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Indoor Football League

Regular Season Finale

June 21, 2010 - Indoor Football League (IFL) News Release


Richmond, VA: *The 2010 IFL regular season ended in epic fashion as ten action packed games filled out Week Seventeen. The week saw the playoff picture cemented and teams pushing to build their momentum for potential deep playoff runs. Every team still had something to play for in a week of spectacular contests. Week Seventeen also acted as an early preview for several exciting playoff match-ups, including the IFL Week Seventeen Game of the Week featuring Amarillo and San Angelo.

The opening contest of Week Seventeen saw the Colorado Ice (2-12) square off in Fairbanks against the Grizzlies (9-5). The playoff bound Grizzlies would have an up-hill battle on their hands as Quarterback Justin Rummell was injured on the first drive of the second half. Backup QB Matt Bassoener had to step in and anchor the Fairbanks offense. He did his job as the Grizzlies were able to put Colorado on Ice with a close 42-33 victory. The game was a seesaw affair that saw several turnovers committed by both teams. Fairbanks however was able to pull away late with the win. The two Fairbanks QBs accounted for a combined six touchdowns, throwing three each. Before leaving the game, Rummell had 125 yards passing. Josh Crawford and Lonnie Sanders were both able to help bolster Fairbanks' offensive efforts. Sanders caught three touchdown passes and went for 60 yards while Crawford came down with two touchdowns and had 91 yards receiving for the day. Fairbanks will need to keep up their offensive efforts and have better ball control if they hope to stay strong next week in the first round of the playoffs. Fairbanks will travel to fourth seed San Angelo on Monday June 28th to attempt to derail the Stampede Express.

The Arkansas Diamonds (11-3) entered Austin to battle the Turfcats (2-12). With the Diamonds already slated as the number three seed in the intense conference, Arkansas needed to pick up the victory to build towards their playoff run next week. In what was a closer contest than Arkansas may have liked, the Diamonds were indeed victorious by a 54-40 score. The Diamond offense was able to shine through by the second quarter. From the second to third quarters Arkansas went on a tear. They scored thirty-three unanswered points. Diamonds QB Eric Ware was able to spearhead most of the Diamonds damage. Ware went 22 for 38 for his completions and had 245 yards while throwing six touchdown strikes. While Ware was picked off four times, the turnovers did not come back to bite him. Helping keep the offense moving was Arkansas receivers Steven Savoy and Brett Smith. Savoy was able to come down with two of the Diamond's touchdowns while Smith had one touchdown, but had 100 yards receiving for the day. Adding to the impressive efforts by Arkansas was their defense holding Austin scoreless for the entire third quarter. Arkansas earned the right to play the first round of the playoffs at home as the Lonestar East champions will host the eighth seeded Corpus Christi Hammerheads on Saturday June 26th.

Still searching for their first victory of the season, the Maryland Maniacs (1-13) hosted the West Michigan ThunderHawks (5-9). While the ThunderHawks had a good start to the 2010 IFL season, the past few weeks have not treated them so well. With Chicago clinching the final spot in the post season last week, West Michigan could no longer hope to continue their run into the playoffs. Instead they would just try and close out their season with a victory. Maryland was looking to avoid a winless season. By a final of 25-13, the Maniacs were able to give the home crowd something they had been hungry for since Week One, a win. Both teams will look to build upon this season and improve next season.

In what was their largest margin of victory for the season, the Sioux Falls Storm (11-3) put away their Central West rivals, the Sioux City Bandits (4-10) by a 78-36 victory. The win locks the Storm in as the second seed in the IFL's United Conference. In what was a predominant passing affair, Storm QB Terrance Bryant rained down a slew of scoring drives all day on the Bandits defenders. Bryant went 12 for 15 on his completions for 177 yards and five touchdowns. Bringing down the vast majority of those passes was Dusty Hovorka. With six receptions, Hovorka managed 106 yards and three TD grabs. The duo of Bryant and Hovorka will need to stay dynamic as they head into the playoffs. The Storm will hope to keep the offense surging on Saturday June 26th when they host the number five seeded Beef.

In what could very well be a preview for late in the playoffs, the Omaha Beef (9-5) hosted the Wichita Wild (9-5). Omaha continues a hot streak that now has seen them win seven out of their eight final games of the season as they defeated Wichita 48-31. The Wild defense had no answer for the Beef as Omaha put up just under 300 total yards against Wichita. Omaha's star QB Ben Sankey continued to put up impressive numbers as he completed 24 of his 32 passing attempts. Sankey also can be attributed for 244 yards and four TD completions. WR Mo Avery caught two of the four touchdown passes, as well as contributing for 58 yards receiving. While Wild QB Dixie Wooten did his best to keep Wichita in the game, the Beef defense also did its part in the Omaha victory. The Beef defense sacked Wooten five times during the Wild's loss. Wichita will need to rebound quickly as the number four seed in the United Conference will host seventh seeded Bloomington in the first round of the playoffs. The fifth seeded Beef will also try and stay hot to open the playoffs when they travel to their Central North rivals, the Central North champion Sioux Falls Storm. Both of these amazing first round playoff contests will be held on Saturday June 26th.

