Crushing Defeat for the Avengers
A week after an expansion team let the Avengers score virtually at will, the Colorado Crush proved far less generous on Saturday night at Staples Center.
The Avengers failed twice in the second half to score on first-and-goal situations from inside Colorado’s three-yard line.
When the Avengers did reach the end zone, the Crush twice foiled two-point conversion attempts.
The result was a 57-55 Colorado victory before 11,816 that dropped the Avengers to 5-4 and complicated their pursuit of a playoff spot.
“Every game is a must-win now,” said Avenger quarterback Tony Graziani, who completed 26 of 34 passes for 285 yards and five touchdowns.
Last week, the Avengers exploited Austin’s man-to-man coverage for a franchise-record 81 points.
Colorado employed a more traditional Arena Football League scheme and improved to 7-3.
“When defenses play man-to-man, it’s going to look easy,” Graziani said. “I thought tonight was just as easy. We just couldn’t score inside the one.”
Despite their uneven effort, the Avengers almost overcame a 37-28 halftime deficit.
Graziani’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Chris Jackson got the Avengers within 44-42. But Colorado’s Ahmad Hawkins intercepted Graziani’s two-point conversion attempt that was intended for Jackson with 6:58 remaining.
The Crush answered with a 33-yard touchdown pass from John Dutton to Damian Harrell. Colorado led, 50-42, after Anthony Brenner missed the extra point.
The Avengers came back and scored on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Graziani to Kevin Ingram to make the score 50-48.
However, Graziani’s two-point conversion pass intended for Ingram fell incomplete with 1:19 remaining.
Colorado stretched the lead to 57-48 on a four-yard touchdown pass from Dutton to Kevin McKenzie with 43 seconds left.
The Avengers responded with a two-yard scoring reception by Jackson to cut it to 57-55 with 16 seconds left, but the Crush ran out the clock.
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The Dallas Desperados (6-3) snapped the San Jose SaberCats’ four-game winning streak with a 58-54 victory in front of 10,417 at Dallas. San Jose is 7-2.
The Grand Rapids Rampage earned its first victory, beating the Detroit Fury, 49-45, as 10,106 attended in Auburn Hills, Mich. Chris Avery’s five-yard scoring run with 23 seconds remaining was the game-winner. The Rampage is 1-8 and the Fury fell to 4-5.
Ryan Vena threw for 265 yards and five touchdowns in the Columbus Destroyers’ 65-55 home victory over the New York Dragons (5-4) in front of 17,171. Aaron Garcia threw for 330 yards and eight touchdowns for New York. The Destroyers are 3-6.
The Arizona Rattlers (5-5) defeated the Las Vegas Gladiators, 80-63, at Phoenix with 12,641 attending. The Gladiators fell to 3-7.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
