Fullback Mark Kellar rambles 31 yards on a Virgil Carter swing pass to put the Fire ahead 7-0.

Game 2: Jacksonville Sharks (W 25-22) – July 17, 1974 at Chicago Stadium.

Chuck Ramsey’s 26-yard field goal with six seconds to play pushed the Chicago Fire past the Jacksonville Sharks, 25-22, in a World Football League battle witnessed by 29,308. Chicago is now 2-0 on the season.

The game promised to match two of the new league’s better teams. Jacksonville, coming off a 14-7 victory against the New York Stars, looked to have one of the league’s best defenses. Chicago, with the aerial exploits of Virgil Carter, one of the best offenses.

“This is the best defense in the World Football League,” Jacksonville head coach Bud Asher crowed after the decisive 14-7 win against New York.

“Championships are built on great defense and executing the kicking game,” he exclaimed. “That’s what we did.”

Chicago, who shut-out the Houston Texans in week one 17-0, also felt confident about its defense. So, a low scoring defensive duel was expected.

The 25-22 tightly contested match, while entertaining was hardly that.

In a game full of miscues: interceptions, fumbles, fumbled snaps, missed field goals, and untimely penalties, the Fire emerged victorious – if for no other reason, than they had the ball last. It didn’t hurt that Fire quarterback Virgil Carter was under center taking the snaps.

Chicago took the early lead when Mark Kellar took Carter’s screen pass 31-yards to put the Fire up 7-0. The Sharks scored two minutes later on a two-yard run by Ricky Lake, a second year player from Georgia, and went ahead 8-7, when quarterback Kay Stephenson passed for the extra action point to Dennis Hughes.

Both offenses bogged down in the second quarter.

The Fire had opportunities early, but couldn’t capitalize. Former Chicago Bear veteran, Rudy Kuechenberg intercepted Kay Stephenson and returned the ball 33 yards to give the Fire great field position on the Sharks 24 yard line. But, the Jacksonville defense stiffened.

Fire tailback Cyril Pinder probed the line twice looking for daylight, but got nowhere. On third down, Fire quarterback Virgil Carter’s pass attempt misfired. When kicker Chuck Ramsey’s 49-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right, the Fire’s best opportunity had been doused.

Entering the game, the Fire had hoped to establish the run to complement Carter’s passing. The return of Cyril Pinder was a big part of that plan. In the first game against Houston, Pinder was ejected for fighting after running for a measly 3 yards on 3 carries. Against Jacksonville he carried 16 times for 62 yards. But, the yards didn’t come easy.

Chicago took the lead late in the second quarter. After a pass interference call put the ball on the four yard line, Jacksonville again stonewalled the Fire rushing attack to force a field goal attempt.

This time the Jacksonville defense fell asleep and the Fire’s Joe Womack scored from 1 yard out after bungling the snap. The fire converted its first action point on the year with Carter finding Scott in the end-zone to complete the play and give the Fire a 15- 7 first half lead.

The scoring play was typical of both teams’ play in the second quarter. Long snapper, Mick Heinrich, also one of the team’s starting defensive ends, lost his contact lenses on the play and launched a knuckler that Womack was barely able to corral. The kick disrupted, Womack picked up the ball, put his head down, and headed for the end zone untouched.

“After the bad snap,” said Womack, “I yelled ‘Ice’ which is a signal for the guys to start blocking for a run. Nobody heard me. The crowd was screaming. So, I just took off and scored.”

It was that kind of night for the Fire. “We got our share of breaks,” Fire head coach Jim Spavital said with a smile.

A disgusted Bud Asher could only shake his head. “The big play was the snap on the field goal,“ he sighed. “We just let them take it in.”

Quarterback Kay Stephenson put the first half interception behind him and moved the ball with ease on the Fire defense behind the running of tailbacks Tommy Durrance and Ricky Lake.

The elusive Durrance, who led all runners with 104 yards on 27 carries repeatedly gashed the Fire defense for big gains.

“Durrance is a cut-back type runner,” Fire defensive coordinator Jim Crossland noted, “He’d break off tackle, then cut-back against the grain in the secondary. Our men just weren’t positioned properly.”

Ricky Lake tied the score at 15-15 on a nine yard run to start things off. It was the second touchdown for Lake, who finished with 22 yards on 6 carries.

The momentum seemed to have swung entirely in Jacksonville’s direction.

Meanwhile, Chicago’s high powered passing attack continued to struggle. Part of it was scheme. Jacksonville’s defensive backs, lead by veteran Alvin Wyatt, smothered the Fire receivers. The physical play took away most of Chicago’s short passes and put pressure on Carter and the running game to move the chains.

Neither Carter nor the Fire tailbacks seemed up to the task. The one time the Fire crossed midfield in the third quarter, the drive bogged down again and Jacksonville forced yet another field goal attempt. This time Jacksonville broke through the line and blocked it.

