Evansville BlueCats Pummel Peoria
June 19, 2006 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Evansville BlueCats News Release
EVANSVILLE, IN: The Evansville BlueCats defeated the Peoria Rough Riders in convincing fashion 70-31 on Saturday night at Roberts Stadium. For the second straight week, the BlueCats protect the home field by winning at Roberts Stadium and sweep a season series with a UIF opponent. The win over Peoria featured the biggest margin of victory and the most points scored by Evansville so far this season, but more importantly it also moved the BlueCats into a tie for the 6th spot in the UIF playoffs with 3 games to go.
Evansville BlueCats Head Coach John Hart said, "It's great to win and certainly great to see a lot of our guys play really well, but the players and coaches and I know it's time to get ready for a big game against Omaha next weekend."
Peoria got on the board early on their first possession of the game when a pass interference penalty gave the Rough Riders great field position to set up a field goal. The BlueCats went on to shut them out for the rest of the first half and the BlueCats held a 36-3 lead at halftime. The BlueCats defense was strong and only gave up 14 yards of offense during 7 Peoria possessions in the first half.
The BlueCats defense continued to play tough in the second half with constant pressure on the Peoria quarterback as the defense forced scrambles, incomplete passes, and interceptions. The defense only surrendered 21 points in the second half, as the other Peoria score came on a defensive fumble return for a touchdown.
Evansville forced 6 turnovers in the game; the BlueCats scored on a fumble return, an interception return, and a rouge. The defense only allowed 12 rushing yards on 13 Peoria rushing attempts.
BlueCats running back Dale Jennings had his best rushing game of the season, rushing for 70 yards on 13 carries and 2 touchdowns. Jennings also caught 4 passes for 29 yards and had one kick return for 15 yards. He finished the game with 114 all-purpose yards to lead all players. He ranks 4th in the league this season with 1,024 all-purpose yards and 4th in scoring with 19 touchdowns.
Quarterback Aaron Leak completed 16 of his 30 passing attempts for 168 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. 5 touchdown passes in a game is a new season high for the BlueCats quarterback, who also rushed for 11 yards and a touchdown against Peoria. The BlueCats offensive line did not allow Leak to be sacked.
Leak's favorite target was wide receiver Levander Segars who caught 5 passes for 49 yards and 3 touchdowns in the game. His 3 receiving touchdowns is a new career best for Segars, who has scored 10 touchdowns this season. Damien Jones scored his first touchdown on the season; he caught 2 passes for 33 yards and a touchdown. Tyrone Walker caught 2 passes for 30 yards and a touchdown, while James Walton caught 3 passes for 27 yards in his first game with the BlueCats.
Kicker Ton-Ton Luzayadio was 9-10 on his extra point tries in the game, missing his only PAT attempt of the game in the 3rd quarter. This miss broke a streak of 22 consecutive successful extra point tries dating back May 20th in the first quarter of the game at Fort Wayne. 22 consecutive extra points is a new league record. Luzayadio's only field goal attempt of the night was blocked. He remains the league's leading scorer with 136 points this season, and he's kicking 87.5% on his extra points. He's easily the league leader in both categories.
The defense was led by linebacker John Winchester who made 6.5 tackles and broke up two passes, nearly intercepting both. Jerrell Hardy and Vernon Turner added 3.5 tackles each. The BlueCats defense came up with 5 interceptions led by defensive back Tarron Acuff who had two interceptions in the game and scored his first career touchdown by running his second pick of the night back 26 yards for the touchdown. Vernon Turner, Damien Jones, and AJ Bryant also had one interception each. For Turner it was his 3rd interception of the season, which leads the team. Defensive lineman Kevin Rees scored a 2nd quarter touchdown when he fell on a Peoria fumble in the end zone.
Brad Kunz blocked his 5th kick of the season when he swatted down a field goal attempt in the 1st quarter. 5 field goal blocks in a single season is a new league record, breaking the previous record of 4 blocked kicks set last season.
The final spots in the UIF playoff picture are still up in the air with 3 games to go this season for all teams. Evansville is currently tied with Bloomington and Sioux City in the playoff standings, and all 3 of those teams are only one game behind Omaha and Ohio Valley.
The BlueCats will put their winning streak on the line when play in their final home game of the season this weekend against the Omaha Beef on Fan Appreciation Night. Kickoff for this Saturday, June 24th, is set for 7:05pm at Roberts Stadium. For tickets, please contact the Roberts Stadium box office at 812-476-1383 extension 25. For the complete Evansville BlueCats 2006 schedule, please visit the website at www.evansvillebluecats.com.
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United Indoor Football Association Stories from June 19, 2006
- UIF Transactions - UIF
- Beef defeat Bloomington - Omaha Beef
- Evansville BlueCats Pummel Peoria - Evansville BlueCats
- UIF Week 13 Comes to a Close - UIF
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