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Article clipped from The Gazette

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Archer's passes kill Machine's hopes Surge QB throws for record-tying five touchdowns, 370 yards PAT HICKEY THE GAZETTE Montreal Machine coach Jacques Dussault doesn't have any trouble putting together SURGE 35 his post-game comments. MACHINE 21 The Machine's hopes for a successful season have been dashed with three consecutive losses and Dussault's litany of excuses had a familiar ring yesterday after the Sacramento Surge whipped the Machine 35-21 before at Olympic Stadium. 'Dussault's post-game remarks centred around the ever-growing list of injuries which have beset the Machine - and you couldn't argue with the coach's assertion that injuries spelled the difference in this game. The most obvious difference in the two teams yesterday was at quarterback. NFL veteran David Archer had one of his best days as a pro, completing 23 of 37 passes for 370 yards and five touchdowns to tie a World League record set last year by Kerwin Bell. The Machine might have been able to count on similar performances from Anthony Dilweg, but he has been injured for most of the season. His replacement, Michael Proctor, is relatively inexperienced and that inexperience showed yesterday. While Archer was able to scramble out of trouble time and again, Proctor was under constant pressure and was sacked six times. Some new injuries made Archer's job easier. The Machine lost safety Jamie Gray with a knee injury in the first half and another safety, Elliott Smith, suffered a neck injury in the second half and was taken to Montreal General Hospital for tests. Archer, who started for the Atlanta Falcons in 1985 and 1986, put this game away in the third quarter after Proctor threw a two-yard TD pass to Adam Bob and then threw to Pete Mandley for a two-point convert which brought the Machine to within a field goal of the Surge at 21-18. Two plays later, Archer hit Eddie Brown on the dead run for an 80- yard TD play. It was the second TD of the day for Brown while Mark Stock, Paul Green and Stefon Adams each added a TD catch. The win gave Sacramento a 5-2 record and a share of first place in the West Division with the San Antonio Riders, who dopped a 39-21 decision to the Orlando Thunder. The Machine dropped to 2-5 and were eliminated from playoff contention. "I have lots of good people around me," said Archer, who threw for a team-record four TDs last weekend din London. "I couldn't do it without them." Archer finished the 1991 season with the Philadelphia Eagles but is hoping the team will release him this spring so that the can try out with another NFL team. "Things are crowded in Philly," he explained. "They drafted Casey Weldon and they also have Mac (Jim McMahon) and, of course, Randall (Cunningham) will be back. "I want another shot but I want to be in a position like I'm in here, where they give me the ball and tell me it's my show. I had that two of my first three years in Atlanta but then I separated my shoulder and I haven't had the chance to get back. That's what I'm looking for." Aaron Emmanuel rushed for 127 yards and scored the first Montreal TD. But 100 of those yards came in the first 16 minutes of the game. His TD gave Montreal a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter, but Emmanuel fumbled a few minutes later and Archer used the turnover to set up a 5-yard TD pass to Green which put the Surge ahead for good. The Machine had several chances to come back but their efforts were short-circuited by four fumbles, an interception, a partially blocked punt and those six sacks. In the only other World League action yesterday, the New YorkNew Jersey Knights whipped the defending-champion London Monarchs 41-13 to end London's playoff hopes.
Article from 04 May 1992The Gazette(Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
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