Pickut Steps in for Sheller; Rampage Steps on Rush
Matthew Pickut
Tuesday May 22, 2001
I admit it. I stopped and asked for directions. As an American male, I risk earning myself the wrath of men everywhere just by admitting the simple fact that I was lost and I asked for DIRECTIONS. Even though my wife was with me, I turned into a gas station parking lot, and asked a limo driver how to get to the Allstate Arena. It’s embarrassing but still, I’m glad I stopped, because if I would have kept driving, not only would I have missed the Chicago Rush game (and ended up in Ohio), I would have missed the suit the limo driver was wearing: silk with two kinds of purple in one inch vertical stripes and matching striped pants. Against the background of the white limo, the suit’s stunning effect made the man look like an Andy Warhol Zebra. I couldn’t laugh too hard, because the suit looked GOOD when he wore it.
Why am I telling you this? Because if you missed the expansion Chicago Rush play against the Grand Rapids Rampage you missed something even better than a dazzling achievement of modern haberdashery, you missed a great football game.
A Game of Four Quarters
The game started with Grand Rapids building a 14-3 first quarter lead. Grand Rapids QB Clint Dolezel hit WR/LB Michael Baker with a 14-yard strike on the first possession of the game. All game long Dolezel showed the moxie that helped him lead the Rampage into the game with a 4-0 record. Several times Dolezel hit receivers on third and fourth downs frustrating the Chicago defense. The frustration showed on both teams as post-play shoving matches erupted through out the game.
Rush QB Billy Dicken (19-29, 240 yards and six touchdowns) led Chicago back, handing the ball to WR/DB Cornelius Bonner who took it in from the Rampage one-yard line. A 46-yard kick-off return by KR/DS Derrick Stingley made the Bonner run possible. Chicago closed the gap to 20-17 in the second quarter finding Bonner on an 18-yard crossing pattern in the end zone.
Halftime saw the Rampage retake a nine-point lead after a Dolezel pass found WR/DB Ricky Ross for an 11-yard touchdown completion. That lead climbed to 33-17 as William Marshal pulled down a 10-yard Dolezel pass over the middle. Dickens then responded by hitting OS Joe Douglas for a score with 54 seconds left in the third quarter to make the score 33-24.
The Longest One Minute in Football
Once again, the Rush needed to make a fourth quarter comeback. The Rampage and Rush traded scores until the score stood at 43-38 after Grand Rapids kicker Brian Gowins hit a 26-yard field goal with just :53 left in regulation. Rapids coach Michael Trigg rolled the dice and called for the AFL equivalent of the 2 for 1 possession ploy from the NBA: a pre-emptive onside kick. The Chicago front line seemed caught off guard but recovered the ball at the Rampage 13. Douglas then gave the Rush their fist lead of the night hauling in a 14-yard pass from Dickens. The two-point conversion failed as a Dicken’s shovel pass fell to the ground leaving the Rush with a one point lead, 44-43.
That lead lasted only seconds as Dolezel counter-attacked with an 18-yard TD pass to Ross and FB Christ Ryan plunged onto the end zone with the two point conversion to make the score 51-44. Under the pressure of trailing by seven points with only :30 left, Billy Dicken showed the character and determination that has made Rush a dangerous fourth quarter opponent. Dicken went back to Douglas for six points on an 18-yard score with only :10 left. Rush coach Mike Hohensee spurned the tie and called Rush kicker Pete Elezovic back from the huddle to set up a two-point conversion try. Hohensee held to his strategy even after a false start penalty moved the ball back to the 6-yard line. Dicken rewarded his coach’s conviction by hitting Douglas (who else?) on a crossing pattern in the end zone to give the Rush a one-point lead, 52-51.
Elezovic’s ensuing kick off sailed out of bound giving the Rampage the ball at their own 20. Dolezel hit his receiver on a quick out, stopping the clock with 6 seconds left. Gowins then calmly lined up his 35-yard field goal and sent the ball through the uprights making the score 54-52.
Even Gowin’s kick couldn’t end the Rush hopes. The Rampage kick-off hit the bottom of the scoreboard giving the Rush one last possession at their 20-yard line. On the field goal attempt the Grand Rapids defensive line took advantage of a great push up the middle and blocked the kick sending the Rush crowd home disappointed.
Don’t Miss Out, Chicago
I’m a homer; you know “root root root for the for the home team, if they don’t win it’s a shame.” Still, this Indiana Firebirds fan was impressed not only by the character of the Rush team (I know it’s a cliché but sometimes a team does show something special) but the enthusiasm of the crowd; neither said die no matter what the scoreboard read. The announced crowd of just under 7,000 filled the Allstate Arena with a lot of noise all game long. The only problem that I could see was that there were any seats left. As loud as the arena got, I had to think what it could have been like if more fans could have experienced the game. As the people of Chicago get to know the Rush and Arena Football, the Allstate Arena has the chance to become one of the truly great venues of the AFL.
I gotta go now, the testosterone Gestapo are at the door. Something about making sure I remember to leave the seat up.
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.
