Rampage Claw Their Way to a Victory Against Kats
Randy Snow
Sunday April 30, 2006
A total of 115 combined points were scored and there were 10 lead changes in the game, six of them in the first half. There was a 57-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by the Kats’ T.T. Toliver and, on the ensuing kickoff, a 55-yard return by Josh Bush of the Rampage (5-9) that ended just a half a yard short of another touchdown. The biggest point differential in the entire game was a 10-point lead by Nashville (7-7) in the second quarter.
The score was tied 37-37 at halftime. Rampage head coach Sparky McEwen tried to inspire his players by bringing the team’s ArenaBowl XV trophy into the locker room. "Grand Rapids knows how to get one of these," McEwen told the team. "If you want one, you’re going to have to beat Nashville right now." Ironically, Grand Rapids defeated the Nashville Kats to win the ArenaBowl in 2001.
The score was again tied at 54-54 with one minute remaining in the game when Rampage quarterback Chad Salisbury connecter with OS Anthony Hines on a 22-yard touchdown pass to give Grand Rapids the lead 61-54 with 28 seconds left on the clock. On the Kats final possession, Nashville quarterback Clint Stoerner was sacked by Rampage OL/DL Teto Simpson on first down for a nine-yard loss. Stoerner then threw three straight incompletions to seal the victory the Grand Rapids.
Coach McEwen knows the team has not met his, or the fans, expectations this season, but they are still in the hunt for a playoff spot with two weeks to go in the regular season. "The last two weeks, our guys have really been getting after it," McEwen said. "All we have been talking about is, ‘Do you know how to fight? Can you fight?’ That’s what we need here for the next couple of weeks. We said let’s put the first 12 weeks behind us, we don’t care what happened in the first 12 weeks. There were a lot of things that happened to this ball club (injuries mainly), so let’s see what we can do for the next four weeks by just playing with every ounce of energy that you have.
"We’ve put ourselves in a position where we have to play playoff football right now. This is our playoffs and at the end of four weeks, let’s see what happens." McEwen told the team. The Rampage responded to McEwen’s challenge last week also by defeating the Arizona Rattlers 45-42 at home on a last second field goal.
A crowd of 7,452 boisterous fans this week stayed until the final gun to cheer the Rampage on to its fifth victory of the season. That gives them one more win than all of last season.
Quarterback Chad Salisbury said after the game that it sounded more like a crowd of 15,000 screaming fans in the arena. "I was so impressed by the crowd," said Salisbury. "When I played here on other teams and from what I’ve heard about Grand Rapids fans, this is what I expected. They were unbelievable. They are such knowledgeable arena fans. They know when to cheer and when not to, which is great."
"We played well in four phases (of the game)," said coach McEwen. "Offense, defense, special teams and fans! Our crowd was out of control (in supporting the team) and that’s the thing that was unbelievable."
Jim Foster would have loved it!
Game Awards
The Offensive Player of the Game honors were shared this week by Rampage quarterback Chad Salisbury, who completed 21 of 38 passes for 321 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions, and Rampage OS Anthony Hines, who had 10 receptions for 134 yards and four touchdowns. The Defensive Player of the Game was Grand Rapids DS Johnny Harris. Harris had three pass breakups, two tackles, a forced fumble and an interception. The Ironman of the Game was Rampage WR/DB Timon Marshall, who had three receptions for 102 yards, two touchdowns and five kickoff returns for 62 yards. He also recorded 7 tackles and an assist on a sack.
Band Day at the Arena
The National Anthem was performed by the 140 members of the Forest Hills Central Middle School band. The band played the song from their seats in Section 210 of the arena. They also performed outside the Van Andel prior to the game. It was a pleasant surprise to hear a marching band playing as I approached the arena on my way to the game. It gave it the atmosphere of a college football pre-game pep rally. The only thing better would have been having the band perform on the field at halftime. Currently, however, the only team than can boast that kind of halftime entertainment is the af2 South Georgia Wildcats. They are the only team in all of Arena football with its own marching band.
Graduation Ceremony
Earlier in the day at the Van Andel Arena, before the Rampage-Kats game, Grand Valley State University held its annual graduation ceremony. About 1,700 students from the nearby college received their diplomas.
Remaining Rampage Schedule
Grand Rapids travels to Texas next Sunday, May 7, to take on the Austin Wranglers (8-6) in a 3:00 game. The Rampage then return home for the final game of the regular season on Saturday, May 13 to face their division rival, the Chicago Rush. The time for the Rush game has been changed due to it being aired nationally on the Outdoor Life Channel. It was originally scheduled for a 7:30 start, but it will now kickoff at 4:00.
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.”
