Extreme's Taylor recognized by UIF

June 21, 2007 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Bloomington Extreme News Release


Bloomington Extreme linebacker Winston Taylor earned honorable mention honors as Defensive Player of the Week by the United Indoor Football League for his performance against Rock River on June 16 at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

Taylor, playing in his first game with the Extreme this season, had four solo tackles and four assists for six total points. He also had one tackle for loss, one quarterback sack and intercepted one pass.

The Extreme returns to action Saturday against Colorado in a 7:05 p.m. contest at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington. Both teams have 5-6 records.

Game facts: The Extreme is trying to end its second three-game losing streak of the season. The Extreme is holding onto the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and has a two-game lead over fifth-place Evansville.

The Extreme has a 2-4 record at U.S. Cellular Coliseum this season and a 4-10 mark at home in franchise history. The Extreme has never faced Colorado, who joined RiverCity and Billings as UIF rookie franchises this season.

Colorado comes into the game losers of two straight and four of its last five. Bloomington and Colorado have faced two common opponents this season - RiverCity and Omaha. The Extreme is 2-0 against these teams, while the Ice is 2-2.

The series: This is the first-ever meeting between Bloomington and Colorado.

Coaches: Ted Schmitz is in his second season as the head coach of the Extreme. He has a 10-16 career record. Colorado is led by head coach Collins Sanders, who is also Director of Football Operations for the Ice.

Extreme's last outing: The Extreme fell to Eastern Conference-leading Rock River 40-39 in a game that featured 10 lead changes. Rock River's Doug Daniel kicked a 22-yard field goal with 4:38 remaining to put the Raptors on top to stay. Dusty Burk threw for 159 yards and three touchdowns, hitting Glenn Johnson for two scores including one of 35 yards. Johnson finished the game with 87 yards on six catches. Peter Christofilakos added two field goals for the Extreme. Winston Taylor returned to the Extreme and paced the defense with 6.0 defensive points (4 solo and 4 assists), and added one quarterback sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass interception.

Extreme moves: .Dorian Pitts returns to the Extreme after missing last week's game due to a family commitment.

Extreme on offense: Quarterback Dusty Burk pilots the second-best passing offense in the UIF this season. Based on the eight games he has played, Burk leads the league total offense (226.0 yards per game) and is second in passing yardage per game at 200.1. On the year, Burk has passed for 1,442 yards and 30 touchdowns, and has added 10 more on the ground.

Wide receiver James Walton ranks third in the UIF in receiving yards per game (66.1) and fourth in receptions per game (5.0). Wide receiver Reggie Gray ranks ninth in both receptions per game (4.3) and all purpose yards per game (75.6). The Extreme ranks fifth in the UIF in both scoring offense and total offense. Extreme running back Rocky Harvey, who is in his first season with the Extreme and his third in the UIF, is the league's all-time leading rusher.

Extreme on defense: The Extreme's leading tackler from last season, Winston Taylor, returned to the team last week and contributed 6.0 total tackles (4 solo and 4 assists), as well as 1.5 tackles for loss, one quarterback sack and one interception.

The Extreme has three players in the top 10 in the league in tackles per game. Defensive back Mike Crumpler is third with 7.0 (36 solo and 54 assists); Dorian Pitts is fourth with 6.5 (31 solo and 55 assists) and Terrill Mayberry is eighth with 5.6 (40 solo and 43 assists).

Mayberry has broken up 14 passes and intercepted one, which is tied for fourth in the league in defended passes. The Extreme defense has allowed just 25 second-half points in the last two games. The Extreme is fourth in the league in sacks with 18, for a total of 90 yards.

Extreme attendance: The Extreme leads the league in average attendance at 5,592 after six home dates. All six of the Extreme home dates have had crowds in excess of 5,000 fans. Only two other times this season have UIF teams drawn more than 5,000 people.

The Extreme's crowd of 6,387 for its May 19 game against Ohio Valley is tops this year in the UIF. A total of 33,554 people have witnessed Extreme games this year. The Extreme is on pace to break its own record for season attendance, which was set in 2006 when 44,738 fans came to the U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

Extreme promotions: The first 5,000 to enter the U.S. Cellular Coliseum will receive a free team photo, courtesy of the Pantagraph. Youth from the Bloomington-Normal Big Brothers, Big Sisters organization will be special guests of the Extreme.

Sets of 30 collectible trading cards are on sale in the Coliseum gift shop for $10.



United Indoor Football Association Stories from June 21, 2007


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