And now Tiger LaVerde gets into the act

By CRAIG PHILLIPS

Franklin High School graduate and head football coach Dave Smith has toiled in the American Indoor Football Association for three seasons with the Erie Freeze.

Tiger LaVerde

He played nose guard in his first two seasons of professional football before switching to left defensive end this year after a start slowed by illness.

His talents hidden in a version of the game which highlights offensive fireworks and features outrageous scores, Smith may have found a double calling within the Freeze organization as a "slash" performer.

This position, an off-the-field post, would be that of talent scout/general manager.

Smith, listening to head coach Dave Arnold bemoan the team's lack of a capable quarterback, acted on the matter and told Arnold he had a couple of friends in mind who may be able to step in and help.

The "buddies," as Smith refers to the pair, were former Oil City High School standouts Matt LaVerde and Chris Delmonaco.

Erie, which had its quarterback miss one game due to an illness in the family, thought of LaVerde weeks before his eventual debut. However, LaVerde had job commitments.

Then, everything changed the week he took over the offense.

The Freeze's quarterback quit on a Tuesday and LaVerde was off to Erie.

"I asked Matt, 'Could you make it up to Erie and try out, because (Arnold) said you'll play if you're good,' " Smith said.

LaVerde arrived in Erie on Wednesday, practiced Thursday and made first start against the Pittsburgh RiverRats on Saturday, May 19, at Rostraver Ice Garden Arena in Belle Vernon.

And, what a night he had.

LaVerde, who had last played quarterback in 1998 as a backup for Mount Union College, scored six rushing touchdowns in an 86-72 loss. The teams combined to score 70 points in the fourth quarter, with 40 coming in the final three minutes.

"It was a thrill," said LaVerde, who also rushed for seven two-point conversions.

However, his fourth-quarter interception still stings him.

He finished 11-for-29 passing for 121 yards and rushed for 69 yards.

"Our hats are off to Matt LaVerde, who did a great job in his first game," RiverRats head coach Shawn Liotta said.

The loss set the Freeze's record at 1-12 with one home game remaining against the Mississippi Mudcats.

Smith, who had been resigned to the fact he was playing in his final season, began to have second thoughts.

"I haven't really made a decision about whether I'm done or not," Smith said the Thursday following the game. "I really hadn't thought about playing again until Matt joined the team."

Smith, an NCAA Division II All-American who has been a member of the team for three years, has been on the roster since the team became incorporated.

He was sick early in the season, lost 30 pounds, and took awhile to get going.

"Things started clicking for me the second half of the season," he said, and now he is unsure whether he has reached the end.

So is LaVerde., who followed up his six-touchdown performance with three passing TDs and three rushing TDs in a 53-47 loss to Mississippi at Erie's Civic Center.

"My teammates were very impressed with (Matt's) confidence and will to win," Smith said. "He was tenacious and wanted to get the job done.

"I told Matt, 'All you really have to do is take care of the football and put points on the board.' My teammates said to me, 'Where has this guy been all year?' They were glad he joined the team when he did.

"We didn't win any games with him, but the team was completely different."

The team would undergo another change before the finale against Mississippi.

Several of Erie's wide receivers had been hurt and the squad was down to three healthy players at the position.

Smith consulted LaVerde.

"(Matt) made a call to Kirtland, Ohio, and contacted Tiger (LaVerde) and he came over and played well Saturday," Smith said. "Tiger led the team in catches and clicked well with Matt. He did a good job and it was fun having him there."

What Tiger LaVerde, who Smith succeeded as Franklin's head coach, remembered most about the game was he felt the Freeze could have pulled out a victory.

"We could have won the game by scoring a touchdown and kicking the extra point," he said.

There were also other surreal factors.

"Matty told me they had three wideouts and I'd be the fourth," Tiger said. "I figured it would be an easy 250 bucks.

"As it turned out, I played every snap on offense. I took some hilarious shots. It was fun," he said. "But, athletically, it was way out of my league. I didn't have one yard after the catch. Everytime I caught the ball, I got absolutely crushed."

Matt LaVerde placed the call, figuring the brotherly chemistry could help the team.

"They were short on wideouts," he said. "I told them 'I know a guy who at least can run routes and I know he and I will be on the same page.' "

Tiger did manage a team-high five catches and ran once for seven yards.

And, he paid for it along the way.

"Oh my, I'm still black and blue," he said. "It's been 15 years since I've played a game in pads."

Tiger LaVerde - who is the head coach of the Kirtland, Ohio, football team - expressed concern about injuries, but said it went away following the opening whistle.

"I have four kids," he said. "I was real concerned about getting really hurt. Once the game got going, you don't think about it. Before the game, that's all you think about."

Matt LaVerde had similar thoughts.

"Oh yeah, It was a concern," he said.

On one play, following one of his two interceptions against the Mudcats, he took on a former Mississippi linebacker one-on-one and made the tackle.

"It was the only time it crossed my mind in all my years of playing football," he said. "I thought, 'what are you doing?' "

Following the season-ending loss to Mississippi, Smith and Matt LaVerde visited Arnold in Erie on Thursday and the coach invited LaVerde back for next season.

"It was like a second chance on a football career," LaVerde said. "It was something I love to do and I would have played for free, but hey, they were paying me. It was pretty neat to have Tiger play. It was pretty funny."

Like Smith, LaVerde is leaving the option open for next season.

"I'm getting married and we'll have to discuss it. When they picked me up, I was the oldest guy by three years," he said.

LaVerde feels his physical tools are up to par.

"My arm is great," he said. "I've been around football coaching. I've been playing with defensive backs and the linebackers. The motion of the swing of volleyball kept my arm loose."

His emotional feel for the game also is just right for a quarterback's mindset.

"We had our chance to win Saturday night, but it just didn't happen," he said. "I didn't sleep at all on Saturday night, I was so frustrated."

Welcome back to the gridiron, Matt.