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Erie Storm Revisits Richmond On April 30

April 29, 2010 - American Indoor Football Association (AIFA)
Erie Explosion News Release


ERIE, PA (April 29, 2010) -Following two consecutive home victories, the resurgent Erie Storm of the American Indoor Football Association embark on a two-game road trip beginning tomorrow night at the Richmond Coliseum where the Storm will face the Richmond Raiders in a return encounter from their previous game played in Erie just two weeks ago.

Following a difficult stretch marked by injuries and turnover problems, Erie (3-3) has rebounded to win its last two games, including a 44-35 victory over Richmond and a 41-34 win last weekend over the defending league champion Reading Express, and has moved back into contention for the AIFA playoffs. The Storm enter the weekend in third place in a division which will send three teams to the playoffs. Erie currently holds a half-game lead over Reading, at 3-4, and a one-game lead over Richmond, at 2-4. A victory over the Raiders would give the Storm the tiebreaker advantage over both Reading and Richmond, which could prove important at the end of the regular season.

"Our offense has been productive just about every week, but in the last two games, we did a much better job protecting the football, which was the biggest culprit in our three losses. With our playmakers on both sides of the ball, we'll win any game where we win the turnover battle, it's that simple. We've also been fortunate to get good play out of both our lines the last two weeks. Our offensive line, with Joe Blanks, Mike Fazio, Ron Idoko, and fullback Bob Hammer allowed just one sack over the two games, and they deserve credit for helping our offense find its rhythm. We're also getting great pressure from our D-line with Troy Blackwell, Phil Tillman and Ellery Moore, particularly last week against Reading. Richmond presents some challenges for us though, as their big quarterback is very hard to bring down, and they've got perhaps the fastest set of receivers in the league. These long bus trips are never fun, but our guys are confident and loose, and it's an important game with playoff implications, so I believe we'll be ready." according to Erie Storm head coach Shawn Liotta.

Erie's offense is led by quarterback Rod Rutherford who has completed 51% of his passes for 1,150 yards and 20 touchdowns with just eight interceptions, and leads the team with six rushing touchdowns. Receiver Denayne Dixon has emerged as a weapon for the Storm offense in his rookie season, with 20 catches, including a career-high six receptions for 102 yards last week against Reading. Eugene Baker, who is questionable for the game this weekend, leads Erie with 36 receptions and 466 receiving yards, and Darmel Whitfield is among the league leaders in touchdown receptions with nine among his 24 catches. Troy Blackwell set a franchise record last week with four sacks against Reading and has a team-leading seven sacks on the season. Phil Tillman (3 sacks) and Ellery Moore (2 sacks) return to anchor the Erie defensive line. Trent Jones and Sam Reynolds lead the Storm defense in interceptions with three apiece.

Richmond is in its first year in the AIFA and is coached by ex-Oakland Raiders receiver Mike Siani. Quarterback Robbie Jenkins has gotten off to a great start with the Raiders, completing 56% of his passes for 1,283 yards and 25 touchdowns with only five interceptions. Richmond has three wide receivers averaging five catches per game, led by Jay Jackson, who has 32 receptions and 11 touchdowns, and is averaging 27 yards per kickoff return. Defensive back Deleon Raynor leads the Raiders defense in interceptions and total tackles.

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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.

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