Fire Pull Out Another Close One
Kevin Sedelmeier
Monday June 7, 2004
This was a big game, for more than just sole possession of first place in the National Conference’s Midwest Division. This was the former also-ran versus the perennial league powerhouse; it was David vs. Goliath, it was Rocky vs. Apollo Creed; it was Napster versus the music industry. And the game pitting the second- and third-ranked teams in the league was everything it was billed to be. Lead changes were more numerous than tattoos on Carmelo Anthony.
And again the Fire played with key players out with injuries and others playing through pain. Anthony Payton, who had another big night with nine catches for 153 yards and four touchdowns, was one of those who played despite problems with his shin, ankle, and Achilles. “I felt like I was 50%. I was hurting really, really bad. “I’m taped up, braced up,” said Payton. But you wouldn’t have known it. Payton played all out as usual.
Payton’s co-star this week was Takuya Furutani, who had 10 catches for 198 yards and three touchdowns. The former Japanese team all-star may be only be 5’9, but he plays with a big heart. Time and time again, he made important catches, some of the diving variety. He’s fast and elusive and always gives a valiant effort. For a team that has endured the absences of James Scott, Dennis Fryzel, Tony Stallings, and Ryan Russell, Takuya has been one of the team’s most valuable players. Had he not been so productive over the last few weeks, the Fire may not have come out ahead in these close games. On his last touchdown reception, he fell headfirst from a sprint into the end zone wall. He was down for a while and looked woozy when he made it back to the bench, but he was in the game the next time the fire had the ball on offense. He’s quickly becoming a fan favorite.
It was Fire 48-41 when mayhem ensued with 12:05 left to go in the game. Quad Cities’ elder statesmen Flint Fleming, leveled and pinned Fire QB Matt Sauk in one of the most blatant personal foul penalties you will ever see, but the officials stood by and did nothing. That’s when Fire center Brandon Dyson ran up and leveled Fleming. After the brouhaha was over Dyson and Quad Cities’ Jamaal Cheery were ejected.
This happened after a similar incident in the second quarter when Quad Cities’ Fred Barr did the same thing to Sauk. Again, no unnecessary roughness penalty was called. It was unbelievable. The officials were as clueless as referee Jerry Calhoun used to be on Saturday morning wrestling from Memphis when he had his back turned and was oblivious to Jerry “The King” Lawler using a chain on Bill “Superstar” Dundee. No, instead they threw a personal foul earlier on Fire offensive coordinator Chris MacKeown for arguing, but they missed two brawls in the middle of the field. Unbelievable.
It’s one awful omission not to call the hands to the face hits Chazz Moore and other defenders were laying on Stallings all night as he tried to break from the line of scrimmage, but to miss an obvious abuse of a quarterback is pathetic. Despite the no-calls, Sauk remained focused and had another productive if not stellar night with 360 yards and seven touchdowns. With all of the receiver injuries and losses, Sauk has done a terrific job keeping everyone in the flow of the game. He is one of the biggest reasons this team is 7-2.
Stallings wasn’t exactly thrilled with the no-calls, but he put it in perspective. “That was a test. I’m a Christian. I’m not going to hit him back. I’m going to beat him with plays,” he said. “He hit me all game, and I wanted to hit back so bad, but I had to maintain what I stand for.”
So, again the Fire pulled out another close, hard-fought game, literally. Quad Cities’ Ryan Geisler’s missed PAT and field goal in the last minute preserved it for the Fire. Lucky breaks, considering he’s a quality kicker. Louisville’s kicker Marc Samuel empathized with his counterpart. “He’s a great kicker. Probably one of the best in the league. It happens.” Missed kicks aside, pulling out close victories is something past Fire teams couldn’t do. So why now?
Payton attributes it to two specific things, “We just try to stay in it until the last minute, and I think our conditioning is what helps us in the fourth quarter. It helps us keep a focus.” He said before adding the success is also due to “Great calls by Coach MacKeown and Coach (Tommy) Johnson. Coach MacKeown’s been around the league, and he’s worked under some of the best people in the league. Coach Johnson has played the game.” MacKeown has similar praise for his players.
