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Game 4: February 25, 2001
Las Vegas Outlaws at San Francisco Demons |
>> Game
Stats | Game
Boxscore
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SUMMARY
 The
Outlaws finally kick-started their sputtering offense, under the
guidance of QB Mark Grieb (#14, 11-23 for 105 yards, 0 INT, 1 TD).
Jamel Williams (#28, aka "Gladiator") extended his opening
scramble recovery streak to 4 in the regular season, and the Outlaws
started with offense. The true story for the Outlaws, however,
was their stifling defense; they forced 5 San Francisco turnovers
(three fumbles and two interceptions), held the previously #1 offense
in the league to only 243 total offensive yards, forced the Demons
to go 6-13 on third-down conversions, and stopped a fourth-down
conversion attempt in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
The first quarter was largely uneventful for the Outlaws offense,
as Grieb was chased by San Francisco Demons defenders and forced
to throw the ball away. The Outlaws struggled again with their
blocking, especially run-blocking. David Diaz-Infante even
got called for a rare holding penalty. The defenses prevailed
in the first quarter, and it ended scoreless.
The Demons opened the second quarter with a long drive that culminated
in a touchdown; QB Mike Pawlawski threw a 13-yard pass to Brandin
Young for the score, and Young managed to turn the corner into the
end zone before LB Kurt Gouviea (#54) could catch him. The
PAT failed, and the score was 6-0. The Outlaws answered with
a DE Kelvin Kinney (#92, aka "Tom Kinney-G") fumble recovery,
and the ensuing offensive drive was capped off with a 2-yard TD
run by yes, you guessed it, RB Rod "He Hate Me" Smart
(#30). Smart would go on to have a successful day, with 18
rushes for 90 total yards, and the TD! The PAT failed, however,
so the score was tied at 6-6. The Demons responded with a
36-yard Mike Panasuk field goal, and the score at the half was 9-6
in favor of the Demons.
The second half was all Outlaws. Midway through the third
quarter, S Brandon Sanders (#27, aka "B-Mack") picked
off a Mike Pawlawski pass and returned into Demons territory.
QB Mark Grieb delivered a 41-yard TD pass to WR Mike Furrey (#82)
to take the lead, 12-9. Rod Smart ("He Hate Me")
charged into the end zone for a successful PAT, and the score was
now 13-9. In the fourth quarter, Outlaws kicker Paul McCallum
(#17) missed a 46-yard field goal attempt by just a hair's breadth,
but made good with a 43-yard field goal near the end of the game
to cap the game at 16-9 for the Outlaws.
The Outlaws defense terrorized Mike Pawlawski all afternoon, forcing
and recovering 3 fumbles from him. DB Hurley Tarver (#29)
virtually sealed the Demons' fate late in the fourth quarter when
he intercepted an errant QB Pat Barnes pass; Barnes relieved Pawlawski
but fared no better against the Outlaws league-leading defense.
Kelvin Kinney and LB Joseph Tuipala (#48) each had two sacks, while
Antonio Edwards and Adriano Belli each had a sack; Kelvin Kinney,
DT Angel Rubio (#68), and DE Carl Simpson (#72) each had fumble
recoveries that were forced from Pawlawski's grasp. While
the Demons did manage to move the ball on the Outlaws throughout
the game, and in the first half score the very first TD allowed
all season by the Outlaws defense, the Demons were unable to muster
anything else afterwards. The final Demons drive, led by Pat
Barnes (#18), was stopped by the Outlaws on a failed fourth-down
conversion attempt.
The Demons offense was further hampered by attempts to lead the
league in penalties; the Demons were penalized a total of 11 times
for 94 total yards. However, the Outlaws were also plagued
with penalties, a total of 10 for 77 yards. The Outlaws did
manage to overcome blocking deficiencies and finally get their West-Coast
offense rolling, in spite of only generating a meager total of 163
net yards. Several third-down conversion attempts went awry,
hampering their overall offensive production. The Outlaws
offense had NO turnovers the entire game, quite an admirable feat
for a starting QB that has been on the team less than a week now!
OUTLAWS GRADES:
OFFENSE: B
The offensive line showed monumental improvement in their run &
pass blocking schemes this afternoon. This allowed Rod Smart
to gain 90 yards rushing, as well as score a TD and a PAT.
However, penalties and 3 sacks could have been avoided, and the
offense not only needs to rack up far more offensive yardage but
needs to convert those critical third downs; the Outlaws went 2-11
on third-down conversion attempts.
DEFENSE: A-
The Outlaws defense shut down the potent, league-leading Demons
offense quite well. Even though they allowed the first TD
to be scored against them all season to occur in the second half,
the defense held the Demons to only one more score, a field goal.
Sacks, eliminating Terry Battle & the entire Demons running
game, fumble recoveries, and interceptions ensured that the Demons
would not be atop the Western Division after today. Tackle
leaders are Joseph Tuipala, Mike Crawford, Kurt Gouviea, Kory Blackwell,
and Chris Bayne were the sack leaders today, assisted by many other
Outlaws players.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B-
The special teams improved some of their downfield coverages, but
still have difficulty setting up that blocking wedge for returns.
Jamel Williams is the bright spot again, at 4-0 in recovering regular-season
scrambles!
COACHING: A-
The Outlaws coaches made wise decisions today, but the snafus were
not their fault. The main offensive problem right now lies
with the players, not the play-calling.
OUTLAWS STARS OF THE GAME:
Brandon Sanders/Hurley Tarver/Joseph Tuipala/Kelvin Kinney/Angel
Rubio: Interceptions, fumble recoveries, tackling and sacking
leaders place these gentlemen into a tough tie.
Offensive Line: The entire offensive line deserves game
balls for their massive improvements in blocking schemes.
Without these improvements, Rod Smart never would have gained 90
yards rushing, and the team may have not gone turnover-free the
whole game.
Mark Grieb: Thanks Mark, for jumping from the frying
pan into the fire, when you came here last Monday and are now running
our offense! No interceptions, one TD pass, and no turnovers
mark a future potential talent!
GOOD JOB OUTLAWS!!! |
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