LOS BA&#209;OS -- Larry and Elaine Steitz could hardly catch their breath -- much less watch their son play on TV.</p><p>They were prisoners in their own home, trapped by the endless chime of their phone.</p><p>Ring, ring...</p><p>"The darn thing wouldn't stop," Larry said. "It just rang and rang -- during the game, after the game and well into the evening."</p><p>News travels fast in a small town crazy about its favorite son, Nick Steitz of the Arena Football League's Grand Rapids Rampage.</p><p>Steitz and the Rampage continued their unbelievable postseason run last Sunday with a 58-41 victory over longtime rival Chicago Rush in front of a nationally televised audience.</p><p>"That was a big game for us on a lot of different levels and for a lot of different reasons," said Steitz, GR's starting center. The Rampage came into the game 0-2 against the Rush.</p><p>"I think they thought we were getting lucky and they'd just beat the hell out of us in their house on national TV, but it didn't go down like that."</p><p>The win catapulted Grand Rapids -- a team once left for dead after starting the season 3-10 -- into Saturday's American Conference Championship against the Western Division champs, the San Jose SaberCats.</p><p>Right up the road at HP Pavilion.</p><p>The SaberCats (12-5), the defending Arena Bowl champions, ride a seven-game winning streak into the game.</p><p>The Rampage (8-10) have won five straight, including four on the road.</p><p>Kickoff is at 12:30 p.m.</p><p>"We're excited," Steitz said. "We understand we've had a heckuva run and that San Jose is a good team with really good arena players.</p><p>"But we're starting to embrace playing on the road and being the underdog.</p><p>"There are still a lot of people who don't believe in Grand Rapids, which is fine for us."</p><p>While he will be behind enemy lines, wearing foreign colors, Saturday's game will be as much a home game for Steitz as the SaberCats.</p><p>Larry and Elaine only have to point to their phone bill.</p><p>The two estimate that 30 or so people called last Sunday to inquire about tickets for Saturday's game.</p><p>"He's not expecting that many people -- not as many that have been contacting us about going," Larry said.</p><p>"There are quite a few people who have rallied around him, people who have followed his career all the way through."</p><p>Even those who have no recollection of Steitz' glory years at Los Ba&#241;os High have taken a keen interest.</p><p>On Monday, the Los Ba&#241;os football team -- some of whom weren't yet in high school when Steitz began his pro career in 2005 -- spent most of their practice chatting about their offensive line coach.</p><p>Steitz joined Dennis Stubbs' coaching staff last season after being the last cut of the San Francisco 49ers coming out of training camp.</p><p>Stubbs says Steitz will rejoin the staff once the AFL season is over.</p><p>"The kids were pretty stoked, especially his offensive linemen," LB assistant coach Dustin Caropreso said. "We didn't have to tell them about Nick. I think a lot of them already knew.</p><p>"They knew he was playing for Grand Rapids. I'd say they've been keeping better track of him than we (the coaches) have."</p><p>Steitz has been all over the football map since graduating from Los Ba&#241;os as a sure-fire Division-I prospect.</p><p>He played four seasons at the University of Oregon, where he was a three-year starter and two-time Pac-10 honorable mention.</p><p>Steitz' pro career hasn't been as stable. He's bounced around NFL training camps since 2005, landing on the Washington Redskins' active roster in 2006 and playing one season in the now-defunct NFL Europa with the Rhein Fire.</p><p>Now it looks like he's finally found his niche in the AFL -- an indoor football league known for its high-scoring affairs and ultra-quick action.</p><p>"To be honest with you, I didn't know much about the AFL," Steitz admitted. "My coach in high school took me to a SaberCats game and it was fun. We had a good time.</p><p>"Did I ever see myself playing arena ball? Not really. But things were looking slow for me and AFL came calling, and it was a chance for me to play football with good players and have fun doing it."</p><p>The fun, he hopes, continues on Saturday. </p><p>And beyond.