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Roughnecks Begin Three-Game Road Stretch In Corpus

March 19, 2010 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
West Texas Roughnecks News Release


MIDLAND, TX. : The West Texas Roughnecks begin a stretch of three consecutive road games on Sunday, March 21 when they face the Corpus Christi Hammerheads from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX. The Roughnecks are looking to get back on track after dropping their home-opener to the Amarillo Venom 53-27 back on Saturday, March 13. The Roughnecks made several changes in their active roster this past week as the organization released five players and signed receivers Joshua Floyd and Steve Bergeski to help the passing game. The Roughnecks are hoping to have better success with the running game this week after the Roughnecks were shutdown on a few fourth down and short situations. Jorvorskie Lane will look to build off of his best game of the early 2010 season and look for DeWayne Hogan to be a factor in the rushing department as both players combined for three scores last weekend.

Early turnovers have hurt the Roughnecks in their first two games of the season and the club must avoid that essential factor against a stingy Hammerheads defense. Corpus Christi is coming off a 51-36 win over the Austin Turfcats last Sunday, and the Hammerheads defense and special teams units provided the first 12 points of the game for the Hammerheads. Linebackers Roy Salas and Deandrae Fillmore will test the rushing attack of the Roughnecks, and the Hammerheads secondary is well equipped with recent IFL Defensive Player of the Week selection Jason Lee. Lee posted seven total tackles with two fumble recoveries and one interception in the Hammerheads win over Austin.

The question for the Hammerheads offensively is at the quarterback position. The Hammerheads started the season with Cory Miles but last weekend they turned to Wesley Cooper who completed 5 of 23 passes for 73 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. The Hammerheads have made some recent changes in their receiving core and wide out Brandon Hussey will be the big play threat after posting two receptions for 50 yards and one touchdown against Austin. The Hammerheads offer a dual-running back system which features Redford Borel and Justin Hardman. Both running backs combined for 63 yards on the ground and four touchdowns, two coming from each back, against Austin. Expect the Roughnecks defense to be prepared for the Corpus rushing attack after the Roughnecks allowed 136 yards on the ground against Amarillo last Saturday.

The Roughnecks defensively will be led by linebacker Eric Henri who leads the Roughnecks with 20 total tackles and two sacks. Henri's performance from last Saturday moved him into the top ten in total tackles in the IFL. The Roughnecks defensive line will be the starting point to containing the Hammerheads rushing attack so look for James Vess and Jermaine Blakely to be the key factors in that situation. Field positioning and special teams play will be important features in this game. Look for Roughnecks DB Austin Smith to build off of his performance from last Saturday when he returned seven kickoffs for 126 yards. This will be the first of three meetings between the long-time rivals as Corpus will travel to the Permian Basin twice to face the Roughnecks on Saturday, May 29 and Saturday, June 19.

Coach Williams Transcript: "We have had a good week of practice and we have made some adjustments to get the right players to help develop our passing game. Corpus has a strong defense and we must avoid early turnovers. I believe our defense will become a big factor especially in containing their running game. Corpus is always a difficult place to play a road game but I believe we will have a good start to what should be an exciting rivalry battle." stated West Texas Roughnecks Head Coach Chris Williams.

Game Time / Location: 4:05 p.m. kickoff - American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, TX

Broadcast: 95.1 BOB FM (3:40 p.m. start time)

Online: BOB FM - www.boblivesintexas.com / B2 Networks - www.b2livetv.com

Next Game: West Texas Roughnecks at Amarillo Venom (Saturday, March 27, 2010)

Corpus Christi Hammerheads at San Angelo Stampede Express (Saturday, March 27, 2010)

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