The IFL Game of the Week featured two top Intense Conference teams that could once again find themselves clashing in the post season. The San Angelo Stampede Express (10-4) was able to roll over the Lonestar West champion Amarillo Venom (11-3). The Stampede Express pulled off the 60-50 victory in what remained a close contest throughout the game. The Express got on the board early, scoring first and holding the Venom scoreless in the opening quarter of the game. From there Amarillo would strike back as they would outscore San Angelo in both the second and third quarters. It would be a high scoring fourth quarter for the Express that would put them in line for the win. Both teams were able to really move the ball as Amarillo had 266 total yards of offense while San Angelo bested them with 330 yards. Both team's QBs kept the ball moving as San Angelo's Dustin Almond had 257 yards passing and had thrown five touchdown passes while his Amarillo counterpart QB Julian Reese had 190 yards and three touchdowns. So with the passing game fairly even, it would be the ground game breaking things loose for San Angelo. RB Derrick Ross had four TD runs and 71 yards on fourteen carries. Both teams will be hosting home games next week as the first round of the playoffs get underway in Texas. As the second seed, Amarillo will host the seventh seeded West Texas on Monday June 28th. The fourth seeded San Angelo play their home game against fifth seeded Fairbanks also slotted for the 28 th.

For the second week in a row, the La Crosse Spartans (3-11) looked to try and defeat a playoff bound Central North opponent. This would not come to pass as the Bloomington Extreme (9-5) kept on with their winning ways by defeating the Spartans 35-21. La Crosse will have to wait until 2011 to build on the future of the club. For Bloomington, the win caps off a tremendous 2010 regular season. They hope to remain hot as the playoffs begin. Bloomington will begin their journey towards the United Bowl when they travel to the fourth seeded Wichita Wild for first round playoff action on Saturday June 26th.

Scoring twenty unanswered points to open the game, the Billings Outlaws (12-2) were able to defeat their upcoming playoff opponents, the Tri-Cities Fever (7-7) 68-40. The victory clinches home field for the Outlaws for the first three rounds of the playoffs (The United Bowl would depend on the record of their United Conference opponent). Billings QB Chris Dixon proved once again why he is a possible IFL League MVP by completing 22 of his 25 passes for 259 yards and six touchdowns. Dixon spread the ball around to different receivers throughout the game. DeAngelo Woodie and Carl Sims each came down with two of Dixon's six touchdown passes. Antuan Bloom had another of the touchdown receptions and also accounted for 81 yards receiving. The Outlaws will look for their offensive output to continue in a rematch next week when they host Tri-Cities for the first round of the playoffs. The one seed, Billings does not know where they play the sixth seeded Fever as of yet. A tornado damaged the Outlaws' arena roof and the date and time of the anticipated contest is to be determined.

Looking to avoid a third straight loss to the Chicago Slaughter (6-8), the Green Bay Blizzard (10-4) were able to cap off their season with a 55-30 victory. The Blizzard mostly relied on their back-up quarterbacks for their first win over Chicago. The back-up Blizzard QB tandem of Brad Iciek and Willie Copeland combined for four touchdowns passes and over 200 yards passing. Half of those TD strikes went to Derek Deardorff who also had 53 yards for his three receptions. Green Bay RB Randy Bell also broke off a run for a TD and had 93 yards rushing for the day on 15 carries. WR Reggie Gray also provided some offensive explosiveness for Chicago. Gray scored two touchdowns on five receptions and also had 82 yards. Adding to his impressive day, Grey also broke off a 50 yard kick return to find the end-zone. However, Grey's efforts would not be enough as Green Bay was able to control field position for most of the game. The Blizzard amassed 309 total yards of offense on the day compared to Chicago's 217 yards. The two will meet again in Green Bay on Saturday June 26th for the first round of the playoffs.

With their home winning streak ended, the Corpus Christi Hammerheads (6-8) were out on the road looking to pick up an important victory over another playoff contender, the West Texas Roughnecks (7-7). What they ended up with was a tough 75-32 loss to the Roughnecks. Just twenty-one seconds into the game, DB Austin Smith intercepted Corpus Christi for an early score. West Texas would be in control from there on. QB Tommy Jones once again dictated the pace of the Roughneck offense. Going 18 for 23, Jones was able to throw for 190 yards and four touchdowns. Both Texas teams will be on the road in the first week of the playoffs. First up will be Corpus Christi heading to Arkansas on Saturday June 26th to try and scuff up the Diamonds. Meanwhile, West Texas keeps things in state when they head to Amarillo for a Monday Night battle against the Venom on the 28th.

Week Seventeen Vidswap.com IFL Players of the Week will be announced on Wednesday. The IFL playoffs will begin in grand fashion on Saturday June 26 th with four anticipated match-ups.

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