Five of the 16 AFL players participating in the first ArenaBattle Skills Competition presented by Champs at the Orleans Arena currently or once played for the Grand Rapids Rampage. Two current Rampage players (Michael Bishop & Damon Mason) joined three former Grand Rapids players (Clint Dolezel, Chris Ryan and Remy Hamilton).
There were seven different skills competitions in the Battle that tested the players’ passing, receiving, kicking abilities. Hamilton and Ryan both won overall challenges along with Arizona’s Siaha Burley and Tampa Bay’s Shane Stafford.
The fullback/linebackers and lineman started it off with a speed and agility obstacle course. Former Rampage & current Philadelphia FB/LB Chris Ryan competed against Orlando’s E.J. Burt, Nashville’s Joe Minucci and Dallas’ Duke Pettijohn. Burt and Ryan had the two best times and advanced to the next round where Ryan beat out Burt by nearly seven seconds to win the event.
Next, the quarterbacks took center stage. The last two Rampage QBs to register a win as a Grand Rapids starter (Bishop and Dolezel) took on Tampa Bay’s Shane Stafford and Los Angeles’ John Kaleo. Bishop was first up in the Aaron’s QB Scramble through the obstacle course and toss a touchdown with a time of 8.56 seconds, which was a half second better than the number two competitor (Stafford with 9.06). Before Dolezel took his turn after Bishop, the Rampage’s all-time leading passer noted that “this is unfair. Bishop’s the best athlete in the AFL. He’d win all of these competitions.” Stafford and Bishop’s times eliminated Dolezel and Kaleo from the competition.
The two moved onto the QB Challenge, which consisted of six balls thrown to: two stationary targets, three moving ones and a long pass to a small target 45 yards away. Bishop and Stafford nailed the first five targets and with the help of Storm mascot Storm Dawg, Stafford hit the sixth target and won the contest.
Damon Mason was the lone defensive specialist in the competition and faced off against three of the best offensive specialists in the AFL (Burley, Las Vegas’ Marcus Nash and New York’s Mike Horacek). Nash and Burley advanced to the finals after completing the speed obstacle course in the fastest time. Mason slipped in his run and was third (20.37 seconds) behind Nash (19.62) and Burley (20.09). In the final, the two remaining contestants had to catch footballs from the four QBs during the obstacle course. Burley finished in 16.59 seconds with Nash right behind at 16.94. Nash dropped one of the passes, oddly enough from the hard-throwing Bishop. “Mike tosses the hardest ball I’ve ever seen. I’m not used to that,” said Nash.
In the kicking competition, AFL Kicker of the Year and former Rampage Remy Hamilton nabbed another post-season award after a shoot out with Dallas kicker Carlos Martinez. After an accuracy competition that Martinez edged out Hamilton (13 points to 11 points), the final of the Honda Kickoff was to be kicks selected by fans. Hamilton nailed the first three with Martinez failing to hit on of the wacky field goal attempts. The first was a traditional kick from the 20-yard line (a 28-yard field goal), then an onside kick onto a trampoline and then a 33-yard field goal that had to sail over the entire net structure.
2006 season tickets are now on sale. Call 616.559.1871 or log on to RampageFootball.com for more information.
