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Raptors Ready and Waiting For Round One Matchup

July 14, 2006 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Rock River Raptors News Release


In the Playoffs, the records are thrown out the window and the team that executes best will usually prevail! But just like any good Heavyweight fight, it is fun to look at the "tale of the tape" and decide for yourself...

Do you go with the Veteran? A Sioux City team that was 15-1 last year and made it to United Bowl I, who has been hit hard by injuries this season and played the Defending Champion Sioux Falls Storm 4 times and lost, yet knows how to win the big games and is full of Indoor football veterans?

Or do you go with the Rookie! The new kids on the block, who posted an 11-4 record in their inaugural season who beat the #2 seed in this years playoffs Lexington twice, but who are very young, and seem to leave the door open and let teams comeback just about every week?

Quarterbacks-Ben Sankey-Rock River (Wake Forest) Sankey has completed 59% of his passes for almost 2100 yards and has rushed for 302 yards and 5 more Touchdowns. GRADE A-

Antoine Taylor-Sioux City (St Francis University) Appearing in just 5 games to this point Taylor has tossed 7 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, and has shown limited running ability in leading the Bandits offense. GRADE D

The edge here has to go to the Raptors and the Veteran Sankey. He is the #1 rated passer in the UIF tossing 44 touchdowns on the season against only 6 interceptions, and has shown his leadership on numerous occasions in leading to the Raptors to a few comeback victories. Edge goes to the Raptors.

Running Backs- Randy Bell-Rock River (Carson Newman) Randy has been everything Coach Richards thought he could be since he arrived in Rockford. He is third in the league in Touchdowns with 23 and has rushed for 510 yards on the year. Add in Sankeys mobility at the QB spot with another 302 yards and this tandem does well with they get a chance to run. GRADE B

Bobby Ruffin-Sioux City (University of Minnesota-Mankato) Ruffin leads the Bandit attack with 230 yards rushing in 5 games this season. A season in which 16 running backs have toted the rock at some point this year. GRADE A

The edge goes to Sioux City. They may not have one go-to-guy, but they have the best rushing attack in the UIF having ran for over 1370 yards compared to the Raptors 911 yards and seem to run the ball at will with a grind it out offense that dictates the pace

Wide Receivers-Luke McCardle-Rock River (Georgetown) is often touted as the best Raptor receiver but don't tell that to quarterback Ben Sankey! Even though Luke leads the Raptors in receiving touchdowns, the Raptors receiving corp is very balanced with any receiver having the ability to beat the defense at any given time. McCardle has 13 Touchdowns on 51 catches, while University of Illinois product Ade Adeyemo has 58 grabs and 8 touchdowns. Former University of Michigan WR Tyrece Butler has 41 catches and 10 touchdowns, while Jeremiah Thompson (Moorehouse) has another 51 grabs and 12 touchdowns. Randy Bell (Carson Newman) has 29 catches out of the backfield and John Hollins (Ohio State) has caught 26 balls on the year. GRADE B+

Johnnie Ostermeyer-Sioux City (Wayne State) is there go to guy. He leads the Bandits in catches with 55, yards with 745, and touchdowns with 10. Cori Johnson (Clarion) is not far behind with 30 catches and 10 touchdowns himself. GRADE B

The edge here goes to the Raptors receiving corp. With a healthy Luke McCardle back in the lineup the sky is the limit for any one of these talented wideouts. And with as much as the bandits run the ball, their receivers are not their first option, even though they have a solid one-two punch.

Offensive Lines-These are two very contrasting styles. While the Bandits lead the league in Rushing offense they have allowed the 2nd most sacks in the league with 35 even though they have thrown the ball 120 times less than the Raptors. The Raptors on the other hand have allowed 18 sacks on the year and thrown the ball significantly more than their opponents ranking second in passes attempted.

The edge here goes to the Bandits and their ability to grind it out with the run game. If the Bandits fall behind early and the running game is taken away the edge could go to the Raptors as I am led to believe the Bandits are a better run blocking team than a passing one.

