Denayne Dixon (15)

May 23, 2010 (Erie, PA) – The Erie Storm of the American Indoor Football Association took advantage of six touchdown passes from quarterback Rod Rutherford and an interception return for a touchdown by Trent Jones to overcome a record-setting performance by an opponent and defeat a pesky Fayetteville Guard team in a hotly-contested physical game at the Tullio Arena by the final score of 55-52.

Rutherford completed 14 of 32 passes for 243 yards and six touchdowns with two interceptions. Eugene Baker and Denayne Dixon each had three touchdown catches for Erie, with Dixon leading the Storm receivers with 6 receptions for 143 yards. Fayetteville’s Walter Ford enjoyed the most productive games ever by an Erie opponent at the Tullio Arena, as he accounted for 215 total yards of offense, and scored all seven of the Guard’s touchdowns, five receiving, one rushing, and one on a 50-yard kickoff return. Fayetteville kicker Sinisa Vevilo added four unos on kickoffs, which allowed the Guard to keep the game close.

With the win, Erie improved its record to 6-4 to maintain its hold on third place in the AIFA’s North Division, a half-game over Reading and one game over Richmond, and Fayetteville fell to 2-8.

Reversing the trend of recent games, the Storm got off to a quick start. On its first drive, Erie drove down the field and wide receiver David Dinkins took a direct snap from center and ran it from 2 yards out to give the Storm a 7-0 lead. Three plays later, Erie defensive back Chris Blackshear picked off a pass from Fayetteville quarterback Nick Gildersleeve just in front of the goal-line, and Erie capitalized on a 29-yard touchdown reception by Dixon to push the lead up to 14-0.

The Guard got on the board near the end of the first quarter on a 16-yard completion from Gildersleeve to Ford followed by the first uno from Vevilo. Following an interception of Rutherford by Guard defensive back Marques Ruffin, Fayetteville grabbed the lead following a six-play 14-yard drive that featured four Erie penalties and a 1-yard touchdown run by Ford which gave the Guard a 15-14 lead in the second quarter. However, it took just minutes for Erie to respond.

On the first play of the next drive, Dixon scored his second touchdown on a 30-yard pass completion from Rutherford to give the Storm a six-point lead. After Fayetteville drove to near midfield, Jones picked off a Gildersleeve pass and returned it 35 yards down the sideline untouched for an Erie touchdown which increased the Storm lead to 27-15. The Guard offense had one more chance to score before the half, but Erie defensive back Sam Reynolds recorded the team’s third interception of Gildersleeve on the last play of the half to preserve a 12-point lead for Erie at halftime.

The Erie defense created another big play at the beginning of the second half as defensive lineman Phil Tillman forced and recovered a fumble by Ford to give Erie possession at its own 14-yard line. The Storm capitalized in just one play as Rutherford and Dixon hooked up once again, this time for a 36-yard score, and Erie pushed its lead to a seemingly comfortable 34-15. However, Fayetteville would not go away.

Following a 34-yard touchdown catch by Ford, the Guard defense stopped Erie on three straight pass incompletions, forcing a long 52-yard field goal attempt that was missed by Nick Terracina. A short time later, Fayetteville reduced its deficit to just four points following a 5-yard touchdown from Ford thrown by backup quarterback Tymere Zimmerman, replacing an injured Gildersleeve. However, the Erie offense responded to this challenge with a 3-play drive capped off by a 10-yard completion from Rutherford to Baker to push the Erie lead back to 41-30 near the end of the third quarter.

Each team’s offense bogged down at the start of the fourth quarter, but following the Erie defense forcing a Fayetteville turnover on downs, Baker scored his second touchdown for the Storm, from 30 yards out to increase the Erie lead to 18 points. However, the Guard once again wasted no time responding, as Ford caught the ensuing kickoff in his own endzone and ran a zigzag through multiple Erie defenders on his way to a Fayetteville touchdown to pull within 10 points. After stopping Erie’s offense on fourth down, the Guard pulled within two points after another Ford touchdown reception and a Vevilo uno on the kickoff. The Storm effectively clinched the game on its next drive capped off by Baker's third touchdown catch, scored after freeing himself on a remarkable athletic move at the 5-yard line, to push the Erie lead up to nine. Fayetteville scored one more time at the end of regulation, but time had run out for the Guard and Erie held on for a hard-fought 55-52 victory in front of over 3,800 relieved Storm fans.