GRAND RAPIDS-The Grand Rapids Rampage held off a fourth quarter surge by the Albany Firebirds to emerge with a 24-16 victory in a Week 3 AFL game. The victory is Grand Rapids' sixth in a row, and thirteenth in their last fifteen games dating back to last season.
After the Firebirds went three-and-out, the Rampage took three plays to move 72 yards. Curtis Wayne finished it off with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Toby Harrell to take a 7-0 lead with 11:20 remaining in the first quarter. After another Albany punt, the Firebirds caught a break when Bobo Cushing fumbled and Austin Carle recovered at the Grand Rapids 26-yard line. After four plays netted six yards, Wally Dancer kicked a 37-yard field goal to make it 7-3 with 6:10 remaining in the first. The Rampage would punt on their next drive, then towards the end of the first, Derwin Vardemen picked off a Sinbad Gargaro pass and streaked 47 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-3 with 1:07 left in the first quarter.
After the interception, Albany embarked on a long drive from their own 25 that took over seven minutes, only for Dancer to miss a 33-yard field goal attempt. Grand Rapids would then drive 77 yards on 14 plays, ending with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Wayne to Clift Gregory to extend the lead to 21-3 with 2:49 left in the second quarter. The Firebirds would then respond with a 6-play, 35-yard drive, ending with a 50-yard field goal by Dancer with 50 seconds left in the half to make it 21-6.
Grand Rapids opened the second half with a 12-play, 63-yard drive that George Tibbs finished off with a 24-yard field goal to make it 24-6 with 8:45 remaining in the third quarter. The teams traded punts on their next respective possessions.
Albany would start their comeback attempt with a 13-play, 60-yard drive. Dancer ended the drive with a 42-yard field goal to make it 24-9 with 12:34 remaining in the fourth quarter. Grand Rapids went into clock-killing mode and drove from their own 19 to the Firebirds' 16-yard line in a span of seven minutes. But Cushing would fumble again, and Forrest Kilman would recover for Albany. From there, the Firebirds moved 84 yards on 9 plays. Gargaro threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Long to cut the lead to 24-16 with 1:51 remaining in the fourth. The Firebirds attempted an onside kick, Harrell got his hands on it for the Rampage, but was nailed and fumbled. Hoss Jennings fell on the ball for Albany at his own 41-yard line. Gargaro attempted to throw for the potential tying score, but Orville Brill came up with the interception at the Grand Rapids 12-yard line with 41 seconds to go, and the Rampage secured first place in the Eastern Division by themselves.
Grand Rapids (3-0) gained 342 yards of total offense. The Rampage ran for 179 yards on 38 carries. Cushing led the team with 71 yards on 11 carries. Wayne was 12-of-18 passing for 163 yards and 2 TD. He was not sacked in the game. Wayne hit eight different receivers with Cushing (26 yards), Herbert Shipley (27 yards), Lester Gartman (29 yards) and Bud Tyrer (17 yards) each catching 2 passes. The Rampage will host the Arizona Rattlers next week.
Albany (2-1) gained 327 yards of total offense. The Firebirds gained only 28 yards rushing on 19 carries. Garland Davidson led with 15 yards on 4 carries. Gargaro was 28-of-44 passing for 308 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT. He was sacked once for a 9-yard loss. Teddy Harley was the leading receiver with 7 catches for 55 yards. The Firebirds host the Los Angeles Avengers next week.
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