Abilene Looking To Carry Winning Momentum Into Post-Season With July 11 Match-up With Odessa
July 10, 2009 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Abilene Ruff Riders News Release
ABILENE, TX. : The Odessa Roughnecks may not be heading to the playoffs in 2009 but they are looking to end the regular season on a high note when they face the Abilene Ruff Riders on Saturday, July 11 from the Ector County Coliseum. Odessa is looking at this game in which a win could be a momentum swing that could carry over into the start of the 2010 season. As for Abilene, they have already booked a ticket to the IFL playoffs, in fact they will host a first round playoff game against the San Angelo Stampede Express next week.
The news for the Roughnecks this week is that Jason Johnson has been named the starting quarterback. In just two games played this season, Johnson has already collected five total touchdowns (four rushing, one passing) and now he finds himself back in the starting role such as the 2005 season when he led the Roughnecks to an undefeated regular season. Johnson is a dual-threat quarterback that can be dominant running the football as well as passing. Johnson has received plenty of repetitions this week in practice so he should be ready to go for Saturday.
Receiving wise, Jimmy Conner is on course to lead the IFL in receptions, receiving yards and all-purpose yards this season. The IFL-MVP candidate is arguably the X-factor coming into this ball game but also look for Eric Taylor and Torrey Day to be factors in the passing department. With Jason Johnson under center expect the Roughnecks running game to be much more effective especially inside the red-zone. Look for the Roughnecks to use I-formation setups during the game as well.
Quincy Carter is no longer in the picture for the Abilene Ruff Riders and with no David Bowie the Ruff Riders are turning to Randy Hymes to lead the offense. It's going to take some time for Hymes to get back into the mix of things at the QB position but he did a great job in managing the offense in Abilene's win over Odessa last week. Look for the Ruff Riders to utilize the running game against Odessa's defense like they did last weekend. The Ruff Riders collected 174 total rushing yards against the Roughnecks last week and expect Carlos Alsup and Bernard Payton to receive plenty of carries on July 11. If Abilene needs to go to the air look for Fred Howze, Mike Carrillo and Chris Morris to be the main targets.
Look for Roughnecks Head Coach Chris Williams to give some younger players more playing time in this game. Kendall Ricketts is expected to be back on defense which should help in containing the running game. However, if the running game becomes a problem for the Roughnecks defense do not be surprised if Peter Fields makes an appearance on the defensive line. If Odessa can avoid early turnovers and if the defense can win the battle up front then it should be a close ball game.
Further information regarding these topics can be obtained by contacting the Abilene Ruff Riders front office at (325) 677 - PASS (7277) or by visiting the official website of the Abilene Ruff Riders at www.abileneruffriders.com.
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