RANKING RMFL CHAMPIONSHIPS; AN HISTORICAL REVIEW
Story Posted:
March 16, 2007
Editorial by:
Jared Neumeier
RMFL – As the RMFL prepares to enter its 11th season of play, there seems no better time than the present to look back at the previous 10 seasons and reminisce.
There have been many great games, great teams and great players.
There has been much growth, expansion and improvements in quality.
And there have been 10 times that two teams faced off for the ultimate crown, the Championship of the Rocky Mountain Football League.
Of course, however, not all of those games were equally enthralling. A few might even be classified as real snoozers… while others turned out to be the clashes of Titans that one would expect in a title contest.
There is no one, no one at all, that has been to as many RMFL Championship games as I have. I have attended 9 of the 10 championships, playing in 3 of them, with a victory in one. If there is anyone alive that might be able to evaluate the Greatest RMFL Championships of All-time, it will have to be myself.
For that reason, it is incumbent upon me to do so… For those who are relatively new to the league, this would be not only a nice stroll down the memory lane of the past, but will allow you to get excited for the forthcoming season, knowing that there has been a lot of history going in to what this 11th title game will present… and the two teams that emerge as the best of the RMFL in 2007, will have a history of great games to learn from… and improve upon.
So, if not for the simple sake of message board fodder, here are my rankings of
the Greatest RMFL Championships of the past 10 years…starting with number 10…
10. Idaho Falls Mustangs vs. Wasatch Wildcats (2000). (GAME SUMMARY) I don’t think I will get any disagreement on starting this game as the worst championship game ever. This is not to take anything away from that Wildcat team, for this list is not about the Greatest Champions ever, but simply about the game that was played. This was to be my last game ever as an Idaho Falls Mustangs… and my personal worse. The Wildcats hosted the game at Granite High School where they played their home games that year and beat us soundly 68-7, the worst margin, by far, in RMFL championship history. What happened? Well, of course, in this league anyone can go back and read the synopsis of the game (after 1999) and read for themselves. It is important to note, however, that the Mustangs and Wildcats played twice before during the regular season and the games were hotly contested and very close… right down to the wire. In fact, the Mustangs lead both contests in the 4th quarter, before falling prey to either a big Wasatch play or a big Mustang mistake. Speaking for the Mustangs, more was expected of the same in this championship game. In the semi-finals, the Mustangs had soundly defeated the Shane Jursasek-lead Great Falls Rangers 50-28 and the Wildcats had struggled at home to beat the Bozeman Kodiaks 29-19, leading only 14-13 heading into the 4th quarter against the Kodiaks. The Mustangs, however, showed up in Salt Lake City missing two starting linemen, the players just decided not to make the trip. We lost another o-lineman (Ryan Paul) midway through the first quarter. Oh, don’t get me wrong. With them, we would have still lost… but we had a much better shot at a better ball game and not becoming the victims of the worst championship game in RMFL history. On offense, we actually got three first downs that game… two on our first drive. After that, it was uglier and uglier. The only way we scored at all was when one of our back up linebackers, Rich Kennedy, scooped up an Wasatch offensive backfield miscue (i.e. fumble) and ran about 35 yards for a TD, otherwise we would have probably had negative points. For Wasatch, quarterback David Ankeny, who struggled mightily in the previous contests looked like Steve Young, Anthony Parker was a reckless terror at slot-back, AND Michael Thomas simply ate the lunch of whoever we put at left guard (Doug Brasier played right guard) spending so much time in our back field I felt he was so much a part of our team I invited him to our post-game barbeque. Although we were able to punch Mike Jensen through the line for a few yards most plays, he was getting killed by Jasen Ah You and Suka Ahio, paying the price for every hard-earned yard of it. No need to belabor this one…
9. Portneuf Valley Dragons vs. Idaho Falls Mustangs (1998). (No Game Summary Available) Now this is not a game that you can read readily about as it occurred in the pre-web site era of the RMFL. The Mustangs won the game by a margin of 32-0… and it really wasn’t that close. In those days, … in ALL DAYS, the Mustangs just seemed to have the Dragons’ number. The Dragons never beat the Mustangs, even after merging with the remnants of the Rocky Mountain Bulls in 2000, or folding and resurrecting as the Cobras in 2001/2002. The Mustangs did only beat the Dragons twice barely in 1997, but that was when the Mustangs had the second worse quarterback in the league (me). However in 1998, the Mustangs played the Rocky Mountain Bulls, their 1997 nemesis and reigning league champion for the semi-final game and felt good to squeak by them on a snow-covered Idaho Falls field with a 13-0 victory. After the game, when we had heard the Dragons has pulled off the upset against the Mini-Cassia Bulldawgs in the other semi-final, a cheer went up among the Mustangs. I think most of us pretty much felt we would have to really play poorly to lose to the Dragons… and we did not. On offense, everything seemed to work, particularly the run. I remember handing the ball off and looking back and almost always seeing a big gaping hole for the back to go through. It honestly seemed as if the Dragons were playing with 9 guys on defense! Running backs, Rod Byrd and Mike Jensen had monster games and we started unloading our bench before the 3rd quarter ended. In today’s terms, the Mustangs offensive line of that game played like a AAA line vs. a AA defensive line. The mismatch was just that dramatic. Anyway, not as ugly as the Number 10 ranked game, but not much of a contest.
