It was a painful lesson, but Colorado Crush coach Mike Dailey, his coaching staff and players learned something from their 89-41 loss to the San Jose SaberCats five weeks ago.
They learned 6-foot-4 receiver Andy McCullough had some success against 5-10 defensive specialist Clevan Thomas.
The Crush didn’t waste the knowledge Sunday when playing the SaberCats again, this time in the AFL playoffs. Early in the rematch, the Crush offense featured McCullough instead of offensive specialist Damian Harrell, and McCullough came through with seven catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
McCullough’s first catch was a 37-yard touchdown from quarterback John Dutton for a 14-0 lead with 10:05 left in the first quarter. The Crush won 56-48.
“I thought Andy McCullough was spectacular,” Dailey said.
According to Dutton, McCullough was told all week he would be the team’s go-to guy.
“He did well against Clevan in the first game, but I just didn’t get him the ball,” Dutton said. “This time, I got him the ball and he made great plays. I think they knew what we were going to do. We tried to get some pressure off of Damian and the rest of our receivers.”
Harrell caught five passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns.
McCullough credited the Crush coaches for adjusting to the situation.
“I started today instead of coming off the bench,” McCullough said. “We knew they were going to press us. I just ran past them and J.D. put the ball right in my hands.”
McCullough’s only mistake was a fumble going into the end zone on a play that could have put the Crush ahead by 14 points again in the third quarter.
“I thought I was in the end zone, but I have to hold onto the ball in that situation,” McCullough said. “Before when adversity hit us, we hit the wall. This time, we were able to overturn it.”
