DENVER-Valentine Millstone scored three touchdowns, including two short runs in the fourth quarter, to help the Colorado Crush defeat the Arizona Rattlers 28-20 in a Week 4 AFL game.
The first quarter was a defensive stalemate with neither team gaining much momentum. Both teams traded punts three times in the early going. The Crush had good field position late in the quarter, but Howton Thom had a pass intercepted by Arizona's Chris Harrell at the Rattlers' 14-yard line to thwart the scoring threat. The Rattlers went three-and-out, and Colorado had another scoring opportunity early in the second quarter, but Earl Ginger's 48-yard field goal attempt sailed wide.
Following the missed field goal, Arizona started to move the ball, going 30 yards on 8 plays. Pancho Barrow would kick a 49-yard field goal with 11:33 remaining in the half to give the Rattlers a 3-0 lead. A lead that lasted all of 20 seconds, as Colorado's JC Holman returned the ensuing kickoff 78 yards to the Rattlers' 10-yard line. On the next play, Thom hit Millstone for a 10-yard touchdown pass to put the Crush up 7-3 with 11:13 to go in the second. The teams would trade punts, and then the Rattlers worked their way down the field with a 13-play, 86-yard drive that ended with Don Fawcett hitting Boris Garrison for a 17-yard touchdown pass with 9 seconds left in the half to give Arizona a 10-7 lead going into the locker room at halftime.
Arizona received the second half kickoff, and moved the ball 57 yards on 9 plays. Barrow kicked a 27-yard field goal to extend the Rattler lead to 13-7 with 10:05 remaining in the third quarter. Colorado went three-and-out on their first possession of the second half, and the Rattlers proceeded to move 65 yards on 12 plays, twice aided by fourth down penalties on the Crush for running into and roughing the kicker. Speedy Crowley ended the drive with a 20-yard reception for a touchdown from Fawcett with 3:20 left in the third to put Arizona up 20-7. But the Colorado special teams rose up again, as Holman took the ensuing kickoff and rambled 88 yards for a touchdown with 3:04 to go in the third, making it 20-14.
Arizona went three-and-out on their next drive, and the Crush started to move down the field from their own 43. Twice on the drive, Colorado faced fourth down. The first time, on 4th-and-7 from the Arizona 19, Thom hit Tyler Howell for 8 yards and a first down at the 11. The second time, on fourth-and-5 from the 6, the Crush weren't so lucky, as Regis Duck was held to a 2-yard gain on a quick in route. The Rattlers took over at the 4 with 12:07 left in the game. Arizona went three-and-out and punted to Colorado, who took over at the Rattlers' 45 with 10:39 remaining. The Crush faced a fourth-and-ten at the Arizona 16 with 7:47 to go, and Thom completed a pass to Millstone gaining 15 yards to the Rattlers' 1 for the first down. On the next play, Millstone swept in from the right to score the touchdown with 7:01 remaining to give the Crush a 21-20 lead. Fawcett would have a pass intercepted by Stan Dinn, who returned it 22 yards to the Rattlers' 32 with 5:23 left in the game. Six plays later, Millstone would finish the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to make it 28-20 with 2:09 left in the game. Arizona tried to pass their way down from their own 32 to score a touchdown, but Deron Putnam intercepted a Fawcett pass with 23 seconds left to put a halt to the Rattlers' comeback hopes.
Colorado (2-2) gained 277 yards of total offense. The Crush gained 104 yards rushing on 23 carries. Millstone led the Colorado rushing attack with 40 yards on 9 carries with 2 TD. He also caught 3 passes for 43 yards and a TD. Thom went 18-for-33 passing for 177 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. He was sacked once, losing four yards. Turk Dill led Colorado receivers with 5 catches for 57 yards. The Crush visit the San Jose Sabercats next week.
Arizona (0-4) gained 310 yards of total offense. The Rattlers did not have to abandon the running game this time, gaining 106 yards on 29 carries. Melvin Jones led the Rattlers with 42 yards on 10 carries. He also led Arizona with 7 receptions for 68 yards. Fawcett went 23-for-42 passing for 229 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT. He was sacked twice, losing 25 yards. Crowley caught 5 passes for 71 yards and a TD. The Rattlers host the Los Angeles Avengers next week.
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