Cowdrey’s Peoria Homecoming Spoiled By Memphis Overtime Win
Steve Robinson
Monday April 15, 2002
A crowd of roughly 8,000 watched as Peoria, trailing 35-30 with 2:40 left in the fourth quarter, used a two-pass drive to go 46 yards, thanks to passes from quarterback Walter Church to fullback Cornell Craig. The 23- and 25-yard passes, secured the score from a drive which, due to Peoria penalties was forced to start at their own 2-yard line. The score pulled Peoria up, 36-35.
Peoria (1-1) opted for a two-point conversion and succeeded, again connecting from Church to Craig, pulling Peoria in front, 38-35, with 2:21 left in the game.
Memphis retaliated quickly, sealing an 8-play, 40 yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tim Lester to one-time Buffalo Bill and Memphis Offensive Specialist Russell Copeland. That put Memphis up, 41-38, after a failed two-point conversion try, and presumably, left Peoria just seven seconds to respond to the challenge.
Peoria kicker Todd Kurz did respond, with three seconds left, sending a 33-yard field goal sailing through the uprights, tying the game at 41-all, as time expired.
Of that last second kick, Kurz said, “(the ball) was going for the left upright, and in the last 10 yards, it just (turned) right. I don’t know how, but it made it.
“I didn’t kick it well,” Kurz admitted. “But, we’ll take it.”
While that kind of drama might be nerve-wrecking for some, Kurz admits, “I love it. I love it. I have been waiting for that kind of (situation) for a while.”
Overtime Drama
Peoria had the ball first, starting at their own 22-yard line. After three incomplete passes, Church connected with Craig again for a 28-yard touchdown pass. Kurz’s extra point remained straight as it sailed through the uprights, giving the Pirates a 48-41 lead.
Memphis’ turn did not start well, with the Peoria defense sacking Lester on the first play, to the delight of the partisan crowd. But the crowd’s mood soon changed when Copeland caught four straight passes for 38 yards, marching the Xplorers down to the Peoria 4-yard line.
At the end of a second down play for Memphis, at 11:01 of the overtime, Peoria defensive lineman Rasche Hill and a Memphis offensive lineman exchanged swings at one another, which only made the crowd angrier when officials flagged Rasche for the offense, moving the ball to the Peoria 2-yard line.
It was just what the Xplorers needed, as fullback Kevin Newsome scored from two yards out to pull the Xplorers within one, 48-47. Copeland starred in a successful two-point conversion play, giving the Xplorers their first victory on the season.
Cowdrey said Hill committed “one stupid penalty,” thus costing Peoria victory. “When he punched (the Memphis player), that was the game. That’s where our lack of discipline showed.”
The expansion Fresno Frenzy visit Carver Arena next Saturday.
Steve Robinson, a freelance writer since 1984, has written about the Peoria Pirates since the Pirates were members of Indoor Football League, beginning in 1999. He covers the Pirates currently for the Bloomington IL Pantagraph.
