BlueCats Roast Beef
June 26, 2006 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Evansville BlueCats News Release
EVANSVILLE, IN: The Evansville BlueCats winning streak continued on Saturday night when the BlueCats claimed their third straight victory by defeating the Omaha Beef 28-17. The BlueCats beat Omaha at Roberts Stadium for the second consecutive year and avenged the Evansville loss in Omaha back in April. The BlueCats defense dominated Saturday's game right from the start and set the tempo for the BlueCats victory. The win moves the BlueCats into a tie for 4th place in the UIF standings, and a tie for 2nd place in the UIF East Division. Evansville is now tied with Omaha as well as the BlueCats next opponent, the Ohio Valley Greyhounds.
Evansville BlueCats Head Coach John Hart said, "The fans were great. This was a big win for us and our defense stepped up and really played hard. We've won our last three games and we want to carry that forward and take care of business on the road. We're going back to Ohio Valley this week and I know the guys will be ready to play again. The first two games we've played against them were decided by 2 points each time, so we expect another close ball game."
The BlueCats nearly led the game wire to wire with the Beef only leading briefly and by only two points for 2 minutes and 30 seconds of the entire 60 minute contest. The BlueCats led 15-3 at halftime before the Beef scored 2 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter to take a 17-15 lead at the end of the 3rd quarter. The BlueCats took the lead back early in the 4th quarter and went on to shut the Beef out for the rest of the game. The BlueCats didn't allow any Beef points in the 1st and 4th quarters. The BlueCats held the Beef to -2 yards of offense in the 1st quarter.
The defense shut down the Beef offensive attack with running back RJ Rollins, who entered the game as the league's leading rusher and leading scorer among non-kickers. Rollins finished with 61 yards on 23 carries and no touchdowns. Rollins only broke one run for longer than 5 yards in the game when he broke loose for a 23 run in the 3rd quarter. For the game he averaged less than 3 yards per carry (2.7) and with exception of his 23 yard run, Rollins has held to less than 2 yards per carry (1.7) on his 22 other rushing attempts.
Vernon Turner led the defensive effort with 10.5 tackles and a pass break up in the game. His 10.5 total tackles accounted for nearly one-fourth of the entire team's total tackles in the game. Linebacker John Winchester added 9.5 tackles. Demoine Adams had 5 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, and a fumble recovery. Tarron Acuff made 4 solo tackles and made his 3rd interception of the season, which ties him for the team lead. Johnny Brown made 3 tackles and a sack while AJ Bryant made 2.5 tackles and an interception; his second pick this season in only two games.
Evansville forced 3 turnovers against Omaha, giving the BlueCats a +1 turnover margin on the year, their first time being in the positive this season. They set a team record last week with 5 takeaways. Adding 3 against Omaha this week put the turnover margin number back in the positive. As a team, the BlueCats lead the league in rushing defense, allowing a miniscule average of 57 yards per game on the ground. The BlueCats rank 3rd in total defense and 4th in passing defense.
BlueCats running back Dale Jennings had an outstanding all-around performance, rushing for 10 yards and a touchdown, grabbing 2 receptions for 23 yards and a touchdown, returning a kickoff for 19 yards, and returning a punt 23 yards. He once again led all players in the game with 74 all-purpose yards. His 2 touchdowns in the game give him 21 touchdowns so far this season and move him into a tie for the league lead in touchdowns with RJ Rollins from Omaha. Jennings ranks 5th overall in the league in total points scored.
Quarterback Aaron Leak went 11-32 for 94 yards. He threw one touchdown and one interception. Leak also rushed for 5 yards. Wide Receiver Tyrone Walker was the BlueCats leading receiver, catching 6 of Leak's passes for 43 yards. For the second week in a row, the offensive line did not allow Leak to be sacked.
Kicker Ton-Ton Luzayadio remains the league's leading scorer with 150 points scored this season. He extended his lead on the rest of the league and now leads the second place kicker by 26 points and the next closest position player by 27 points. He kicked 4 field goals in the game against Omaha, and was perfect 2-2 on his extra point tries. He needs only 5 more points to break the league kicking record for points in a season set a year ago by Adam Hicks of Sioux Falls. Passing Hicks would give Luzayadio the second best single season scoring total in league history, only trailing behind last season's league MVP, Sioux City running back Fred Jackson (288 points) who is now with the Buffalo Bills.
The final spots in the UIF playoff picture are still up in the air with only 2 games to go this season for all teams. The top 3 seeds have already been clinched and only 6 teams will make the postseason. Evansville (6-7) is currently tied with Omaha (6-7) and Ohio Valley (6-7) for the #4 seed in the UIF Playoffs. Bloomington (5-8) and Sioux City (5-8) remain only one game behind.
The BlueCats will put their winning streak on the line when travel to play the Ohio Valley Greyhounds next Saturday night in Wheeling, West Virginia. The playoff implications will be huge for both teams as Evansville and Ohio Valley split the two previous meetings this season, with each team winning by two points on the other's home field. Kickoff for Saturday, July 1st, is set for 6:30pm Evansville time 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 June 26, 2006
- UIF Transactions - UIF
- BlueCats Roast Beef - Evansville BlueCats
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- UIF Week 14 Wrap-up - UIF
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