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PIFL Lehigh Valley Steelhawks

Hawks vs Hiss in PIFL Championship

July 9, 2014 - Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL)
Lehigh Valley Steelhawks News Release


Bethlehem, PA: The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (7-6) make the trip to Nashville, TN to take on the Venom (11-2) this weekend in the 2014 PIFL Championship. Both the Hawks and Hiss are very different teams from when they met up more than two months ago in the Lehigh Valley. The Steelhawks defense has proved to be clutch when it counted so far this season; this time they will be up against the leagues number one scoring offense.

Nashville represents the American Conference and has dominated all year, only taking two losses all season and claiming home field throughout the playoffs. They defeated the Columbus Lions for the third time (in three games) in the semi-finals, 44-39.

Lehigh Valley represents the National Conference and needed to win their final regular season game to make it into the playoffs. In the first round they went on the road to take down Trenton for the third time (in four games), with a score of 49-38. It is the first time a road team has won a playoff game in PIFL history.

The Steelhawks defensive secondary, under leader DB Dwayne Hollis (72.5 tackles, 10 ints, 14 pbus), will be up against the league's most venomous pass offense; including two 1,000 yard receivers this week in Jolly Jordan (86 catches for 1,291 yds, 21 tds) and Phillip Barnett (83 catches for 1,125 yds, 31 tds). Jordan had a big playoff game, reeling in nine catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns. Under center for the Venom is QB Charles McCullum (135-209, 1,918 yds, 35 tds) who leads the league in total offensive yards per game at 287.

Lehigh Valley's QB Shane McSweeny (79-119, 66% completion, 1,183 total yards, 28 total tds) is a dual threat through the air and on the ground. He connected with WR Troy Pascley (17 catches for 302 yds, 7 tds), who had an outstanding semi-final, for four touchdowns in the playoff victory over Trenton. Pascley, along with a receiving contingent of Brandon Renford, Richie Martin, and Chris Schubert, have combined in the teams' final four games to put up the most points in any four game span this season (54 points/game).

The Venom's defense has been stingy on the season, only giving up an average of 42 points, a league best. They are led by DB Corry Stewart (50.5 tackles, 8 ints, 13 pbus) and Scooter Rogers (49.5 tackles, 8 ints, 13 pbus) who have combined for 16 interceptions. Nashville leads the league with 27 total interceptions.

This weekend's game will crown a brand new PIFL champion as neither team has won the Cup before. Kickoff is Saturday night at 8:00pm EST. Check for score updates on the Steelhawks Facebook and Twitter accounts. The PIFL website and Facebook page should also have updates. In addition the game will be streamed LIVE via the Nashville Venom USTREAM account. Click Here for the link to watch the game live. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/venom-pifl

Keep checking for the latest news and events from the Steelhawks! For further information please call Lehigh Valley Steelhawks Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Clark at (610) 282-3100, or visit our website at www.LVSteelhawks.com for the latest Steelhawks news! Tickets for the last regular season home game are available! Reserve your seat now by calling the Steelhawks office at 610-282-310.

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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.

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