Raptors fall at Sioux City
April 2, 2005 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Tennessee Valley Raptors News Release
Sioux City, IOWA â The Tennessee Valley Raptors are still looking for answers. The Raptors traveled 16 hours to face the Sioux City Bandits in Iowa on Friday night and came up empty, falling 41-34 and dropping to 0-2 on the United Indoor Football season.
Raptors quarterback Mike Scipione completed 20 of 27 passes for 181 yards and three touchdowns during his professional debut, but the Bandits (2-0) still managed to use a strong third quarter to pull away for the win.
"I can't say enough about our guys and the way the battled tonight,'' Raptors coach Dick Adams said. "After all the adversity and travel that we had to deal with, you really can't say enough about how we adjusted to the changes. We had a two-possession slip and couldn't recover. Otherwise, I thought our quarterback played well and we showed some heart. I still like my team."
The Raptors will have next weekend off before hosting the Tupelo Fireants in their home opener April 16 at the Von Braun Center. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and every fan in attendance will receive a "Ninth-Man T-Shirt".
The Raptors trailed 6-0 early in the first quarter before Scipione connected with Kerwin Cook on a 17-yard touchdown pass. Steven Lee's extra point missed and the game was tied at 6-all with 6:27 left in the opener.
Jarrod DeGeorgia's 30-yard pass to Johnnie Ostermeyer led to a 13-7 edge for Sioux City after the first quarter and a run by Fred Jackson made it a 20-6 game with 11:08 left.
Durocher Miller's 2-yard run and his 4-yard touchdown pass from Scipione knotted the game at 20-all heading to intermission. But Jackson's 8-yard touchdown catch made it a 27-20 game and Ostermeyer's 10-yard catch gave the Bandits a 34-20 edge late in the third quarter.
Chesaurae Rhodes' added a 5-yard run to close the gap to 34-26 in the fourth quarter, but the Bandits answered and then Cook caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Scipione. The Raptors rounded out their scoring when Luke McArdle hauled in the two-point conversion to make it a 41-34 game with only seconds remaining.
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United Indoor Football Association Stories from April 2, 2005
- Raptors fall at Sioux City - Tennessee Valley Raptors
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