Defensive Lines-The Raptors have a very fast defensive front that has been among the league leaders in sacks all season long. However if they can't jump out to a lead and make Sioux City pass the ball they may be in for a long day. They have had problems all year long getting off offensive linemens blocks and stuffing the run. The game will be won and lost in the trenches Saturday Night.

A push on this one. Whichever team jumps out to the early lead will have the advantage, and be able to make the other do the opposite of what it wants to do...Rock River wants to throw the ball, and Sioux City wants to run the ball. One thing is for certain it will be fun to watch and see who can force the other to do the opposite of what it wants to do. GRADES B

Linebackers- The Bandits are lead by Tonga Spetlar (Morningside) and Shedrick Harris (Northwestern Oklahoma State) in the middle. The play alot of 2-3 zone and this allows the Linebackers to roam the middle. The Bandits have one of the top defenses in all of indoor football giving up just 33 points per game, and it starts with those two in the middle. GRADE B-

The Raptors are led by Ty Myers (Illinois) and Greg Cole (Kansas). The defense has gotten better with each week since the addition of All-Big 12 Linebacker Greg Cole. He has posted 8 tackles or more in each game, and is a sparkplug for Head Coach Rik Richards defense. GRADE B+

The edge goes to the Raptors If the Raptors linebackers can play solid gap control defense in the middle and force the Bandits to pass they have the advantage.

Defensive Backs-The Bandits are lead by John Zevenbergen (Morningside) who paces them with 8 interceptions, and Adam Lloyd (Morningside) who has 3 interception returns for touchdowns. The Bandit defensive backs will try to play alot of zone. GRADE C+

The Raptors are lead by Billy Cook (Grand Valley St) 6 interceptions and Brandon Johnson (Tennessee) 4 interceptions and will play alot of man usually to free up a fierce pass rush. Grade C+

The advantage goes to the Bandits and their stellar all around defensive play. The Raptors must force the ball down the field, and try to stretch it with their versatile Wide Receivers.

Special Teams-Rock River kicker Dillon Pieffer (UNLV) has been clutch all year and has shown his NFL potential numerous times including a game winner as time expired against Fort Wayne. Pieffer is 21/55 on the year on Field Goals. GRADE B

Sioux City on the other hand and their kicker Justin Green (Purdue) have had their share of problems converting on only 13-48 attempts and rank near the bottom in special team points. GRADE C

The edge goes to the Raptors and their Special Teams. If it becomes a tight game late look for Richards' and the Raptors to send out their kicker and put it on his leg.

Coaches-Jose Jefferson is a coach who has been from Lincoln, Nebraska to Green Bay, Wisconsin, to Sioux City Iowa and probably everywhere in between. He is one of the most respected indoor coaches around and always has his teams ready to compete. He played Arena Football for the Iowa Barnstormers and was roommates with Kurt Warner before his NFL successes. He guided the Bandits to a 15-1 record last season before losing to the Sioux Falls Storm on a last second Adam Hicks Field Goal.

Rik Richards- He also has been very well traveled like many of the arena/indoor coaches and has compiled a 35-19 record as a Head Coach with 1 Championship. He is known for defense, and has had alot of success helping his players move up to higher leagues over the last 7 years. He won the Inaugural AIFL Championship last season as Head Coach of the Richmond Bandits beating the Freeze 56-30 where they had 6 interceptions in the championship game against MVP quarterback David Dinkins.

Edge goes to Jose Jefferson and the Bandits. A coach who is extremely under appreciated in the world of indoor football, he may have a 6-9 record this season but they have had many injuries and have had to play the defending champion Sioux Falls Storm 4 times, losing all 4. He has a dangerous team, and if it's close in the end, look for Jose and the Bandits to make the right adjustments. HOWEVER...I don't see this one being as close as the Bandits need it to be able to run the ball all game long, and I see the Raptors getting a 46-30 Win Saturday night in the "big orange box!"

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