8. Idaho Falls Mustangs vs. South Ogden Rhino-Raiders (2004). (GAME SUMMARY) It shouldn’t be too surprising that the Idaho Falls Mustangs are ranked in some of the worst games in RMFL history. In the 10 years of the league, the Mustangs have played in 6 of those championship games, so they are going to be all over the board in this ranking of games. This is the first championship after the merge when 5 Utah Football League teams merged with the Rocky Mountain Football League. Well, unfortunately for the Mustangs that year, one was the perennial juggernaut, South Ogden Rhino-Raiders. The Rhino-Raiders crushed the Mustangs by a 48-20 count, and it wasn’t even THAT close. The Rhino-Raiders of 2004 were still near their peak as a team. Dave Stireman was still closer to 40 than 45 years old (and so was his key linemen!), they had Norvel Young and Damon Greenberry AND Trevor Bell… AND guys still named Feafia wore anchoring their defensive line. Of course the Rhinos were fairly “Star-studded” at all positions, and they were home in the comfy confines of Ogden High School. The Mustangs came into the game having struggled to get past not only the Utah Wolverines in the semi-finals, but had a tough home victory against the disrespected Layton Pitbulls. This was the year that the Rhinos toughest playoff game was the infamous Madison Lion first round game when the clock malfunctioned and a furious second half comeback by the Lionz fell short on time. But no one was going to beat Dave Stireman “and his orchestra” that year. After a scoreless first quarter, the Rhinos put up a 27-spot on the Mustangs in the second stanza. Stireman, had, perhaps his best game even to date in the RMFL, passing for 321 yards and 5 touchdowns, including 3 to Greenberry. Going into the 4th quarter, the score was 40-0, before the Mustangs, behind some great individual effort from quarterback, Cody Jackson, pushed across a few scores as the Rhinos began to clear their bench in the 4th. As bad as it seemed, however, it was still a better and more competitive game than the previous two.
7. Idaho Falls Mustangs vs. Rocky Mountain Bulls (1997). (GAME SUMMARY...scroll to bottom) When oftentimes I look back to that first season of the RMFL, I find myself thinking… “if I had only known THEN what I know NOW”… the Mustangs would have had 4 championships right now… including this one. Oh sure, the Bulls had 9 EXTREMELY good defensive players, including a front 7 that would compete well in today’s RMFL and maybe the best safety in RMFL history in Johnny Peoples. However, the Bulls always had two secondary weaknesses…somewhere… that a better quarterback than myself could have.. should have exploited early and often… He would have had to do it quickly, however, as the front 4 (or 5 as it was in this game) of the Bulls was about as good as there has ever been. The Bulls won the game by only a 16-0 margin, but the only scores the Bulls got was a 72-yard Peoples interception return for touchdown and a recovered bad punt snap in the end zone. The Mustang defense was a real strength and shut down a rather sub-par Bull offense even more than the great Bulls defense shut down our offense. Both teams entered the game by drubbing the other two teams in the semi-finals. In fact, the Mustangs set an early record by beating the Dragons (th #3 seed) 56-0 in the semi-finals. Even though the margin of the Championship game was only 16 points, the main reason I place this in the bottom 5 of games is that the Mustangs did NOT have a quarterback that was that good that season and after the Bulls first score… the game was effectively over. Besides Peoples, these names should be forever remembered in championship lore: Matt Culbertson, Shawn O’Hearn, Stacey Harris, Kyle Ahlgren, Dan Thaxton and Kevin Atkinson. This is just the first of a series of championship games (below this) that starts to get better and better… from a spectators perspective.
1997 Mustangs. One of the leagues original teams. Underachievers or victims of fate? The Rocky Mountain Bulls were just too much in 1997.
