Trent Jones (21)

May 1, 2010 (Erie, PA) – Overcoming a short week and a long bus trip to Virginia, the Erie Storm of the American Indoor Football Association won their first road game of the season in an impressive 53-39 win over the Richmond Raiders, highlighted by four important turnovers created by the Erie defense, and four different Storm receivers catching touchdown passes.

Defensive back Corey Oaks, filling in for the injured Chris Blackshear, led the Erie (4-3) defense with two of the team’s three interceptions of Richmond (2-5) quarterback Robbie Jenkins, with Trent Jones recording the other. All three picks were made right at the goal line to abruptly stop Richmond scoring chances. Erie quarterback Rod Rutherford threw three touchdown passes and rushed for another score, and backup A.J. Roque added a touchdown pass of his own. Wide receivers David Dinkins, Trumaine Riley, and Rich Cerro all recorded touchdown receptions, and Denayne Dixon scored twice. Kicker Shon Rowser, filling in for Nick Terracina, was 5-7 on PAT kicks and 2-3 on field goal attempts.

The Erie defense stopped Richmond on its first possession of the game, but the Raiders got on the board on a 41-yard field goal by kicker Bruce Reinecker to take a 3-0 lead. Rutherford threw his only pick of the game near midfield, intercepted by Jarrod Brown, and Richmond appeared poised to stretch its early lead. However, the Erie defense had a different agenda.

Oaks stopped the Raiders cold with his first interception and Erie took the ball over on its own 1-yard line. After two incompletions, Rutherford connected with Riley on a crucial 17-yard gain on third down to keep the drive going, and eventually ended the possession with a one-yard quarterback keeper to give the Storm a 7-3 lead. But then on first down, Erie defensive lineman Ellery Moore forced a Jenkins fumble on a sack and recovered it in the endzone for a Storm touchdown extending the lead to 13-3 near the end of the first quarter. The Raiders responded with a drive down to the Erie 11-yard line, which is when Oaks made his second straight touchdown-saving interception at the goal line, this time returning the pick 33 yards to the Richmond 17-yard line. It took the Erie offense only one play, a pitch and catch from Rutherford to Dinkins, to push the lead to 20-3 early in the second quarter.

Both offenses traded scores throughout the rest of the first half, with Richmond getting two very quick scores, on a 45-yard touchdown reception by Steven Miller and a 23-yard score by Chris Schubert. Erie responded with scores of its own, Dixon's first touchdown on a pass from Rutherford, and Riley catching a pass from Roque, filling in for a banged up Rutherford, and the Storm went into halftime intermission with a 34-24 lead.

The Storm offense could not move the ball to start the second half but got on the board on a long 45-yard field goal from Rowser to extend the lead to 13 points. The Raiders drove down the field into the red zone and were stopped by another interception at the goal line, this time from Jones. Another Rowser field goal, from 36 yards, essentially sealed the game with Erie now leading 40-24 near the beginning of the fourth quarter. Richmond pulled within eight points on two occasions, but each time, the Erie offense responded with a score of its own, including the final back-breaking touchdown, a 30-yard pass from Rutherford to Dixon which made the score 53-39 Erie, which was the final count.

The Erie Storm will complete their current road trip with a visit to Harrisburg to take on the Stampede. Harrisburg won both of the team’s games earlier this season, and this will be an important contest with potential playoff implications. Erie will return home on Friday, May 14, to take on the New Jersey Revolution with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 PM.