Roughnecks Return To The Road For Third Meeting With Corpus
June 4, 2009 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
West Texas Roughnecks News Release
ODESSA, TX. : The Odessa Roughnecks (2-7) enter the month of June with a five-game season outlook. The first of those five games begins this weekend against the Corpus Christi Hammerheads (3-6) on Saturday, June 6. It will be the third meeting of the season between both teams with the fourth and last meeting of the regular season coming on June 27 from the Ector County Coliseum. The season series is currently tied at one a piece and it couldn't be a bigger game for ether team. Both teams are facing the possibility of having their first losing regular seasons, however there is a three-way battle for the final playoff spot in the Lone Star Division. San Angelo is currently ahead of both Corpus and Odessa, but San Angelo faces El Paso on the road for a second consecutive week. A loss from the Stampede and a win for the Roughnecks will put Odessa just a half game back of San Angelo for the final playoff spot with four games remaining.
Odessa will be led on offense by quarterback Dennis Gile who has collected 36 total touchdowns this season. Gile will have to be more consistent in the passing game than in recent weeks. Look for Head Coach Chris Williams to attack the Hammerheads defense with four-wide receiver sets. Jimmy Conner has established himself as one of the top wide outs in the IFL as he leads the Roughnecks with 60 receptions this season. WR Eric Taylor will be the normal deep threat in the passing game and look for RB DeWayne Hogan to be the key factor in short yardage and red-zone situations.
Odessa must provide some sort of pressure on Corpus QB Cory Miles. Miles lit up the Roughnecks defense for five touchdown passes in the previous match-up on May 9 in Odessa. Without Elex Reed in the line-up expect Keith Turner and Akeem Rettig to be on the line. Look for Harris and quite possibly Michael Hinton to be a good dual linebacker combination especially against Redford Borel and the Corpus running game. The secondary should be set with Joey Robinson being back to healthy after suffering a concussion in the lost to Colorado. It will be an intriguing match-up between the Roughnecks defensive backs and the big wide outs from Corpus.
The Hammerheads defense has stepped up as of late following the 27-22 win over Abilene last Saturday. Wali Mumin is a solid defensive back who enters this weekend with 35.0 total tackles. Stephen Fillmore and Chris Williams will attempt to pressure Dennis Gile, however the Hammerheads secondary had trouble keeping up with the Roughnecks wide outs in their last meeting in Corpus on May 2. Jimmy Conner has registered 19 receptions for over 200 yards and five touchdowns against Corpus this season.
Expect another close ball game from both teams as the intriguing match-up will be the Hammerheads defensive backs playing one-on-one coverage with the talented Roughnecks receiving core. Further information regarding these topics can be obtained by contacting the Odessa Roughnecks front office at (432) 332 - PASS (7277) or by visiting the official website of the Odessa Roughnecks at www.odessaroughnecks.com.
Indoor Football League Stories from June 4, 2009
- Roughnecks Return To The Road For Third Meeting With Corpus - West Texas Roughnecks
- Poppinga Returns to Storm - Sioux Falls Storm
- This Week in the IFL - IFL
- ICE Look to Close in On Second-Place Division Finish - Colorado Crush
- Stampede Express Travel To El Paso For Final Game Of Four-Game Road Trip - San Angelo Stampede Express
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