Sifl bowl i - 2009

[Caballo Diablo]

July 23, 2009
Top Two Make It To The SIFL Championship

AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Turfcats (10-2) travel to Lake Charles, La. on Monday to take on the Louisiana Swashbucklers (11-1) in the inaugural Southern Indoor Football League President's Cup championship game. These teams proved they deserve the right to fight for the title after being the top two teams in the league for the majority of the season and the first and second place teams in the playoffs.

While the end of the season treated the Swashbucklers nicely, the Turfcats had back-to-back road games in week 13 and a battle in their playoff game. The Turfcats hosted the Acadiana Mudbugs (6-6) July 18 in the first of two semi-final games. There were eight lead changes and a tied game at the end of regulation. In the first overtime played in SIFL history, the Turfcats scored quickly and a strong defensive stance sealed the 56-49 overtime victory for the Turfcats.

Gary Cooper threw for 124 yards and three touchdowns, two to Darrick Wallace and one to Robert Quiroga. David Banks had three rushing touchdowns and Keith Clay had one. Darren Brown hit two field goals, one for 27 yards and one for 43.
After a bye in the last week of regular season games, the Swashbucklers hosted the Houma Conquerors (3-9) on July 20. The Swashbucklers swept the regular season series with the Conquerors 3-0, beating them 48-16, 41-16, and 51-40. The Swashbucklers proved their dominance outscoring the Conquerors by at least twice as many points in every quarter winning the game 61-19.

If the ball wasn't in quarterback Alvin Bartie's hands, then chances are it was in Kirt Duhon's. Duhon rushed 16 times for 144 yards, 3 touchdowns and 7.1 yards per rush. Bartie rushed another seven times for 20 yards and two scores, throwing only eight times but connecting on seven of those passes for 107 yards and one touchdown.

The Turfcats gave the Swashbucklers their only loss splitting the regular season series 1-1 with both teams winning at home. They first met May 9, in Austin. After a scoreless first quarter and the score tied three times in the second quarter, the Turfcats took the lead right before half time. Although the Swashbucklers narrowed the gap to less than two points twice in the third quarter, the Turfcats were able to hang on and win 56-53. The Swashbucklers had not been beaten since 2006.

The Swashbucklers’ revenge came July 15, in Lake Charles, La. After an explosive start and a 16-point lead by the Turfcats, the Swashbucklers took the lead with one second remaining in the first half. The Swashbucklers held the Turfcats to only seven points in the second half while they scored 23, winning 60-43. A record number of balls were used during the game as both teams routinely sent the kickoff out of bounds to avoid a long return.

Since the Swashbucklers have the higher seed, they will host the President's Cup championship game Monday at the Smuggler's Den at the Lake Charles Civic Center. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. and tickets will be available at the ticket booth on game day. For ticket prices visit the Swashbucklers website at www.labucs.com.
A live broadcast of the game will be available on www.southernifl.com and, as always, live updates will be posted on the Turfcats homepage at www.turfcats.com and Twitter at www.twitter.com/austinturfcats.

[Caballo Diablo]

(Updated 7/23)
SIFL Championship Game Media Info
Posted on July 22, 2009 by Dan Ryan

SOUTHERN INDOOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESIDENT’S CUP

AUSTIN TURFCATS (10-2) VS. LOUISIANA SWASHBUCKLERS (11-1)
Monday, July 27 7 p.m. CST Lake Charles Civic Center, Lake Charles La. (5,550)

WEBCAST:
Available at www. Southernifl.com, Pregame starts at 6:30 p.m. CST

Talent:
Scott Blanchard (Play-By-Play) Cason Robinson (Color) Lexie Iskander (sidelines)

LIVE BLOG:
Available at www.southernifl.com (Kasey Johns, moderator)

TWITTER FEEDS:
www.twitter.com/siflfootball (league); www.twitter.com/austinturfcats and www.twitter.com/coachsmb05 (Louisiana)

ON THE WEB
LEAGUE WEB SITE: www.southernifl.com
AUSTIN: www.turfcats.com [GAME NOTES]
LOUISIANA: www.labucs.com [GAME NOTES]
STATS: www.thestatguys.com/SIFL/confstat.htm

PRE-GAME
COIN TOSS: Louisiana State Senator Willie L. Mount
NATIONAL ANTHEM: Chris Flowers
INVOCATION: TBA

NOTES:

THE GAME:
The inaugural season of the Southern Indoor Football League concludes with its inaugural championship game as the Louisiana Swashbucklers host the Austin Turfcats. Louisiana earned home-field advantage by posting the best regular season record with a 10-1 mark. The Swashbucklers defeated the Houma Conquerors 61-19 last Monday in the semifinals.

Austin finished with the SIFL’s second-best regular season record at 9-2 and won the league’s first overtime game last Saturday with a 56-49 instant classic semifinal victory over the Acadiana Mudbugs.

