Blackhawks Win 7th Minor League Arena Title

[Blackhawk]

Los Angeles, CA. - The Inglewood Blackhawks moved their incredible arena record to 22-1 with their 7th arena title and 2nd consecutive of the 2005 season. The Blackhawks, who were set to play the South Bay Chaos, found out at the last second that the Chaos had pulled out the tournament at the last second which gave the Blackhawks an automatic first round victory. Although it's a moral victory, the Blackhawks will not use that as a win in their 22-1 record. With the Long Beach Lions winning in the winners bracket, the Blackhawks were set to play against them in the second round. It was a hard fought game by two great teams but as always, the Blackhawks pulled another rabbit out of their hat and defeated the Lions in overtime, 14-7. The win put the Blackhawks in the championship game against the Moreno Valley Mercury who pulled off the biggest upset of the year with a 21-0 win over the L.A. Gunslingers. The Mercury was a really feisty team who played well together as a unit and for that, we take our hats off to Coach Tucker and his squad. In this game, the Blackhawks put together plays when they had to led by (QB) Brennan Crooks who led the charge all day. Crooks who had tons and tons of time in the pocket the whole day, continuously found one of his favorite targets, Brian Carter for touchdowns throughout the day. Carter played exceptional to the delight of the AFL's Nashville Kats who offered him a contract on the spot after the game. Outcome and offer are not available at press time. The Blackhawks went on to defeat the Mercury, 21-16 to win the L.A. Avengers Minor League Arena championship for the 7th time. (FB) Dewayne Hervey, who was playing with a pulled hamstring also had a good day by running for two Blackhawk touchdowns. (WR's) Sidney Blue and Covy Thomas also contributed great to the passing game by hauling in catches. Blue also had a touchdown reception on the day. On defense, the Blackhawks played good enough to dominate but made sure they made the plays when they had too. (DB's) Rob Anamizu, Robert Avery, and Mark Estelle, all had great games and coming away with interceptions. (DL) Jerry Vrbanovic, Emile, Palacio, and Greg Cukrov kept pressure on both the Mercury and Lions all day long. Vrbanovic had two QB sacks on the day. Tournament MVP honors again went to Brian "Flea" Carter who continues to exploit the competition every time he touches the field. The Blackhawks will like to thank both the Lions and Mercury staff for a great clean day of football and a competitive day in the sport we all love. The Blackhawks will now shift their focus to their April 16th Minor League
Arena National Championship tournament in Salt Lake City Utah. The Blackhawks are set to return to the Staples Center on May 14th but are really considering not participating as it will be too close to preparation for the upcoming 2005 11 man season. And at 22-1, what else is there to prove. A decision will be made as the time approaches closer.