AVENGERS REMAIN WINLESS BUT THE PLAYERS SAY THEY'RE NOT FAR OFF OKLAHOMA 59, AVENGERS 33.

Byline: Scott Wolf  Staff Writer

There's a school of thought that expansion teams can immediately be competitive in the Arena Football League. So far, the Avengers are doing nothing to bolster that opinion.

They remained winless Monday night after losing to the Oklahoma Wranglers 59-33 before 9,160 at Staples Center.

But they're not quite ready to admit it's impossible to become a team capable of being in playoff contention.

``We're not far off,'' quarterback Scott Semptimphelter said. ``We're just struggling. It's a very long season. We need to find a niche and come together.''

That makes L.A. 0-3 to open the season, and loss No. 4 appears just a few days away when the Avengers play Friday at Oklahoma.

It wasn't exactly the showing Avengers coach Stan Brock wanted, especially since he coached the Wranglers last season, when they were in Portland.

Brock took a longer-than-usual amount of time in the locker room after the game to give the Avengers his take on the game.

``There's a lot of things going on in the players' minds,'' Brock said. ``They have to go back to work. It's just a matter of getting everyone to play together.

``We played against a very good football team with some guys that haven't seen any arena football. I'm not making excuses. We'll learn from it.''

The Avengers cured the turnover problem from their previous game, but their kicking woes continued, as Kyle Pooler missed three field goals. He also failed to convert an extra point because of a bad snap.

Wranglers quarterback Ron Lopez, who played for Pierce and Glendale colleges before attending Utah State, completed 21 of 33 passes for 258 yards and six touchdowns. Semptimphelter completed 17 of 37 passes for 210 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Oklahoma (3-0) broke the game open in the third quarter, taking a 42-19 lead on an 18-yard pass from Lopez to Barry Dillard. The Avengers finally added a touchdown with 2:40 left as Semptimphelter found Chris Jackson on a 34-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 42-26, but L.A. never got closer.

The first half was fairly close until the Wranglers made a late run in the final five minutes.

The Avengers trailed by five points (21-16) when Semptimphelter flipped a 1-yard pass to Larry Thompson. But Oklahoma immediately responded as Lopez hit Bobby McGowens on a 7-yard pass to give the Wranglers a 28-16 lead.

The Wranglers added a touchdown with three seconds left as Lopez connected on a 17-yard pass to Melvin Phillips and a 35-16 lead. Pooler hit a 47-yard field goal at the buzzer to cut Oklahoma's halftime lead to 35-19.

--Notes: Quarterback Todd Marinovich, charged last week for felony sexual assault, was not part of the active roster for the game. Marinovich had been the backup quarterback for the Avengers' first three quarters. Quarterback Harry Leons was activated for the first time this season. Marinovich attended the game in street clothes.

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Photo: Chris Jackson (81) of the Avengers can't keep control of the ball near the goal line after hitting the sideline barrier.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer