Raptors' season ends at Sioux City
August 6, 2005 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Tennessee Valley Raptors News Release
SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Tennessee Valley quarterback Ben Sankey's late 30-yard pass to Luke McArdle in the end zone was stripped away as time expired and the Sioux City Bandits escaped with a 42-37 victory in the United Indoor Football semifinals Saturday night before 4,630 fans at the Tyson Events Center.
The Bandits (15-2) won the game on Jarrod DeGeorgia's 4-yard pass to Dave Perrigo with 9.7 seconds to play and will now host the UIF championship game Aug. 14 against Sioux Falls, which posted a 62-58 victory at Lexington on Saturday in the other semifinal.
"We had a couple of calls that really cost us at very important times - but it's been that way for us all season and we knew that it was going to be a tough atmosphere coming in here,'' said Raptors coach Dick Adams, whose team finished the season at 7-10.
"It was a great game and our guys gave it evrything they had. It was a tough way to go out. We made a solid run at this thing and I'm just proud of this group and the way that they didn't give up."
The Raptors had led 17-14 after the first quarter, but trailed 30-24 at halftime and 36-24 following DeGeorgia's 1-yard dive at the 10-minute mark of the third. Tennessee Valley would pull within five points after Kevin Galbreath's 3-yard run and Steven Lee's extra point closed out the scoring heading to the final period.
The teams exchanged defensive stops and the Raptors came up with another, recovering a fumble on a fourth down play inside their own 10. On the next play, Sankey threw 43-yards to Luke McArdle for the go-ahead score. Sioux City's Cody Butler then missed a 41-yard field goal try before the Bandits held Tennessee Valley on downs - getting a crucial stop on a fourth-and-1 play from the Raptors' 14 -to set up the final series.
Things didn't start out well for the Raptors.
Sioux City's Fred Jackson - the UIF Player of the Year - dashed 43-yards for a touchdown on his team's first play from scrimmage and Butler's kick made it a 7-0 game just 46 seconds into the opener. But McArdle's 37-yard kickoff return set up a quick 11-yard touchdown pass from Sankey to Galbreath and Lee's extra point tied things at 12:07.
The Bandits answered on DeGeorgia's 6-yard pass to Johnnie Ostermeyer before the Raptors bounced back to tie the game on McArdle's 56-yard kickoff return for a score midway through the first. Tennessee Valley linebacker Derric Coakley intercepted a tipped pass to set up his team deep in the Sioux City end, but the Raptors had to settle for a 25-yard field goal from Lee that gave the team its first lead at 17-14.
The Bandits then struck for a pair of consecutive touchdowns, the last coming on DeGeorgia's 18-yard pass to Ostermeyer and Sioux City was ahead 27-17 after Butler's extra point missed with 8:49 to go in the first half. A 30-yard bomb from Sankey to McArdle pulled the Raptors within 27-24 moments later and then Butler's 37-yard field goal kept the lead at six heading to the half after Sankey was intercepted twice in the final minutes.
Sankey completed 10 of 21 passes for 146 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. McArdle - the UIF Rookie Offensive Player of the Year - had three receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns and finished with 229 all-purpose yards.
Jackson rushed 25 times for 140 yards and a touchdown for the Bandits, which had 231 yards of total offense compared to 158 for Tennessee Valley.
• Discuss this story on the United Indoor Football Association message board...
United Indoor Football Association Stories from August 6, 2005
- Raptors' season ends at Sioux City - Tennessee Valley Raptors
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.
