Losing is hard enough, but the Crush made it even tougher to take Sunday in its Arena Football League opener.

The Crush committed three turnovers and was penalized 12 times, blowing a 15-point lead late in the second quarter as the Grand Rapids Rampage rallied for a 44-42 victory before a crowd of 14,950 at the Pepsi Center.

Grand Rapids outscored the Crush 21-0 during the third quarter, with one touchdown scored on an interception return and another set up by a fumble recovery, to take a 41-28 lead.

"It's hard when you beat yourself," quarterback John Dutton said. "We don't feel we got beat. We beat ourselves. These guys are fighting, scratching and kicking, and I'm throwing some interceptions that I shouldn't have and fumbling.

"In this game, you can't turn the ball over. We were just making stupid mistakes. A (linebacker) picking the ball off for a touchdown, I've never had that happen before. This was Game 1. I had to come out and play a lot better than this. Now we're in a hole. We're 0-1."

Grand Rapids, which snapped an eight-game road losing streak, pulled to 28-20 with 26 seconds left in the first half, then Jason Ball of Colorado missed a field- goal attempt from the 31-yard line at the end of the half.

Rampage starting quarterback Chad Salisbury suffered a concussion while scrambling during Grand Rapids' first possession of the third quarter.

Matthew Sauk, a two-year AFL veteran who was signed as a free agent during the offseason, fired a 43-yard touchdown pass to Jerome Riley on fourth down on his first attempt of the game.

"We really had problems last year in third quarters, from what I've seen on film," said Sauk, who completed 10-of-15 passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns. "We knew we had to score. We did it, and we just kept on going.

"Our defense and pass rush really helped us. One thing I've learned being a backup is you never know when it is going to happen. I'm used to it now. I think it's two years in a row where I come in and threw a touchdown on the first pass."

Salisbury was taken to St. Anthony Central Hospital, where a magnetic resonance imaging exam was negative.

Sauk's first touchdown pass helped cut the Rampage deficit to 28-27, then Chuckie Nwokorie recovered a Dutton fumble on the next possession.

Grand Rapids cashed in the turnover to take a 34-28 lead. Linebacker Jerome Riley returned a Dutton interception 20 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the third quarter to help Grand Rapids to a 41-28 lead.

Dutton, who threw for 299 yards and six touchdowns, hit rookie Brad Pyatt, who played for Northern Colorado, for a 14-yard touchdown with 22 seconds remaining to help make it 43-41.

But an onside kick went out of bounds, giving possession to the Rampage and ending the Crush's comeback attempt.

"We'd get in a groove, we'd get in a groove, and then we'd get a penalty," Crush defensive back Rashad Floyd said. "We'd get in a groove, get in a groove, and they would score on a big touchdown. Same on offense. We'd score, and then throw an interception. From special teams to offense to defense, all three aspects of the game were unacceptable."

Crush coach Mike Dailey was denied his 100th AFL victory but wasn't in a hurry to put the blame on anybody.

"We had a lot of penalties, a lot of defensive penalties that hurt us," he said. "We played softly at times. I don't want to rush to judge anything. We're going to look at the film and see what we can do to make the corrections we need to make."

Grand Rapids......7	13	21	3	-	44
Colorado......21	7	0	14	-	42

First quarter

Col - Harrell 6 pass from Dutton, (Ball kick), 12:01.

Col - Harrell 12 pass from Dutton, (Ball kick), 9:55.

GR - Daniels 7 pass from Salisbury, (Gowins kick), 8:43.

Col - Quinnie 5 pass from Dutton, (Ball kick), :07.

Second quarter

GR - FG Gowins 18 FG, 12:11.

GR - FG Gowins 44, 4:20.

Col - Redd 22 pass from Dutton, (Ball kick), 3:05

GR - Marshall 13 pass from Salisbury, (Gowins kick), :26.

Third quarter

GR - Riley 43 pass from Sauk, (Gowins kick), 12:15.

GR - Edwards 3 pass from Sauk, (Gowins kick), 3:25.

GR - Riley 20 interception return (Gowins kick), :00.

Fourth quarter

Col - Harrell 16 pass from Dutton (Ball kick), 9:37.

GR - FG Gowins 16, :57.

Col - Pyatt 14 pass from Dutton (Ball kick), :22.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Grand Rapids, Ryan 8-15, Salisbury 1-0; Colorado, Thomas 1-1.

Passing - Grand Rapids, Salisbury 11-21-0-76, Sauk 10-15-0-101; Colorado, Dutton 27-42-2-299.

Receiving - Grand Rapids, Edwards 8-50, Riley 5-63, Daniels 4-35, Marshall 3-20, Anderson 1-9; Colorado, Harrell 8-95, Redd 7-73, Pyatt 6-68, Quinnie 6-63.

bentonj@RockyMountainNews.com Rampage 44, Crush 42

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