Evansville Edged by Sioux Falls
July 10, 2006 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Evansville BlueCats News Release
EVANSVILLE, IN: The Evansville BlueCats were defeated 33-26 by the Sioux Falls Storm in the 2006 regular season finale. The win gives Sioux Falls a perfect (15-0) record during the regular season, a first in league history. The BlueCats clinched a playoff spot two weeks ago but did not know their exact seeding until this weekend. Evansville will be the #5 seed in the UIF playoffs, and will travel to face the #4 seed Omaha Beef in the first round.
The game was close throughout the night with the BlueCats unable to get in the way of the Storm's perfect season. The loss snapped the BlueCats winning streak at 4 games. Evansville led the game three different times at 7-0, 10-7, and at 20-14. The BlueCats trailed by only one point several times during the game at scores of 13-14, 20-21, 23-24, and 26-27, making for an exciting game and an even more exciting finish.
Ton-Ton Luzayadio connected on a 20-yard field goal to pull within one at 26-27 in the 4th quarter. The Storm responded with a quick 3 play 24 yard touchdown drive to make the score 33-26. Evansville got the ball back with just over 4 minutes to go and picked up two first downs on their final drive to set up 1st and goal on the Storm 5 yard line. The BlueCats were unable to punch it in on that drive due to 4 incomplete passes paired with a holding penalty. Evansville turned the ball over on downs. Sioux Falls was able to pick up a first down on the ensuing possession and run out the clock for the victory.
The BlueCats outgained the Storm in total offense and held them to over 30 yards less than their season average. It was also only the second game all season where Sioux Falls lost the turnover battle. Evansville finished the game with 208 yards of total offense, their highest total since June 17th and 4th highest total all season.
Evansville BlueCats Head Coach John Hart said, "This was a tough loss. I'm tremendously proud of the way we played and how we left it out on the field. Sioux Falls is a great team and a great organization and both teams played hard. We showed that we can play with the very best team around and my hats off to them for their unbeaten season which is really incredible. We'll get back to Evansville and get ready for next week in the playoffs where it doesn't get any easier for us because we play another outstanding team in Omaha. They do a lot of great things and they're certainly one of the best teams we've faced this year."
BlueCats defensive back Vernon Turner led all players with 9 tackles in the game, including a fumble return for a touchdown, and an interception. He leads the team with 5 interceptions on the season. Jerrell Hardy had 6.5 tackles in the game, his best total since the BlueCats game on April 22nd against Lexington. Demoine Adams and AJ Bryant had 4.5 tackles each, while Johnny Brown and Deion Holts each recorded 3 tackles and combined for one sack. Linebacker John Winchester had 4 solo tackles in the first quarter before he sustained a knee injury which ended his season. Winchester will finish the year with 112.5 tackles.
Quarterback Aaron Leak completed 13 of his 29 passing attempts for 187 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Wide Receiver Levander Segars led all players with 7 receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown. Tyrone Walker, Tommy Manus, and Dale Jennings added 2 receptions each.
The first round of the UIF playoffs begin this Saturday night when the #5 Evansville BlueCats take on the #4 Omaha Beef at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. Evansville and Omaha split the regular season series, with Omaha winning back on April 9th, and Evansville winning the match up on June 24th. Kickoff for Saturday, July 15th, is set for 7:05pm and can be heard live on ESPN Radio 94.9 in Evansville. For the complete Evansville BlueCats 2006 schedule, please visit the website at www.evansvillebluecats.com.
United Indoor Football Association Stories from July 10, 2006
- United Bowl II in Sight - UIF
- Evansville Edged by Sioux Falls - Evansville BlueCats
- UIF Week 16 Recap - UIF
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