Bluecats Fall in Overtime
May 23, 2005 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Evansville BlueCats News Release
The Evansville Bluecats battled the Sioux Falls Storm in a close and exciting indoor football game in Sioux Falls on Saturday night. The Bluecats pushed the Storm to the limit and into the first overtime game in UIF and Bluecats team history.
Late in the 4th quarter with Evansville up by 3, Sioux Falls kicker Adam Hicks connected on a field goal to tie the score with only 4 seconds to play. The Bluecats got the ball back and was able to attempt a 49 yard field goal with one second left on the clock but the kick was no good and the game went to overtime.
UIF overtime rules are similar to NCAA college football overtime rules, in which each team gets a possession. With the score all tied at 42, Sioux Falls had the first possession of overtime and quarterback Terrance Bryant connected with receiver Matt Holmlund on a 12 yard touchdown to take the lead. Evansville was then forced to go for the endzone on their possession to have a chance to tie the game and was unable to get there giving the Storm the 49-42 victory in the first overtime game in league history.
The loss snaps the Bluecats 3 game win streak and gives them a 5-3 record overall. The Storm improves to 6-3 on the season.
After the game, Bluecats Head Coach Ollie Guidry said, "It was a great game, really back and forth. I thought our guys played with a lot of heart. We lost Sean Bennett this week and both of our guards during the game in the first and third quarter and we had a chance to win. We didn't do anything at the end to help ourselves, too many mistakes that we couldn't overcome. I think we really showed how good we can be, especially when we're healthy. Regardless of the score, there's really a lot of good things to take away from this game. We're learning more about ourselves and I really feel good about this team, and down the road people will see how good we really are."
The Bluecats outgained the Storm 315-196 yards on offense, but the Bluecats lost the turnover battle 3-1 and they were penalized for 51 more yards than the Storm. However, the biggest difference in the game may have been Sioux Falls kick returner James Jones. Jones had 5 kick returns for 133 yards, including one 46 yard return for a touchdown in the second quarter. Jones also returned 3 field goals for 70 yards.
The Bluecats defense only allowed the Storm to convert on 2 of their 10 3rd down conversion opportunities and held strong in the red zone. The defense forced the Storm to settle for short field goal attempts on five different occasions. Storm kicker Adam Hicks was 4 of 5 on field goal attempts inside 21 yards.
The UIF Special Teams Player of the Week last week in Week Nine, Erick Rockhold, was 3 for 6 on extra point attempts, one of the extra point kicks was blocked. The blocked extra point happened with 4:01 to play in the 4th quarter.
Bluecats quarterback, Ramon Robinson was 12 for 24 with 154 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Otis Shannon was the leading rusher for the Bluecats. Shannon ran for 79 yards on 13 carries and scored twice. Running back Dale Jennings added 57 yards on 16 carries and also had two touchdowns. Ramon Robinson gained 38 yards on 5 carries.
Wide Receiver Byron Curtis had 79 yards receiving on 5 catches against the Storm, including one touchdown on a 40 yard bomb from quarterback Ramon Robinson which was the Bluecats longest play from scrimmage so far this season. Gerald Clark also had 5 catches. Clark's 5 receptions gained 59 yards and a touchdown. Receiver Matt Kent, making his Bluecats debut, had 2 catches for 16 yards.
Coach Guidry said, "Richard Johnson and Byron Curtis really stepped up for us. Richard stepped up in a big way coming in at guard. He played so many snaps in the game, his conditioning really paid off. And Byron really came in and had a nice solid game and now with the absence of Sean Bennett, he's really our veteran go to guy."
Next weekend, the Evansville Bluecats will return home and welcome the Peoria Rough Riders to Roberts Stadium. The Sioux Falls Storm will host the Black Hills Red Dogs.
Kickoff for the Bluecats and Rough Riders is set for 7:05pm at Roberts Stadium this Saturday, May 28th. For tickets, contact the Roberts Stadium box office at 812-476-1383 ext. 25 or Ticketmaster. For the complete Evansville Bluecats 2005 schedule, please visit the website at www.evansvillebluecats.com.
United Indoor Football Association Stories from May 23, 2005
- Thunder Collins goes NFL - Peoria Rough Riders
- Freedom too much for Rough Riders in second half - Peoria Rough Riders
- Bluecats Fall in Overtime - Evansville BlueCats
- OurSports Central to host online Freedom coaches show - Fort Wayne Freedom
- Raptors fall to Horsemen at VBC - Tennessee Valley Raptors
- Red Dogs Gnaw on Some Beef - Black Hills Red Dogs
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.