6. Boise Roughriders vs. Pocatello Silverbacks (2001). (GAME SUMMARY) If all you did was look at the score, you would have NO idea what really went on in this game. Oh, the final score was 48-20 in favor of Pocatello, however, what transpired during the game was “one for the ages”. This was my first RMFL Championship as the “Commissioner” and after it was over, I wondered if it would be my last. The Silverbacks won the game 48-20, however, the game was far from in doubt until late in the third quarter. The two teams had split their season series with the Silverbacks winning the season opener at home 26-10, a game that was only 6-3 at the half. Boise won in Boise by a 21-18 score; both teams scored three times, Pocatello just couldn’t convert an extra point. So the game set up very well. The teams were evenly matched and were even playing in a “neutral” location at Minico High School in Rupert, Idaho. After Pocatello’s Clint Whitworth scored the first of his 3 touchdowns early in the game to put the Silverbacks ahead 6-0, it was all cheers and smiles on the Boise sideline for the rest of the quarter, especially after Casey Wittenborn stepped in front of a Jeff Belnap pass and raced 65 yards for the Roughriders second touchdown to put them ahead 14-6. They lead 17-6 at the first quarter break and seemed ready to blow out the Silverbacks… only they didn’t. Jeff Belnap and Brock Gunter and his full house backfield of Whitworth, Tyler Wheatley and Jared Anderson, behind one of the best offensive lines ever in the RMFL, including Eric Hancock, Josh Ketzenberg, Shawn O’Hearn and Stacey Harris rolled up 257 yards rushing on 35 carries (averaging more than 7 yards a carry) as they methodically executed drive after drive and got defensive stops from a solid defense. By the half, the Silverbacks lead 27-20 and after Brock Gunter caught a touchdown pass midway through the third, it became imminently clear to all who were there that the wheels were coming off the Roughrider wagon. Finally, with about 6 minutes to go in the game and the score 48-20, and Pocatello driving for more, there was a “borderline” interference call on Roughriders. Reigning defensive RMFL Defensive MVP for the Roughriders, Patrick Avent had to be restrained after becoming irate over the call and eventually ejected. Head coach, the normally mild-mannered and level-headed, Chuck Hudson, soon followed. The game was soon called with still minutes on the clock and Pocatello securing the victory.
5. Snake River Rebels vs. Treasure Valley Cowboys (1999). (No Game Summary Available) This is the only game that I did not attend in any capacity. There is nothing written or documented regarding the game, however, the game was close… and significant. It was a game that pitted clearly the two best teams in the 8-team RMFL. Both teams were effectively undefeated (the Rebels received a forfeit loss for no-showing versus the nearby Blackfoot Dragons during the season). The Cowboys featured perhaps one of the greatest athletes to ever don an RMFL jersey in Manzo Hodge, who was a man among men at running back. The Rebels had their own version of a dominant running game with the vaunted wingded-T set that included Travis Boden and Kade Shawver and a quarterback that was worthy of the seasons MVP award in Jeff Dalley. Because of the “forfeit”, the Rebels were declared the lower seed and had to travel to Boise for the contest. The “favored” Rebels played with little more than 20 players all season and the championship was no exception. In a battle of great running attacks and aggressive defenses, the Rebels prevailed 36-28 and captured what would be their only RMFL title. I know at the time, NO ONE would have thought that it would be the last league title the Rebels would ever win and NO ONE would have thought that, now 7 years later, no Boise area franchise would have ever won a title either. In the year 2000, the Cowboys split, forming the Boise Cardinals (later named Roughriders) and the Cowboys who struggled without Manzo Hodge and may players that went to the Boise franchise. The Treasure Valley team returned in 2002 and 2003 under the direction of Manzo Hodge who attempted to coach and play more quarterback with limited success before finally folding for good. The Rebels played an independent schedule in 2000 before playing with the Utah Football League in 2001. The Rebels returned to the RMFL for two more seasons (2002 and 2003) before they, too folded for good… after playing in the 3rd ranked championship game ever…
4. Madison Lionz at Rhino-Raiders (2006). (GAME SUMMARY) Although last years championship game was a good one… it wasn’t even the best of the Rhino-Raider vs. Lionz battles. That one happened in 2005. For those who are very new to the league or have short memories, the Rhino-Raiders won their third consecutive RMFL title last July over the Lionz by a score of 34-26, however, Madison did score last (albeit with 7 minutes still on the clock) and the game ended with the Rhinos in possession of the football. What sets this game back from a few of the others ranked higher is a couple of things. First of all, even as Madison kept answering every score the Rhinos made, behind some big offensive plays from Rashad Kennedy, the games MVP, the Rhinos always seemed to have their own answer and it just “seemed” as if the Rhinos were going to win… no matter what. Second, the Rhino defense. An unprecedented …in ANY game, 13 sacks on Madison quarterback and eventual 2006 MVP, Troy Dougherty, had you thinking that the Lionz just didn’t have “the horses” to win. Probably the play that was the real “difference maker” in the game came at the very end of the first half. With the score, 7-6, Rhinos, after another of 5 Madison interceptions for the game, the Lionz were driving into Rhino territory inside the 40-yard line looking for either a field goal or touchdown to take the halftime lead, with another full out blitz, Dougherty was hit before he could release the ball and Jay Tupe was in the right place at the right time, picked up the loose ball and raced 55 yards for a Rhino score and a 14-6 halftime lead. The 10-point potential turnaround turned out to be the difference in the game. Both teams lost key players in the first half. Madison lost reigning league MVP, Nate Brown, who was ejected after an extra point attempt by Madison and for the Rhinos, top offensive lineman, Phil Sotomayer was lost to injury also in the first half. A great game and one of the top 4 ever.
