Quiroga Sparks Avengers to Comeback Victory
Mike Chanpong
Tuesday May 1, 2007
Everybody who follows the Los Angeles Avengers knows who offensive stars Kevin Ingram and Lenzie Jackson are. They might not know who Robert Quiroga is - yet. Saturday's game against the Grand Rapids Rampage was a coming out party of sorts for Quiroga, who going into the game had no touchdowns and had managed only three catches this season.
By the time the final horn sounded, Quiroga had more than doubled his catch total for the season and scored four touchdowns to lead the Avengers to a 75-71 comeback win in front of the largest regular season crowd in Avengers history. The win was huge for the Avengers, who improved to 4-4 and remain in the hunt for the Western Division crown.
When asked about his breakout game, Quiroga said he was just happy to get a chance to play. “I was very fortunate to get an opportunity to step in there and make some plays for the team. I’m just thankful that the coaches and rest of the team were behind me and letting me make plays.”
Head Coach Ed Hodgkiss turned to Quiroga to give the team a lift offensively. “Thank goodness we had him,” Hodgkiss said after the game. “He came up big for us tonight.”
Quiroga was expected to see playing time at linebacker, where he started for the second week in a row, but he wasn’t expected to be used much on offense. Hodgkiss was pleased with Quiroga’s effort. “He doesn’t get a ton of practice time there (at receiver), but he did a great job.”
The move to offense sat well with Quiroga, who is no stranger to catching passes and route running. During his college days he was a three year starting wide receiver for Baylor University. “I’m a natural receiver,” Quiroga explained. “But I’m going to do everything I can to help the team win, wherever they put me out on the field.”
To his credit, Quiroga never lost faith in his ability to be an offensive playmaker in the AFL, even when he wasn't seeing a lot of passes thrown his way. “Everybody wants to be a part of the game, everybody wants to be able to score and do anything they can to help the team,” explained Quiroga, who has watched Ingram and Jackson shoulder the offensive load for the majority of the season. “For them to keep calling my number it was a good experience.”
After his offensive performance against the Rampage, it's a good bet that Saturday won't be the last time Quiroga hears his number called.
