| Admirals beat Thunder in wild second half |
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April 16, 2005 Amsterdam Admirals 31, Berlin Thunder 27
The Admirals finally won the game with 1:45 remaining when quarterback Gibran Hamdan – who had two touchdowns in the game – found Ruvell Martin for a 16-yard score following a key pass interference penalty against Berlin. Amsterdam had been in the lead 24-13 with five minutes remaining in the game, before an incredible sequence of scoring by the Thunder gave the World Bowl champions a 27-24 advantage with 2:57 remaining. Amsterdam got huge performances from their pair of running backs. Jonathan Smith had 133 yards on the ground – including a 56-yard touchdown – while Jarrett Payton picked up 93 yards and a score of his own. Thunder quarterback Dave Ragone completed 15 of 27 passes for 156 yards and two scores, but threw a crucial interception to B.J. Tucker with 1:33 remaining to end Berlin’s hopes of making another final comeback. After winning the toss the Thunder started from their 32 and went straight to the air, with Ragone hitting fullback Ben Moa for a 21-yard gain across the middle of the field to set the Thunder up in Amsterdam territory. On third down, however, defensive tackle Earl Cochran got good pressure on Ragone, almost sacking him and ending an early Thunder challenge. The Thunder opened the scoring on their next possession after holding Amsterdam to three and out. Berlin gave the Admirals a heavy dose of Cal Murray, the back following up on a 7-yard pickup for a first down with a 27-yard carry through the middle of the Amsterdam defense. An 11-yard connection between Ragone and Michael Jennings gave the Thunder another first down at Amsterdam’s 28, and the quarterback looked for his favored receiver again on the following third down – picking up a fresh set of downs with a 13-yard completion to the Admirals 9. Under pressure the Amsterdam defense stiffened, holding Murray to 4 yards on two attempts and forcing the Thunder to settle for a 23-yard Kevin Miller field goal. The Admirals threatened to reply on their next series, when Gibran Hamdan sparked the drive to life with a crucial 15-yard pass to Ruvell Martin on third down, and followed it up with a well executed triple play action pass which fooled the Berlin defense and left Martin wide open for a 34-yard strike down the left sideline to take Amsterdam to the Thunder 19. Two plays later, however, he undid his good work, throwing a loose pass aimed for Ataveus Cash which was picked off in the endzone by cornerback Michael Harden. After the teams traded punts the Admirals found themselves up with great field position to start a drive from the Berlin 37 – and took advantage for their first points of the game. On the first play running back Jonathan Smith almost broke through for a touchdown, but stumbled for a 13-yard gain. Two plays later the drive was extended when the Admirals, again using double fake handoffs, got an 8-yard completion to tight end Donald to the 15-yard line. Smith got the ball to the Thunder 2 with a sweep round the right side for another first down, but from there the Admirals began to go backwards. Smith lost a yard on first down, then a penalty pushed Amsterdam back five yards further. An incomplete pass intended for Carlos Perez on third down meant that the Admirals could only tie the game with a 21-yard field goal from Chris Snyder as they reached the two-minute warning in the first half. In their hurry up offense the Thunder made great progress, with Ragone identifying open receivers to move the offense quickly from their 25 to the Admirals 25 with 11 seconds remaining in the period. Ragone then took one shot at the endzone, which slipped through the hands of receiver Aaron Boone, forcing Miller back onto the field for a 41-yard field goal which gave the Thunder a slender 6-3 half-time advantage. Amsterdam opened the second half with Kurt Kittner under center, and the Chicago Bears allocated passer soon had his team on the move. Starting from their 25, Kittner used tight end Tony Donald as his main target, hitting the all-league player 3 times on the drive, including an 11-yard pickup to the Berlin 25. After a penalty pushed Amsterdam back 10 yards, Payton had a 14-yard run and Kittner scrambled for 16 yards to take it to the Berlin 3. Payton pushed his way into the endzone from there to give the Admirals their first lead of the day at 10-6. It was then the turn of the Admirals defense to step up, and after holding the Thunder to three and out the ball was back in the hands of Kittner at the Amsterdam 22. Just as it looked like the Admirals get another big drive going on offense, Thunder cornerback Harden came up with his second interception of the game, handing the Thunder the ball and the momentum. Ragone went straight for the jugular, completing a 26-yard pass to Jennings on first down to give the Thunder the ball at the 17, and then making a great play with his legs, scrambling 14 yards and breaking tackles to dive into the endzone and reclaim the lead at 13-10. Amsterdam’s reply was swift and decisive. After a 16-yard completion from Kittner to Cash, running back Smith burst 56 yards through a gaping hole in the middle of the Thunder’s defense, breaking a tackle and then outrunning the remainder of the Berlin players to the endzone to restore the Admirals lead. Amsterdam’s defense stood firm once again, forcing a Berlin punt as the third quarter ended, giving the Admirals offense another shot at putting the game out of Berlin’s reach. However, Hamdan, reinstalled at quarterback, spurned that opportunity, tossing up a pass that Berlin national player Oliver Flemming intercepted at the 46. A facemask penalty against the Admirals gave the Thunder terrific field position at the 31 yard line. Despite the territorial advantage the Thunder were unable to get onto the scoreboard, and after a punt they gave up a huge play to Amsterdam’s offense. Payton took a Hamdan handoff and started right, only to find his path blocked. Payton cut back to the left side of the field led by his quarterback – who threw the key block to spring him for a 56-yard gain. Amsterdam kept the ball on the ground, taking it from the 27 to the Berlin 5-yard line for first and goal. After two attempts by Payton to break the goal line, the Admirals went with a play fake and Hamdan hit Mike Gomez for a 2-yard score to make it 24-13.
On the second play of Amsterdam’s next possession Payton was hit hard as he ran up the middle, and the ball was jarred loose and recovered by Thunder linebacker Rich Scanlon to give the Thunder possession at the 28. Two completions by Ragone got the Thunder to Amsterdam 5, and the Houston allocated passer then made a tremendous play to find a leaping Boone in the back of the endzone to give the Thunder a 25-24 lead. Trying their second two-point conversion, Berlin found the recipe for success, sending Ragone on a bootleg to the right and he strolled in to make it 27-24 with 2:51 remaining. Starting from their 22, the Admirals began cautiously, completing a pair of passes over the middle to the 39. Next, however, Hamdan looked deep, drawing a pass interference penalty against Flemming that set the Admirals up at the 16-yard line. On the next play Amsterdam retook the lead when Hamdan found Ruvell Martin in the back of the endzone for a score. The extra point gave the Admirals a four point advantage at 31-27 with 1:45 left in the contest. On the very first play of the Thunder possession the Admirals sealed the victory. Looking right for Boone, Ragone was picked off by Admirals cornerback B.J. Tucker, finally putting an end to the Thunder challenge and finishing their magical seven-game winning streak. | |||||||||
