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Arizona 6 at Denver 32
1983 Week 16 - Friday, June 17, 1983
Arizona Wranglers(4-11) at Denver Gold(6-9)(-6)
Attendance: 42,621
DENVER(AP)- Craig Penrose fired three touchdown passes and running back Vincent White rushed for a team-record 159 yards as the Denver Gold whipped Arizona 32-6.
A final home-game crowd of 42,621, which enabled Denver to average 41,735 for the season, saw the Gold jump to a 15-0 halftime lead and extend the margin to 25-0 after three quarters before Arizona finally scored early in the final quarter on a 9-yard pass from backup quarterback Dan Manucci to tight end Mark Keel. Safety Aaron Mitchell's 66-yard return with an interception set up the score.
Denver used big plays to build its halftime advantage. Penrose lofted a75-yard bomb to Johnnie Dirden just minutes into the contest for the game's first score.
In the second quarter, White, a tiny but quick rookie from Stanford, had back-to-back runs of 29 and 25 yards to set up tight end Bob Niziolek's 12-yard scoring reception from Fred Mortenson, who had relieved Penrose when the latter was sidelined momentarily with an aggravated groin injury.
Denver made it 22-0 early in the third quarter as Penrose passed three yards to backup tight end Darryl Goosby. Brian Speelman added a 33-yard field goal later in the quarter.
1 2 3 4 F
AZ 0 0 0 6 - 6
DEN 7 8 10 7 - 32
Scoring
DEN:Dirden 75 yd pass from Penrose (Speelman kick) - DEN 7, ARI 0
DEN:Niziolek 12 yd pass from Mortensen (Matthews pass from Mortensen) - DEN 15, ARI 0
DEN:Goosby 3 yd pass from Penrose (Speelman kick) - DEN 22, ARI 0
DEN:Speelman 33 yd field goal - DEN 25, ARI 0
AZ: Keel 9 yd pass from Manucci (pass failed) - DEN 25, ARI 6
DEN:James 7 yd pass from Penrose (Speelman kick) - DEN 32, ARI 6
Box Score
ARI DEN
First Downs 9 22
Rushes-Yards 18-25 42-256
Passing (A-C-Y-I) 39-15-157-0 27-14-287-1
Sacked-Yards Lost 2-15 4-34
Total Plays-Yards 59-167 73-509
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-0
Penalties-Yards 9-64 15-95
Turnovers 1 1
Time of Possession 24:38 35:22
Attendance = 42,621
ARIZONA DENVER
Passing Att Cmp Yds In Td Rate Passing Att Cmp Yds In Td Rate
Risher 25 10 105 0 0 82.9 Penrose 21 12 271 1 3 27.9
Manucci 14 5 52 0 1 39.6 Mortensen 6 2 16 0 1 55.7
Rushing Att Yds Ave TD Rushing Att Yds Ave TD
Spencer 6 10 1.7 0 White, V 20 159 2.5 0
Long 4 8 2.0 0 Canada 10 43 4.3 0
Boatner 5 7 1.4 0 Choate 1 30 30.0 0
Dennison 1 6 6.0 0 Sydney 5 25 5.0 0
Scott 1 4 4.0 0 Stamper 2 5 2.5 0
Denfeld 1 -10-10.0 0 Matthews 3 1 0.3 0
Penrose 1 -7 -3.5 0
Receiving Rec Yds Ave TD Receiving Rec Yds Ave TD
Keel 4 57 13.8 1 Niziolek 3 93 31.0 1
Howell 3 36 12.0 0 Dirden 1 75 75.0 1
Flowers 2 23 11.5 0 James 4 60 15.0 1
Blue 3 22 7.3 0 White, V 1 20 20.0 0
Murray 2 12 6.0 0 Jones 1 14 14.0 0
Henry 1 7 7.0 0 Matheney 1 13 13.0 0
Canada 2 9 4.5 0
Goosby 1 3 3.0 1
Kick Returns No Yds Ave TD Kick Returns No Yds Ave TD
Henry 4 76 19.0 0 Stamper 1 25 25.0 0
Punt Returns No Yds Ave TD Punt Returns No Yds Ave TD
Henry 1 1 1.0 0 Martin 4 51 12.8 0
Kicking Fg Lg Xp Pts Kicking Fg Lg Xp Pts
Denfeld 0-0 0 0-0 0 Speelman 1-2 33 3-3 6
miss: none miss: 47
Punting No Yds Ave Punting No Yds Ave
Mees 9 408 45.3 Gortz 5 182 36.4
Sacks Sk Yds Sacks Sk Yds
Nelson 1 10 Perry 1 7
Fisher 1 9 White, L 0.5 4
Clark, C 1 8 Perry 0.5 4
Norris 1 7
Interceptions No Yds Ave TD Interceptions No Yds Ave TD
Mitchell 1 66 66.0 0 None
Archived news report
Supplemental information courtesy of Chris Blackburn
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