BlueCats Keep Rolling, Clinch Playoff Spot
July 3, 2006 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Evansville BlueCats News Release
EVANSVILLE, IN: The Evansville BlueCats kept their streak alive by winning a franchise record 4 games in a row and clinched a playoff spot for the second consecutive season with a 28-26 win over the Ohio Valley Greyhounds on Saturday night. The win matches the teams win total from last season and puts the streaking BlueCats in great shape as they prepare for their run at the United Bowl in the upcoming UIF playoffs. The BlueCats take the season series 2-1 over the Greyhounds and breaks the tie between the teams in the UIF East Division standings. The 3 games between Evansville and Ohio Valley this season were each decided by 2 points with the road team winning all 3 games. The BlueCats are currently tied with Omaha (7-7) for the #4 seed in the UIF playoffs, and sit all alone in second place in the UIF East Division. The win moves Evansville to (7-7) on the year, matching last season's win total. The loss drops Ohio Valley to (6-8) on the year.
Once again the BlueCats used their punishing defensive attack to lead them victory. The defense shut down the high powered Ohio Valley offense led by their quarterback Matt Kohn. The BlueCats defensive front applied heavy pressure to Kohn throughout the game, which forced him to scramble or throw the ball away. Ohio Valley was among the league leaders in scoring offense entering the game, averaging more than 42 points per ball game. Evansville held them to only 26 points on the night, Ohio Valley's lowest point output in nearly two months.
BlueCats defensive back AJ Bryant led all players with 9 tackles in the game, including one tackle for loss and the game winning interception in the 4th quarter. Vernon Turner was right behind with 8.5 tackles and an interception of his own, his team high 4th interception of the season. Deion Holts and John Winchester had 6.5 tackles each, Holts also recorded 2 sacks and recovered a fumble. Winchester's 6.5 tackles give him 108.5 total tackles on the year, which leaves him only 5.5 tackles away from the team record of 114 set last year by BlueCats safety and UIF Defensive Player of the Year, Connie Brown.
The BlueCats defense came up with 3 turnovers in the game, giving the BlueCats 11 takeaways in the last 3 games.
BlueCats quarterback Aaron Leak was 12-23 passing for 117 yards, 2 touchdowns, and one interception. Tyrone Walker led all BlueCats receivers with 5 receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown. Sherman Gant had 2 receptions for 30 yards, including the other receiving touchdown on a 22-yard strike in the 3rd quarter. James Walton added 3 receptions for 17 yards.
Running back Dale Jennings rushed for 36 yards and a touchdown and caught 2 passes for 12 yards. His touchdown gives him 22 touchdowns this season, good for the second most in the league, behind only RJ Rollins of Omaha, who has 23.
Kicker Ton-Ton Luzayadio was 3-5 on his field goal attempts, with both of misses coming from over 40 yards away. He broke the UIF single season scoring record for a kicker. Luzayadio now has 160 points on the season, breaking the previous record of 155 set last season by Adam Hicks from Sioux Falls. Luzayadio appears to be running away with the UIF scoring title, having scored 20 more points than the next closest player in 2006, and 28 more points than the next closest kicker.
Levander Segars returned two kickoffs against Ohio Valley, returning one for 42 yards and another for 39 yards, giving him 81 return yards and a 40.5 kick return yard average on only two returns in the game.
Next week the Evansville BlueCats will travel to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to take on the undefeated and defending national champion Sioux Falls Storm. Two of the league's hottest teams face off as the two longest winning streaks in the UIF meet next Saturday night. Last season, Evansville and Sioux Falls faced off at Sioux Falls Arena in what was one of the most exciting games of the season. The BlueCats forced overtime on the road against the Storm before falling to the eventual national champions. It was the first overtime game in league history.
If the playoffs started today, Omaha (7-7) would hold the tiebreaker for the #4 seed in the UIF playoffs, and Evansville (7-7) would get the #5 seed. Evansville would then travel to Omaha for the first round of the playoffs. Ohio Valley (6-8) would fall to the #6 spot and travel to #3 Rock River (10-4), with #1 Sioux Falls (14-0) and #2 Lexington (12-2) receiving a first round bye. The top 6 teams make the playoffs. The top 3 seeds and the division championships have been locked up. Evansville and Omaha have clinched a playoff berth but their final seeding has not yet been decided. Ohio Valley is fighting for the final spot with Sioux City (5-9) and Bloomington (5-9) who sit just one game back with one week remaining in the regular season.
The BlueCats will put their winning streak on the line once again when travel to play the Sioux Falls Storm next Saturday night in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Kickoff for Saturday, July 8th, is set for 7:05pm and can be heard live on ESPN Radio 94.9 in Evansville. For the complete Evansville BlueCats 2006 schedule, please visit the website at www.evansvillebluecats.com.
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United Indoor Football Association Stories from July 3, 2006
- Five Spots Filled, One Remains - UIF
- BlueCats Keep Rolling, Clinch Playoff Spot - Evansville BlueCats
- UIF Week 15 Recap - UIF
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