Ugly Win is Better than Ugly Loss
Matthew Pickut
Monday May 21, 2001
The game started in classic Arenaball fashion with Chad May (20-32-206) connecting to OS Calvin Schexnayder for a 28-yard TD strike in the corner of the end zone. Things looked even worse for the ‘birds when they were held without a first down on their first possession. K Nelson Garner (3-6 fg, 4-4 PAT) forced to attempt a 58-yard field goal missed wide left. The kick sent the ball springing off the nets and past Arizona WR/LB Hunkie Cooper. Indiana WR/LB Jay Jones caught the ball off the bounce and stunned the almost 13,000 Rattler fans by taking the ball 3-yards into the house to tie the score at 7-7.
The uglyfest was on. Twice during the game Indiana QB Raymond Philyaw (15-33-155, 3TD 0 INT), who completed only a little over 50% of his passes, missed OS Eddie Brown (3 rec for 37 yrds and 2 TD) open in the end zone. That Philyaw’s passes sailed high all game seemed to fit the pressure faced by a QB after a fourth quarter meltdown like the one against the Chicago Rush. What seemed out of place was the aggressive confrontation between Brown and Philyaw after several of the passes. The TNN cameras caught the teammates in each other’s faces, with the normally quiet Brown grabbing Philyaw’s facemask and dispensing wisdom at an alarming volume on one occasion.
WR/LB Greg Hopkins (6 rec for 73 yrds and 1 TD) pulled Indiana even at 24 with :54 left in the half on a 13-yard reception from Philyaw. Jay Jones then picked off a May pass at the Firebirds’ three yard line on the next drive. Although the Firebirds drive after the interception produced no points for Indiana, it changed the rhythm of scoring and clearly gave the momentum to the Firebirds entering the locker room at half-time.
The Firebirds took the opening kick-off of the second half deep into Arizona territory. The ten-play, 39-yard drive set up a 22-yard Nelson Garner field goal to give Indiana their first lead of the afternoon. The Rattlers then took the lead back 31-27 after a Chad May to WR/DB Chris Horn 7 yard TD pass. That score would be the last lead for Arizona as the Firebirds responded with 16 unanswered points. The game’s Ironman FB/LB Leroy Thomson took a hand off into the end zone to put the ‘birds ahead for good in a performance that filled the stat sheet. Thomson’s line reads: 4 rushes for 23 yard and 1 TD, 3 unassisted tackles and 1.5 sacks.
The score seemed to settle Philyaw, the game MVP, and he led two straight scoring drives to put the game out of reach. The last drive had to make the Firebirds’ locker room a happier place as Touchdown Eddie Brown pulled down a 5-yard TD pass.
In an ugly game, it helps to have the bigger uglies on your side. The Big Uglies in this case were the Indiana D/O line, which got good pressure all four quarters. On defense, a good mix of blitz schemes and a steady diet of D-linemen shooting the gaps kept the Arizona’s Chad May off-balance. In the fourth quarter, the effects of the pressure evoked a QB change as Chad DeGrenier entered the game and went 4-4. But even that spark was not enough to change the outcome. The play upfront helped the Firebirds stay on the plus side of the giveaway/takeaway score for yet another game.
One bright spot in the contest for Indiana was the special teams. Aside from the Jones score, Garner hit the slack middle net three times on kick-offs, giving the coverage teams time to get down the field. The coverage when it got there was a major improvement over past efforts, holding the Rattlers to their side of the field on every possession. Twice Arizona resorted to illegal blocks in the back to spring returners and twice long returns were called back to within the Rattler 10-yard line. Garner continued to be strong on FGs, missing only three kicks, two of which should more rightly be considered AFL punts, and performing flawlessly on his four PAT attempts.
Not every victory can be pretty, but you don’t get style points in the AFL. What you need is wins, and it doesn’t matter how you get them. Next week the Firebirds look to move to 5-2 as they host the 2-3 Detroit Fury on Friday at Conseco before taking a bye week. At stake is a chance to keep pace with the division leading Grand Rapids Rampage who take on the undefeated Tampa Bay Storm in the TNN game of the week.
Gotta go, Keith Richards is here, something about a copyright infringement lawsuit.
Matthew Pickut is a pastor in northern Indiana and a long time AFL fan. He also writes for his own website: The Brown Paper Blog. He graduated from Taylor University in Upland Indiana (class of `96) with degrees in Biblical Literature and Sociology as well as a healthy respect for the medicinal properties of coffee.
