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Extreme prepares for UIF playoff run at Rockford

July 17, 2007 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Bloomington Extreme News Release


Maybe it's not such a bad thing the Bloomington Extreme football team begins its first playoff run in franchise history on the road against Rock River at the MetroCentre in Rockford.

The Extreme, which finished the regular season with an 8-7 record, opens play in the Eastern Conference playoffs of the United Indoor Football League at 7:05 p.m. Saturday against the top-seeded Raptors. The Extreme is the No. 4 seed.

The two teams have already met three times this season with Bloomington scoring its only victory in the series at the MetroCentre on May 25 with a 54-47 overtime triumph.

Rock River, which earned the top seed by winning the Eastern Conference regular-season title with a 10-4 record, owns 53-20 and 40-39 victories over the Extreme at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington.

The Extreme was a mere shell of its current team when the squads met March 30 and the Raptors earned their 33-point triumph. Two-thirds of the team's 30-man playoff roster was not suited up for the Extreme's season-opener against Rock River.

Included in that group on offense, to name a few, were quarterback Dusty Burk, running back Carlos Lattimore, wide receivers Glenn Johnson and James Walton along with the starting linemen Luke Wickman, Chad Walker, Brett Tobin and Eric D. Johnson.

Missing in action on the defensive side were the likes of lineman Rachman Crable, linebacker Winston Taylor and defensive backs Mike Crumpler, James Temple and Dorian Pitts along with kick return specialist Shatone Powers.

In fact, the only players seeing action for the Extreme in the first meeting with Rock River, who will likely play in Saturday's game, were defensive linemen Quince Holman and Eric M. Johnson, defensive back Terrill Mayberry, wide receiver Reggie Gray and kicker Peter Christofilakos.

Rock River quarterback Ben Sankey was on fire in the first game, completing a U.S. Cellular Coliseum record 27 of 29 passes for 288 yards and five touchdowns. Receiver Lawrence Bady caught 11 passes for 138 yards and one touchdown.

The Extreme won the second game of the series at the MetroCentre in overtime when Burk scored on a 2-yard run. Burk completed 20 of 31 passes for 215 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 59 yards on 10 carries and three touchdowns. Gray and Walton each caught five passes for 68 yards.

Doug Daniel's 22-yard field goal with 4:38 remaining in the game provided the Raptors with the winning margin in the third meeting between the teams. Sankey completed 18 of 26 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns, while Bady caught nine passes for 151 yards.

Sankey has completed 75 percent of his passes (61 of 81) for 684 yards and 10 touchdowns against the Extreme in three games, an average of 228 yards per game and three touchdowns.

Rock River holds a 5-1 advantage over the Extreme in the all-time series and a 2-1 cushion in games at the MetroCentre. The Extreme is 4-3 on the road this season, while Rock River is 5-3 at home.

Key individual statistics

No rushing leaders of significance

Passing

Dusty Burk (Bloomington, 2 games) - 35 completions on 55 attempts for 374 yards, 7 touchdowns, 3 interceptions

Ben Sankey (Rock River, 3 games) - 61 completions on 81 attempts for 684 yards, 10 touchdowns, 3 interceptions

Receiving

Reggie Gray (Bloomington, 3 games) - 10 catches for 119 yards and 3 touchdowns; James Walton (Bloomington, 2 games) - 8 catches for 116 yards and 1 touchdown; Glenn Johnson (Bloomington, 2 games) - 10 catches for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns

Lawrence Bady (Rock River, 3 games) - 25 catches for 376 yards and 3 touchdowns

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