First Place Bluecats Roast the Beef

May 2, 2005 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Evansville BlueCats News Release


EVANSVILLE, IN: The Evansville Bluecats turned in a dominating performance Saturday night at Roberts Stadium against the Omaha Beef. The Bluecats took control in the second quarter and never looked back as they pulled away to a 52-23 victory. The 29 point margin of victory is the second biggest in team history. With the win, Evansville maintains their perfect record at home and improves to 4-2 overall on the season. The win also keeps the Bluecats in a tie for first place in the UIF South Division with Lexington. Omaha falls to 2-3 on the season.

After the game, Bluecats Head Coach Ollie Guidry said, "The team really looked focus and sharp before the game. We had one of the best pregames we've had all year and we took advantage of our opportunities in the first half. The defense played very well. When Omaha was backed up they kept them back and made plays on their side of the ball."

Omaha held a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, Omaha attempted a field goal from their own endzone and the kick was blocked. The blocked field goal resulted in a safety. On the following possession, Otis Shannon scored on an 18 yard touchdown run to put the Bluecats in the lead for good when they took a 16-14 lead. After the first quarter, the Bluecats outscored Omaha by a score of 45-9.

The Bluecats defense gave up 66 yards in the first quarter, and only 37 more yards for the rest of the game.

Running back Otis Shannon led the way for Evansville's offense for the second week in a row. Indiana's Mr. Football from the year 2000 ran for 84 yards on 21 carries and one touchdown. Wide Receiver and Evansville native Sean Bennett also scored a touchdown on a goal line carry in the first quarter.

Wide Receiver Gerald Clark caught two passes in the game, both of them for touchdowns. One was for 20 yards in the second quarter and the other was for 33 yards in the third quarter. Byron Curtis had three receptions for 13 yards and a touchdown. Sean Bennett added three catches for 32 yards.

Quarterback Ramon Robinson was 8 for 17 with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. He threw for 98 yards and ran 4 times for 12 yards.

Kicker Brad Zientara was 5 for 6 on extra points and 3 for 5 on field goal attempts.

The numbers indicate that it was the best defensive performance for the Bluecats so far this season. Evansville only allowed 25 rushing yards on 18 attempts. The defense intercepted two passes, recovered two fumbles, recorded a safety, and blocked two kicks. Omaha only converted on 2 of their 9 third down conversions in game and didn't convert on any of their third down opportunities in the second half.

Defensive back Clint Brown led the team with 6.5 tackles and an interception. Connie Brown added 4.5 tackles and interception. Brown also broke up two passes.

Defensive back Tywaiin Dismuke scored a touchdown on special teams when he hustled down the field on kickoff coverage and fell on a fumble in the endzone for a touchdown. Dismuke also had 2.5 tackles and one pass break up in the game.

Defensive end Richard Johnson had 4 tackles including one for a loss. Tarron Acuff broke up 3 passes and contributed 2.5 tackles. Joel Stubblefield also broke up a pass added a tackle to the defensive effort. As a team, the Bluecats defended 7 passes which is second best on the year only to the 8 pass break ups the team had a week earlier against the Black Hills Red Dogs.

Coach Guidry said, "We talked all week about how this was the game we wanted to play and we played well on offense, defense and special teams. Outside of one turnover on offense, we did pretty good. A lot of credit goes to the defense. Holding anyone in the 20's in this league is impressive."

The first place Evansville Bluecats will enjoy a weekend off next weekend and will return to action on Saturday, May 14th, against the Tennessee Valley Raptors (2-3).

"The bye week is coming at a perfect time for us." Coach Guidry said of the bye week. "We're banged up so the bye week will definitely help. The guys are bruised and nicked up on the O-Line and on defense. We're going to give them some time off this week to heal up and get ready for Tennessee Valley."

Get close to the action on Saturday, May 14th, when the Bluecats welcome the Raptors in a rematch of the season opener. This game is sponsored by Old National Bank. Kickoff will be at 7:05pm. For tickets, contact the Roberts Stadium box office at 812-476-1383 or Ticketmaster. For the complete Evansville Bluecats 2005 schedule, please visit the website at www.evansvillebluecats.com.



United Indoor Football Association Stories from May 2, 2005


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central