Jacksonville capitalized on the field position with an efficient drive to take the lead. Shark quarterback Kay Stephenson found wide receiver John ‘Bubba’ Thornton early in the fourth quarter for a 20 yard strike to put the Sharks up 22-15.

Unfortunately for Jacksonville the tide would change and the momentum shifted. Losing the lead seemed to wake-up Virgil Carter and the Fire offense and Jacksonville’s physical handling of Fire receivers would backfire down the stretch.

Chicago took the ensuing kickoff and quickly moved to the Jacksonville 24 yard line. But, Jacksonville’s veteran defense again stiffened. As Chicago got closer to scoring, the tougher the yards seemed to get.

On and fourth-and-three situation Carter threw into the end zone for Jack Dolbin, who was unable to haul it in. However, pass interference was called against Jacksonville defender Jerry Davis and the ball was placed at the one yard line.

“It was a comeback pass,” said Dolbin. “I was hit when I ran back the first time on a fake, then hit again when I moved to the outside. The guy defending me was beat and knew it so he bumped me.”

Mark Kellar would hammer it on the next play to even the score at 22-22. That set the stage for the Fire’s winning drive and final kick before an announced crowd of 29,508.

In the end – Virgil Carter again stepped up when the team needed it most directing the team 86 yards in less than four minutes, mixing short runs and pinpoint passes, as the Fire methodically moved into field goal position.

Carter completed passes of 25 yards to Tight End Don Burchfield and two passes to reserve Tight End Luther Palmer, one for 12 yards and a second for 23. Bob Wyatt again replaced Cyril Pinder and was surprisingly effective with 15 yards on three carries. A Jacksonville offside penalty and a four yard run by Mark Kellar completed the drive – setting up Ramsey for the final kick at the nine yard line.

This time, with six seconds on the clock, Ramsey put it through dead center to give the Fire its second victory of the season.

Ramsey, who made only one of his three field goal attempts (one kick sailed wide right, one kick was blocked, and a third was aborted due to a fumbled snap) is now officially two for four on the season.

“My right thigh, my kicking leg, had bothered me all training camp,” said Ramsey, an All-American at Wake Forest. “It feels better now, though. I was kicking well before the game, and should have made the earlier field goal try.”

The victory leaves as many questions as it does answers. Mistakes and penalties, missed field goals, bogged down drives, and defensive lapses hounded both teams. In many ways, Jacksonville lost a game they should have won. But, it could just as easily be argued that Chicago won a game they should have won easily.

Carter, despite his last minute heroics, was kept in check most of the night by the stout Jacksonville defense completing just 12 of 28 attempts. Carter scattered passes to six different receivers. His biggest throws came on the last drive to Tight Ends Burchfield and Palmer. Wide-outs James Scott and Jack Dolbin, who collected 16 passes last week against Houston, were held to just 5 against Jacksonville.

The Fire rushing attack was better totaling 135 yards on 38 carries, but was never a threat. Cyril Pinder was effective at times with 62 yards, but found himself on the bench on Chicago’s last scoring drive.

After the game Shark Coach Bud Asher blamed his defensive unit. “We made too many critical mistakes on defense,” he said. “We let them off the hook in the fourth quarter. You can’t make errors like that and win a close game.”

Chicago’s offensive woes are surprising. For the second straight week – the Fire struggled to finish drives when they put themselves in scoring position.

On four occasions, the Fire marched inside the 25 yard line and came away with nothing. Fumbles, one apiece by Virgil Carter and Cyril Pinder killed two drives. Carter also threw his fourth interception of the year, when Jacksonville’s Alvin Sharp ripped the ball away from Jack Dolbin’s hands on the goal line. The missed field goal opportunities also hurt.

Head coach Jim Spavital is not concerned. “Everybody keeps bringing up these things except me. I haven’t thought about it.” But, he concedes, “Naturally, anytime you get inside the 35-yard line, you want to get something.”

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. At 2-0, Chicago is a little bit of both.

The Chicago Fire next play the winless Portland Storm in Portland on July 24. The Storm, coming off road losses to Philadelphia and Memphis will be playing their first home game.

Game Notes/Injuries:

After two games, Virgil Carter leads the league with 33 completions. James Scott leads receivers with 14 receptions. Chuck Ramsey is also tops in punting with a 44.7 average.

Keith Best, who suffered a concussion against Houston started against Jacksonville – but, left the game with a knee injury. Best will be placed on 21-day disabled list with twisted knee ligaments. He will be replaced on the roster for the Portland and Honolulu road games. Chuck Kogut will get his first start against Portland. Kogut has 14 tackles and 1 sack in the first two games playing in reserve.

Offensive Guard Dave Bradley, who missed the game with a sprained ankle, is scheduled to return and start against Portland. Bradley was replaced in the starting lineup by backup center Mike Botts.

Wide receiver Tom Redmond was released prior to the game and replaced by Wide Receiver Ron Thomas.