AVENGERS GET THEIR BIG PLAYS, BIG WIN AVENGERS 45, COLORADO 34.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

There was no time remaining in the first half Saturday night when Avengers wide receiver/defensive back Russell Shaw caught Geoff Groshelle's missed field goal off the rebound net in the back of his team's end zone and began racing the other way.

Fifty-six yards later, Shaw was in the record books for the longest play in Avengers history and his team had the big play it needed to defeat the expansion Colorado Crush 45-34 and secure a first-round bye in the Arena Football League playoffs.

With a franchise-best 11-4 record, the Avengers will play at San Jose next Saturday to determine their seeding. They will open the postseason at Staples Center either May 31 or June 1.

Shaw's return electrified the announced crowd of 13,481 and was symbolic for the Avengers, who entered the game as the AFL's only team without a kick-return touchdown this season. But it was only one of the big plays in the game.

Less than five minutes into the second half, defensive specialist Cornelius Coe intercepted John Dutton's pass in the end zone and sprinted 56 yards with a return that put the Avengers in control 45-22.

The big plays came from a pair of the Avengers most unheralded players. Shaw spent eight weeks on injured reserve with a sprained ankle and was returning kicks Saturday only because starter Kevin Ingram suffered a fractured fibula two games ago.

They also came on a night in which offensive specialist Chris Jackson's streak of consecutive games with a touchdown catch came to an end at 47.

For a few seconds Saturday, the team's postseason future looked bleak when quarterback Tony Graziani was driven headfirst into the turf on a sack by Aaron Hamilton with six minutes left in the third. He lay motionless over the ball while trainers rushed onto the field.

But Graziani got up and remained in the game, though he did throw an interception to end the drive. And Graziani wasn't even the Avenger hardest-hit on the night.

Late in the third, wide receiver/linebacker J.J. Washington (Simi Valley High) had to be taken to the hospital after injuring his neck while making a tackle. The team said it was a precautionary measure, though Washington complained of numbness in one hand.