SERIES:
Tied 1-1

FIRST MEETING:
TURFCATS 56, SWASHBUCKLERS 53 (5/9/09 In Austin) Deron Ellis threw three touchdown passes and rushed for two more as Austin Turfcats snapped Louisiana’s 20-game winning streak.

SECOND MEETING:
SWASHBUCKLERS 60, TURFCATS 43 (6/15/09 In Lake Charles) Freddie Harrison threw for 175 yards and three touchdowns -- two to Marcus Wilridge -- as Louisiana erased a 16-point first-half deficit.


COACHES:
CHRIS DULIBAN (Austin, 2nd year as head coach 19-9 overall, 2-1 post-season)
DARNELL LEE (Louisiana, 4th year as head coach 50-10 overall, 5-2 post-season)

THREE-PEAT:
Louisiana is vying to become the sixth professional football team to win three consecutive championships.

Two NFL teams have accomplished the feat, and the Green Bay Packers have done it twice. The 1929-31 Packers under Curly Lambeau (the guy they named the stadium after) were first, then Vince Lombardi won the NFL championship from 1965-67, with the last two culminating in the first two Super Bowl victories.

Louisiana’s situation is similar to that of the 1946-50 Cleveland Browns, who won all four All-American Football Conference championship and then won all the marbles in their first NFL season in 1950 under Paul Brown.

In the CFL, the Edmonton Eskimos won three straight from 1945-47 under Pop Ivy and five in a row from 1978-82 under Hugh Campbell. The Toronto Argonauts won three straight under Teddy Morris from 1945-47.

One indoor team has won at least three straight championships: The Sioux Falls Storm won all four UIF titles under Kurtiss Riggs from 2005-2008.

HOME COOKING:
The Swashbucklers current home winning streak is 27 games dating back to 2006. LA is also undefeated in five home playoff games.

STRONG START:
While Louisiana is trying to extend a winning tradition, Austin is trying to establish one in its first season of operation. If the Turfcats win, they join the following teams in winning a championship in their first season of operation:

Arena Football League: Denver Dynamite (1987) and Detroit Drive (1988)
USFL: Philadelphia Stars (1983)
National Indoor Football League: Tri-Cities Fever (2005)
Af2: Quad City Steamwheelers: (2000), Spokane Shock (2006)
NFL Europe: London Monarchs (1991)

CREDENTIAL INFORMATION:
Credential requests for the SIFL championship game on Monday, July 27 can be e-mailed to dryan@southernifl.com

The cutoff will be Sunday night.

SIFL Director of Communications Dan Ryan has traded his mountain view in Utah for Cajun cooking and will be based in the Louisiana Swashbucklers' offices through next week's SIFL league meeting.

Daily updates will be posted on www.southernifl.com as well as e-mailed.

[Caballo Diablo]

2009 SIFL BOWL I - The Presidents Cup (commercial)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q9_y9nzWMs

[Caballo Diablo]

July 23, 2009
Southern Indoor Football League
La. State Senator To Officiate SIFL Championship Game Coin Toss

LAKE CHARLES, La. (July 23, 2009) - Louisiana State Senator Willie L. Mount (D-Lake Charles) will officiate the coin toss for the inaugural Southern Indoor Football League championship game between her hometown Louisiana Swashbucklers and the Austin Turfcats on Monday, July 27. Kickoff in the Lake Charles Civic Center is 7 p.m. CST.

Mount was elected the first woman Louisiana State Senator from District 27 in 1999 following her six and a half years serving as Lake Charles' first woman Mayor. She is serving her third term in the State Senate and chairs the Health and Welfare Committee.

Monday's pre-game activities will include the National Anthem performed by Chris Flowers of local performing group Louisiana Express and the presentation of the SIFL Most Valuable Players. Jerry Snider of Christian World will offer the invocation.

Tickets for are now on sale at the Lake Charles Civic Center box office starting as low as $10 for end zone seats to $51.50 for the front row. There is a $1.50 facility fee charged by the Civic Center. Parking is free.

Louisiana (11-1) will host the Turfcats (10-2) in the third consecutive year the Swashbucklers hosting of a league a championship game. Louisiana won back-to-back Intense Football League titles in 2007-2008.

Among the numerous championship game promotions will be a halftime car giveaway.

For more ticket information, call (337) 491-1256.

[Caballo Diablo]

Turfcat fans will be sitting in section 220, if any Houma and Acadiana fans are headed to the game come join us !! You too Chuck.

[Caballo Diablo]

SIFL Championship Game Breakdown
by Danny Burnham
July 24, 2009 - Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL)


QUARTERBACK:
Gary Cooper has taken the job away from Deron Ellis in Austin and we still don't know just how good he is or how good the Turfcats are with him behind center. We do know just what Alvin Bartie can do and even what Freddie Harrison can do for the Swashbucklers.

Advantage: Louisiana

RUNNING BACK:
Keith Clay and David Banks both are formidable ball carriers for the Turfcats, while Kirt Duhon has rushed for 100 yards in two consecutive indoor football games. That doesn't happen very often.

Advantage: Even

OFFENSIVE LINE:
Both teams are strong in the Hogmolly department. Austin has John Cardenas, Louisiana features Lance Fremin and Jabari Hendricks. Games are won in the trenches.

Advantage: Even

WIDE RECEIVER:
Austin's trio is incredibly balanced. Robert Quiroga could have a great game with Cooper if the 'Cats decide to air it out. Louisiana plain and simple has the league's most dangerous duo with Marcus Wilridge and Sammy Knight and a solid third option in Henry Hunter.

Advantage: Louisiana

DEFENSIVE LINE:
If this were any other league we'd give the advantage to Austin because of Kevin Earvine. But Louisiana's John Paul Jones (who has indeed not yet begun to fight) would've taken a run at this position in the AFL.

Advantage: Louisiana

LINEBACKER:
Both have solid players in Avery Cleveland and Thomas Bennett. It's always tough to be against a guy who has the same name as a city, but in this case we'll just have to flip a coin.

Advantage: Even.

DEFENSIVE BACKS:
Austin's JR Turner isn't bad, but didn't Damien Huren or Brandon Thomas take over a game practically every week?

Advantage: Louisiana

:KICKER:
Darren Brown is good, but Tommy Hebert should be kicking on Sundays...Sorry Darren.

Advantage: Louisiana

KICK RETURNER:
Louisiana's Sammy Knight was good, but Austin's Darrick Wallace had 7 TDs on returns in nine games. Watch for a lot of kickoffs bouncing off the scoreboard.

Advantage: Austin, but there won't be any returns.

INTANGIBLES:
Louisiana has won two straight championship games and 27 games overall in Lake Charles. They've been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

Advantage: Louisiana

PREDICTION:
Louisiana 65, Austin 55

[Caballo Diablo]

``SIFL Live" Preview Webcast Goes Sunday at 6 p.m.
July 25, 2009 by Dan Ryan

LAKE CHARLES, La. (July 25, 2009) – Join the Southern Indoor Football League webcast team on Sunday, July 26 for ``SIFL Live’’ and a preview of Monday’s championship game between the Austin Turfcats and Louisiana Swashbucklers.

The fun and festivities begin at 6 p.m. CST and can be viewed at http://www.southernifl.com/sifllive/ or at http://www.southernifl.com/

Veteran and venerable broadcaster Richard Dow will serve as host/chaperone as everyone lends their expertise to previewing the game and pretty much having a fun time. Both coaches are scheduled to appear.

``I’m grateful that Richard will be hosting because A) He can bring credibility to the show and B) He’ll keep all of us in line and C) We can use his bald head to test our lighting levels,’’ said SIFL Director of Communications Dan Ryan. ``Sunday’s show will be both breezy and informative and you’ll actually be able to see us.’’

Monday’s webcast will begin at 6:30 p.m. CT with Scott Blanchard (play-by-play), Cason Robinson (color) and Lexie Iskander (sidelines) on the videocast and Kasey John on the live blog.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

(Updated 7/25) Championship Game Media Information
July 25, 2009 by Dan Ryan

Media attending Monday's Southern Indoor Football League championship game between the Austin Turfcats and Louisiana Swashbucklers are invited to a pre-game meal at 5 p.m. in the foyer outside the Swashbucklers' offices in the Lake Charles Civic Center .

Olive Garden is providing the catering. Your credentials and SWAG will be available for pickup during this time.

We've added additional media seating in the arena to accommodate our live webcast. Stat service will be the same as Swashbuckler regular season games. A HTML page of the final can be sent to your official as soon as it is completed.

Voting for the game MVP will be conducted among league staff, media and fans using the interactive function on the league's webcast.

Post-game interviews will be conducted on the field. Representatives from each team will help track down any player and coach you wish to interview.

After you file your story, you're invited to attend the SIFL post-game party in the Lake Charles Civic Center 's Contraband Room. Take your time filing - we'll still be there. It's been a LONG season.

We appreciate your coverage and will strive to make your working experience as enjoyable as possible.

Contact Dan Ryan at (386) 295-8136 or e-mail dryan@southernifl.com if you have any questions or last minute needs.


