Horsemen advance to conference finals
Published on July 21, 2004 under National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
Kentucky Horsemen News Release
The Lexington Horsemen (12-4) continued their march through the playoffs on Friday with a thrilling 70-63 victory over the second-seeded Houma Bayou Bucks (11-4). In a game that saw an amazing eight lead changes and three ties, the Horsemen came up with a huge defensive stop to preserve the winning margin in the game. Leading 70-63, Lexington was able to stop the Bucks on four straight downs on the Horsemen 3 yard line, regaining the ball with 2:57 left to play, and then running out the clock for the win. Employing a change-of-pace offense based around the running of RBs Derek Homer and Martez Johnson, Lexington piled up a team-record 178 yards rushing en route to the victory.
Homer led all rushers with 89 yards on 17 carries, finding the end zone four times, while Johnson racked up 77 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns on the night. QB Dusty Bonner had an efficient day, going 19 of 25 for 131 yards and four touchdowns in the game. WR Chad Spencer once again led all Horsemen in receiving, catching 10 passes for 81 yards and hauling in all four of Bonner's touchdown throws.
Defensively, DB Nate Green led the Horsemen in tackles with 7.0 in the game, and also came up with a key third-quarter interception to tilt the back-and-forth game in the Horsemen's favor. DB William Mulder also notched 5.0 total tackles in the game.
HORSEMEN PLAYOFF PICTURE
With the win, the Horsemen advance to play Ohio Valley in the Atlantic Conference finals on Friday. This week's NIFL playoff schedule:
Atlantic Conference Finals (July 24): Lexington (12-4) at Ohio Valley (12-3)
Pacific Conference Finals (July 25): Billings (12-3) at Sioux Falls (12-3)
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT: OHIO VALLEY GREYHOUNDS
Lexington squares off against Ohio Valley, who advanced in the playoffs with a nail-biting 36-35 victory over Fort Wayne last week. The Horsemen face the Greyhounds for the sixth time in franchise history, and will be looking for their first-ever win against the defending NIFL champions. The Hounds once again feature a fearsome defense that led the league in points allowed (26.1 per game) and total defense (161.9 ypg), and a bruising offense that was second in the NIFL in rushing (111.6 ypg).
The Hounds attack is led by NIFL leading rusher Rayshawn Askew, who averaged 74.8 yards per game this season. Askew was also third in the league in scoring (198 points) and fourth in the league in all-purpose yards (117.9 per game).
Defensively, Ohio Valley is paced by DB Angel Estrada, who set a new NIFL record with 14 interceptions this season. Estrada also led the league in passes defended, with 35. The Greyhounds defense also features Shawn Hackett, who was fourth in the league in tackles (96.5), and Curtese Poole, who was fourth in the NIFL in tackles for loss (17.5) and seventh in sacks (8.0).
OTHER NEWS AND NOTES
Regardless of the outcomes of this weekend's games, Indoor Bowl IV will be hosted by a team from the Pacific Conference. Due to the NIFL tiebreaker rules, the winner of Sunday's Billings-Sioux Falls game will host the league championship.
The Horsemen game against Ohio Valley will be broadcast live at 7:30 PM EST on WLAP 630-AM. Ryan Lemond and Jeff Gilstrap will have the call.
National Indoor Football League Stories from July 21, 2004
- Horsemen advance to conference finals - Kentucky Horsemen
- Pacific Conference Will Host Championship Game for First Time in League History - NIFL
- The Franchise Rejoins Hounds - Ohio Valley Greyhounds
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