DES MOINES, IA-Ev Blansett threw three touchdown passes in a six-minute span in the third quarter to help the Iowa Barnstormers pull away from the Colorado Crush 46-30 in a Week 12 AFL game.
Iowa got the game started with an 8-play, 39-yard drive. SB Rhoads finished it off with a 34-yard field goal to give the Barnstormers a 3-0 lead with 10:15 remaining in the first quarter. Following a Colorado punt downed on the 1, Blansett was intercepted by Stan Dinn who returned it 16 yards for a touchdown to give the Crush a 7-3 lead with 5:23 to go in the first. Following the pick-six, Iowa moved 37 yards on 9 plays, and Rhoads kicked a 30-yard field goal making it 7-6 with 1:20 to go in the first.
Early in the second quarter, Earl Ginger missed a 56-yard field goal attempt after an offensive pass interference penalty wiped out a first down off a fake attempt. A fumble by Flip Cravens was recovered by Curley Wentworth at Iowa's 36-yard line, giving the Crush the ball. But Ginger missed again, this time from 55. From there, the Barnstormers went on a 9-play, 55-yard drive. Chesley Starnes scored on a 10-yard touchdown run to put Iowa up 13-7 with 4:26 to go in the half. Following a Colorado three-and-out, Iowa drove 54 yards on 14 plays. Rhoads would finish the drive with a 24-yard field goal with 5 seconds remaining, and Iowa went into the locker room leading 16-7.
In the third quarter, Colorado went on a 15-play, 57-yard drive, ending with a Ginger 37-yard field goal to make it 16-10 with 9:05 remaining in the third quarter. It only took one play for the Barnstormers to answer back, as Blansett uncorked a 77-yard touchdown bomb to Isaiah O'Connell to make it 23-10 with 8:42 left in the third. After Colorado went three-and-out, Iowa went on a 6-play, 70-yard drive. Blansett ended the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Huggins to put the Barnstormers up 30-10 with 3:50 to go in the third quarter. The Crush went three-and-out again, and Davlin Coggins returned the punt 56 yards to the Colorado 5-yard line, setting up a 5-yard touchdown pass from Blansett to Starnes to make it 37-10 with 2:57 left in the third.
Colorado would go 54 yards on 9 plays, ending with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Howton Thom to Tyler Howell making it 37-17 with 14:10 remaining in the game. After a failed onside kick, Iowa finished an 8-play, 37-yard drive with a 24-yard field goal by Rhoads with 10:56 to go to make it 40-17. The Crush took three plays to travel 69 yards, ending with a 49-yard touchdown pass from Thom to Gitch Wild to cut the gap to 40-24 with 9:29 remaining. Another failed onside kick led to an 8-play, 32-yard drive for Iowa. Rhoads added a 32-yard field goal to make it 43-24 with 4:45 left in the game. Thom was intercepted by Shelton St. Johns, who ran it back 39 yards to the Crush 9-yard line. Following a three-play, eight-yard drive, Rhoads booted an 18-yard field goal to go up 46-24 with 1:55 left. The Crush would score once more, as a 5-play, 61-yard drive ended with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Thom to Howell with 49 seconds to go to finish up the scoring.
Iowa (6-6) gained 453 yards of total offense. The Barnstormers ran for 164 yards on 34 carries. Powell Ramos led the team with 77 yards on 14 carries. Blansett went 22-of-33 passing for 305 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT. He was sacked twice, losing 16 yards. O'Connell was Iowa's leading receiver with 8 catches for 158 yards and a TD. The Barnstormers will host the Dallas Desperados next week, hoping to avenge a 36-16 defeat in Week 1.
Colorado (5-7) gained 382 yards of total offense. The Crush were held to 39 yards rushing on 15 carries. Regis Duck led the team with 18 yards on 6 carries. Thom was 27-of-41 passing for 363 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT. He was sacked twice, losing 20 yards. Wild was Colorado's leading receiver with 8 catches for 140 yards and a TD. Colorado will host the Los Angeles Avengers next week, a team they lost to 27-19 in Week 1.
No comments:
Post a Comment