Blazek Tackle Exemplifies Rush/Rampage Game
Mary-Ann Williams
Monday May 6, 2002
At the end of the first quarter, Rampage kick returner Ricky Ross snagged the ball off the nets and headed downfield. A top-notch player, Ross knew where he was going and how to get there. He dodged, weaved, and sprinted to the 12-yard line… until A.J. Blazek smashed Ross to the carpet. Blazek bounced up laughing, ready to go for round two. Ross, on the other hand, took his time getting to his feet.
“I figured I was going to land flat on my face,” said Blazek, “but he didn’t see me. I didn’t realize how great of a tackle it was until I heard the roar of the crowd.”
That surprise, flying tackle by a 290-pound center exemplified the entire 60-minute game.
The World Champion Rampage made every effort to hold their own and just couldn’t do it. Quarterback Clint Dolezel, easily one of the best QBs in the league, spent the night tossing quick, hitting the turf, or both. His line couldn’t hold back the strength the Rush amassed in the off-season.
Need proof? In 14 possessions, Chicago scored 11 times, taking home 10 TDs, a field goal and a single interception. Two others ended with the half and the end of the game. Grand Rapids, the miracle team that seemed to score every time Dolezel touched the ball last season, scored nine times in 13 possessions, posting eight TDs along with two fumbles and two interceptions.
Billy Dicken threw eight for nine in the first half for 117 yards. What the stats don’t show is that Dicken had all night to throw. Oh yeah, and his favorite receiver, OS Joe Douglass, stepped out of the line-up one hour before kick off with bruised ribs. Forced to look elsewhere and not rely on Douglass to pick up the slack on rough passes, Dicken spread the wealth often and evenly.
Everyone got his piece of the pie.
Ironman of the game, “Superman” Dameon Porter, started the game off with an interception turned immediately into a TD from a 30-yard Dicken pass. Porter finished his trifecta by tackling Ross on the Rampage 15 on the ensuing kick-off.
WR/DB Cornelius Bonner grabbed a 33-yard pass over his shoulder and carried it into the endzone along with defender Joseph Todd, who had also tried for the pass and instead caught Bonner. OL/DL John Moyer took Dolezel down on the Rampage nine-yard line two minutes before the half, rejecting the ball in the process. FB/LB Andy Chilcote picked it up and dove into the endzone for a touchdown.
Does the phrase “leading a lamb to slaughter” ring any bells? Okay, not really. While the Rush played well, they were battling the World Champions, and the Rampage didn’t earn that title by sitting back on their laurels.
An easy first half got suddenly tougher when the usually short-pass game of the Rampage switched to long bombs. Then, rather than settle for a single extra point, Grand Rapids head coach Michael Trigg kept Dolezel on the field shooting for two. Those shots paid off, keeping the Rampage within breathing distance of a win.
“Our secondary became too predictable,” said Rush head coach Mike Hohensee. “And they just one-two played us. They knew exactly where we were going to be. And when you do that, I don’t care what kind of rush you’ve got out there, a guy like Dolezel is going to pick you apart.”
Dolezel completed 14 of 18 passes for 183 yards in the second half alone. Yes, he had a pick, too, but the Rampage proved they’re capable of making the changes needed to get back in the game. A little too late this time, but watch out. I can’t imagine Trigg will let that happen again.
Porterisms
“My ankle hurts and they won’t give me anymore pain pills, so I’m going to get drunk tonight! Now watch, that’ll be the headline in the paper tomorrow…”
Flashback: After the Indiana game in Indianapolis, Porter threw WR/LB Gary Compton a bone, in reference to the F150 Ford Truck Compton won last year as the Built Ford Tough Man of the Year.
“I should have gotten that truck last year. He earned it tonight. He definitely played well tonight. But last year, I should have got it.”
Compton’s response? “I told him it’s out back if he wants a ride.”
Fat Man Running with the Ball
An interception by Grand Rapids OL/DL Corey Mayfield gave our own Matthew Pickut what he’s been asking for. At 331 pounds, Mayfield qualifies as big, if not fat. Though not the auspicious 60+-yard run of Chicago Bears’ defensive tackle Keith Traylor, Mayfield did manage to get nine yards before coming down under three Rush players.
Take what you can get, Matt.
Mary-Ann Williams lives in Chicagoland with her four children, Carter, Jackson, Jeremy, and Riley Jade. As a freelance writer, she`s written articles for the Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and the Daily Herald. She also serves as editor of the AFL-side of Arenafan Online, and covers the Chicago Rush.
