BlueCats Season Ends with Loss
July 17, 2007 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Evansville BlueCats News Release
EVANSVILLE, IN: The Evansville BlueCats closed out the 2007 season with a 48-31 loss to the Bloomington Extreme. Despite getting off to a quick start and jumping out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter, the BlueCats couldn't hang on as Bloomington pulled away in the second half. The loss drops the BlueCats to (5-10) on the season, as the team will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2004. Bloomington improves to (8-7) on year and will advance to the UIF playoffs as the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The BlueCats wasted no time getting started against the Extreme, putting together solid touchdown drives on their first two possessions of the game. Both touchdowns were scored by wide receiver Drouzon Quillen and were his first two touchdowns of the season. Quillen finished the game with 5 receptions for 43 yards and 2 touchdowns - all totals are new career highs. Quillen also scored on a 2-point conversion reception on a pass from running back Ray Kirkley in the 4th quarter.
Kirkley rushed for 52 yards and a touchdown against the Extreme. He also caught 3 passes for 33 yards. Kirkley finishes the season with 556 rushing yards, 214 receiving yards, and 23 touchdowns. He also completed one pass this season for a 9-yard touchdown and was 2-for-2 on 2 point conversion passes.
Quarterback Brent Dearmon went 16-36 for 128 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Extreme. He also ran for 11 yards, threw one interception and lost a fumble. Dearmon was the BlueCats leading passer this season throwing for 985 yards, 15 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in 8 games as the starting quarterback. He also rushed for 102 yards on the year.
Levron Williams finishes the season as the BlueCats leading receiver with 40 receptions for 463 yards and 11 touchdowns. He is now the team's all-time leader with 27 receiving touchdowns during his BlueCats career.
Dale Jennings finished the season with 603 all-purpose yards and 8 touchdowns giving him 3,436 all-purpose yards and 65 touchdowns for his career. He holds team records in more than 10 categories, including rushing yards, touchdowns, total points, and pass receptions.
Odest Shannon finished the season with a team high 1,121 all-purpose yards and ranked in a tie for 3rd with 8 touchdowns this season. Shannon also ranked 3rd on the team in pass receptions. Overall, Odest finished the regular season ranked 6th in the UIF in all-purpose yards.
AJ Bryant was the leading tackler for the BlueCats defense against the Bloomington Extreme, finishing the game with 7 tackles including 2 tackles for loss. He finishes the year as the BlueCats leading tackler with 71 total tackles. He also leads the team in interceptions and pass break ups, and ranks 2nd in the league overall in both categories. His 8 interceptions and 10 pass break ups this season is a new team record. Bryant scored 3 touchdowns this season, 2 on interception returns for touchdowns and one on an 11-yard touchdown catch, his only pass reception of the season. Bryant also threw a touchdown pass on his only pass attempt of the year, when he found Levron Williams for a 32-yard score against the Omaha Beef.
Deion Holts finished the season 64 total tackles which leads the league among defensive lineman. He led the team and ranked 2nd overall in the league with 20.5 tackles for loss and ranked 3rd in the league with 10 sacks, both totals are new single season team records. Holts also holds new team records forced fumbles and quarterback hurries, and a new league record with 3 safeties.
Tez Morris finished the season as the team's 3rd leading tackler with 52.5 total tackles in 2007. His 5 interceptions this season rank him in a tie for 5th best in the league along with fellow BlueCats defensive back, Hunter Pingston, who tallied his 30 tackles and 5 interceptions in only 8 games.
Johnny Brown had a dominating season at nose tackle, finishing the year with 34 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks.
Last season's UIF Defensive Rookie of the Year, John Winchester, returned from a knee injury that ended his 2006 season and racked up 51 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks in 11 games in 2007.
Overall, the BlueCats set franchise records in over 20 categories in 2007. As a team, the BlueCats led the league with 5 kick return touchdowns (Odest Shannon - 2, Richard Johnson - 2, Deion Holts - 1). They also led the league with 25 interceptions this season and ranked second overall with 37 takeaways. However, the BlueCats also ranked second overall with 36 turnovers committed. On the season, the BlueCats used four different starting quarterbacks, and eight players attempted at least one pass, a new franchise record.
The 2007 Evansville BlueCats season was filled with several outstanding performances. Evansville BlueCats players earned recognition from the league in their weekly awards a record 21 times, including a record 12 Player of the Week awards (Week 17 Player of the Week awards have not yet been announced). Since the UIF was formed in 2005, no other team in the UIF has had more players earn more Player of the Week awards than the Evansville BlueCats.
BlueCats recognized by the UIF in their Weekly Awards:
Week 1: Tez Morris - Special Teams Player of the Week Honorable Mention
Week 2: LaDrelle Bryant - Defensive Player of the Week
Week 2: Ton-Ton Luzayadio - Special Teams Player of Week Honorable Mention
Week 3: Richard Johnson - Special Teams Player of the Week
Week 4: Richard Johnson - Special Teams Player of the Week
Week 4: AJ Bryant - Defensive Player of the Week Honorable Mention
Week 5: Odest Shannon - Special Teams Player of the Week
Week 5: Choo Choo Davis - Defensive Player of the Week Honorable Mention
Week 6: Haven Mosley - Offensive Player of the Week
Week 6: Richard Johnson - Special Teams Player of the Week
Week 6: Choo Choo Davis - Defensive Player of the Week Honorable Mention
Week 8: Tarron Acuff - Special Teams Player of the Week Honorable Mention
Week 11: AJ Bryant - Defensive Player of the Week
Week 13: Deion Holts - Defensive Player of the Week
Week 13: Michael Cosey - Offensive Player of the Week Honorable Mention
Week 13: Dale Jennings - Special Teams Player of the Week Honorable Mention
Week 14: Hunter Pingston - Defensive Player of the Week
Week 15: John Winchester - Defensive Player of the Week
Week 16: Dale Jennings - Offensive Player of the Week
Week 16: AJ Bryant - Defensive Player of the Week
Week 16: Levron Williams - Special Teams Player of the Week Honorable Mention
The Evansville BlueCats 2007 season is over. The playoffs begin this weekend with #4 Bloomington visiting #1 Rock River and #3 Lexington visiting #2 River City in the East, and #4 Colorado visiting #1 Sioux Falls and #3 Omaha visiting #2 Billings in the West. United Bowl III will take place the weekend of August 4th. For more information on the Evansville BlueCats players and the 2007 season, please visit the website at www.evansvillebluecats.com.
• Discuss this story on the United Indoor Football Association message board...
United Indoor Football Association Stories from July 17, 2007
- Extreme prepares for UIF playoff run at Rockford - Bloomington Extreme
- Rage Kicker Raises Awareness and Money for St. Jude - UIF
- BlueCats Season Ends with Loss - Evansville BlueCats
- Storm Playoff Games to be Televised on UTV - Sioux Falls Storm
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.
