League's best quarterbacks square-off

May 7, 2008 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Bloomington Extreme News Release


Fresh off a crucial victory against RiverCity, the Bloomington Extreme heads to Metra Park in Billings, MT to take on the Outlaws in a 8:05 p.m. United Indoor Football contest.

Bloomington (5-4) enters play atop the Eastern Conference with a one-and-a-half game lead and has won four of its past five games.

Meanwhile Billings (5-3) is placed third in the Western Conference after being upset by the last place Colorado Ice.

The Extreme has been surging lately behind its dominant passing attack. To make matters worse for its opponents, Bloomington's receiving corps was bolstered last weekend when Glenn Johnson returned for his season debut.

Johnson has had an illustrious career with the Extreme and ranks second on its all-time receiving list with 124 receptions, 1,545 yards and 26 touchdowns. In his first outing with Bloomington since 2007, Johnson snagged six catches for 64 yards and one touchdown.

He lines-up alongside James Walton and Derin Graham, the league's first and fourth leading wide receivers.

Walton is tearing apart opposing secondaries and leads UIF in every major receiving category. In nine games, the Extreme's all-time leading wide-out has 51 catches for 725 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also has a league-best 104 points.

The combination of Walton and Graham has forced opponents out of double and triple-coverage on an individual wide receiver. Graham has also benefited from this by catching 41 passes for 517 yards and ten scores.

The wide array of talent at the wide receiver position has helped quarterback Dusty Burk to become the second best passer in UIF. After obtaining consecutive five-touchdown performances, Burk enters play completing 60.7 percent of his passes for 1,528 yards and 28 touchdowns.

The only quarterback having a better statistical season is Billings' gunslinger Chris Dixon.

Dixon has a UIF-best 155 completions, 1,714 yards, 32 touchdowns and 214.2 yards-per-game. His 68.6 completion percentage is the highest in the league while his five interceptions are the lowest by quarterbacks that have played at least six games.

Although Dixon came down to earth after eight and six-touchdown performances in the first two weeks, he has since regained his dominance.

Over the past two games, the Outlaws' signal-caller has connected on over 70 percent of his passes for 391 yard and nine touchdowns.

Burk and the Extreme will also be opposed by the league's interception leader.

Defensive back Travonti Johnson averages nearly one interception each game, totaling seven in eight games. He also ranks second on the team with 36.5 total tackles.

The top two offenses in UIF have met only once in league history, with the Extreme defeating the Outlaws, 49-31, at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington.



United Indoor Football Association Stories from May 7, 2008


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