ArenaBowl XIX

Arena Bowl XIX
1234 Total
GEO 713721 48
COL 1014720 51
Date June 12, 2005
Arena Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada
MVP

Willis Marshall, WR/DB, Colorado

Attendance 10,822
Winning coach Mike Dailey
Losing coach Doug Plank
TV in the United States
Network NBC
Announcers Tom Hammond, Pat Haden, Lewis Johnson and Marty Snider

ArenaBowl XIX was the 2005 championship game of the Arena Football League (AFL), and was played at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. The first-ever neutral-site title game in AFL history drew 10,822 fans to see the Colorado Crush defeat the Georgia Force 51–48 to claim the Foster ArenaBowl Trophy. ArenaBowl XIX is widely considered one of the greatest games ever played.

Game summary

In a matchup of two first-time ArenaBowl participants (not counting the Force's appearances in ArenaBowls XIV and XV as the Nashville Kats, as those games are attributed to the new Kats franchise), the Crush claimed the Foster ArenaBowl Trophy in just their third year of existence.

The Crush got out to a 7-0 lead on the first of four touchdowns by Willis Marshall and added a Clay Rush field goal to extend the lead to 10-0 before the Force got on the scoreboard. The teams then traded touchdowns throughout the remainder of the first half, with the Crush leading 24-20 at the break. The first half was especially notable for being the first time in ArenaBowl history in which neither team threw a passing touchdown.

Crush quarterback John Dutton, the MVP of ArenaBowl XVI, and Force signal-caller Matt Nagy would soon change that, however, as the two combined for seven passing touchdowns in the second half. Rookie Derek Lee caught three touchdown passes in the half for Georgia, but it was not enough to offset the Colorado attack, as Dutton threw two touchdowns to Damian Harrell and another to Marshall.

With 18 seconds remaining, Nagy threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Chris Jackson, tying the game at 48. However, the Crush quickly moved into field goal range, and kicker Clay Rush converted his third field goal of the day, this one from 20 yards out as time expired, giving Colorado their first-ever ArenaBowl title with a 51-48 win.

Marshall was named both Offensive Player of the Game and Ironman of the Game, with six catches for 111 yards and one touchdown in addition to three rushing touchdowns. Ahmad Hawkins earned Defensive Player of the Game honors by registering the game's lone interception.

Colorado coach Mike Dailey earned his second championship ring while Georgia's first-year head coach Doug Plank, the league's 2005 Coach of the Year, came up short in his fourth consecutive ArenaBowl, having lost the previous three as the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Rattlers.

Scoring summary

1st Quarter

2nd Quarter

3rd Quarter

4th Quarter

Trivia

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/17/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.