“These guys won’t quit on each other; everyone on this team loves each other, and this team’s like a family. They will fight to the end,” said MacKeown. “We just have a lot of heart, a lot of guts, a lot of courage, and all the guys they don’t want to be the one that let’s their family down.” Encouraging words. This team truly is a team. A group of players that really seems to care about each other.
So, despite an impressive performance by Steamwheeler quarterback Ronnie Gordon, who incidentally owns his own dentistry practice in Illinois, the Fire prevailed. The Fire have found a way to win these close, edge-of-your-seat, nitroglycerin pill- popping games in a number of ways: big plays, conditioning, focus, spirit, luck, and maybe now divine intervention?
“God is in control. It’s already written what’s going to happen. We’re just going out to find out if he signed Louisville’s name as the winner,” said Stallings after the game, “and we found out that he signed us as the winner.”
Smoke Signals
Although Quad City kicker Ryan Ge1sler missed the extra point to tie the game and the field goal to win it, he was excellent on kickoffs. I haven’t seen a kicker make tackles like he did all season. Twice he took on Tony Stallings head-on. While he received the punishment, he made the tackles unassisted. He’s a tough kicker who is not afraid to make a play.
The last time Fire fans saw former quarterback Matt Pike, he was in a Peoria uniform. On Saturday, he returned to Freedom Hall as a Steamwheeler and was met with some fierce heckling. The backup QB, he’s also the holder on kicks, so he was on the field often in the high-scoring contest. That meant ample opportunities for some fans to let him know that there is no love loss. To his credit, he handled the jeers in stride. Perhaps his new look was the reason for the cool demeanor. From the back, in his red do-rag and dreadlocks, he looked like affable rapper Coolio. From the front, however, he shared an uncanny resemblance to ill-fated rapper Vanilla Ice.
During a Radio Disney timeout when they throw free stuff into the stands, Disney cast members were accompanied with AC/DC’s Back in Black over the P.A. system. It was a curious choice, but at least it spared us the latest chartbuster by Hillary Duff.
The popular mascot race was marred with speculation. Although Fire mascot Axe and Toys “R Us’ Geoffrey looked fit, the Chic-Fil-A cow conspicuously didn’t run in the race with kids. He stayed in the end zone and watched. Let’s hope he’s fine and will return soon. If it’s a pulled gizzard, though, he could be on the sidelines for weeks.
Another promotion that left the crowd scratching their heads was the Fired Up Eyes promotion. The crowd was suppose to cheer for the person who had, you guessed it, the most fired-up looking eyes … but no one put a camera on them, and they were not on the Pepsi Vision screens. Even Steve Austin (the Six Million Dollar Man not the wrestler) couldn’t have discerned the scary nature of their eyes. Since I’ve already mention a 70’s TV show, why not another. Remember The Incredible Hulk? Bill Bixby right before he becomes Lou Ferrigno – now those were some fired-up eyes.
During player introductions, the Fire announced Tony Stallings last as a welcome back from his sabbatical filming The Animal Planet’s King of the Jungle 2 for the past month. He took advantage of the pre-game spotlight and did an Ozzie Smith-like flip as he ran out to his teammates. “It felt real good to see the fans. They gave me a great welcome back. It got me real excited,” said Stallings. “I just wanted to have some fun. You’ll never see it again. I might kill myself.”
Van Halen’s Jump was played during a timeout. Two things come to mind. Sammy Hagar has rejoined them – a financially smart both for both parties – and they will be in Freedom Hall to perform this summer. Secondly, Jump includes perhaps the most banal of lyrics ever: “Hey you, who said that? Baby how you been?” Simply horrid.
Early Saturday afternoon before the game, I met a Steamwheeler volunteer assistant at a Fern Creek gas station. We was very pleasant; we talked about the teams for a few moments. I saw him on the Quad Cities bench. Although I didn’t catch the name of this silver-haired man, he represented the team very well and was very nice and knowledgeable. He informed me former Steamwheeler Ira Gooch was doing very well for New Orleans of the AFL. I restrained from admitting that Gooch’s absence is a good thing for opponents, but a bad thing for me writing this column. No longer can I use my lame Diff’rent Strokes references.
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.