Scouting the Storm
June 18, 2004 - National Indoor Football League (NIFL)
Omaha Beef News Release
Omaha, Nebraska - As the weekend quickly approaches, the Beef are preparing themselves for what may be one of the most important games to date. With the playoffs looming, the Beef are looking to hang the Sioux Falls Storm out to dry this Saturday, bumping themselves up to the number 3 seed in the Pacific Conference.
Sioux Falls has improved drastically since their March 13 meeting with the Beef, in which the Beef conquered the Storm 41-14. Their starting quarterback, Rich Fuentes, ended his season April 16 due to an Achilles injury. His brother, Jose has since taken over quarterback duties. He has completed 79 passes of 124 attempts, helping the Storm take the third position in passing offense in the league. But no one ever said Sioux Falls was a one-dimensional team. The Storm also hold the third spot on rushing defense, and is second behind the Beef in scoring (kicking), with Adam Hicks 20-38 in field goals. And with a long of 45, Omaha's Chace Long will finally have a kicker to compete with.
Justin Bivins, Matt Holmlund and Corey Walker lead Sioux Fall's offense. Bivins has racked up 506 rushing yards in just 124 attempts this season, with 17 touchdowns. Holmlund leads the Storm's receivers. The 6-2, 207-pound receiver has 670 yards on 58 receptions and averages 55.8 yards per game, ranking him eighth in the league. Walker also sees quite a bit of time on the field, having recorded 586 yards this season with 64 receptions, ranking him fifth in the NIFL.
Bobby Perkins is another Sioux Falls star. He has returned six missed field goals for a total of 145 yards and has five interceptions for 63 yards.
As a team, Sioux Falls is ranked directly below Omaha in scoring defense at fourth. The Storm is led by star defenders Joe Evenson and Mark Blackburn, who are both ranked among the best 15 in the league in tackles. Defensive linemen Nate Fluit and Austin Flyger will keep Beef quarterback Dusty Burk on the run. Fluit is ranked third in sacks in the NIFL with 9.5 and Flyger fifth with 8.
In their last meeting, the Beef hosted Sioux Falls and defeated the Storm 41-14. A big quarterback sack by Brian Eakin and Damien Bauman on the first play of the game set the tone for the night. Omaha's defense continued to dominate the Storm's highly praised offense, holding quarterback Rich Fuentes to just 6 of 14 for 79 yards and five interceptions. Charles Verdone finished with six tackles and two interceptions, Damien Bauman had four sacks and Brian Eakin with four tackles and three sacks. On the other hand, Omaha's offense faired the storm. Then Beef quarterback Troy Travis finished 17-28 on the night, throwing for a total of 138 yards and two touchdowns. Kevin Brown captured four receptions for 62 yards, while Steve Lovell contributed 43 receiving yards.
If the B-fence can once again contain the Sioux Falls offense, this weekend's game should be a lock for Omaha. However, with Sioux Falls playing hard to retain their position in the Pacific Conference, the Storm will be hungry for the Beef in their second and final meeting of the season.
The game is scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m. Saturday June 19. Results will be available after the game at www.beeffootball.com.
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