Fever Fall Short vs Empire
February 21, 2016 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Tri-Cities Fever News Release
Would you have expected anything less? Tri-Cities and Spokane renewed their rivalry on turf Saturday night in the Indoor Football League season opener and the game didn't disappoint.
In a game that went back-and-forth all night, the expansion Empire pulled out a 60-51 win at the Toyota Center in the first of four meetings between the two teams this season.
"We made too many mistakes," said new Fever coach Ryan Lingenfelder. "We had a lot of rookies out there and that was expected for their first game. But we have a lot to look forward to."
The Fever (0-1) looks to bounce back on Saturday night against defending conference champion Nebraska.
Saturday night was the first time the two rivals have met since the both play in the arenafootball2 league in 2009. The nearly seven-year break didn't seem to mean a whole lot. The league may be different and Spokane may now be called the Empire (1-0), but those details didn't seem to matter much.
Spokane used a late-fourth quarter charge to pull away from the pesky Fever, who continued to battle back after trailing by as many as 17 points in the first half. The Empire scored back-to-back touchdowns on passes from Charles Dowdell, the first a nifty catch by JJ Hayes as the Empire took a 60-45 lead with 4:56 left in the game.
The Empire had control most of the night, however, two second-half fumbles allowed the Fever to get back in the game. The Fever capitalized on the second fumble to tie the game at 39 with 13:48 left in the game. On fourth-down Pat McCain hit Akeem Foster in the back of the end zone.
"I think we got going in the second quarter and then really got going on offense in the second half," said Fever receiver Dejuan Miller.
Miller lead all receivers with 10 catches for 84 yards and scored a touchdown. Dejay Lester added eight catches for 98 yards and three touchdowns.
Fever quarterback Hunter Wanket was solid in his first start at quarterback for the Fever. He completed 21 of 35 passes for 213 yards and four touchdowns. McCain, who was used in goal-line situations completed 3 of 4 passes for two touchdowns. He also ran for another.
"This was a good measuring stick to see where we are at," Miller said. "There was a lot of good things tonight."
The Empire got off to quick start thanks to back-to-back turnovers by the Fever on its first two possession of the game. On the first play of the game, Wanket lost his grip on the ball and Dominique Duster recovered. Two plays later, Dowdell scampered in on an 8-yard keeper just 27 seconds into the game.
On the Fever's next possession, a high snap ended a promising drive for the Fever. The Empire recovered and took advantage of the short field, capped by a 5-yard touchdown reception by JJ Hayes from Dowdell to push the margin to 13-0.
The Fever, down 27-10, scored the final 10 points of the first half to cut the margin to one possession at halftime.
Indoor Football League Stories from February 21, 2016
- Fever Fall Short vs Empire - Tri-Cities Fever
- Empire Conquers Fever 60-51 - Spokane Empire
- 2016 Storm Season Begins with a Win - Sioux Falls Storm
- Barnstormers Crush Season Opener 56-50 - Iowa Barnstormers
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