Sting Win Inaugural UIFL Game
by Randy Snow
Published on February 19, 2011 under Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL)
Saginaw Sting
An enthusiastic crowd of 3,121 fans were in attendance last night (February 18) to witness the rebirth of the Saginaw Sting franchise as well as the birth of a brand new indoor football league. The Sting had the honor of hosting the first ever game in the new, six-team Ultimate Indoor Football League against the Eastern Kentucky Drillers. In the end, Saginaw came out on top 49-44 in a close, hard fought game that saw the lead change back and forth a total of 13 times.
In 2008, the Sting debuted as members of the Continental Indoor Football League and ended up winning the CIFL title that season. The team jumped to the Indoor Football league in 2009 with only moderate success and was dormant in 2010.
Saginaw retains the same look they have had in the past, sporting their familiar green and orange uniforms and helmets. The only difference is the logo on the helmet. Instead of simply having the word "STING" on the helmets, they now feature the green bee logo that has been a part of the team's identity from the beginning. They also return to playing in the Dow Event Center, the same location where they played in previous seasons.
Let the record show that it was WR/DB David Jones of the Drillers who scored the first points in UIFL history by returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown, giving Eastern Kentucky a 7-0 lead.
Despite the early setback for Saginaw, the team scored two unanswered touchdowns soon after and took the lead 14-7. From there it was a seesaw battle the entire game. The lead changed hands five times in the first half alone and Eastern Kentucky had a 26-21 advantage at halftime.
By the end of the third quarter, the lead had changed hands four more times and the Drillers were up 38-34.
In the fourth quarter, the Sting scored a safety and a touchdown to take a 42-38 lead. Late in the game, Eastern Kentucky was driving for the go-ahead score when Sting DB James Skodak intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown, extending Saginaw's lead to 49-38 with 29.8 seconds remaining on the clock. The Drillers did manage to score one more time, but failed to convert an onside kick which allowed Saginaw to run out the clock and preserve the win.
After the game, Saginaw head coach John Mize commented on his team's performance.
Saginaw WR LaVaughn Macon had a pair of touchdowns in the game and so did WR Yven Louis. For the Drillers, WR Aric Evans had a total of five touchdown receptions.
"With the offense that we have, we expected to be able to move the ball at will, but we made mistakes and we dropped balls," said Mize. "They didn't give up (when we were behind). They sucked it up. We told them to pin their ears back and keep getting pressure (on the quarterback). That's what we wanted. Our defense brought it and our offense didn't give up. The defense kept us in the game and the offense did what they had to do to make the lead change back and forth."
Mize has been the head coach of the team for only a few weeks. He replaced Francisco Lujan, who left the team earlier this month for personal reasons. This is the first head coaching position for Mize.
NEXT GAME
The Sting will host the Johnstown Generals next Friday night, February 25, at the Dow Event Center. The Eastern Kentucky Drillers will host the Huntington Hammer on the same night at the Eastern Kentucky Expo Center in Pikeville, KY. Both kickoffs are set for 7:30.
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Randy Snow is a freelance football writer from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Since 2003, he has covered the Arena Football League, arenafootball2, United Indoor Football, the Continental Indoor Football League, the Indoor Football League, the Ultimate Indoor Football League, the All American Football League and the Canadian Football League. He also runs the web site www.theworldoffootball.com and is the coordinator of Operation Gridiron Airlift, which collects footballs and sends them to U.S. troops serving overseas. He can be reached at RandySnow22@yahoo.com.
Ultimate Indoor Football League Stories from February 19, 2011
- Sting Win Inaugural UIFL Game - OSC Original by Randy Snow
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
