Beef take on Billings in playoff game two
Published on July 15, 2004 under National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
Omaha Beef News Release
Beef Shut Down Bandits
Things started off smoothly for the Beef in their first game of the NIFL playoffs. But that was no indicator of the nail-biting game that would follow.
Quarterback Dusty Burk completed a seven-yard touchdown to newcomer Damon Benning for a touchdown only 2:27 into the first quarter. After failed attempts by both sides, the Bandits fired back. A five-yard pass by Sioux City quarterback Oscar Davenport put Sioux City in scoring position and Fred Jackson took care of the rest. The standout running back rushed four times for 37 yards to score a touchdown, followed by an Adam Brinkman kick to give Sioux City the 7-6 lead. A Burk fumble recovered by Marcus Washington ended the first quarter with Sioux City in possession.
Another touchdown came for Sioux City after Fred Jackson dominated the field. Jackson rushed twice for eight yards and caught a 10-yard pass from Davenport to place himself in position to run in a nine-yard touchdown. Omaha brought themselves back into the game when former University of Nebraska at Omaha quarterback Josh Luedtke completed a 42-yard pass to A.J. Street, closing the gap, 12-14.
Sioux City answered back. Davenport completed an 11-yard pass to Jesse Jones, followed by a couple of Fred Jackson rushes leaving Adam Brinkman in field goal position. Brinkman nailed the 22-yard kick, giving Sioux City a 17-12 lead. But Omaha's kicker, Chace Long had the opportunity to show his kicking skills as well, when a couple Luedtke passes gave him the chance to complete a 38-yard field goal, bringing Omaha within 2 points.
Omaha struck again after three incomplete Davenport passes and a missed Brinkman kick gave them possession. A.J. Street came through for the Beef once again when a 45-yard Luedtke pass found Street open in the end zone to end the first half.
At the start of the third quarter, Fred Jackson once again proved to be a powerhouse for the Bandits. Jackson's seven rushes for 13 yards and two passes by Davenport gave Sioux City the two-point lead.
Damon Benning took the reigns on the next play, returning Brinkman's kickoff 39 yards. He followed with a four-yard rush, and, after an incomplete Luedtke pass, finished what he'd started and ran the two yards for a touchdown, making the score 29-24, Omaha. The remainder of the third quarter left the teams stalled, with Omaha in possession.
At the start of the fourth, the game got interesting. Omaha scored off a short Luedtke scramble, awarding Omaha with a little more cushion on their lead. But it didn't take long for Sioux City to put the pressure on. A 15-yard return by Donte Gamble was followed by a nine-yard pass to Lucas Greene, moving Sioux City closer to the end zone. Fred Jackson took care of the rest when he ran in the 26-yard touchdown, followed by a successful Brinkman kick. Failed attempts by Luedtke in the Beef's next possession left the Beef with no choice but a 55-yard field goal. The kick was blocked and then recovered by Long, who was then tackled in the end zone by Marcus Washington for a safety.
The momentum stayed with Sioux City when an out-of-the-end zone kickoff put the Bandits at the 25. Oscar Davenport left little doubt when he completed a 24-yard pass to Lucas Greene, giving Sioux City the 40-36 lead. But Omaha hadn't given up yet. Another Luedtke pass complete to A.J. Street put Omaha on the two-yard line, and Benning brought the ball home, edging Sioux City by three.
In the next play, Oscar Davenport attempted to complete a long pass to Lucas Greene, which was intercepted by Omaha's Charles Verdone on Omaha's three-yard line. But Omaha failed to capitalize on Verdone's efforts. A 47-yard Long kick gave Omaha three points with only 1:35 left to go.
After an eight-yard pass to Greene, everyone in the Civic Auditorium was anticipating a big play. Only seconds remained and a long Davenport pass into the end zone would be the only way Sioux City would pull out a win. Another Davenport pass completed to Greene left the Bandits on the Omaha 15. Verdone broke up a touchdown pass attempt to Greene in the end zone. With Sioux City rushed to make their final attempt, Davenport threw a lofty pass to Greene, which was intercepted by Omaha's Dontae Jones in the end zone to end the game, 46-40 Omaha.
Stampeding Through the Playoffs
Omaha's win Saturday night against Sioux City brought them one step closer to the NIFL Championship. But the Beef will have to face the Billings Outlaws before that dream will become a reality. This upcoming Saturday (July 17) the Beef will travel to Billings to face off with the number 2 seed.
If the Beef manages to pull out with a win, they will face the winner of the Sioux Falls/Utah game, set to be played in Sioux Falls this Saturday. If both Omaha and Sioux Falls win, the Beef will travel to play the Storm in Sioux Falls. However, if both Utah and the Beef win, Omaha will host the semi-finals of the NIFL playoffs at the Civic.
Utah and Sioux Falls have split their two games this year, with each team winning at home. Billings has squeaked by Omaha in both games, winning the first 37-33 and the second 57-50.
Scouting the Outlaws
Omaha has got their work cut out for them. This weekend they will face the Billings Outlaws, the number 2 seed in the Pacific North Conference. Omaha has fallen to Billings both times this season.
In their first meeting, Omaha fell to Billings 33-37. With both the Beef and Billings in quarterback trouble, the teams found themselves in the same boat. Omaha started their number 3 quarterback, Tommy Aldana, while the Outlaw's started wide receiver Bryan Meier as quarterback. Aldana was injured during the third play of the game, putting the Beef in another tough position. Kahil Jones resumed quarterback duties for the Beef, finishing the night 11-19 on the field, with two touchdowns. Although Omaha ended the first half with a one-point lead, the Beef would eventually fall to the Outlaws despite a late touchdown pass from Jones to Lovell at the end of the fourth.
