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NIFL Omaha Beef

Beef travel to Tri-City

April 6, 2004 - National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
Omaha Beef News Release


From the Stands

"It was a good ballgame, good entertainment." -Steve Higgins, Omaha.

"We had a great time tonight. Good game, close game, but we triumphed in the end." -Rump Roaster Marty Pitzel.

"I'm not excited about the score, but we gave you guys a good ballgame." -Tony Payne, Sioux City.

"It was intense from start to finish. The Slaughterhouse is a pretty intense place to play." -Zeb Timmons, Denver, attending his first NIFL game.

From the Field

"Things went well for us tonight, but that's a great ball club we just played." -#79, OL Dave Sutter.

"I think defensively we got beat early in the game, but we got back together and we started hitting them. It feels great to be back in Omaha." -#40, LB Demetrius Richards.

"I would have rather won, but all in all I had fun. It's always fun playing against someone you know." -#44 for Sioux City, LB Abrian Stovall.

"A hard fought game, seesawing back and forth." -Head Coach Sandy Buda.

Fans at the Slaughterhouse were treated to a real battle Saturday night when the Sioux City Bandits came to Omaha. It was a clash of the titans, an early-season battle for dominance in the Pacific North Division. "As I said all week long, Sioux City has probably got as good a talent as anybody in the league," Coach Buda said after the game. "It was just a question of them gelling, and they are going to be a force to be reckoned with the rest of the year. We'll take this win, the defense played pretty good, and then the offenses were trading field goals for a while, but we came up with a big play to cement the win."

Things didn't look good for the Beef early on, though. Sioux City jumped out to a 14-3 lead before Beef RB Kevin Brown bulled his way into the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown. Following the extra point by Chace Long, the Beef were within four of the Bandits. Sioux City QB Oscar Davenport returned the favor on the Bandits next possession, finding WR Lucas Greene for a 24-yard touchdown. After a failed extra point attempt, the Bandits had a 20-10 lead. The track meet was on.

"They picked on our defensive backs, and we picked on theirs, too," Coach Buda said later. That was apparent on the next Beef offensive series when QB Troy Travis found Steve Lovell wide open in the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown. With the point-after try no good, the Beef were down 20-16. That's when Beef DB Justin Comstock got tired of being picked on.

Davenport, working almost exclusively out of the shotgun to counter the Beef pass rush, was still getting pressure, and had to let some ducks fly. The first one was intercepted by Comstock at the Beef 8-yard line, but Omaha wasn't able to put together a drive, and Chace Long's 56-yard field goal attempt sailed wide. On the following series, Davenport let another quacker go, and Comstock picked it off again, this time at the Omaha 3-yard line. The Beef drove the ball down to the Sioux City 19, but had to settle for another field goal. At the half, it was 20-19 in favor of the Bandits. Davenport was only 6 of 17 passing in the first half, but had 122 yards to show for his work, including 2 touchdowns and the 2 interceptions. Travis, in comparison, was his usual efficient self, going 8 of 17 for 68 yards and a touchdown, but with no interceptions. Sioux City held a wide margin in total yards gained (141-84).

The Bandits opened the third quarter with a drive to the Omaha 2-yard line, but had to settle for a field goal when Sioux City RB Fred Jackson was denied the end zone, thanks to an outstanding defensive play by LB Donavon LaViness and DE "Big Sexy" Johnson. Following the kickoff, Travis marched the Beef down the field on a 9-play, 39-yard drive and took it in himself to make it a 26-23 Beef lead. The 3,393 Beef fans in attendance began to wake up. The noise became deafening. And life became a lot harder for Davenport and the Bandits.

Sioux City mustered another field goal to start the fourth quarter, and the Beef countered with a field goal of their own to make it a 29-26 Beef lead. Davenport and the Sioux City offense again drove down to the Omaha 2-yard line, but another great defensive stand by the Beefense turned the Bandits away, this time on downs. Omaha took over at their own 2-yard line, with the Sioux City defense looking to stop the Beef deep in their own territory. That's when Beef WR Doug Bargman made the play of the game.

Facing a second and 11, Travis dropped back to pass, and Bargman slipped through the traffic at the line of scrimmage and headed for the end zone. Travis found the wide-open Bargman for a 35-yard touchdown, and the Beef went up 36-26 with just over four minutes to go in the game. "Nothing was safe until that happened and gave us a cushion. That's what we call the ‘Bargman hook and go,'" quipped Buda afterwards. Whatever it's called, it took the life out of the Bandits. "Big Sexy" Johnson for a safety on the next series sacked Davenport in the end zone, and the Beef ran out the clock on the ensuing kickoff. The final score was 38-26 in favor of the Beef. Omaha allowed only two field goals in the second half, and did not have a single turnover for the game.

"The Bandits improved a great deal from the week before, but Omaha played a very efficient game, fewer penalties, and no turnovers," Sioux City Bandits fan Tony Payne said after the game. ""Justin Comstock's interceptions were great. He stopped two drives that could have been scoring chances for the Bandits. The play that clinched it for the Beef was the TD pass to Bargman, though." Travis finished the game 12 of 23 for 133 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions. A.J. Street once again led all Beef receivers with 5 catches for 50 yards, and Kevin Brown rushed for 37 yards on 13 carries and had one touchdown. James Johnson had 8 rushes for 13 yards on the night.

