Rampage Run Out of Gas vs. Chicago

Randy Snow
Monday April 23, 2007

Grand Rapids opened the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown pass from QB Chad Salisbury to WR/DB Timon Marshall for a 7-0 lead. The Rampage then sacked Chicago QB Matt D’Orazio in the end zone for a safety on the ensuing Rush possession. Grand Rapids added an 18-yard Brian Gowins field goal on their second possession to take a 12-0 lead in the first quarter. 

Chicago and Grand Rapids traded scores throughout most of the game and Grand Rapids had a 33-27 lead at halftime,. The Rush never led by more than two points until the fourth quarter. 

The close score kept the crowd of 10,622 into the game and Rampage head coach Sparky McEwen was very appreciative of the fan’s support. “It was electrifying,” said McEwen. “They were loud and they shot energy into the team. That was nice to see again. It was just unfortunate that that final quarter was played the way that it was. I thought we gave (the fans) a good show for three quarters, but then after that, turnovers really hurt us.”

The game was tied 47-47 at the start of the fourth quarter, but three unanswered touchdowns by Chicago, two by WR Rob Mager, sealed the victory for the Rush. Mager had a total of three touchdowns on the night, two rushing and one receiving. 

“We did a good job in the first half of executing the game plan,” McEwen said. “We knew going into the game that we couldn’t turn the ball over. I think we had four turnovers in the second half. We gave (Chicago) extra opportunities. We did some pretty good things in the first half, but we didn’t take advantage of all the opportunities we had.”

The shift in momentum actually began in the third quarter. The Rampage had a 13-point lead at 47-34 with 5:49 left in the third, but after that, Chicago scored 35 unanswered points, three of those courtesy of Chicago WR Bobby Sippio. In all, Sippio had 12 receptions for 252 yards, five touchdowns and was named Offensive Player of the Game. WR/LB Jerome Riley of the Rampage was named Ironman of the Game. Overall, Riley had 5 catches for 47 yards and a touchdown in the game, as well as a six-yard interception return for a touchdown just before halftime. 

Another factor that could have had something to do with the fourth quarter let down by Grand Rapids was the fact that several Rampage players were sick during the game. “We’ve got the flu bug going on and had about three players take I-V’s before the game,” said McEwen. “I don’t want to use that as an excuse or anything, we still needed to take care of the ball.”

The Rampage record now falls to 2-5 on the season, while the Rush improved to 6-1. 

Bishop Contributes

Backup quarterback Michael Bishop got into the game a couple of times in the second half for the Rampage. In the third quarter, with a first and goal at the one-yard line, Bishop came in to do what he does best, run the football. He failed to score on two consecutive rushing attempts, losing a yard in the process. On third down, he handed the ball off to FB/LB Chris Ryan, who scored a 2-yard touchdown, giving the Rampage a 13-point lead. 

In the fourth quarter, Bishop was pressed into service on a kickoff return team when Jerome Riley had a temporary equipment problem. The kick was extremely short and unexpectedly bouncing into Bishop’s hands at the 17-yard line. 

“When I first got it, I thought about pitching it back (to another player),” said Bishop, but he didn’t and wound up returning the ball 13 yards to the Chicago 20-yard line. Last year, while he was with the Rush, Bishop was also called upon to perform kickoffs when the team’s regular kicker suffered an injury during pre game warm-ups. This was the first time, however, that he had ever returned a kickoff. 

Next Game

Grand Rapids heads west to take on the Los Angeles Avengers next Saturday night, April 28. The game will start at 10:30 PM EST and will be televised on Fox Sports Detroit and Fox Sports West.