In a game in which turning points flew around as if on wings Sunday afternoon, the Colorado Crush almost welcomed the hectic postgame celebration.
With the party on a stop-and-go pattern because of bizarre circumstances at the end of the regulation and through an overtime period that ended on a sudden-death touchdown catch by Andy McCullough, Crush players soaked in the memories of a 49-43 overtime victory over the Chicago Rush.
Next up is the Georgia Force in ArenaBowl XIX on Sunday in Las Vegas.
Lineman Kyle Moore-Brown sat on a bench with his left ankle in a bucket of ice.
“There’s a first time for everything, but I’ve never had one like that,” said Moore-Brown, an 11-year AFL veteran. “We dodged some bullets at the end.”
“I was breathing in the confetti it was so thick,” fullback-linebacker Rich Young said of a mishap at the end of regulation when a premature celebration began after it appeared Rashad Floyd’s interception in the end zone had ended the game.
“It added to the fun of it,” Young said.
The victory could have been easier for the Crush. It seemed well on the way to snapping Chicago’s dominance in the past three regular seasons. The Rush had beaten Colorado four of five times, including twice this season.
The Crush opened a 20-0 lead on quarterback John Dutton’s bootleg run on the first play of the second quarter. After an interception by defensive back Willis Marshall, the Crush was threatening to take a 27-0 lead, but Dutton fumbled at the Chicago 19-yard line. The Rush converted the turnover to its first points.
“The 20-0 score was pretty devastating,” Rush coach Mike Hohensee said. “No doubt about that, that play started our comeback. I’ve never seen a more bizarre game.”
The Crush also survived a costly fourth-down penalty on Young later in the second quarter on an incomplete pass by Chicago quarterback Raymond Philyaw. Instead of getting the ball, the Crush surrendered another touchdown, and the Rush cut the deficit to 26-13.
But maybe the best chance to halt Chicago’s momentum came in the third quarter, but the Crush failed to score. It was the third time this season the Crush was blanked in a quarter, all in the third.
On fourth-and-1 at the Rush 21, Dutton went to Damian Harrell in the end zone instead of going the shorter distance for a possible first down. The pass was incomplete, and the Rush tied tie the game at 33.
“We were just taking a gamble, trying to win,” Crush coach Mike Dailey said. “We thought of trying something they might not have been expecting.”
Now, it’s the ArenaBowl and the Force, which is the top seeded team out of the National Conference.
The Force advanced Saturday by beating Orlando 60-58.
“It isn’t over yet. When we get to Las Vegas it’s time to get that ring,” Marshall said.
