(ST. CHARLES, MO) For the River City Raiders indoor tackle football franchise, its home record remained spotless following a 62-13 victory over the Missouri Rampage Friday night at Family Arena.
Photo Credit: Karl Lund
A 49-0 stretch run was the narrative as the Raiders (5-1) won all five of its regular season games held locally. In the complexion of the American Indoor Football (AIF) Northern Division standings, River City is keeping pace with brethren West Michigan and Lehigh for the top spot of the governing body’s hierarchy.
Missouri Rampage, a member of the four-state Great Midwest Football League (GMFL), gave the hosts plenty of fits early and scored the first points of the contest when quarterback Deon Morris connected with receiver Dave Bradley for a 19-yard touchdown pass with 9:15 left in the first quarter. Morris added the PAT kick afterwards to give the Rampage a 7-0 advantage.
River City notched its first score of the evening with Tyler Batts’ six-yard end zone scamper with 2:40 left in the quarter that shored the score to 7-6.
In the second quarter, the Raiders flipped the scoreboard at the 12:35 mark when quarterback Tarean Austin hit Chris Headd with a five-yard touchdown strike. Following Corey Adamson’s PAT kick, River City held a 13-6 lead.
Photo Credit: Karl Lund
The Rampage evened the score 13-13 with five minutes left in the half via running back Brandon Williamson’s one-yard touchdown plunge and the ensuing successful kick.
River City posted tie-breaking points prior to intermission and possessed a 20-13 halftime lead via Johnny King’s six-yard touchdown snare from Austin with nine seconds left.
With a seven-point lead heading into the game’s backstretch, the Raiders went into lock down mode and proceeded to widen the differential with stellar play that resulted in a 42-0 second half shakedown.
Launched by DeAndre Jackson’s 38-yard kickoff return, Batts notched his second scoring rush with the team’s first play from scrimmage that extended the Raiders’ lead to 27-13 less than a minute deep.
Photo Credit: Karl Lund
As the third quarter progressed, River City fullback Lennies McFerrin scored two straight touchdown runs of five and one, respectively, that helped push the locals’ edge to 41-13 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the final stanza, River City’s advantage swelled to 48-13 when Austin hit DeJuan Bolden for an eight-yard touchdown strike at the 12:05 mark. The duo connected again six minutes later to extend the score to 55-13.
Meanwhile, the Raiders’ defense continued its second-half domination as Haylon Jacobs, Gary Henderson, Kyle Walker, Keenan Mace, Tim Hamm-Bey, Bernard Quinn and others stymied the Rampage’s play set. With Hamm-Bey’s five-yard interception returned to the end zone with 4:40 left, River City punctuated its 49-0 uncontested rally and the inevitable 62-13 duke.
Photo Credit: Karl Lund
Austin finished the game 10-of-19 for 81 yards and four touchdown passes while Batts, McFerrin and Bolden each collected a pair of scores and Adamson converted 6-of-8 post-touchdown kicks.
River City now aims to claim its sixth win of the season, and potential home field advantage in the upcoming AIF playoffs, in a road tangle with Chicago Blitz (2-2) next Saturday. The Raiders topped the Blitz, 47-34, at Family Arena three weeks ago.
For more information on the River City Raiders, go to indoorraiders.com.
