Avengers Defeat Rampage, 48-33
Chris Jackson wore a brace Sunday to protect his injured left knee, but the Avengers’ offensive specialist disregarded his physical well-being in the final minutes of a 48-33 victory over the Grand Rapids Rampage.
Running at full speed, Jackson caught a pass from quarterback Tony Graziani in the back corner of the end zone and flipped over the padded wall onto the concrete floor. An official peered over the barrier to make sure Jackson had possession, then signaled touchdown.
The play provided the Avengers with their final margin in a sloppy victory in front of 7,326 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich.
“I didn’t see the wall and I wasn’t concerned about it,” Jackson said in a phone interview after the game. “I just wanted to catch the ball.
“I’m not in any pain right now, but I’m sure I’ll be feeling everything on Monday morning.”
Jackson, playing for the first time since injuring his knee on Feb. 22 against San Jose, caught three touchdown passes and rushed for a touchdown as the Avengers ended a two-game losing streak and improved their record to 3-2.
Despite four turnovers by 0-6 Grand Rapids, the Avengers were stopped three times and scored their fewest points of the season.
“The offense responded when it needed to,” said Avenger Coach Ed Hodgkiss, whose team had a bye last week.
Graziani, under pressure throughout the game, was sacked a season-high four times. He still completed 18 of 25 passes for 266 yards and six touchdowns without an interception.
Graziani has 202 touchdown passes, including 32 this season. He has not had a pass intercepted in 158 attempts this season.
Graziani’s most important pass was thrown on third and five at the Grand Rapids 17-yard line late in the fourth quarter. With the Avengers leading, 41-33, Graziani looked for Jackson, who was running a crossing pattern from the right side to the left corner of the end zone.
“They had just given me a new ball and when I threw it, it kind of slipped out of my hand,” Graziani said. “I thought it was going into the stands, but he made a great catch, one of the best I’ve seen in the Arena league.”
Kevin Ingram caught six passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns. He also intercepted a pass. Damen Wheeler, playing for the first time since sustaining a hamstring injury in the season opener against Arizona, intercepted a pass.
Receiver Shawn Foreman caught three of Anthony Buich’s four touchdown passes, including one with 6:01 remaining that cut the Avengers’ 15-point lead to eight, 41-33.
In other games:
New York 40, Tampa Bay 35 -- Lincoln Dupree scored four touchdowns as the Dragons (3-3) beat the Storm (2-4) before 13,904 in Tampa Bay, Fla. Dupree had two touchdown receptions, a kickoff return of 57 yards for a score and a 38-yard score on a field goal return.
Indiana 64, Austin 41 -- The Firebirds got their first victory of the season, beating the Wranglers (3-2) before 10,135 in Austin, Texas. The Firebirds (1-5) took advantage of four Austin turnovers and returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in their highest-scoring output of the season.
Las Vegas 65, Arizona 64 -- Clint Dolezel threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Maurice Bryant in overtime, and Brian Gowins added the extra point to give the Gladiators (3-3) the victory over the Rattlers (3-3) in Las Vegas. Dolezel passed for eight touchdowns and ran for another.
San Jose 55, Colorado 35 -- Mark Grieb threw for 292 yards and six touchdowns as the SaberCats (4-1) beat the Crush (4-2) in front of 12,063 in San Jose. James Roe caught three touchdown passes for the SaberCats.
Associated Press contributed to this story.