WHICH BRINGS US TO THE TOP THREE…
3. Idaho Falls Mustangs vs. Snake River Rebels (2003). (GAME SUMMARY) There is unlikely to be a single Mustang with a gift of appreciating the significance of history, that would disagree that this wasn’t the biggest game in the history of the league’s oldest and most storied franchise. It becomes even more significant when you look at the season the Mustangs had in 2003. This is a team that finished the season with a 5-3 record. This is a team that at one point in the season was only 3-3… and that after being completely out-played by a much improved Mini-Cassia team in the opening game yet still somehow escaping with a win; they might have been 2-4! For much of 2003, there was some doubt whether or not the Mustangs would even make the playoffs that season. And then what happened was…well, history. After losing to the Rebels in the regular season 34-18 to go to 3-3, the Mustangs went up to Helena, Montana and played a team that was looking for a home win to leap-frog the Mustangs into the playoffs. All the Mustangs did was dominate the Titans decisively before picking up a forfeit victory over Great Falls to enter the playoffs with a shaky 5-3 mark. Then the Mustangs did what no other team has ever done (nor had to do), they successfully vindicated in the playoffs all of their regular season losses. First with Pocatello, then with the Dougherty-less Lionz, then… the Rebels. Although with the emergence of the Madison Lionz into the Eastern Idaho football scene, a lot of the “bad blood” between the Rebels and Mustangs seemed to dissipate (in fact, I attended the Rebels/Lionz game earlier that year where the Mustangs attended in force cheering for the Rebels!), however, there was still a lot of history between the Rebels and Mustangs… and ALL of it was Snake River victories… many of them by a lot of points. Until the 2003 championship game the Rebels were 7-0 versus the Mustangs. The closest of those 7 games was a 22-18 Rebel victory during the regular season of 2001. No other game was closer than 2 touchdowns. The Mustangs won that championship game by a 21-8 score, however, with the last Mustangs score not coming until the 4th quarter and with the Rebels explosive offense, the game was always in doubt.
2. Madison Lionz vs. Rhino-Raiders (2005). (GAME SUMMARY) I had a real hard time not ranking this as the best championship game of all time… ahead of the next one even. In the end, I could not get over the fact that Nate Rydalch DID drop what might have been a game-winning touchdown and the Lionz final score DID come with less than 2 minutes left to make it the close score that it was… etc, etc., etc. But for all of us who were there, this was a game and a half to be at. I definitely had no idea until near the very end who was going to emerge with the championship. Ultimately, in champion form, the Rhino-Raiders prevailed 24-19, however, it may have been the hardest fought 24-19 game they will ever have played. Game MVP Rashad Kennedy put on a rushing show leading the Rhinos with 130 rushing yards and scoring 2 of the teams 3 touchdowns. For Madison, eventual 2005 League MVP, Nate Brown, proved his value by catching 13 Troy Dougherty passes for 129 yards and scoring Madison’s two touchdowns. Madison had the edge in total net yards (336 to 296) and the Rhinos had the usual edge in penalized yards (179 to 105) in a game that was fought at a strategic level and an emotional level rarely seen before. In the end, however, it was the amazing play by Nate Rydalch, bursting through Rhino-Raider containment and vaulting up the sideline before many spectators knew what happened that will be the play that will make this game most memorable. Rydalch’s amazing burst of speed was on display, however, his judgement was his eventual downfall as he seemed to begin an early celebration before entering the end zone on that fateful 4th quarter play. Even after the ball came loose and the Rhinos recovered, there was still the feeling that the Lionz could still win. The Lionz did get a stop, forcing a punt late in the game, however, the late drive for the final score was not enough as the Lionz fell short of becoming the first league team in 6 years of taking down the most successful franchise in league history. Other great individual performances included the Rhino’s Trevor Bell, playing both ways, recording 5 tackles, and interception and 2 pass receptions. Madison defensive back, Benny Walker, held the explosive Rhino receiver, Norvel Young, to only one reception on the day. In the end, Kennedy and the Rhinos were king, and would continue to wear the crown… until someone proved not just capable of knocking it off… but willing and able as well.