SOUTHERN INDOOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESIDENT’S CUP

AUSTIN TURFCATS (10-2) VS. LOUISIANA SWASHBUCKLERS (11-1)
Monday, July 27 7 p.m. CST Lake Charles Civic Center, Lake Charles La. (5,550)

WEBCAST: Available at http://www.southernifl.com/ Pregame starts at 6:30 p.m. CST

Talent: Scott Blanchard (Play-By-Play) Cason Robinson (Color) Lexie Iskander (sidelines)

LIVE BLOG: Available at http://www.southernifl.com/ (Kasey Johns, moderator)

TWITTER FEEDS: http://twitter.com/siflfootball/ (league); http://twitter.com/austinturfcats/ (Austin) and http://twitter.com/coachsmb05/ (Louisiana)

ON THE WEB
LEAGUE WEB SITE: http://www.southernifl.com/
AUSTIN: http://www.turfcats.com/ [GAME NOTES]
LOUISIANA: http://www.labucs.com/[GAME NOTES]
STATS: http://www.thestatguys.com/SIFL/confstat.htm/

PRE-GAME
COIN TOSS: Louisiana State Senator Willie L. Mount
NATIONAL ANTHEM: Chris Flowers
INVOCATION: TBA

THE GAME: The inaugural season of the Southern Indoor Football League concludes with its inaugural championship game as the Louisiana Swashbucklers host the Austin Turfcats. Louisiana earned home-field advantage by posting the best regular season record with a 10-1 mark. The Swashbucklers defeated the Houma Conquerors 61-19 last Monday in the semifinals.

Austin finished with the SIFL’s second-best regular season record at 9-2 and won the league’s first overtime game last Saturday with a 56-49 instant classic semifinal victory over the Acadiana Mudbugs.

SERIES: Tied 1-1

FIRST MEETING: TURFCATS 56, SWASHBUCKLERS 53 (5/9/09 In Austin) Deron Ellis threw three touchdown passes and rushed for two more as Austin Turfcats snapped Louisiana’s 20-game winning streak.

SECOND MEETING: SWASHBUCKLERS 60, TURFCATS 43 (6/15/09 In Lake Charles) Freddie Harrison threw for 175 yards and three touchdowns -- two to Marcus Wilridge -- as Louisiana erased a 16-point first-half deficit.

COACHES:
CHRIS DULIBAN (Austin, 2nd year as head coach 19-9 overall, 2-1 post-season)
DARNELL LEE (Louisiana, 4th year as head coach 50-10 overall, 5-2 post-season)

THREE-PEAT: Louisiana is vying to become the sixth professional football team to win three consecutive championships.

Two NFL teams have accomplished the feat, and the Green Bay Packers have done it twice. The 1929-31 Packers under Curly Lambeau (the guy they named the stadium after) were first, then Vince Lombardi won the NFL championship from 1965-67, with the last two culminating in the first two Super Bowl victories.

Louisiana’s situation is similar to that of the 1946-50 Cleveland Browns, who won all four All-American Football Conference championship and then won all the marbles in their first NFL season in 1950 under Paul Brown.

In the CFL, the Edmonton Eskimos won three straight from 1945-47 under Pop Ivy and five in a row from 1978-82 under Hugh Campbell. The Toronto Argonauts won three straight under Teddy Morris from 1945-47.

One indoor team has won at least three straight championships: The Sioux Falls Storm won all four UIF titles under Kurtiss Riggs from 2005-2008.

HOME COOKING: The Swashbucklers current home winning streak is 27 games dating back to 2006. LA is also undefeated in five home playoff games.

STRONG START: While Louisiana is trying to extend a winning tradition, Austin is trying to establish one in its first season of operation. If the Turfcats win, they join the following teams in winning a championship in their first season of operation:

Arena Football League: Denver Dynamite (1987) and Detroit Drive (1988)

USFL: Philadelphia Stars (1983)

National Indoor Football League: Tri-Cities Fever (2005)

Af2: Quad City Steamwheelers: (2000), Spokane Shock (2006)
NFL Europe: London Monarchs (1991)
CREDENTIAL INFORMATION

Credential requests for the SIFL championship game on Monday, July 27 can be e-mailed to dryan@southernifl.com

The cutoff will be Sunday night.

SIFL Director of Communications Dan Ryan has traded his mountain view in Utah for Cajun cooking and will be based in the Louisiana Swashbucklers' offices through next week's SIFL league meeting.

[daytonadan]

www.southernifl.com/live

[gonzo13]

I noticed above that credentials are accompanied by "SWAG"..... Dan, you sure know how to throw a party. I still wear my WIB shirts in regular rotation. Top shelf stuff.....

[mace]

Well the day is here and all of the chips are on the table.... We will all find out who walks away with the trophy. Not that its for anything other than bragging rights, because both teams are winners. Before the game tonight I would like to say thanks to the league and the franchises. Also, EVERYONE who is getting on a bus or in a car to come to the Championship game tonight, please be safe and you are in our prayers for a safe trip.


SCARAMOUCHE!!

[exit322]

The GLIFL's Port Huron Pirates (2006) and CIFL's Saginaw Sting (2008 ) both won titles in their first year of operation.