AUBURN HILLS, MI-Norm Rancher caught three touchdown passes to lift the Michigan Bombers over the Detroit Neon in Week 3 of the CIFL season 37-27.
The Bombers began by driving into scoring position, but Orey Calhoun's 54-yard field goal attempt was partially blocked and fell short. After that, the Neon went 56 yards on 8 plays. Cooney Lehigh finished it off with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Dete Troxel to give Detroit a 7-0 lead with 6:08 left in the first quarter. After Michigan punted, Lehigh was intercepted by Covie Warmack at the Bombers 49-yard line. Three plays later, Gitch Tims fired a 31-yard touchdown pass to Rancher to tie the game at 7 with 1:33 remaining in the first.
The second quarter was a high-scoring back-and-forth affair. The Neon finished a 6-play, 46-yard drive with a 33-yard field goal by DJ Pilgrim to take a 10-7 lead with 13:32 to go in the second. After Michigan went three-and-out, Detroit moved 59 yards on 7 plays, and Lehigh and Troxel connected for their second touchdown, a 10-yard pass to go up 17-7 with 9:00 left in the half. The Bombers would strike back with a 4-play, 71-yard drive, and Tims threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Rancher for their second touchdown connection to cut the gap to 17-14 with 7:07 left in the second quarter. A 58-yard kickoff return by Enrique Covey set the Neon up for a 6-play, 40-yard drive. Lehigh ended the march with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Lynn Lard to make it 24-14 with 4:45 to go in the half. Michigan would march 73 yards on 7 plays, and Jerreld Caudill scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 24-21 with 3:36 to go in the second. Detroit would then move the ball 60 yards on 8 plays, and Pilgrim kicked a 33-yard field goal with 47 seconds remaining to give the Neon a 27-21 lead at the half.
The Bomber defense settled down in the second half. They forced a Neon punt to open the third quarter, and then Michigan drove 81 yards on 11 plays. Tims completed the drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Whitey Barnwell to take a 28-27 lead with 6:46 remaining in the third quarter. The Neon would punt again, but Tims would fumble on a scramble and Felipe Fann recovered for Detroit at the Bombers 49-yard line. However, the Neon would be forced to punt.
After trading punts, Detroit drove into scoring position, but Pilgrim would miss a 42-yard field goal attempt early in the fourth. Following the miss, the Bombers drove 68 yards on 10 plays. Rancher caught his third touchdown pass from Tims, this one from 5 yards out. The extra point was no good, and Michigan led 34-27 with 9:03 left in the fourth quarter. The teams traded punts, and then Marco Ancell picked Lehigh off at the Detroit 42-yard line. After gaining 7 yards on 5 plays, Calhoun scored on a 52-yard field goal with 1:04 to go to make it 37-27.
Michigan (2-1) gained 482 yards of total offense. The Bombers gained 191 yards rushing on 38 carries. Barnwell led the team with 75 yards on 12 carries. Tims went 21-of-30 passing for 295 yards with 4 TD and was sacked once for a 4-yard loss. Dalls Kinburn led the team with 5 catches for 73 yards. Rancher caught 4 passes for 73 yards and 3 TD. The Bombers will host the Portland Pride next week.
Detroit (2-1) gained 345 yards of total offense. The Neon ran for 137 yards on 21 carries. Lehigh led the team with 41 yards on 4 carries. He was 25-of-40 passing for 215 yards, 3 TD and 3 INT. He was sacked once for a 7-yard loss. Troxel led the receivers with 9 catches for 62 yards and 2 TD. The Neon will have their bye week next week before traveling to Portland in Week 5 to meet the Pride.
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