Superbowl 6 did not have the offensive fireworks that many in Tidewater (myself included) were anticipating, but the game delivered high-drama nonetheless. Cleveland opened the game by going on an 8 play 69-yard drive, ending in a missed 48yard field goal by the normally reliable Matt Bahr. The key play in the drive was a 15-yard pass from Sipe to Reggie Rucker.

On 1st down Dallas quarterback Quincy Carter throws a 14-yard strike to Terry Glenn who is immediately hit by Cleveland defensive tackle Lyle Alzado who causes and recovers a fumble on the 48-yard line.

The Cleveland offense gains 2 first downs and holds the ball for 9 plays but comes away with no points due to a stingy Dallas defense and a key sack by linebacker Al Singleton.
Dallas has the ball for only 3 plays when trouble happens. On a 3rd and 4, Carter hits his fullback Martin on the screen pass when out of nowhere Lyle Alzado hits Martin and recovers his second fumble of the day. Again the Dallas defense stiffens and we head into halftime with the score knotted at 0-0.

The 3rd quarter opens with Dallas going 3 and out. After a 45 yd punt, Cleveland takes over on its own 39-yard line. Cleveland then proceeds to go on a 6-play drive covering 61 yards, capped off by a 2-yard TD run by Mike Pruitt. The key play in the drive was a 39-yard dash by Greg Pruitt. Matt Bahr misses his second kick of the day by shanking the extra point. Cleveland leads 6-0 with one play remaining in the 3rd quarter.
My kickoff pins D.C. on his 20-yard line. D.C. uses a mixture of short runs and passes to nickel and dime me down the field. Tight end Jason Whitten and his fullback Martin were making key plays to help him move the sticks. I soon realized that he was trying to use up as many plays as humanly possible before scoring. He was purposely avoiding the quick strike plays because he was trying to force me to choose between using my timeouts, or to take my chances with my defense.

I chose to put my faith in my defense so I held on to my timeouts. D.C.’s final drive took him down to my 24-yard line. I held him to a 4th and 5 on the 24. Before the setup D.C. called a timeout before (what would have been) the last play of the game, just in case he didn’t score but managed to get a first down. I set my defense to play pass (a modified zone blitz) and to cover the fullback sneaking out to the flats. I was willing to risk the farm that D.C. was going to pass the football. That was a BIG mistake on my part. D.C. called the perfect play and scored on a Ritchie Anderson run off tackle where one of my defensive ends was dropping back into coverage. Heck, my DE was even blocking for Ritchie. D.C. hits the extra point and goes up 7-6 and I immediately call timeout. If D.C. hadn’t called his timeout before the previous play this game would have been over.

Here’s my situation… Because I saved all 3 of my timeouts I now have 1 kickoff return and three plays to try to pull out a win against a very good defense. My kickoff return man Dino Hall takes the ball out to midfield. I hit a 3-yard pass to Mike Pruitt who is quickly tackled by D.C.’s fumbleman, Dat Nguyen. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten about his fumbleman especially at this crucial time of the game. Well luck (thank heavens) was on my side and there was no fumble. Those 3 yards were key because now I was officially in field goal range at the D-47. In the TBA, field goals cannot be attempted outside of the Defensive 47-yard line. Now I’m down to 1 play and a prayer.

I put Sipe back in the shotgun and let him do what he does best. My offensive line kept the defenders at bay while my backs picked up the blitzers. Wide receiver Reggie Rucker slipped the defender and got behind the deep safety. Sipe chucked a 50-yard bomb (all in the air) and hit Rucker on the deep post. Rucker ran out at the 11 leaving one play left in the game.

I found myself in a quandary… do I attempt a 28-yard field goal with a kicker that already shanked 2 kicks including a chip shot extra point from the ten, or do I go for it from the eleven? I was about to go for it but decided to roll the dice on my kicker. I felt like the law of averages was on my side. I mean… could he really miss 3 kicks in one game? I certainly hoped not.

We have a 2 second rush on field goals; after the timer sounds you can kick the ball. The board was turned on, I heard the timer ring, and my kicker kicked the ball straight through the uprights. My Browns came back and won 9-7 on the last play of the game. D.C. gave me a big hug and was the first to congratulate me. Everybody in attendance gave us both a lot of props and congratulations. The win (for me) was bittersweet. D.C. played an awesome game and by all accounts should have won. If my fumbleman doesn’t cause 2 fumbles in the first half, D.C. may have had the lead and all the momentum in the first half. I feel that I was more lucky than skillful in that Superbowl. I could tell by listening to D.C. when he was speaking with other coaches that he really wanted to win that game very badly. He really took it to me (on the real)… when it’s possible I’d like a rematch and hopefully I won’t have to wait another 3 years to get one. I have a feeling that the next time we meet, I won’t be so lucky.

I want to thank my good buddy Steven Martin for urging me about a week and a half ago to write this post. To quote Steve, he said that it was a story worth telling. I also want to thank D.C. (who went back to school on the 15th) for taking it easy on his old man, and for playing like a champion. I had a great time!!!

Thanks for letting me ramble…

OldSchool