Chicago Slaughter Win 2009 CIFL Championship
June 27, 2009 - Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL)
Chicago Slaughter News Release
HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL.-Since the Chicago Slaughter joined the Continental Indoor Football League in 2007, the team has been building itself to become a champion.
In the Slaughter?s third season, it accomplished the goal and brought the city of Chicago a title. With a 58-48 win Saturday at the Sears Centre over the Fort Wayne Freedom, Chicago capped off an undefeated 14-0 season and won the 2009 CIFL Championship.
?I want to thank the true football fans of Chicago,? Slaughter coach Steve McMichael said while addressing the crowd during the trophy presentation. ?Celebrate the championship of Chicago because it?s your team too. Undefeated, the Chicago Slaughter are hear to stay. Now let?s go party.?
It is never easy to win a championship in any sport, and on this particular day, the Freedom (7-6) were a challenging and unyielding opponent. For a team that had outscored opponents by an average of 30 points a game, the Slaughter did not pull away from the Freedom until 7:38 remained in the game.
The Slaughter led 51-42 midway through the final quarter but were searching for its first defensive stop of the second half. After the defense held Fort Wayne to a missed field goal, Donovan Morgan broke the game open with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Russ Michna and Chicago went up 58-42. Fort Wayne could never recover and the Slaughter held on for the win.
Michna was named the game?s Most Valuable Player, going 14 for 20 with 182 yards and seven passing touchdowns. Morgan caught three and Bobby Sippio added two.
Chicago was shut out in the first quarter for the first time all season. Fort Wayne received the opening kickoff and promptly scored on a 38 yard pass from Randy Hutchison to Luther Stroder in 1:40. The Slaughter looked to answer on its first possession, but while running toward the endzone Russ Michna was hit and fumbled the football. Fort Wayne recovered but could not capitalize and was stopped on downs inside the 10-yard line. After the first quarter, Fort Wayne led 7-0.
The teams traded touchdowns for most of the second quarter. Reggie Gray returned a kickoff 46 yards for one score. Russ Michna fired three passing touchdowns in the first half, two to Donovan Morgan and one to Dontrell Jackson.
Tied at 28-28, Chicago made a critical defensive stand by holding Fort Wayne out of the endzone on four straight plays inside the 5-yard line with less than 30 seconds before halftime. The Slaughter took over on downs with just four seconds remaining before intermission and Chris Nednick hit a 52-yard field goal on the final play of the half. It was the longest field goal in CIFL history and beat out the previous record of 51 yards set by Fort Wayne?s Brad Selent in the 2008 CIFL Championship when he was playing for the Saginaw Sting. Chicago led 31-28 and set a CIFL record for points in one quarter with all of its 31.
Fort Wayne was led by Randy Hutchinson, who went 27 for 48 with 355 yards and two scored. Luther Stroder caught seven passes for 109 yards and three touchdowns and Nick Body racked up 182 yards on 13 grabs with two scores.
• Discuss this story on the Continental Indoor Football League message board...
Continental Indoor Football League Stories from June 27, 2009
- Chicago Slaughter Win 2009 CIFL Championship - Chicago Slaughter
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.
