Grand Rapids, Mich. – If the Colorado Crush fails to win a division title this season, it won’t be hard to pinpoint the moment it slipped through the team’s hands.
With a chance Saturday night to tie for the best record in the Arena Football League, the Crush stumbled to a 58-52 loss to the Grand Rapids Rampage at Van Andel Arena.
The third straight loss for Colorado (8-5) left the first-place Crush only a half-game ahead of the Chicago Rush in the Central Division. Chicago plays today at home against Las Vegas.
“In the pros, you’re measured by wins and losses and there is no gray area,” Crush coach Mike Dailey said. “You can’t say you had an OK day. This hurt us.”
The Rampage’s win was only the team’s third in 35 games dating to the second half of the 2003 season. The Rampage is just 2-11 this season.
Trailing 44-31 in the third quarter Saturday, the Crush climbed to within 58-52 on John Dutton’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Damian Harrell with five minutes left in the game. But the Rampage’s Dennison Robinson intercepted a pass in the final minute to extend the Crush’s losing streak.
“We’ve prepared the same every week,” said Harrell, who caught 11 passes for 120 yards and three touchdowns. “The coaches are putting us in position to win and make the plays. We’re just not executing. We haven’t lost any confidence. We’re still in a good position. We just need to wake up.”
Colorado does not own the tiebreaker with second-place Chicago (7-5), which beat the Crush twice this season.
Colorado’s schedule doesn’t get any easier with two of its last three regular-season games on the road, including stops at New Orleans next Sunday and New York on May 21. The Crush’s final three opponents are a combined 21-17-1.
The Crush trailed 21-10 after one quarter Saturday when Rampage quarterback Michael Bishop ran 17 yards for a touchdown on the last play of the quarter. Bishop, a former Kansas State star, was 25-for-31 passing for 310 yards and five touchdowns and no interceptions.
Grand Rapids led 34-17 with 47 seconds left in the first half, but Dutton’s 10-yard scoring pass to Andy McCullough cut the lead to 34-24 eight seconds before halftime. But Grand Rapids squeezed in a 47-yard field goal by Peter Martinez to take a 37-24 lead at the half.
Harrell’s 17-yard touchdown pass from Dutton closed the Crush’s gap to 51-45 with 14:56 left in the game.
Dutton finished 23-of-38 for 240 yards and six touchdowns.
Ahmad Hawkins, who led the Crush with 8 1/2 tackles, thought the team was ready to play.
“We have no excuses. We came in knowing we had to win, and they beat us,” he said. “We’re just not stopping people.”
