By David Curtis, Xtreme team reporter

Los Angeles - (12 February 2001) -- Last week Jeremaine Copeland’s biggest play cost his team recovery of a punt when he was illegally downfield. This week his big plays down the field cost Chicago a victory it apparently had in the bag, and he made them look so easy that defenders probably wondered if these shouldn’t have been illegal as well. The wideout converted a fourth down on each of two touchdown drives in the final minutes of regulation, then outdid himself by scoring twice on last chances in overtime.

After trailing 25-13 since the second quarter, the Xtreme closed the gap to six with less than three minutes to go as Tommy Maddox threw an eight-yard strike to Damon Dunn, who held on in spite of a decleater and some initial doubts by officials. Copeland had previously retained possession for L.A. with a short hitch on fourth-and-five.

A three-and-out by Chicago allowed Maddox and company to reach the Enforcer 24 with under a minute left. From there, dropped passes by Darnell McDonald, Copeland, and Latario Rachal created a fourth-and-ten situation. Facing heavy pressure, Maddox finally launched a floater down the left sideline, where a leaping Copeland beat double coverage to bring down the ball at the one. Running back Ken Oxendine followed up a timeout by the flustered Chicago defense with a one-yard rumble that tied the game. The extra-point try was again unsuccessful.

L.A. chose to give the Enforcers the first crack at points in an overtime format resembling the NCAA’s. With the improvisational skills of quarterback Tim Lester putting Chicago up by seven, Copeland answered on the last possible play of the Xtreme series by hauling in a 20-yard rainbow near the back of the endzone. He concluded by securing the all-important point-after on a quick slant.

The Xtreme went first in the second overtime period, taking their first lead of the night on a 20-yard catch-and-run by McDonald. Lester soon proved to be fresh out of his own miracles, and the game fizzled with L.A.winning 39-32. Savior Copeland sported 17 receptions for 190 yards and a touchdown by the end.

THEIR UGLY HALF, THEIR UGLY THIRD

Down by 12 at halftime, Coach Luginbill’s squad had missed on two 34-yard field goal attempts and surrendered a touchdown return off a blocked punt. Talk about special teams making a difference….

ROCK-OPERA TOMMY

Boo-birds and a couple of interceptions didn’t keep Maddox from playing some mean football. His statistical shortcomings – if there can be such in a 412-yard performance – weren’t really of his own making. One pick came after a reaching deflection and rebound by a hustling linebacker. The other, an untimely mistake in the red zone, looked worse than it was because of likely miscommunication with McDonald. The quarterback also had to deal with at least five drops.

HEADS UP

Give the Enforcers credit for superb play-calling on offense. They exploited a defensive emphasis on dynamic runner John Avery with a deep passing game and receiver screens. A big reason the Xtreme found themselves in position to come back was that Chicago eventually lost starting tackles Octavious Bishop and Chris Perez. This severely limited the club’s creativity, leaving it less time to go vertical and limiting its run selection to mostly dives, whams, and bootlegs.

WHO’S POISON NOW?

Cornerback Corey Ivy was a thorn in L.A.’s side all night. He made the red zone interception mentioned above, made the hit that nearly cost Dunn a touchdown, and tipped away a point-after throw to Copeland that would have ended things in the fourth. Thus it was only fitting (from a local perspective, at least) that the 5’-8" Ivy was outmuscled and tossed aside by McDonald on the Xtreme’s final score.