Lead Changes 17 Times and Wranglers Lose
Mick Cornett
Monday July 16, 2001
The Wranglers led most of the game behind the productive, if not brilliant, passing of Jeff Loots. He tossed eight touchdown passes and was never intercepted. An eight-yard TD pass to Bobby McGowens late in the second quarter put Oklahoma up 27-21 but Grand Rapids scored 12 points in the final 41 seconds of the first half to lead 33-27 at the break.
As usual, Rampage quarterback Clint Dolezel did whatever it would take to win. He tossed seven touchdown passes. His last TD strike was a nine-yard pass to Terrill Shaw with 2:29 left in the game. It put Grand Rapids up 69-62. Shaw had scored four touchdowns in the first half but figured to be done for the night when he was knocked unconscious by Wrangler linebacker McGowens on a third-quarter pass over the middle. A silent crowd of over 8,500 watched Shaw lay on the field for several minutes before he got up and soon convinced the doctors he was OK.
Down seven in the final minute, Loots led Oklahoma down the field and hit Lamont Cooper for a touchdown with :18 left. Still down by a point, Oklahoma Bob Cortese decided to go for two. His choice of plays? A pass to the tight-end. The play is designed to go to Tom Briggs but Briggs had been ejected in the second quarter after an altercation with former Oklahoma Sooner Corey Mayfield. So instead the go ahead pass went to 280 pound veteran Chuck Reed who made a splendid diving catch in the end-zone and put Oklahoma up 70-69.
There were only 18 seconds remaining but that was plenty of time for Dolezel. He directed the Rampage attack to the middle of the field where kicker Brian Gowins nailed a clutch 42-field goal as the horn sounded to end the game: 72-70. For the Wranglers it was all too reminiscent of the game in Los Angeles where they were beaten by a 40-yard field goal at the buzzer.
Next up—Those same Los Angeles Avengers that beat Oklahoma in May will now come to the Myriad for a nationally televised game. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. The game will be carried by TNN. Of course arena construction dates are never guaranteed, but this is expected to be the last Oklahoma game to be played in the Myriad. The new downtown arena should be completed in time for next year’s opener.
Mick Cornett was a writer for ArenaFan Online from 2000 to 2001.
