GRAND RAPIDS-The Arizona Rattlers came into their game against the Grand Rapids Rampage as 17-point underdogs. But they were not deterred as they upset Grand Rapids 30-22 in a Week 4 AFL game.
The game did not start well for the Rattlers, as Melvin Jones fumbled on the first play of the game, and Merrill Fernandez took it back 18 yards to the Arizona 22-yard line. Four plays later, Herbert Shipley scored on a 3-yard touchdown run. George Tibbs missed the extra point, and the Rampage were ahead 6-0 with 13:19 to go in the first quarter. After trading punts, Arizona got rolling with a 3-play, 59-yard drive. Kadeem Raburn would throw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Griffin Buck to take a 7-6 lead with 8:19 left in the first. Grand Rapids would punt again, downing the ball at the Rattlers' 6-yard line. On the next play, Jo Jo Spotts sacked Raburn in the end zone for a safety to give the Rampage an 8-7 lead with 2:19 remaining in the first quarter. Late in the first, Lloyd Barisch intercepted a Curtis Wayne pass and returned it 18 yards to the Grand Rapids 20-yard line. But Orville Brill would return the favor, picking off Raburn at the 10.
After a Rampage punt, Arizona would drive 55 yards on 10 plays. Stomp Navarro finished it off with a 10-yard touchdown run to give the Rattlers a 14-8 lead with 8:29 to go in the second quarter. Following another Grand Rapids punt, Raburn would get picked off by Flip Hartman at the Arizona 44-yard line. Unfortunately, Tibbs would miss a 34-yard field goal. The Rattlers would strike with a 7-play, 59-yard drive. Burt Hamrick finished it off with a 36-yard field goal on the final play of the half to make it 17-8 as the teams went into the locker room for halftime.
Arizona started the second half with a 5-play, 77-yard drive, finishing it off with a Raburn-to-Buck connection for an 8-yard touchdown pass to extend their lead to 24-8 with 11:52 left in the third quarter. The Rampage would respond, driving 69 yards on 6 plays. Wayne put the exclamation point on the drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Thomas Kinzer. The 2-Point Conversion was good, and the score was 24-16 with 8:26 remaining in the third. The Rattlers would answer back with an 8-play, 42-yard drive. Hamrick ended the drive with a 32-yard field goal to make it 27-16 with 5:13 remaining in the third quarter. The teams traded punts, then Clift Gregory fumbled a catch for Grand Rapids, and Lorne Utnage recovered for Arizona at their own 39-yard line.
Hamrick would have a 52-yard field goal attempt partially blocked at the start of the fourth quarter, and the Rampage took advantage with an 8-play, 58-yard drive. Wayne completed the drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Lester Gartman. The 2-Point Conversion failed, and Grand Rapids trailed 27-22 with 11:50 to go in the fourth quarter. The teams would trade punts, then the Rattlers took three plays to go 21 yards, and Hamrick would kick a 47-yard field goal to make it 30-22 with 4:27 remaining in the fourth. The teams would trade punts one more time, then Grand Rapids got as close as the Rattlers' 44-yard line with 3 seconds left. But Wayne's long pass to the end zone fell incomplete.
Arizona (1-3) gained 417 yards of total offense. The Rattlers ran for 130 yards on 31 carries. Jones led the team with 59 yards on 11 carries. He also led with 4 receptions for 52 yards. Raburn was 20-of-30 passing for 301 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT. He was sacked twice, losing 14 yards. The Rattlers visit the San Jose Sabercats next week.
Grand Rapids (3-1) gained 291 yards of total offense. The Rampage were held to 25 yards rushing on 19 carries. Shipley led the team with 20 yards on 5 carries and a TD. Wayne was 25-of-43 passing for 281 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT. He was sacked three times, losing 15 yards. Bud Tyrer led the receivers with 5 catches for 42 yards. The Rampage will visit the Albany Firebirds next week.
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