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Extreme Sign 1st Team All-IFL Linebacker Bevis And Three Defensive Backs

December 8, 2009 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Bloomington Extreme News Release


BLOOMINGTON (Ill.) -With the addition of four defensive players, the Bloomington Extreme has bolstered one of the IFL's fiercest defenses from 2009.

Linebacker Joe Bevis, defensive backs Tez Morris, Ke'Andre Sams, and Chris Parson add to an already impressive defensive unit.

Joe Bevis, 6' 225 lbs. - Linebacker Joe Bevis was a First Team All-Indoor Football League selection for the second consecutive season while playing for the River City Rage in St. Charles, MO.

Bevis played in 12 regular season games during the 2009 campaign, recording 71.5 tackles (good for 6th in the IFL), 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and an interception.

During the Rage's run to the league championship game, Bevis recorded 21 tackles, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles and an interception in 4 playoff games.

Bevis, a Carbondale, IL native, played his collegiate ball at the University of Illinois where he compiled 155 tackles while playing linebacker for the Illini.

Tez Morris, 5'10" 200 lbs. - Defensive Back Tez Morris was a four-year starter at free safety while attending the University of Pittsburgh.

He played in every game during his four college seasons and was a starter in 46 of his 49 career games.

He finished his college career as one of the most prolific tacklers in the University of Pittsburgh's history with 366 total tackles, ranking him 7th in school history.

As a senior in 2005, he ranked second on the team with 81 tackles and tied for the team lead with two forced fumbles on his way to second team All-Big East honors.

He was the third leading tackler as a junior with 85 tackles, including 7 tackles against Utah in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl.

He was the fourth leading tackler as a sophomore with 81 and ranked second on the team with 199 tackles as a freshman, earning a spot on the Sporting News Big East All-Freshman Team.

Morris was signed out of college as a free agent by the Cincinnati Bengals and has spent time with the Montreal Argonauts of the CFL, Evansville Bluecats of the UIF and most recently with the Mahoning Valley Thunder of the AF2.

Chris Parson 6'1" 185lbs - Defensive Back from Northern Iowa University began his collegiate career as a quarterback after being recruited by Oklahoma following a senior season in high school in which he passed for over 1,000 yards and rushed for over 1,000 yards.

As a sophomore at Northern Iowa, Parson started all 15 games after moving to strong safety and recording 95 tackles including 7 tackles during the Panthers 2005 FCS National Championship game versus Appalachian State.

As a junior, Parson was named to the All-Gateway Second Team following a season that saw him record 6 interceptions (good for 2nd in the nation) and 67 tackles.

Parson was named to the Sporting News 2007 FCS Pre-Season All-American Team.

In only 8 games of action during his 2007 senior season, Parson recorded 29 tackles and 3 interceptions.

Ke'Andre Sams, 5'11" 205 lbs. - Defensive Back from Eastern Illinois, was named to the 2008 All-Ohio Valley Conference Team following a season in which he led the Panthers with 74 tackles.

He was a 2007 All-OVC Conference Team and 2007 All-OVC Newcomer Team member following a season in which he recorded 60 tackles and the 2 interceptions.

"We had one of the strongest defenses in the IFL last season and we are looking to build on that again this season.

Joe Bevis is one of the top linebackers in the IFL and with the addition of these three hard hitting defensive backs, we look to have an even stronger defensive presence this year."

Head Coach Kenton Carr stated, "Defense wins championships and that is what we are looking to do this season - win the IFL championship."

The Bloomington Extreme will play seven home games at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum in 2010. The regular season runs from March-June with playoffs to follow. The 2010 Extreme finished with a 10-5 record, making their third straight playoff appearance in the franchises four year history.

Season Tickets are on sale now, call 309.434.2658.

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