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Game Preview: Tri-Cities at Bemidji

April 8, 2015 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Minnesota Axemen News Release


Bemidji, MN - The 2-3 Bemidji Axemen return home and host the 3-2 Tri-Cities Fever this Friday at 7:05 p.m.. The Axemen are coming off a two game road trip where they won a game in Green Bay and dropped the other in Wichita Falls. Tri-Cities is on a two game winning streak with big wins over Wichita Falls and Nebraska.

The Fever are coming off a big 67-59 win over the Nebraska Danger which pushed them into second place in the Intense Conference and only one game out first place which is occupied by the Danger. Tri-Cities offense is led by quarterback Houston Lillard who is third in the IFL with 179.4 passing yards per game. Lillard's strong offensive season so far included 897 passing yards, 14 passing touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 104.29. Lillard also leads the team with 86 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. Steven Whitehead leads the Fever with 28 receptions for 418 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns. Whitehead is second in the IFL with 83.6 receiving yards per game. The Fever are averaging 45.2 points per game which is fifth in the IFL, their passing attack ranks fourth in the league by averaging 166.2 yards per game. The Tri-Cities defense averages 50.2 points to opponent's offenses along with 244.4 yards per game.

The Axemen will be returning home after a disappointing loss to the Wichita Falls Nighthawks but also after winning a big game in the last seconds versus the Green Bay Blizzard. Bemidji is sitting at fourth place in the United Conference, just one game behind Green Bay. Bemidji's third ranked rushing attack is spearheaded by running back Mulku Kalokoh who has 200 rushing yards on the season along with five rushing touchdowns. Quarterback EJ White averages 40.8 rushing yards per game which is fourth in the IFL and has 165 rushing yards and three rushing yards on the season. White has also thrown for 456 yards, 10 passing touchdowns and has a quarterback rating of 95.37. Wide receiver Ryan Balentine leads the team with 27 receptions for 230 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Fellow receiver Sheldon Galloway leads the team with four receiving touchdowns. Kalokoh also leads the team with 601 all-purpose yards, 381 of which are kickoff return yards. Kalokoh has brought back two kickoff returns for touchdowns. The Axemen offense is first in the IFL with 96 first downs and their special teams ranks second by averaging 15.6 yards per kickoff return.

The first meeting between the two teams last season saw the Fever defeat the Axemen 51-50 in Bemidji.

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