Fire Sink Pirates’ Ship
Kevin Sedelmeier
Sunday April 27, 2003
The two teams met for a preseason scrimmage in Freedom Hall in March, an exhibition filled with Peoria coach Bruce Cowdrey’s loud, salty language, easily discernable by the many children in attendance. Friday night, Cowdrey was livid in the second quarter when he argued an in-the-grasp safety call that put the Fire up 30-20. And if that wasn’t enough, he called a fourth quarter timeout just to argue a lateral that was ruled an incomplete pass by Fire QB Josh Rogers. In fairness, both calls were questionable, but for a change, however, they went in the Fire’s favor.
If it isn’t Cowdrey’s successful record or his crusty, gruff demeanor that solely makes the Pirates a team Fire fans love to hate, perhaps it is their penchant for pushing, probing, and punching. How bad is it? Near the end of the game, there were two Louisville policemen on the field, ready to help restore order after Peoria’s Sidney Lewis and Louisville’s Michael Bowers got involved in a brouhaha that started when Rogers rolled into Lewis at the end of a quarterback keeper. It was the sort of fisticuffs TV announcers usually attribute to frustration. Maybe that is a reasonable assessment here.
After a Rogers to Alfonzo Browning touchdown on the first possession of the second half, the Fire were up 45-20. But as has been common, they didn’t play the second half at the same level as the first, and the Pirates stormed back, cutting it to four for a final 54-50 score. Despite their 1-3 start, Peoria is a formidable foe, and that’s what makes this win even bigger for coach Tommy Johnson and the Fire.
Johnson has a calm head on the field, and he really seems to be enjoying the game. And why not? He has the team playing as hard and (pardon the pun) as fired up as it has any time over the past two seasons. The young head coach seems to relate well with his players. He even remained composed when no flag was thrown as he watched one of his players get nearly mugged by a Pirate offensive lineman. A national champion from the University of Alabama and an AFL veteran, Johnson is both familiar with the indoor game and aware of what it takes to win. Before the game, Johnson said, “We are stressing to our guys just how much this game means to us because of the implications of the division race.” When the game was over, the Fire sat alone atop the National Midwest Division.
Smoke Signals
Norman Mason returned to the field and had multi-touchdown night and again displayed moves only previously seen by Barry Sanders and Antwaan Randle El.
Arkee Thompson’s interception on the last play of the first half gives him a league-leading six.
Former Fire quarterback Matt Pike returned as a Peoria Pirate, and although he didn’t start and played only on conversions (including making one two-pointer) he did elicit some surprising pot shots from the partisan crowd. There was a sign in Freedom Hall that followed the MasterCard commercial slogan … ending with the line “Not having Matt Pike as quarterback – Priceless.” When he saw the sign – after it was put on the jumbo Pepsivision – Pike motioned for the fan holding the sign to look at Pike’s hand. He has a ring to show for being part of the Pirates’ ArenaCup championship. Conversely, the Fire finished last season with a 2-14 record.
Fire QB Pookie Jones was inactive for the game and is on the short term IR with a broken rib suffered early in last week’s game against Tennessee Valley. Despite the injury, Jones played for the rest of the half against the Vipers.
Perhaps the most unbelievable thing you will ever see on a football field happened with 7:00 to go in the third quarter. The thing is – it happened during a timeout. Owner Will Wolford and Promotions Director Tricia Kern have done a great job making Fire games fun and fan friendly, filling them with giveaways, t-shirt tosses from the cheerleaders, and plenty of spectator games. One of the common timeout activities is the infamous dizzy bat race. You know, spin in a circle with your head on the handle of a baseball bat and then race to the finish line. Harmless fun, you say. Well, remember when your parents use to say it’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt? Well somebody did get hurt during the dizzy bat game, but it wasn’t a contestant. Instead, a contestant got so disorientated, he veered off course and blindsided the Fire’s Demetrius Forney, rolling over the back of the fullback/linebacker’s legs. It looked like the makings of a serious knee injury; it was the stuff torn ACLs are made of. As Forney lay face down on the field, it took awhile for people to realize what happened. The guilt-ridden and no longer vertigo-stricken contestant looked distraught and walked off the field with his head in his hands. Lucky for him and all Fire fans, after medical attention, the 280-pound Forney slowly got to his feet and played the rest of his game.
Kevin Sedelmeier is a native Louisvillian. A graduate of the University of Louisville with a B.A. in Communication and M.A. in English, he works as a technical writer and has written fifteen screenplays and numerous short
stories. He lives with his wife Elizabeth, son Lukas, and their dog Springsteen.