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revrew · 05-08-2006, 10:27 AM

Early wins (including a 14-7 defeat of New England in the preseason--though Davis told me point blank, "Preseason doesn't mean a thing. Just don't embarrass us.") boosted our confidence, but the real turning point in Rebel football came at the halfway point of our fourth season.

We were sitting at 4-3 and traveled to 4-3 Tampa Bay. We knew we couldn't catch division leader Carolina, but to make it to the playoffs we had to get into second, and that meant getting past perennial bridesmaid Tampa. It was gut-check time for our young team, as QB Turtschin's security blanket, TE Randy McMichael, was out to injury. Turtschin was showing signs of being an excellent leader and field general (though his raw talent was always suspect), but this was a big test for him.

It was a big test for the rest of the team, too. Someone had to step up and make some plays. Our defense was getting a rep for getting to the quarterback, led by our bookend star DEs, John Abraham and Charles Grant. But with Joe Horn's retirement, our WR situation was a mess. McMichael out only exposed our team's biggest Achilles heel. Someone needed to step up.

That someone was sophomore running back, Spencer Knowles. He had shown flashes before, but this was the first game that he truly took the team on his back and carried us to victory. Knowles ran for 125 yards and 3 touchdowns. Coupled with our increasingly intimidating defense, we rolled to 24-10.

After the Tampa game, confidence soared. So did the team. We finished the season 11-5 and grabbed the top wildcard spot. Only in our fourth season, and the Rebels were on their way to their first playoffs! How's that for rewarding the fans that gave us a $485 million dollar stadium deal?

05-08-2006, 10:27 AM	#40
revrew Team Chaplain Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Just outside Des Moines, IA	Early wins (including a 14-7 defeat of New England in the preseason--though Davis told me point blank, "Preseason doesn't mean a thing. Just don't embarrass us.") boosted our confidence, but the real turning point in Rebel football came at the halfway point of our fourth season. We were sitting at 4-3 and traveled to 4-3 Tampa Bay. We knew we couldn't catch division leader Carolina, but to make it to the playoffs we had to get into second, and that meant getting past perennial bridesmaid Tampa. It was gut-check time for our young team, as QB Turtschin's security blanket, TE Randy McMichael, was out to injury. Turtschin was showing signs of being an excellent leader and field general (though his raw talent was always suspect), but this was a big test for him. It was a big test for the rest of the team, too. Someone had to step up and make some plays. Our defense was getting a rep for getting to the quarterback, led by our bookend star DEs, John Abraham and Charles Grant. But with Joe Horn's retirement, our WR situation was a mess. McMichael out only exposed our team's biggest Achilles heel. Someone needed to step up. That someone was sophomore running back, Spencer Knowles. He had shown flashes before, but this was the first game that he truly took the team on his back and carried us to victory. Knowles ran for 125 yards and 3 touchdowns. Coupled with our increasingly intimidating defense, we rolled to 24-10. After the Tampa game, confidence soared. So did the team. We finished the season 11-5 and grabbed the top wildcard spot. Only in our fourth season, and the Rebels were on their way to their first playoffs! How's that for rewarding the fans that gave us a $485 million dollar stadium deal? __________________ Winner of 6 FOFC Scribe Awards, including 3 Gold Scribes Founder of the ZFL, 2004 Golden Scribe Dynasty of the Year Now bringing The Des Moines Dragons back to life, and the joke's on YOU, NFL! I came to the Crossroad. I took it. And that has made all the difference.