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 | Clash of the Defenses |
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Clash of the Defenses
-May 24th, 2010
West Valley City, Utah
With the wind blowing in different directions all day, from the South to the North, then all of a sudden from the Northwest, to the Southeast, the Utah Bears were hosts to the Wasatch REVolution on Saturday and both teams played a downright defensive battle all game long. In the first series by the REV offense, Quarterback Charlie Peterson took a hit after he completed a pass and once again hurt his throwing shoulder. He got up and grimaced in pain, and was relieved by Running Back Orlando Poloa. Poloa was able to get a couple of first downs in the series, but weren't able to get much going after that.
The game between these two powerhouses in the RMFL was a battle of the defenses right from the beginning. In the first couple plays of the Bears offense, league leading QB Jeff Wissler was intercepted by the RMFL's fastest man Harold Ragin, and had virtually no chance in catching him as they raced to the endzone. After a Golden Whetman extra point, and kickoff, the Bears offense went 3 and out with Wissler throwing 3 consecutive incomplete passes. After the punt, Peterson of the REV came back in the game, and was able to obtain 1 first down through a series of short runs and pass plays, but once again the REV punt team had to come out.
This type of back and forth defensive stands happened throughout the entire game. The REV were stopped once in the redzone when WR Dave Christensen and QB Peterson were on different pages, as the throw was a fade to the corner of the endzone and Christensen ran a post route. Bears DB Johnny Sanchez intercepted the ball in the endzone to end the REV drive. The Bears were held inside the 5 yard line twice in the game. Penalties were the killer for their offense. On both drives, the Bears were kept from a touchdown celebration as yellow flags were thrown on 2 completed passes by Wissler into the endzone. The following plays resulted in a tackle for loss on 4th down by Harold Ragin, and an interception in the endzone by RMFL INT leader Jared Harward in the enzone.
Wissler was able to outduel Peterson on the day with 156 yards to 98 yards completed, but also threw 4 crucial interceptions, with the last one going to REV Linebacker Darin Smith who ran 40 yards to the endzone with around 1:00 left on the game clock. It was apparent that Peterson wasn't himself as his longest pass of the day was 18 yards. He has been plagued with a bad throwing shoulder for the the past few weeks, and will finally have some time off to heal.
This game was a battle of former teammates and current friends. Many former Wasatch Wildcats/Ogden Rhino-Raiders were on both sides, and the rivalry continued even with different team names and teammates. The final score would be 13 - 0 with the victory going to the REVolution, but it wouldn't come easy. The REV were forced to punt a record 9 times in the game. To put that into perspective, during the entire championship run of 2009, the REVolution punted 9 times in the whole season. While the offense continues to sputter with inconsistency, the REV defense is making a solid case for the best defense the league has seen. They have shut out the opposing offense 3 times in 7 games and have only allowed a total of 31 points. Against the Bears they were only able to sack the QB one time, but he was hurried throughout the game and a "pick 6" equals more points than a sack.
With the upcoming Saturday being Memorial Day, the REV have a week off to heal and recouperate until the June 5th home game against the struggling Davis Cowboys. Quarterback Charlie Peterson is getting married this week and will be missing the Cowboys game while on his honeymoon. Depending on how his shoulder heals up in these next 3 weeks will depend on if he plays in the final game of the season against the Upper Valley Vikings of Idaho. He plans on being ready for the first round of the playoffs, and the REV will need him to be full strength.
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