Drillers to face Lake Charles on Saturday
June 17, 2004 - National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
Beaumont Drillers News Release
BEAUMONT, TX -- The Beaumont Drillers will hit the streets for the last time in the regular season as they travel 45 minutes east on Interstate-10 to tangle with the red-hot Lake Charles LandSharks. Beaumont clings to the 6th and final playoff spot in the Atlantic Conference.
GAME INFO:
Sat., June 19, 7:05 p.m.
Lake Charles Civic Center
Beaumont (7-5)
Lake Charles (4-7)
**Last time they met**
- May 28, Beaumont Civic Center: Drillers 48, Lake Charles 28
- Driller defense limited LC to just 169 total yards and six turnovers.
- QB Marc Saldana was 15 of 27 for 144 yards with 4 TDs and 2 INTs.
- Pat "touchdown" Palmer had another 3-TD game with 6 catches for 56 yards.
- Nick "Cadillac" Mitchell had his best defensive game all year with 9 total
tackles, 1 for a loss of 8 yards, 1 fumble return, 1 sack for minus-7 and 4
quarterback hurries.
- Lake Charles is 2-1 against the Beaumont franchise.
**Lake Charles Update**
- 3-3 inside the Lake Charles Civic Center.
- Average 42 points and give up 45 per. At home, LC gives up 36 while
scoring 35.
- Outscore Beaumont 49.6 to 28 in the three meetings.
- Have won two in a row (both at home) against two-playoff teams, Tupelo
(59-55) and defending NIFL champions Ohio Valley (48-44).
- RB David Winbush rushed for 130 yards and 2 scores while QB Freddie
Harrison completed 14 passes on 24 attempts with 187 yards and 5 TDs against
Ohio Valley.
- Ranks 20th in scoring offense in 32.3 points per game, 21st in total
offense (150.1 yards per), 23rd in passing offense (100.7 yards).
- Ranks 3rd in total defense (171 yards), 3rd in pass defense (115.9 yards)
and 6th in rushing defense (55.1 yards).
- Ranks 6th in red-zone defense stopping teams 62.8% of the time (27 of 43).
**Driller Injury Report**
OUT: Kevin Mohr (groin)
RETURNING: LB Eric Winchester and RB Troy Sumrall. Sumrall has not seen time
since May 8. He will split time in the backfield with Anthony Johnson and
will have a spot in the kickoff team.
**Inside the Drillers' numbers**
- 3-3 on the road, averaging 50.3 while giving up 50.8.
- Ranked 3rd in scoring offense with 54.2 points per game.
- Ranked 4th total offense with 262.6 yards per game.
- Ranked 5th in passing offense with 174.5 yards per game.
- Ranked 4th in rushing offense with 88.1 yards per game.
- Ranked 3rd in red-zone offense scoring 80% of the time (68 for 85).
- QB Marc Saldana ranks 7th in the NIFL in pass efficiency with a rating of
103.6.
- WR Pat Palmer has three consecutive 3-touchdown reception games, dating
back to May 15.
- WR Chad Luttrull is 4th in receptions (64), 5th in rec. yards per game
(62.7) and 7th in all-purpose yards with 1,285 (107.1 per game).
- Ranked 10th in total defense (210.6 yards per), ranked 9th in pass defense
(139 yards per).
- Ranked 3rd in turnover ratio with +13.
- Troy Esprit ranks 2nd with 8 interceptions.
- Nick Mitchell ranks 6th with 12.5 tackles for a loss, 9th in total tackles
with 69.5.
**A nose for the goal-line**
RB Anthony "A-train" Johnson has 18 touchdowns, 12 of them have been of runs of 5 yards or less.
**Coach's Corner**
Coach Blake says...
- "We have to eliminate mistakes. We have to figure out a way to win this
game at all costs."
- "This game is big in so many ways. For starters, we are rivals. We need to
win to clinch a spot and Lake Charles still has a chance of getting in."
- "We need to put pressure on Freddie Harrison (quarterback). His turnovers
against us in the last game were caused by the pressure we put on him."
- "We are going to try to contain their running back (David Winbush). He did
not play against us the last meeting."
- "Lake Charles did a great job on us in the red-zone last game, keeping us
from scoring. We have to do better."
**Atlantic Conference Playoff Standings**
Top six teams advance
1. Houma (9-2)
2. Ohio Valley (9-3)
3. Show Me (8-4)
T4. Tupelo (7-4)
T4. Lexington (7-4)
6. Beaumont (7-5)
7. Atlantic City (6-5)
8. Fort Wayne (6-6)
**Next up**
Beaumont has a bye next week (June 26) and will return home to the Beaumont Civic Center for the regular season finale hosting Evansville on July 3.
National Indoor Football League Stories from June 17, 2004
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