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Oakland 12 at Denver 22
1983 Week 4 - Monday, March 28, 1983
Oakland Invaders(2-1)(-2) at Denver Gold(1-2)
Attendance: 38,720, TV: ESPN
DENVER (AP) - It was a reunion of sorts, a meeting of two former Denver Broncos head coaches - the only two winning coaches in the history of that National Football League franchise - both of whom were unceremoniously fired in spite of their good deeds.
John Ralston and Red Miller are longtime friends, as you'd expect of veteran coaches who share a common experience. But there clearly was no love lost between their teams Monday night when Miller's Denver Gold beat Ralston's Oakland Invaders 22-12 in United States Football League action.
In a bitterly contested game played before 38,720 fans under rainy skies, the teams combined for 22 penalties worth 207 yards, including six personal fouls and an unsportsmanlike conduct infraction.
Oakland got the worst of it, being assessed 13 penalties for 207 yards, mostly in the first three quarters to help Denver roll to a 22-0 lead. Although Denver nearly equaled Oakland's penalty figures, the bulk of the Gold's infractions occurred in the final quarter when the victory already appeared secure.
"I just don't know why we tend to show this kind of performance penalty-wise." said Ralston.
One possible reason for the intensity on both sides was the importance of the game. In winning, the Gold sent the four-team Pacific Division into a deadlock. All four teams - Denver, Oakland, Los Angeles and Arizona - now have 2-2 records.
"It was a big game for us because we could have gone one-up." Said Ralston. "Now we are all 2-2 and you can be sure nobody will dominate this division."
"This win puts us back in the race." Said Miller, whose club started the year at 0-2. "I think things are coming along for us. We keep progressing each week."
Miller was particularly impressed with his team's opening drive. Pounding off the right side, running back Harry Sydney carried the first four plays for a total of 38 yards, helping set up Ken Johnson's 10-yard touchdown pass to Bob Niziolek. Denver then faked the extra-point kick, with holder Jeff Knapple passing to Larry Canada for the two-point conversion and an 8-0 lead.
Denver scored on its next possession, too, marching 80 yards. Sydney, who was to finish with 83 yards rushing, ran 18 yards with a pitchout to highlight the drive, and Johnson passed five yards to wide receiver Vic James for the TD.
In the third period, Denver put together another long drive, helped by offside, holding and personal foul infractions against Oakland. Sydney scored from 1 yard out with 14:00 left in the game.
Oakland rallied for a pair of fourth-quarter scores. Fred Besana passed eight yards to running back Arthur Whittington, then found tight end Raymond Chester on a 16-yard scoring strike.
1 2 3 4 F
OAK 0 0 0 12 - 12
DEN 8 7 0 7 - 22
Scoring
DEN:Niziolek 10 yd pass from Johnson (Canada pass from Knapple) - DEN 8, OAK 0
DEN:James 5 yd pass from Johnson (Speelman kick) - DEN 15, OAK 0
DEN:Sydney 1 yd run (Speelman kick) - DEN 22, OAK 0
OAK:Whittington 8 yd pass from Besana (pass failed) - DEN 22, OAK 6
OAK:Chester 16 yd pass from Besana (pass failed) - DEN 22, OAK 12
Box Score
OAK DEN
First Downs 19 22
Rushes-Yards 9-40 48-158
Passing (A-C-Y-I) 39-23-278-0 15-8-68-1
Sacked-Yards Lost 4-40 1-5
Total Plays-Yards 52-278 64-221
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 10-107 9-100
Turnovers 0 1
Time of Possession 21:44 38:16
Attendance = 38,720
OAKLAND DENVER
Passing Att Cmp Yds In Td Rate Passing Att Cmp Yds In Td Rate
Besana 39 23 278 0 2 98.0 Johnson,K 15 8 68 1 2 77.2
Rushing Att Yds Ave TD Rushing Att Yds Ave TD
Whittington 7 35 5.0 0 Sydney 15 81 5.4 1
Torosian 2 5 2.5 0 Matthews 7 35 5.0 0
Canada 13 30 2.3 0
Ford 2 6 3.0 0
Johnson,K 4 3 0.8 0
James,V 1 2 2.0 0
Miller,T 6 1 0.2 0
Receiving Rec Yds Ave TD Receiving Rec Yds Ave TD
Chester 7 120 17.1 1 Niziolek 2 21 10.5 1
Whittington 6 60 10.0 1 Ballage 1 15 15.0 0
Henderson 2 29 14.5 0 Canada 1 9 9.0 0
Banks 2 28 14.0 0 Miller,T 1 8 8.0 0
Torosian 5 21 4.2 0 Matthews 1 6 6.0 0
Mallett 1 20 20.0 0 James,V 1 5 5.0 1
Sydney 1 4 4.0 0
Kick Returns No Yds Ave TD Kick Returns No Yds Ave TD
James,P 3 95 31.7 0 Phea 1 32 32.0 0
Aldridge 1 10 10.0 0 Martin 1 13 13.0 0
Punt Returns No Yds Ave TD Punt Returns No Yds Ave TD
Yancy 2 1 0.5 0 Martin 2 24 12.0 0
Kicking Fg Lg Xp Pts Kicking Fg Lg Xp Pts
Shea 0-0 0 0-0 0 Speelman 0-0 0 2-2 2
miss: none miss: none
Punting No Yds Ave Punting No Yds Ave
Talley 5 221 44.2 Garcia 4 175 43.8
Sacks Sk Yds Sacks Sk Yds
Bennett 0.5 2.5 Turner,C 2 23
McClain 0.5 2.5 White,L 1 12
Barefield 1 5
Interceptions No Yds Ave TD Interceptions No Yds Ave TD
O'Brien 1 21 21.0 0 None
Archived news report
Archived news report
Supplemental information courtesy of Chris Blackburn
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