Derail the Train

The Omaha Beef go on the road for the first time this season when they take on the Tri-City Diesel this Saturday night. Diesel Head Coach (and former Beef Defensive Line Coach) Robert Fuller is eager to face off against his former team. "We're very excited about having the opportunity to play the best team in the league. It's a great challenge for us, one that any true competitor would be thankful for. We have a great deal of respect for both the Beef organization and their football team." Coach Fuller knows he's got his hands full in trying to take down his former team. "The Beef are the hands-down favorite to win the NIFL championship this year, and we can't afford to help them out by turning the ball over or committing stupid penalties. We're going to have to run the ball against the toughest defensive line and line backing corps in the league, because we aren't going to win the game through the air against the Beef defensive backs."

Don't expect the Diesel to be a one-dimensional team, though. "Our offense is built around a good balance between the run and the pass. Within that balance, we try to find weaknesses in our opponent's scheme and personnel, and we work hard to exploit those weaknesses. That will be a difficult task against a defense coached by Herman Colvin, and the Beef players themselves are outstanding," said Coach Fuller. "Offensively, we're led by two rookies, QB Alex Neist and RB Wes Cates. Jason Mitchell and Sonte Wong are proven veterans that have made huge plays for us so far this season. Chris Blair and rookie Tay Schumaker lead our offensive line. We have a lot of rookies contributing to our success, and it will be interesting to see how they play against a veteran defense like the Beef."

Fuller also knows the Diesel defense is going to have to rise to the occasion against the Beef. "We are going to try to find a way to get pressure on QB Troy Travis, and at the same time, make sure that Beef WRs Lovell, Street, and that outstanding rookie Bargman (looks like the secret's out) don't turn it into a track meet. The Beef also have a stable of outstanding running backs that can turn a game around with one run. We are going to have to play mistake-free football to keep this game close."

The Diesel has some momentum going into this week's game after the thrilling, come-from-behind win at Wichita Falls last Saturday night. However, Fuller knew long before then he had a special team in Tri-City this year. "The brightest spot for us as a team is our team chemistry, and the family atmosphere we've created here. The guys have faith we're going to get the job done no matter who we face. Another bright spot has been the play of all the rookies we have on our roster. To a man, they have stepped in and contributed to the success of this team." Fuller hopes the early season successes translate into a big crowd in Kearney this weekend. "We are hoping to have a large crowd on hand Saturday night, but the Beef are a veteran ball club, led by a great coach in Sandy Buda, and they aren't going to be bothered by a large crowd."

Beef boss Sandy Buda is making sure the Beef are prepared for anything come Saturday night. "I really don't know much about the Diesel, because we haven't seen them on video yet, but I know they are much improved, based on their scores and from what I've heard from other coaches. They've got a little momentum, we've got a little momentum, and hopefully our guys are healed up and ready to play."

Beef fans not making the trip out to Tri-City are reminded they can hear the game live on KHLP 1420 AM, with the voice of the Beef, Jim Kelter.

Community Involvement

Omaha Beef Football has teamed up with the United Way of the Midlands to help out during the 16th annual National Youth Services Day on April 17th. "We've been doing this locally for four years now, and we're excited to have the Prime Dancers, the Rump Roasters, and Sir Loin help us on this project," says United Way Youth Services Coordinator Michelle Moyes. "Omaha Beef football is picking up all the donated items from the eleven designated collection sites in the greater metropolitan area on Friday the 16th and taking it to the downtown Boys and Girls Club at 27th and Hamilton. Then on Saturday afternoon, from 12-3, they're going to help distribute all the equipment to underprivileged youth from the Omaha area." Anyone interested in donating new or slightly used sports equipment can drop it off at any of the three metro area Sports Clips hair salons, or any of the eight metro area YMCAs between April 12-16. What kinds of items are Michelle and the United Way looking for? "We are looking for youth-sized, primarily elementary through junior high, equipment, but adult-sized equipment also helps, because we will be having a number of teenagers coming in to get equipment. Anything from shoes to uniforms to shin guards, protective gear, helmets, bats, gloves, volleyballs, anything like that. It's not limited to just one sport, so if you have a pair of roller blades that you'd like to donate, that's fine too. Anything we can get to put sports equipment into the hands of disadvantaged kids so they can get out there and release all that energy they have in a positive way. The only thing we ask is to please not drop off any Nordic Tracks or bicycles," Michelle adds. So clean out those closets, Beef fans, and help the United Way help disadvantaged youth in Omaha.

Notes

The Kearney Trip is a day trip for the team. The Tri-City Diesel hotel sponsor is Motel 6. If you would like to say overnight in Kearney please contact anyone at 308-338-0705. Mention that you are coming in for the Beef/Diesel game and receive special pricing.

The Beef will be staying at the Howard Johnson in Billings for the game vs. Outlaws on Saturday, April 17th. Please contact Dawn Achten at 406-248-HOJO (FAX 406-248-7268) for fan reservations. The hotel is located at 1001 South 27th Street in Billings. The drive from Omaha to Billings is approximately 14.5 hours (not including stops).

The next home game is Saturday, April 24th vs. Lincoln Capitols. Discounts and premium giveaway items are available for groups of 10 or more. Please contact Craig Groff at the Omaha Beef Football office for more information – cgroff@beeffootball.com.



National Indoor Football League Stories from April 6, 2004


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.

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