This was a game that had everything.  There were long clock-chewing drives, and one-play scores.  There was scoring on the ground and in the air – and a kickoff returned the length of the field for six points.  There were onside kicks and two-point attempts.  And in the end the Nashville Kats did everything they needed to do to defeat the Grand Rapids Rampage.  But was everything enough to get them to the playoffs?

“I can go all night,” Terrell Browden shouted after scoring a touchdown on a misdirection play.  Little did he know how prophetic his words were.  A few plays later offensive lineman Isaiah Ross  left the game with an ankle injury, causing Browden to play the rest of the night at tight end.  “That’s what I’m here for.  That’s what they pay me for.  One man goes down the next man’s got to step up to the plate.”

Maurice Brown had a productive night, scoring two touchdowns and filling in a linebacker, but his biggest play may have been recovering a Grand Rapids onsides kick in the game’s final minutes.  

“Initially when I caught the ball I was thinking score, because that’s automatic in a football player’s mind,” Brown explained, “but we have to play strategy and cut down some of the time so they have a more difficult field goal.”  By intentionally going down and allowing himself to be tackled instead of taking an easy opportunity to score, Brown gave the team the chance they needed to set themselves up to win at the end.

The kicking game was a major factor in this game.  Rampage kicker Brian Gowins missed an extra point and three field goals.  Kats’ kicker Jason Witczak hit all his extra points and executed an onside kick that the Kats recovered which was the turning point of the game.  “I want to be considered a threat, a weapon that we can use, and tonight it worked out for us,” said Witczak.

Perhaps Kats quarterback Jeff Smoker summed it up best, “It’s a team sport.  It takes everybody, including the kicker.”

Not Enough

The joy over the win was short lived as Kats faithful followed the news from the Staples Center.  The Utah Blaze defense kept finding new ways to make interceptions as they defeated the Los Angeles Avengers and knocked the Kats out of the playoffs.