Ragsdale leads Warriors to victory

06/04/03 NIFL Fan Article by Philip J. Rogich, Syracuse, UT

The Warriors traveled to Casper, WY this past week to face the Cavalry for the first time this season. The week prior, quarterback Danny Ragsdale was bruised and battered. He had a torn abdomen and a hip pointer. As a result his game statistics were lowest of the season. This week he was back in true form as the Warriors had a hard fought road victory.

Utah got the ball the first and in true Warrior fashion they scored quickly. Emmitt White started the drive off by returning the kick-off to the Calvary 24 yard line. Two plays later Ragsdale threw a 19 yard touchdown pass to Cory Grow. Wyoming then showed they could strike just as fast. On their first offensive play Anthon Simmons ran the ball 32 yards for a touchdown, to even the score.

On their next possession the Warriors drove 34 yards in five plays. The drive ended with a 2 yard Omar Bacon touchdown run. Anthon Simmons then showed the Warriors that lightening can strike twice. He received the kick-off in his own end zone. Simmons then returned it 50 yards for the touchdown, to tie the game once more. The Calvary defense came up big on Utah’s next drive. On 3rd down with a yard to go, Brian Gaines sacked Ragsdale for a 7 yard loss. The warriors turned the ball over on downs. Wyoming then scored to take their first lead of the game, however they missed the extra point. Emmitt White got Utah going by returning the kick-off to the Calvary 11 yard line. On the next play Ragsdale threw a touchdown pass to Cory Grow. The Warriors took a 1 point lead, only to have the Calvary score on their next drive. The 1st quarter end with Wyoming up 28 - 21.

The 2nd quarter started with a 22 yard Ragsdale to Jason Quinn touchdown pass. The game was again tied. The lead then changed four times before the end of the half. Ragsdale threw three more touchdown passes. One each to Jason Quinn, Cory Grow, and Emmitt White. The half ended with the Warriors ahead 49 - 40.

Wyoming got the ball first in the 2nd half but gave the ball up on downs. The Warriors got the ball and drove 43 yards for the score. The scoring play was a 2 yard run by Omar Bacon. Anthon Simmons scored once more on a 4 yard run. The Warriors answered back with the help of Wyoming. The Calvary had several costly penalties on the drive. The penalties set up an easy 2 yard Omar Bacon touchdown run. The 3rd quarter ended Utah still up 63 - 48.

In the 4th quarter the Warriors lead by as much as 16 points. The Calvary battled back to get with-in 3 points but it wasn’t enough to overcome their mistakes. Utah wins on the road 79 - 76.

The keys to the Utah win was great play by the Big Guns on offense. Danny Ragsdale was 25 of 38 with 247 yards, 7 touchdown and 0 INT. Cory Grow had 9 catches for 105 yards and 3 touchdowns. Cory also had a 7 yard kick-off return for a touchdown. Omar Bacon scored 4 touchdowns as well and had 75 all-purpose yards. Omar has scored 13 touchdowns in the last three games and leads the league in scoring. Bacon was last weeks Ken Garff West Valley Dodge player of the game. Emmitt White had 173 in all-purpose yards and 1 touchdown. He has 888 all-purpose yards in seven games on the season. Jason Quinn had 40 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns.

Wyoming beat themselves in the game. They had several key penalties to help the Warriors score. The biggest let down for the Calvary was on special teams. They were 0 for 1 on field goals. They also missed 3 PATs and 3 two point conversions. The special team errors totaled 12 points and cost them the win.

On defense for the Warriors Jeff Main lead the Warriors in tackles for the 3rd week in a row, with 5 1/2. He was week eleven Pacific defensive player of the week. Trevor Bell and Kautai Oleveo had 4 tackles each. Dee McCormick got his fifth interception of the season.

Kicker Pete Garces had an outstanding game. He was 1 of 2 on field goals, hitting a game winning 33 yarder. He was also 10 of 11 on PATs.

Next week the Warriors travel to Sioux Falls for their rematch against the Storm. The Warriors won the last meeting 58 to 35. The Storm lost this week to the Billings Outlaws. The Warriors return home on June 14th to face the Bismarck Roughriders. The Roughriders had a bid win this week, beating the 2nd place Red Dogs.

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