Saginaw Sting Take Title
June 20, 2011 - Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL)
Saginaw Sting News Release
The Saginaw Sting is the 2011 UIFL Ultimate Bowl Champi- ons. Saginaw will enter the record books as the champions of the first Ultimate Bowl as they beat Eastern Kentucky in an offensive battle 86-69.
It was a high scoring first half. The teams put up a combined 74 points. Saginaw Sting scored 41 against one of the tougher defenses in the league. The Drillers could not match the amount of points put up by the explosive offense of the Sting, scoring 33 first half points.
In the final minute of the half, the teams combined for five touchdowns. Eastern Ken- tucky's Matthew Barbour had two of those touchdowns. Barbour finished the game with twelve receptions for 153 yards and six touchdowns.
Quarterback Tommy Jones opened up the second half with a pass to Nichols down to the Drillers' eight yard line. Two plays later, Jones found Macon for an eight yard touch- down, extending the Sting's lead to 48-33 after the extra point.
Saginaw's Kevin Brown inter- cepted a fourth down pass on the Driller's opening drive of the new half. The defense had been applying the pressure on Eastern Kentucky quarterback Allan Holland the entire drive.
After the interception, Saginaw's Chris Kolias kicked a 55-yard field goal and nearly converted a Uno on the ensu- ing kick-off.
The rest of the game was back and forth with the Drillers try- ing to chip away at the Sting's lead. Saginaw's defense did not allow Eastern Kentucky to move within ten points. All the momentum favored the Sting.
Tommy Jones broke his own UIFL single game touchdown record with just over two min- utes to play in the game. After the announcement was made over the loudspeaker, a roar from the crowd filled The Dow Event Center. His tenth touch- down pass essentially put the game out of reach for Eastern Kentucky. Saginaw's lead was 16 at that point with a score of 71-55.
Jones finished the night with 346 yards on 25 completions and ten touchdowns.
Sting Claim Several UIFL Honors
During halftime of Friday's championship game, the UIFL's Director of Media Relations Ameer Rasheed announced the UIFL honors for the regular season. Several Sting players were recognized for their performance during the season. Quarterback Tommy Jones won Offensive Player of the Year and was selected First Team Offense. Defensive lineman Mike McFadden and linebacker Phillip Smith were first team defense. Saginaw had three representatives on the All-UIFL Second Team Offense as wide receiver LaVaughn Macon, and offensive lineman Eric Brim and Steve Michalek received awards. The Saginaw Sting was also recognized as having the Best GameDay Experience. After the game during the trophy presentation, UIFL co-founder Andrew Haines said The Dow was the loudest arena he has been to this season.
His 346 passing yards was also a new single game record. Jones previously held the record for most passing yards in a game.
Top receivers for Friday's championship game were Zac Nichols who had 176 yards on nine receptions with three touchdowns and LaVaughn Macon who hauled in ten catches for 118 yards and six touchdowns. Macon's six touchdowns tied him for the most receiv- ing touchdowns in a single game.
The Ultimate Bowl was the perfect ending to an exciting season of Sting football. The Sting would like to thank all of our fans and sponsors for supporting us this past season.
Sting End Season Atop the UIFL
Saginaw's offensive line was one of the best in the league. Throughout the season, they provided added protection for quarterback Tommy Jones, as well as Kevin Brown and Yvens Louis in the semi-final game against Northern Kentucky, and allowed them to march down the field to victory. The Sting's victories were a total team effort. The Sting allowed only 13 sacks the entire season, the lowest in the league.
Sting receivers LaVaughn Macon and Zac Nichols had hot hands. Both receivers eclipsed the 1,000 yard re- ceiving mark. Macon had 1,184 receiving yards on the season, catching 32 touchdowns. Macon averaged 74.0 yards a game. Nichols recorded 1,013 receiving yards and caught 25 touchdowns. He averaged 84.4 yards per game.
Visit stingfootball.com for complete stats from the 2011 championship season.
Tommy Jones Impressive In Championship Game
After missing the semi-final game against the Northern Kentucky River Monsters, Tommy Jones looked sharp in the Ultimate Bowl. Jones completed nearly seventy percent of his passes against the Drillers, connecting on 25 of his 36 attempts.
With 346 yards and ten touchdowns, Jones broke two sin- gle game records. Jones also holds the second highest sin- gle game performance in passing yards with 332. He ac- complished this on April 23, 2011 when the Sting took on the Northern Kentucky River Monsters. At the end of the season, Jones was ranked first in pass efficiency. Jones' rat- ing was 106.1. Jones completed 62.3% of his passes and threw for 3400 yards. He led the league with 87 touch- down passes. Congratulations to Jones and the entire Sting organization on their inaugural season in the UIFL.
SAGINAW Named BEST GAMEDAY experience
UIFL Expands into Mississippi
Tupelo, Mississippi is the newest city to receive a Ultimate Indoor Football League team. The Missis- sippi team will compete in the South Division begin- ning in the 2012 season. A team name and logo have yet to be announced. The BancorpSouth Arena will be home to the league's newest team. The arena has a capacity of over 7,000. The UIFL is expected to expand further, prior to the start of next season.
Three Sting Defenders Ranked in Top Eight in Tackles Per Game
At the end of the UIFL season, three Sting de- fenders were among the league leaders in tackles per game. Saginaw has three of the top eight tacklers in the league. Linebackers John Jacobs and Phillip Smith ranked fourth and fifth respec- tively while defensive back Ed Loscalzo was eighth. Jacobs averaged 6.1 tackles per game while Smith and Loscalzo averaged 6.0 and 5.1 tackles respectively. In total the trio accounted for 228 of the team's 526 tackles (Jacobs: 61, Smith: 96, Loscalzo: 71).
• Discuss this story on the Ultimate Indoor Football League message board...
Ultimate Indoor Football League Stories from June 20, 2011
- Uifl Ownership Changes Hands - Huntington Hammer
- Saginaw Sting Take Title - Saginaw Sting
- Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report - OSC Original by Dan Krieger
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