Meier finished the game completing 15 of 24 passes for 110 yards and three touchdowns. Standout receiver Cory Grow finished with six receptions for 36 yards and two touchdowns. Anthony Bonner led the Outlaws defensively, with eight tackles and three tackles for loss, in addition to 1.5 sacks for six yards.
Kahil Jones finished his debut for the Beef 11-19, throwing for 140 yards and two touchdowns. James Johnson rushed five times for 19 yards and one touchdown while Steve Lovell completed five receptions for 79 yards and two touchdowns.
Donavon LaViness was the leading defender for the Beef, with 13 tackles, followed by Brian Eakin with 10.5 tackles and three tackles for loss.
Omaha fell once again to the Outlaws in their second meeting of the season in a close 50-57 loss. The Beef started out strong, scoring within the first minutes of the game, but Billings fired back and proved that they were up for the challenge. The first half ended with Omaha in the lead, 33-26 but former Beef quarterback Matt LaFleur would prove to be too much to handle for his old teammates. Billings scored six times in the second half, brining the score to 57-50, Billings, with only 56 second remaining in the game. Omaha failed to tie the score when Dusty Burk missed an open A.J. Street in the end zone to end the game.
Outlaw quarterback LaFleur ended the game completing 17 of 21 passing attempts for 186 yards and six touchdowns. Jason Quinn and Verna Owens were the receivers of LaFleurs passing abilities, with Quinn managing five receptions for 91 yards and two touchdowns, while Owens finished with four receptions for 45 yards and one touchdown.
Travis Salter led the Outlaws defensively, recording seven tackles and three tackles for loss, while Stacy Edwards contributed 5.5 tackles and one tackle for loss.
Omaha's defense took the loss, with Donavon Laviness giving an incredible effort. Laviness added 13 tackles and two tackles for loss, while Richard Johnson chipped in with seven tackles.
For the Beef offense, quarterback Dusty Burk finished 13-21 on the night, with 200 yards and three touchdowns. Steve Lovell gave another strong effort for the team, with six receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns. LeAndre Moore was the team's lone running back, with 16 carries for 57 yards and two touchdowns.
With star quarterback Danny Ragsdale out of commission for the last half of the season, the Outlaws have employed several replacements, although none seem to have topped Ragsdale's stats from the first six games. Luckily for the Outlaws but unfortunately for the Beef, Ragsdale is expected back for this Saturday's game. Ragsdale still leads his team in passing, despite his absence. He completed 158 passes of his 229 attempts, averaging 288.5 yards per game, and amassing 1731 yards in the six games he played. Ragsdale also tallied 32 touchdowns.
Albert Higgs and former Beef quarterback Matt LaFleur have resumed most of the duties. LaFleur boasts 51 completions of 89 attempts and has thrown for 508 yards, while Higgs is 68-106 and has tallied 638 yards. Despite their quarterback troubles, Billings continues to shine. At the end of regular season play, the Outlaws topped the list in passing offense (496-322-22) is second in pass rating (108.4%).
Billings also has Cory Grow, one of the top receivers in the NIFL. At the end of regular season play, Grow was ranked third in receptions with 91, with 1078 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Grow leads all Billings receivers and was recently named to the Division All-Star team.
Verna Owens leads the running backs for the Outlaws. Owens has rushed 131 times for 531 yards, with 18 touchdowns, averaging 34.0 yards per game. Quarterback LaFleur is also ranked amongst the Outlaws, coming in second to Owens with 34 attempts for 193 yards in just three games, averaging 62.3 yards per game.
Jerry Jones and Jason Quinn will be the Outlaw's kick return weapons. Jones has returned 24 times for 412 yards, averaging 17.2 yards per game. Quinn has returned 19 times for 401 yards, with a long return of 50.
The Outlaws fail to have a strong kicker. Bryan Meier and Aaron Turner share kicking responsibilities, with Turner 2-7 and Meier only 1-2. Billings is a multi-dimensional team with a strong defense as well as offense. At the end of regular season play, the Outlaws were ranked third in scoring defense, with an average of 36.3 opponent yards per game, and seventh in total defense. The Outlaw defense is lead by Travis Salter. The former Rocky Mountain College graduate recorded 114.0 tackles this season, with 9.5 tackles for a loss of 23 yards, in addition to two pass breakups and five fumbles recovered. Salter is followed by teammate Jaquwan Brackenridge. During the regular season, Brackenridge has tallied 70.5 tackles and four tackles for loss, with two interceptions for 24 yards and 7 pass breakups. He was also named to the Division All-Star team.
When the Beef face off with Billings this Saturday, Omaha's offensive will have to bring their A-game. Competing against one of the best offenses in the nation, there are bound to be points scored and Omaha will have to match and top those points if they intend to win. The B-fence must also play to their potential if they intend to contain the Outlaw's offense.
News & Notes
Good Luck Carmen!
Omaha Beef Football would like to wish Omaha Beef Football Prime Dancer Carmen the best of luck on her new endeavors. Carmen is moving to Texas this summer for a new teaching position. She is planning to tryout for a dance team in the area and has promised to keep us posted should she make a squad!
KNOLLS KICKOFF CLASSIC â Join Steve Lovell, Damien Bauman, Chace Long, Donavon LaViness and others from Omaha Beef Football for the Knolls Kickoff Classic on Saturday, July 31st. It's a 4-person scramble with an 8:00 AM Shotgun start. There will be one football player on each team for a 5th member. Package includes Dinner, Flag Prizes and more. For more information please call the Knolls Golf Course at 402-493-1740.
National Indoor Football League Stories from July 15, 2004
- Beef take on Billings in playoff game two - Omaha Beef
- Greyhounds Eye Third NIFL Championship - NIFL
- 2004 MVP to be Named Friday Night - Ohio Valley Greyhounds
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