1. Idaho Falls Mustangs vs.
Pocatello Silverbacks (2002). (GAME
SUMMARY) At the time this game was played, in late July 2002, this
match up had yet to become a full blown “rivalry”. In fact, it probably still hasn’t. But what
made this game great was that it was not over until the very final play. And on
that final play, it was each of the two teams biggest stars that collided. There is simply not many games, and no
Championship games in RMFL history that can match that. To take you all back, 2002 was the year of the
big Snake River Rebel suspension. The
“GM’ of the team at the time decided to play a game of “chicken” with the RMFL
Commissioner… and, eventually the RMFL Managing Board… and lost. Of course, it was the Rebel players that
suffered most, having earned a playoff spot, yet denied the opportunity to
compete. With a 7-1 record and the only
loss of the season for the S-backs being a 20-15 loss to Snake River during the
regular season, with the #1 seed (the Rebels would have been seeded 4th
due to a forfeiture they volunteered on a road game to Treasure Valley). The Mustangs were #2 and the upstart
expansion franchise, Madison Lionz were #3.
The departure of the Rebels from the playoff picture brought the Helena
Titans into the playoffs and they gave the Silverbacks a great run in the
semi-finals before bowing out. This was
the year the Lionz became the first fellow Idaho team to ever defeat the Snake
River Rebels (they had been defeated by the Rhino-Raiders a couple of times in
Utah). To get to the championship, the
Mustangs knocked off the Lionz 13-0, with the last score coming after the
Mustangs had the ball at the end of the game and after one kneel down play,
quarterback Cody Jackson faked a kneel down and then launched a last second
touchdown pass to an understandably uncovered Scott Johnson in a play that will
long go debated as one of the more “class-less” acts at the end of a football
game ever. So the championship pitted #1
vs. #2 and was held down in the picturesque venue of Marsh Valley High School
south of Pocatello, Idaho. To this day,
I believe that Pocatello had the slightly better team and probably would have
won the game had their big all-star two-way lineman, Shawn O’Hearn not gone
down early in the first quarter. O’Hearn
would not return to the game, however, the Silverbacks behind a great game from
quarterback Jeff Belnap (194 yards, 2 Td’s) and Brock Gunter (110 reception
yards, TD), raced out to an early 14-0 lead.
The Mustangs would fight back in the second quarter to tie the game
before Jeff Belnap marched the Silverbacks down for a late second quarter drive
with a key 4th down completion to B.J. Fillingame to set up a
touchdown pass to Fillingame and a 21-14 halftime lead. The lead held up until the first play of the
4th quarter when Mustang fullback, Russell Cummins tied the score
with a 3-yard touchdown run. What turned
out to be the game-winning play came with a little more than 5 minutes to go in
the game and Mustang quarterback, Cody Jackson, ran a quarterback counter and
busted through the heart of the Pocatello defense before being grabbed by Trent
Sutton around the 10-yard line. Sutton
did more than tackle Jackson, but was successful in stripping the ball loose as
well and it bounded forward into the end zone.
Mustang tight end, Jeff Spencer, however, was the first to the ball and
recovered it for the Mustangs score and a 28-21 lead. But is wasn’t over. Similar to the end of the first half, Belnap
and Gunter took over. Belnap directed a
late drive all the way inside the Mustangs 10-yard line. With 35 seconds to go
in the game and a 4th down and 2 on the 9-yard line, Belnap rolled
to his right looking for either Gunter in the end zone or Reggie Jackson out of
the backfield. Not seeing an open target, Belnap, a high school sprinter, took
off for the sticks. Mustangs star
linebacker and the 2002 Defensive MVP, Ron Childs saw Belnap take off and went
to meet him. Childs won the battle and
dropped Belnap short of the first down, clinching the victory for the
Mustangs. What also made this a great
game was the electricity in the stands on both sides, particularly from the
Mustangs’ visitor stands. The game was
close, evenly matched, electric, and settled on the last play of the last
drive. It was… the greatest RMFL
Championship ever…