bishop had a different idea on the play. "I was just trying to put a soft ball in the corner of the end zone," said Bishop. "If (Robinson) couldn’t get it, I didn’t want the DB to get it. But it just happened to hit the net and fell down for us."
On the ensuing Columbus drive, Robinson intercepted a pass, giving the ball back to Grand Rapids on their own 15-yard line. That led to an 8-yard touchdown reception by OS Chris Jackson and put Grand Rapids up 57-43.
Columbus closed the gap to 57-50 in the fourth when Jamarr Ward scored his third touchdown of the game on an 11-yard catch and run.
The Destroyers made it close when OS Damien Groce ran a kickoff back 57-yards for a touchdown. The score was now 63-57 with 1:36 left in the game. The ensuing onside kick by Columbus went out of bounds and Grand Rapids retained possession at the Columbus 8-yard line. The Rampage were able to run the clock down and kicked a 22-yard field goal to close out the scoring and secure their first win of the season, 66-57.
After the game, Rampage head coach Sparky McEwen was pleased with the way the defense stepped up in the game. "I thought that we came out and made our presence known with our defensive pressure. It was nice for once seeing the opposing team’s quarterback go down. We put quite a bit of pressure on their passer and I think that was truly the difference in the game."
In the game, Michael Bishop completed 12 of 21 passes for 171 yards and five touchdowns. He also ran 11 times for 19 yards and scored two more touchdowns. He was named Offensive Player of the Game. Meanwhile, teammate Dennison Robinson was named Defensive Player of the Game and Ironman of the Game. Grand Rapids OS Chris Jackson had six catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns.
I had forgotten just how enjoyable the drive home can be after a Rampage victory! With the team scoring over 60 points in the last 2 games and the defense finally putting some pressure on the opposing quarterback, the Rampage should be sending their fans home happy more often this season.
THANKS, NBC
Sunday’s game with the Destroyers was pulled from the NBC broadcast schedule. It was the fourth time since 2003 that a game played in Grand Rapids has been taken off the NBC schedule. The Rampage are 0-3 in home games broadcast on NBC and 0-7 all-time on the network, including playoffs. However, they are now 3-1 in home games when NBC has pulled them off the schedule!
NEXT WEEK
The Rampage will do something they have never done before in franchise history. They will travel to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Storm (2-2). The two teams have met 5 times since 1998, but they were all played at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.
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.”
