Fury Break Mustangs
Kevin A. De Ceuninck
Sunday June 10, 2001
It was.
Fortunately for the Fury, that was the Mustangs’ point-of-view.
The Fury corralled the Mustangs…no wait that is too polite. The expansion Fury broke the Mustangs, branded them with an “F” and sent the back to Milwaukee still winless 58-22.
Very simply, the Fury went back to basics: Defense, penalties, and turnovers. For the first time in four games, the defense was outstanding, they did not lead the game in penalty yards, and a +4 turnover margin gave the offense the chances it needed put a stranglehold on the Mustangs.
“Penalties make a huge difference,” said Coach Mouse Davis. “You make the play, you keep the play. We had a couple at the end, other wise it could have been worse.”
Davis was referring to a Tommy Boyd interception returned for a touchdown in the last minute that was called back due to a penalty.
Fullback/Linebacker Andy Chilcote, the game’s Ironman, couldn’t say enough about how big the team’s discipline was an impact.
“That was huge, that was the one area that was holding our whole team back was the penalties,” said Chilcote. “Eliminating a lot of the penalties freed us up to play aggressive football, and I would say all of the credit goes to the defensive backs. Our pass rush has been less than it has been the last few weeks and the backs rose to the occasion tonight.”
Defense, penalties, turnovers…did we mention the kicking game?
For the first time in the last four games, and the season for that matter, the Fury kicker was a plus to the bottom line. J.R. Jenkins, a 22-year-old rookie out of Marshall, connected on 7-8 extra point attempts, and booted his first AFL field goal, and the first in Fury history of 50 yards.
Jenkins’ scoring was an asset to the purple and black, but even more important, Jenkins continually pinned Milwaukee back deep on kick-offs, kicking four over the nets for touchbacks.
“The kid was phenomenal,” said Davis. “That is really a kick when you rip that thing over the net like that, not just once, but a number of times.”
A positive scoring kicking game was a huge plus for the offense.
“Every time you miss an extra point or a field goal, you give up points,” said Quarterback Scott Semptimphelter. “You can’t give up points in this league, it is such a tight game every week.”
Semptimphelter’s offensive confidence was apparent by his final stats as he hit five different receivers with six touchdown passes. Even more important, the Fury QB was not intercepted.
“Coming in, they gave up some things we knew we could take advantage of,” said Semptimphelter. “Our receivers are getting more confidence in this game, and this game is a lot different than outdoor football. I think Tommy (Boyd), Chuck (Levy) and Ty (Grovesteen) are just getting a feel for it.”
Defense, penalties, turnovers, and kicking, which Fury handled so well against the Mustangs, will be the key for the battle for the playoff spot the Fury are shooting for. With two consecutive road games against the Los Angeles Avengers (3-5), winners of three straight, and the fellow-expansion Chicago Rush (4-3), the Fury will need take advantage of every opportunity they are given.
Kevin A. De Ceuninck was a writer for ArenaFan Online during the 2001 season.
