Grand Rapids Rampage (6-10) @ Arizona Rattlers (8-8)
The History
By Ray Bentley -- The Wild Card playoff round will wrap up on Monday night as the American Conference battle between Grand Rapids and Arizona goes down in the desert. The high-scoring Rampage visit the Rattlers on ESPN2’s Russell Athletic Arena Football Wild Card Weekend. The game is set to kick at 9:30 p.m. EST and will also be shown in HD.
This will be the eighth overall meeting between these franchises with Arizona holding a 5-2 edge in the series. These teams met in Arizona in Week 13 and the Rattlers won a thriller, 52-48. Grand Rapids had the ball and a chance to score at the end to pull out the win but was stopped by the stingy Arizona defense.
The Stakes
You can say all you want about the playoffs but the harsh reality is one team goes on, one team goes home. Such are the stakes in the second season. Both head coaches, Steve Thonn of Grand Rapids and Kevin Guy of Arizona are former players in the AFL and in their first year with their respective teams. They will have their teams ready to play.
Grand Rapids is the sixth seed so if they win they will go to the Windy City to play the top seeded Chicago Rush for the third time this year. (Chicago swept the Rampage in the regular season.) That game will be held Sunday, July 6th at 3 p.m. EST at All-State Arena.
Arizona is the third seed so if they pull off the victory they will go to beautiful San Jose to duke it out with the second seeded SaberCats. That game will be played on Saturday, July 5th with the kickoff slated for 3 p.m. EST.
The Players
Arizona has had three different QBs post wins for them this year. Lang Campbell began the season as the starter but was injured and lost for the season after making a total of seven starts. Jeff Smoker and Matt Sauk have also started under center for the Rattlers. Sauk has been the starter the past four games while Smoker has started five games. The rumor mill has Smoker going back into the lineup for the playoffs.
Grand Rapids also switched QBs early in the year and has settled on 2nd-year man James MacPherson. MacPherson played flawlessly in his first two starts as the Rampage offense rang up 92 and 84 points, respectively. Then reality set in. Injuries took their toll and MacPherson ran hot and cold until the past three weeks where he has heated up again.
MacPherson is adept at making good decisions and also has excellent running ability. When he does throw he has some excellent receivers to get the ball to. Kenny Higgins (112-1552-34 TDs), a Second-Team All Arena selection is extremely explosive running after the catch. Cole Magner (69-739-12 TDs) has averaged 10 catches per game over the final six games of the season. He may have the best hands in the AFL as he grabs anything thrown in his direction. The Rampage lost Chris Johnson (66-908-22 TDs) in their season finale due to a broken leg and will rely on Jermaine Lewis (40-422-9 TDs) and Jason Shelly (11-91-2 TDs) to fill Johnson’s spot.
Arizona has the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, Siaha Burley (114-1344-33 TDs) as their primary target. Burley amassed his impressive numbers in just 13 games as a tight hamstring kept him out of the lineup early in the year. Trandon Harvey (110-1446-28 TDs) provides yet another dangerous threat who can score from anywhere on the field. Todd Devoe (52-585-10 TDs) and Jerrian James (34-310-4 TDs) are also in the mix. Devoe has started the past six games and had the game winning TD grab against Dallas on the game’s final play. This is a position of strength for the Rattlers.
The Grand Rapids defense is led by middle safety Ahmad Hawkins who had six interceptions, 18 passes defensed and 97.5 tackles this season. Hawkins led the team in each of those categories and makes the calls in the secondary. Roc Haith and Chris Martin round out a defensive backfield which is vastly improved over last year for GR. The pass rush comes from All-Rookie performer DE Michael McFadden (four sacks in nine games), Donovan Arp at the nose and George Gause at the other end. Leif Murphy (three sacks in seven games) also will get some snaps. Zack Ville is the Mack and Shelley and Lewis are very solid at the Jack.
The Rattlers defense is anchored up front by All-Ironman performer Wendall Gaines. Gaines led Arizona with 7.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. He also caught four passes, all for TDs, on the offensive side of the ball. Joining Gaines up front are energetic rookies Anttaj Hawthorne and Darrell Shropshire. Another rookie, Kurt Kahui had three interceptions and is always around the ball from his Mack linebacker spot. Veteran Terrance Joseph brings experience and physical tackling to the Jack position.
The Arizona secondary is a bit undersized but they will fight for every ball in the air. Isaiah Trufant (5-8, 170) plays the middle and led the Rattlers in tackles (76); interceptions (4), passes defensed (17), fumble recoveries (3) and forced fumbles (3). Aric Williams (5-11, 175) plays one corner and Chris McKenzie (5-8, 182) mans the other.
Special Teams have been a bright spot for the Rampage as Chris Martin tied an AFL record with six kickoff returns for TDs in the regular season. Brian Gowins has been outstanding placing second in the AFL in kicking scoring with 149 points. Gowins hit on 119 of 126 extra points and 10 of 17 field goals including three for three last week. Arizona has also gotten steady work from their kicker Eric Houle. Houle hit 79 of 89 extra points and 7 of 16 field goals.
The Game
When these two met in Week 13 in Arizona the game came down to the very end. This one will likely be no different. In the first encounter Arizona controlled the clock for 40:35 and rushed for a team record five TDs. Grand Rapids had a chance to win it at the end but turned the ball over on downs as DB Chris McKenzie broke up passes on three straight plays.
The word is the Rattlers will start Jeff Smoker at QB despite the fact that Matt Sauk has started the last four games and led the Rattlers to a 2-2 record over that span, losing the past two. Smoker is 3-2 as a starter including a win in his last start over Grand Rapids in Week 13, 52-48. It will be critical for him to protect the football. He must take what is there and not try to force the ball. Grand Rapids needs to get some pressure on Smoker or he will get hot.
Grand Rapids has been hard to figure out on offense. One week they throw 80 or 90 points on the board and then the next week they only manage into the 30’s. However, they seem to have put some consistency together during their three-game winning streak scoring 84, 63, 86 points, respectively. They are getting better pass protection and if MacPherson is allowed to sit back and read the coverage he will pick you apart.
It will be interesting to see if Arizona head coach Kevin Guy uses the same ball control strategy he used in victory in the first meeting. It might not be a bad idea because I don’t think Arizona wants to get into a track meet with the Rampage. Arizona has given up 62 points in each of its last two games. They don’t want GR to hang another 80 plus on the board.
Siaha Burley going against Ahmad Hawkins will be a key match-up. Burley runs excellent routes but more importantly understands the angles to get open. He is a smart football player who plays tough. Hawkins will pick and choose his spots to try to jump a route and make a big play. It wouldn’t surprise me if he stole one.
Arizona must do a good job kicking the football and covering kicks. Once Chris Martin gets going he keeps going. He averages over 20 yards per return for the Rampage and had three TD returns in a game against Los Angeles this year. Brian Gowins is hot right now giving the Rampage another weapon. The kicking game is magnified in the postseason. More teams attempt onside kicks and every point is precious.
These teams are pretty evenly matched as evidenced by their 4-point contest a month or so ago. Both Coach Guy and Coach Thonn have done a great job turning around their teams as first year coaches. Guy made good on a playoff guarantee to their ticket holders from Managing Partner, Brett Bouchy, turning around a team that went 4-12 last year into an 8-8 third seed. Coach Thonn raised the Rampage victory total from four to six and has Grand Rapids in the playoffs for the first time since 2003. This game may come down to which of these men and his staff has the better day on the sidelines
