Evansville BlueCats game notes

Published on May 4, 2004 under National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
Evansville BlueCats News Release


Evansville BlueCats (2-3) VS. Show Me Believers (4-2)
Kickoff: 7:30 PM
Site: Family Arena, St. Charles, MO
Radio: Gold WYNG 94.9, Dan Egierski and Mike Sanders. Pre-game show begins at 7:00 PM

Series:

Show Me leads the series 1-0
@ Show Me 0-0
@ Evansville 1-0

Overview:

The BlueCats will be out to get revenge for a loss on their home turf to the Show Me Believers back on April 17th. Evansville will be looking to build on their spectacular win last week versus Fort Wayne and hopes to continue their quest to their first ever divisional championship. After a slow start, Show Me has won their last 4 games and is currently first in the Atlantic North Division. This is another very important game for both teams, as a divisional win can go a long way for the rest of the season.

Last Meeting:

After beating the Waco Marshals 59-7 and taking two bye weeks in a row, Evansville played to a 41-30 loss against Show Me at home on April 17th. QB Jusitn Peery for the Believers lead the way as he picked apart the BlueCats secondary for a 16 for 30 passing night for 200 yards. Michael Cosey of the Bluecats lead all rushers with 70 yards on 13 carries and 2 TDs. Scott Pingel of Show Me lead all receivers with 133 yards on 10 receptions. Look for this contest to be more of an all-around game, with both teams attacking through the air and on the ground.

More About This Week's Opponent:

After opening the season with back to back losses against division foes (Fort Wayne and Lexington), Show Me started their current winning streak with a March 28th win at home against Atlantic City. They have since reeled off 3 more wins (Evansville away, Oklahoma at home, and Staten Island away), and look to continue their run and first place standing with a home game against the Bluecats.

Evansville will have their hands full. Over the last two weeks they have faced both the #1 team in the league in scoring offense (Fort Wayne) and the #4 team (Ohio Valley). This week, they face the #2 team in the league, with the Believers averaging 54.3 points per game. Evansville has also raised their standing in scoring offense with the win against Ft. Wayne last week, from #18 (35.5 PPG) to #9 (42.6 PPG). Evansville's Total Offense also jumped, from #20 last week to #10 this week (213.8 YPG). Show Me is 2nd in the NIFL with 291.3 YPG.

Freedom Statistical Leaders: (6 games played)

Passing:

14 Justin Peery 168-104-5 INT 1153 Yards 16 TD 192.2 Rating

Rushing:

38 Ricky Brown 87-434-16 TD

Receiving:

10 Scott Pingel 43-498-9 TD 11.6 Yards Per Catch
82 Moses Regular 23-220-5 9.6 YPC
02 Darryl DeShields 18-291-1 13.9 YPC

BlueCats Statistical Leaders: (5 games played)

Passing:

10 Ramon Robinson 56-25-2 INT 243 Yards 4 TD 91.37 Rating

Rushing:

22 Michael Cosey 71-288-9 TD

Receiving:

8 John Gordon 21-300-8 TD 14.3 Yards Per Catch
5 Byron Curtis 15-155-1 TD 10.3 Yards Per Catch
88 Demetrius Doss 19-145-2 TD 7.6 Yards Per Catch

Team Statistical Match-up:

Scoring Offense: Show Me (2nd – 54.3 PPG) Evansville (9th – 42.6 PPG)
Scoring Defense: Show Me (14th – 38.0 PPG) Evansville (20th – 48.2 PPG)
Total Offense: Show Me (2nd – 291.3 YPG) Evansville (10th – 213.8 YPG)
Total Defense: Show Me (17th – 217.3 YPG) Evansville (18th – 234.2 YPG)
Pass Offense: Show Me (3rd – 191.5 YPG) Evansville (12th – 129.2 YPG)
Pass Defense: Evansville (12th – 126.8 YPG) Show Me (16th – 144.5 YPG)
Rushing Offense: Show Me (1st – 99.8 YPG) Evansville (6th – 84.6 YPG)
Rushing Defense: Show Me (17th – 72.8 YPG) Evansville (23rd – 107.4 YPG)
Pass Rating: Show Me (6th – 104.5) Evansville (20th – 92.4)
Pass Def Rating: Show Me (9th – 98.6) Evansville (13th – 101.6)
Kickoff Returns: Evansville (22nd – 13.8 YPK) Show Me (23rd – 13.1 YPK)
Missed FG Returns: Evansville (12th – 19.0 YPMFG) Show Me (18th – 13.0 YPMFG)
Turnover Margin: Show Me (9th - +0.33 PG) Evansville (19th - -0.60 PG)
Field Goal %: Show Me (6th – 41.7%) Evansville (8th – 36.4%)
PAT: Evansville (7th – 84.0%) Show Me (10th – 77.8%)
Sacks By Evansville (1st – 15 – 5 games) Show Me (2nd – 15 – 6 games)
Red Zone Offense: Show Me (7th – 78.4%) Evansville (19th – 60.5%)
Red Zone Defense: Show Me (8th – 63.8%) Evansville (15th – 76.2%)

