Payback!
Ice avenge Week 11 loss, clinch division title
Week 17, 2006
 | Thunderbirds (10-6) | 13 |
 | Ice (11-5) | 19 |
Portland, OR (AP) –
Thomas Kuhn had his worst start of the year but came through with the game on the line, as Oregon beat the Seattle Thunderbirds 19-13 in overtime to clinch the team’s third Ring of Ice Division title in four years.
“It was a battle out there today,” said Kuhn, who finished 23-of-46 for 292 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. “The important thing is that we got the win and we’re in the playoffs.”
Unlike Oregon’s blowout victories over the last two weeks, this one was close the entire way.
Seattle scored first on a 33-yard field goal, but the Ice responded on their ensuing possession to tie the game at 3-3 on a 44-yard field goal by
Craig Schanding.
Seattle eventually took a 10-3 lead into the locker room at the half after a 95-yard touchdown drive that covered 7:46.
Things were looking grim for Oregon the third quarter when the Thunderbirds, leading 10-3, were closing in on another score. On first down from the Oregon 23, however, weak-side linebacker
Daniel Beane recorded his second forced fumble of the year when he tackled Seattle running back
Burt Liszkiewicz after a three-yard run. Oregon middle linebacker
Brian Macaluso picked up the ball and was finally brought down at the Oregon 33.
The turnover seemed to inspire the offense, as Oregon went on a 67-yard scoring drive that ended with Kuhn’s 15-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Matt Brunner, tying the game at 10-10.
“We got fired up,” said Kuhn, who was sacked twice and hurried 10 times in the game. “This team just doesn't quit.”
Eventually, Oregon took the lead on their final possession of regulation. Starting at the Oregon 34, the Ice went 35 yards to set up Schanding’s 48-yard go-ahead field goal, giving the home team a 13-10 advantage. On the drive, Kuhn was 2-of-4 for 20 yards and converted twice on third down.
Oregon’s lead, however, was short-lived. Seattle quarterback
Charles Dever completed passes of 19 and 46 yards to set up Seattle game-tying 38-yard field goal with 0:12 on the clock, sending the game to overtime.
In the extra period, Oregon won the coin toss and elected to receive but stalled after just six plays. The Ice needed a great punt, and got it from
Jay Sheehee.
Sheehee’s punt from the Oregon 40 went 58 yards, rolling out of bounds at the Seattle 2. The punt was crucial because three plays later, the Thunderbirds had to punt from their own end zone. The kick went only 27 yards and cornerback
Augustus Eaddy called for a fair catch at the Seattle 33.
“I just wanted to give our defense a chance to get us good field position,” said Sheehee of his “coffin corner” punt. “I guess I did alright.”
He did better than “alright.” Sheehee, who has become one of the premier punters in the CFL, had two of his four kicks on the day marked down inside the five yard line, and one inside the 15.
Given a second chance to win the game in overtime and great field position, Thomas Kuhn did not disappoint. On the second play from scrimmage, he connected with split end
Alden Roy for a 20-yard pass to the Seattle 13.
The play moved Oregon well within Schanding’s field goal range, so coach
Kendrick Upshaw decided to play it conservative. Halfback
Richard Saunders ran inside right tackle for four yards, and then broke free for nine yards around left end to score the game-winning touchdown.
Next week, Oregon will face the Boise Stampede (11-5), the team that Kuhn led to a Ring of Ice Division title last season after starting quarterback
Branden Lin suffered a season-ending injury in Week 9.
“I don't hold a grudge,” Kuhn, who was released by Boise in the offseason. “That's Branden's team, and I wanted an opportunity to start. I was just keeping his seat warm."
Around the League
Fargo quarterback
Dwayne Bridges finished the year with a new single-season record for completions (442), passing yards (5215), and touchdowns (47) in leading the Boxcars to a 10-6 record.
Box ScoreAttendance: 69,700 (73,300).
Weather: 31 degrees, fair.
1Q: 03:56 SEA - Darrell Styblo 33 field goal.
2Q: 14:44 ORE - Craig Schanding 44 field goal.
2Q: 01:01 SEA - Burt Liszkiewicz 3 run.
2Q: 01:01 SEA - Darrell Styblo extra point.
3Q: 04:50 ORE - Matt Brunner 15 pass from Thomas Kuhn.
3Q: 04:50 ORE - Craig Schanding extra point.
4Q: 00:48 ORE - Craig Schanding 48 field goal.
4Q: 00:05 SEA - Darrell Styblo 38 field goal.
OT: 08:41 ORE - Richard Saunders 9 run.
