Grand Rapids Snaps Arizona's Win Streak at Five
Phoenix, AZ - The defending ArenaBowl Champion Grand Rapids Rampage's first trip to the desert turned out to be a successful one as they defeated the Arizona Rattlers, 71-53, Friday night at America West Arena.
A crowd of 13,716 hostile fans witnessed Clint Dolezel complete 22-of-31 passes for 305 yards and eight touchdowns, earning Game MVP honors for the first time this season. It was also the first time this season that Dolezel didn't throw an interception.
Steve Smith led all Rampage receivers with nine catches for 117 yards and four touchdowns. Willis Marshall garnered Ironman accolades by catching five passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. He also added two tackles and a defended pass on defense. Gary Compton followed with six catches for 51 yards and three touchdowns on offense, while adding two tackles and an interception on defense.
After being outscored 15-14 in the first quarter, the Rampage went on to outscore Arizona 57-38 the next three quarters to snap the Rattlers' five-game winning streak and extend their own winning streak to four games.
Although the game didn't start off the way they wanted it to, things quickly picked up for the good guys. Marshall's fumble of the first half kickoff back into the endzone gave the Rattlers a 2-0 lead, 11 seconds into the game. Arizona put six more points on the board less than five minutes into the game when Sherdrick Bonner found Randy Gatewood for a 15-yard touchdown. The score remained 8-0 when Chris Sailer's extra point attempt was blocked. Grand Rapids jumped on the board on a Dolezel to Marshall 45-yard TD strike, pulling them within one, 7-8. Bonner answered with a touchdown toss to Chris Horn to put Arizona back up eight, 7-15. The final score of the quarter went to the Rampage as Dolezel found Compton from three yards out, putting the score at 15-14 after one.
The second quarter proved to be all Rampage as they outscored Arizona 21-12 in the second frame. Two defensive stops and Dolezel TD tosses to Compton and Smith to start the quarter gave Grand Rapids their first lead of the game, 28-15. With only 1:27 remaining in the first half, Arizona finally got on the board with Hunkie Cooper's 1000th career AFL point on a TD pass from Bonner. Adding to his highlight reel for the season, Smith scored his second TD of the night with a change-of-field 19-yard sprint, giving the Rampage their biggest lead of the half, 35-21. That's where the score would have remained, but offsetting penalties with no time on the clock gave Arizona one last shot from Grand Rapids' 12-yard line. The Rattlers took advantage of their timeless possession as Bonner hit Horn for his second TD of the half. Sailer's second missed extra point attempt gave the Rampage a 35-27 lead going into the locker room.
The third quarter saw both teams trade a pair of touchdowns. Arizona got a TD run from Bo Kelly and a TD catch from Horn, his third of the game, while Grand Rapids took to the ground for both of their third quarter scores. Travis McDonald plunged into the endzone from a yard out and Ricky Ross took a handoff from Dolezel for a 2-yard score. Two-point conversions from both teams and a missed two-point conversion by the Rattlers gave the Rampage a 50-41 lead at the end of three frames.
Arizona opened fourth quarter scoring with a little trickery as Orshawante Bryant took a Bonner toss and then threw to a wide-open Wendall Gaines, cutting the Rampage lead to 50-47. Touchdown catch number three for Smith put Grand Rapids up ten with less than seven minutes left on the clock.
Arizona answered with Horn's fourth TD catch of the night, but that would prove to be the last score of the night for the Rattlers. An onside kick recovery by Joseph Todd, followed by a Compton TD catch gave the Rampage a 64-53 advantage with under two minutes remaining. Grand Rapids then sealed the victory when Compton picked off Bonner at the Arizona 21-yard line with under a minute to go. A final TD catch by Smith, his fourth of the night, capped off the Rampage's 18-point victory.
In the loss, Bonner completed 23-of-41 passes for 210 yards and six touchdowns. He also was picked off once. Horn led all receivers with 13 catches for 126 yards and four touchdowns.
Grand Rapids (5-2) now heads east to finish out their two-game road swing against the New Jersey Gladiators on Saturday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m. The game can be heard live on WBBL 1340 AM.
Game Notes:
-Grand Rapids' 71 points was their biggest offensive output of the season.
-Rampage QB Clint Dolezel also has thrown at least six TDs in the last three games.
-Rampage OS Steve Smith has 20 TD catches in the last five games.
-Smith's 21 receiving TDs is the third best total in Rampage single-season history.
-Rampage DS Jason Waters had a career-high 8.5 tackles.
-Rampage K Brian Gowins was a perfect 9-for-9 in PATs.
-Rampage coach Michael Trigg is just one win away from 60 career regular season wins.
-Arizona WR/LB Hunkie Cooper scored his 1000th career point.
-Arizona QB Sherdrick Bonner became the AFL's all-time leader in passing TDs.
-Grand Rapids scored a TD on every possession but their last.
-Grand Rapids is now 2-1 on the road.