Individual Statistics Leaders:

Scoring: Ricky Brown Show Me 110 points 2nd
Scoring TDs: Ricky Brown Show Me 110 points 2nd
Scoring (Kick): Steve Bohlken Show Me 41 points 7th
Pass Rating Justin Peety Show Me 105.8 5th
Rushing: Ricky Brown Show Me 434 yards 2nd
Rushing: Michael Cosey Evansville 288 yards 4th
Receptions: Scott Pingel Show Me 498 yards 1st
Receiving Yds/Game: Scott Pingel Show Me 83.0 YPG 1st
Passing Yards: Justin Peery Show Me 192.2 YPG 2nd
All Purpose Yards: Ricky
Passing Yards: Antoine Taylor Fort Wayne 176.8 Y/G 8th
All Purpose Yards: Adrian Reese Fort Wayne 192 Y/G 1st
Total Offense: Antoine Taylor Fort Wayne 1022 Yards 5th
Fumbles Forced James Beavers Evansville 1 T-3rd
Fumbles Forced Moses Washington Evansville 1 T-3rd
Fumbles Received Ron Cook Evansville 1 T-9th
Fumbles Received Isaiah Grier Evansville 1 T-9th
Passes Defended Scott Heighland Fort Wayne 12 1st
Tackles: Adam Wheatley Fort Wayne 33.5 T-10th
Tackles: Scott Heighlans Fort Wayne 33.5 T-10th
Tackles: Jeremy Lawrence Evansville 25.5 T-30th
Tackles: Isaiah Greer Evansville 23.0 T-40th
Sacks: Brandon Price Evansville 3.5 T-8th
Sacks: James Beavers Evansville 3.0 T-11th
Sacks: Ron Cook Evansville 2.5 T-15th
Sacks: Rachman Crable Fort Wayne 2.0 T-23rd
Sacks: Richard Scott Evansville 1.5 T-32nd
Sacks: Alf Fertil Fort Watne 1.0 T-42nd

Players to Watch:

Evansville:

Joe Davis, QB & Ramon Robinson, QB

As the offense has sputtered over the last two weeks, watch out for who will be playing this week against Fort Wayne. Joe has played well over three games, but gave up 2 INTs against Ohio Valley. Ramon really has not had enough playing time to see what he can do. Expect a game time decision on who will start for the Cats.

Michael Cosey, RB

Michael turned in another solid performance against Ohio Valley, raising him to sixth in the league in rushing. Look for the BlueCats to rely on Cosey heavily to help open up the passing game for either Ramon or Joe. Of course, the fans over in Cosey's corner will be cheering loudly for their favorite RB.

Jeremy Lawrence, LB

Jeremy still leads all BlueCats with 25.5 tackles. For Evansville to win, look for him and his fellow defensive teammates – Isaiah Greer, Ron Cook, James Beavers, Brandon Price, and Amos Hall – to have a big game.








Fort Wayne:

Rocky Havey, RB

An obvious PTW, Rocky is one heck of a RB. Against Atlantic City, Rocky rushed for a team-season high of 17 times for 64 yards and 3 TDS. He also caught 2 passes for 31 yards and 1 TD. He is a player that Fort Wayne heavily relies upon and if Evansville can find a way to shut him down, it will force the Freedom to pass more – into Evansville's 5th best Pass Defense.

Antoine Taylor, QB

Antoine picked apart Atlantic City's secondary, setting a team season record for TD passes (5). His favorite target for those 5 TD passes was Adrian Reese, who caught 3 TDs. Antoine went 13 for 18 and 1 INT for 163 yards. Look for Antoine to have a little more trouble this week against the BlueCats, as against the Atlantic City CardSharks, he was facing the 9th best pass defense in the league

Adrian Reese, WR

Adrian is one of the reasons why Fort Wayne is having a good season. With a total of 666 return yards on the season (20.2 yard average), the Freedom start each drive with very good field position. He leads the league in all purpose yards with 192 yards per game. Evansville must find a way to shut Adrian down in order to win.

Last Week:

Evansville lost to Ohio Valley at home, 45-12. Fort Wayne beat Atlantic City at home 63-54.


Next Week:

The Evansville BlueCats will be traveling to Saint Charles, MO to take on the Show Me Believers on May 8th at 7:30 PM at the Family Arena. Evansville will be able to avenge their early season loss to this divisional rival. Evansville returns back to the friendly confines of Roberts Stadium on May 15th for their tilt against Atlantic City. Show Me will be playing at Staten Island to take on the Extreme in a road game on May 1st.

Fort Wayne will take on Ohio Valley at home on May 8th. Ohio Valley will be playing at home against Atlantic City on May 1st.

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National Indoor Football League Stories from May 4, 2004


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