Game MVP: ORE 87 Matt Brunner
Seattle 3 7 0 3 0 - 13
Oregon 0 3 7 3 6 - 19
Team Statistics SEA ORE
First Downs 21 21
Total Rushes 48 15
Rushing Yards 178 72
Yards Per Carry 3.7 4.8
Pass Attempts 23 46
Completions 18 23
Passing Yards 258 292
Yards Per Attempt 11.2 6.3
Sacked 1 2
Yards Lost 8 10
Interceptions 0 3
Fumbles/Lost 2/1 0/0
Total Plays 72 63
Total Yards 428 354
Yards Per Play 5.9 5.6
3rd Down Plays 7/16 6/13
Avg. YTG on 3rd 5.3 5.8
4th Down Plays 0/1 0/0
Penalties 5 1
Penalty Yards 25 5
Avg. Drive Start OWN 22 OWN 26
Time Of Possession 39:01 27:18
Seattle Individual Statistics
Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
28 Liszkiewicz 18 41 2.2 10 1
46 Sanford 11 53 4.8 35 0
42 Kimmel 9 22 2.4 9 0
8 Dever 9 60 6.6 11 0
23 Kellogg 1 2 2.0 2 0
Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
8 Dever 23 18 258 11.2 46 0 0 1
Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
85 Faison 6 91 15.1 14 39 0
88 Downing 4 27 6.7 6 10 0
42 Kimmel 3 21 7.0 17 11 0
82 Stahl 3 84 28.0 7 46 0
83 Strong 1 18 18.0 0 18 0
87 Nixon 1 17 17.0 0 17 0
Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
85 Faison 1 -1 -1.0 0
Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
28 Liszkiewicz 3 51 17.0 0
33 Ramsey 1 21 21.0 0
Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
17 El Nino 5 216 43.2 54 2
Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
3 Styblo 2 4 38 1 1
Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
51 Crist 9 2 0.0 1 0 0
20 Hulse 6 2 0.0 0 0 0
71 Hall 4 1 1.0 0 0 0
43 Determann 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
30 White 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
32 Cobb 3 0 0.0 1 1 0
58 Glode 2 2 0.0 0 0 0
40 Malone 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
91 Conklin 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
77 Heflin 1 0 1.0 0 0 0
54 Brisby 1 1 0.0 1 0 0
88 Downing 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
64 Coons 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 Barrier 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
50 Golden 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
46 Sanford 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
23 Kellogg 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
41 Purcell 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
33 Ramsey 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
90 Tucker 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
66 McArdle 0 0 0 0 3 0
64 Coons 0 0 0 0 1 1
42 Kimmel 0 0 1 0 2 0
50 Golden 0 0 0 0 1 0
73 Aaron 0 0 0 0 1 0
46 Sanford 1 0 0 0 0 0
28 Liszkiewicz 1 0 0 0 0 0
Oregon Individual Statistics
Rushing Att Yards Avg Long TD
22 Saunders 12 59 4.9 21 1
11 Kuhn 1 5 5.0 5 0
42 Savoy 1 2 2.0 2 0
39 Woodard 1 6 6.0 6 0
Passing Att Comp Yards Yd/Att Long TD Int Sckd
11 Kuhn 46 23 292 6.3 29 1 3 2
Receiving Catch Yards Avg YAC Long TD
87 Brunner 7 107 15.2 20 25 1
42 Savoy 5 38 7.6 24 12 0
86 Roy 4 82 20.5 15 29 0
89 Begin 3 27 9.0 6 12 0
83 Dillon 2 27 13.5 3 19 0
36 Reeves 2 11 5.5 8 8 0
Punt Returns Att Yards Avg TD
83 Dillon 2 21 10.5 0
Kick Returns Att Yards Avg TD
83 Dillon 3 62 20.6 0
31 Eaddy 1 19 19.0 0
Punting Punts Yards Avg Long In20
7 Shehee 4 186 46.5 58 3
Kicking FG FGA Long PAT Att
1 Schanding 2 2 48 1 1
Defense Tackle Assist Sack Int IntYds IntTD
35 Twombly 10 4 0.0 0 0 0
53 Macaluso 10 2 0.0 0 0 0
95 Molloy 8 6 0.0 0 0 0
51 Beane 8 2 0.0 0 0 0
26 Lerma 8 2 0.0 0 0 0
50 Pinard 6 2 1.0 0 0 0
23 Huth 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
33 Pilcher 3 3 0.0 0 0 0
76 Vanegas 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
30 Reagan 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
93 Jimerson 2 1 0.0 0 0 0
86 Roy 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
31 Eaddy 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
56 Byrne 1 1 0.0 0 0 0
75 Eaddy 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
87 Brunner 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
85 Guevara 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
99 Stackhouse 0 1 0.0 0 0 0
Miscellaneous Fumb FForc Recov MiscTD KeyRBlk SckAlwd
70 Price 0 0 0 0 0 1
42 Savoy 0 0 0 0 0 1
35 Twombly 0 1 0 0 0 0
51 Beane 0 1 0 0 0 0
68 Klein 0 0 0 0 1 0
54 Ludwig 0 0 0 0 1 0
53 Macaluso 0 0 1 0 0 0
73 Wynn 0 0 0 0 1 0