Second Half of Season Starts with a Bang

Published on April 26, 2010 under Indoor Football League (IFL) News Release

Richmond, VA: The second half of the Indoor Football League kicked off on Friday evening. Eleven games were featured on the IFL schedule in Week Nine including the IFL Game of the Week which highlighted a matchup for potential playoff positioning in the United Conference between the Rochester Raiders and Bloomington Extreme.

Week Nine began when the West Michigan ThunderHawks (4-2) traveled to take on the winless La Crosse Spartans (0-7). This was a highly competitive battle which saw the lead change hands multiple times throughout the course of the game but it was the ThunderHawks who prevailed by the score of 64-58.. A familiar face to the ThunderHawks sparked the offensive output by the Spartans. QB Buddy Rivera, who started the opening game of the season for the ThunderHawks, provided the Spartans with what they have been missing all year, solid quarterback play. He completed 13 of 20 passes for 202 yards and 2 TD's. It was not enough though as he was outdueled by his replacement in West Michigan QB Brad Iciek who continues to put up incomprehensible numbers in 2010. He completed 28 of 38 passes for 313 yards and 7 TD's in the victory. Both teams will be back in action next week as the Spartans host the Chicago Slaughter and the ThunderHawks host the Richmond Revolution.

The IFL Game of the Week turned out to be a one-sided affair. In a game which could prove the difference in determining qualification for the IFL Playoffs, the Rochester Raiders (4-3) defeated the Bloomington Extreme (3-4) by the score of 56-41. The vaunted Extreme defense, coming off an effort which allowed only 6 points to the Maryland Maniacs, had no answer for Rochester QB Perry Patterson. The dual threat quarterback consistently found open receivers in the Extreme secondary showed command and leadership of the Raider's offense. The Extreme will look to rebound from the disappointing when they travel to take on the Omaha Beef in Week Ten. The Raiders will also be in action as they travel to take on divisional opponent the Maryland Maniacs.

Play resumed on Saturday evening when the Corpus Christi Hammerheads (3-5) traveled to play Lonestar East Division rivals the Austin Turfcats (2-4). This game went down to the wire with the Hammerheads outlasting the Turfcats 32-30. Despite controlling much of the game with a powerful running attack featuring RB Redford Borel (13 attempts for 114 yards, TD) the Hammerheads were never able to pull away from the Turfcats. Down 32-24 late in the fourth quarter, Turfcats QB Deron Ellis found WR Keith Clay for a 5 yard TD pass to pull the game to 32-30 with 8 seconds remaining. The ensuing 2 point conversion was stifled by the Hammerhead's defense which secured the victory for the men from Corpus Christi. The Hammerheads will be on a bye in Week 10 while the Turfcats will look to regroup when they host the San Angelo Stampede Express.

In the fourth and final meeting in 2010 between bitter state rivals, the Fairbanks Grizzlies (5-2) edged the Alaska Wild (2-6) 40-32. The win gives the Grizzlies the season's series 3-1. High intensity indoor football was on full display all season long between these hardnosed teams as three of the four games were decided by 8 points or less. The Grizzlies will ride the momentum from this win into a bye week while the Alaska Wild will search for a win when they travel to play the Tri-Cities Fever in Week Ten.

The Arkansas Diamonds (6-1) managed to maintain Lonestar supremacy with a close 26-23 victory over the Abilene Ruff Riders (1-6). In a defensive battle, a style of play which is quickly becoming a reputation in the Lonestar Divisions, the Diamonds found themselves trailing 23-10 entering the final quarter. The Diamonds then rattled off 16 unanswered points, the last coming on a TD run by QB Brian Jones, to seal the come from behind victory. The Ruff Riders have been playing much better as a team since the mid season coaching change which put Rodney Blackshear at the helm. Both teams will return to action in Week Ten as the Ruff Riders travel to play the undefeated Amarillo Venom and the Diamonds host the West Texas Roughnecks.

The Green Bay Blizzard (7-1) are starting to make a habit out of late game heroics. Trailing the Omaha Beef (2-4) 49-44 in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, Blizzard QB Jake Phillips engineered another amazing scoring drive when he found WR Scott Burnoski open in the end zone for an 11 yard strike which sealed the Blizzard victory 50-49 with no time left on the clock. This is the second week in the row that Phillips has led his team to victory in the winding seconds of the game and he is becoming to make it look easy. The Blizzard will rest on a much needed bye week in Week Ten while the Beef will look to get back in playoff contention at home against the Bloomington Extreme.

The Richmond Revolution (6-1) continued to roll in their inaugural season as they earned another victory over the visiting Maryland Maniacs (0-6), 54-45. The Revolution continue to rely on a stingy defense while the offense and QB Bryan Randall work on acclimating to the indoor game. The defense made big plays in the Maniacs backfield as they tallied 3 sacks and 6 tackles for loss. Despite controlling the pace of much of the game and nearly doubling the Revolution offensive output, the Maniacs still couldn't earn that illusive first victory. The Maniacs will hope their fortunes change in Week Ten when they host the Rochester Raiders while the Revolution will travel to play the West Michigan ThunderHawks.

Ever since coming back off of back-to-back bye weeks the Billings Outlaws (6-1) have been unstoppable. They continued to impose their will on opponents in Week Nine with a 70-47 victory over the Tri-Cities Fever (1-5). The Outlaws were led by familiar names that were standouts on opposite sides of the ball. Reigning League MVP QB Chris Dixon continued his impressive year as he tossed 5 TD's and ran for another 2. DL Michael Bazemore was overpowering on the defensive line has he tallied 7 tackles, 4 of which were for loss, and 2 sacks. The Fever have found the transition to the IFL difficult but the team is too talented to continue to struggle. There is still enough time left in 2010 for the Fever to make an impact. Both teams will be back in action in Week Ten as the Outlaws travel to play the Kent Predators and the Tri-Cities Fever host the Alaska Wild.

The Chicago Slaughter (3-3) have rattled off three consecutive victories since starting the season on a 0-3 slide. The latest victory came in the form of a 71-27 drumming on Saturday night of the Kent Predators (3-4). The Slaughter defense shut down the streaking Predators offense allowing only 152 total yards. Predator's standout QB Charles McCullum was held in check as the dual threat QB completed only 28% of his passes and managed only 17 yards rushing. Slaughter RB Jarrett Payton continued a solid season as he scored 2 TD's, one on the ground and one on a 10 yard reception. Both teams will return to action in Week Ten as the Predators host the Billings Outlaws and the Slaughter travel to take on the La Crosse Spartans.

The Amarillo Venom (6-0) remained undefeated, dodging a major upset, by pulling out a 47-41 victory over the winless Colorado Ice. The Ice fought valiantly all game long as the teams were tied at 34 heading into the fourth quarter of play. 13 unanswered points put the Venom on top for good as the Ice simply ran out of time. Venom QB Julian Reese continues his impressive and efficient play this season as he has tossed 25 TD's versus throwing just 1 interception. The Venom will look to retain their unblemished record when they host the Abilene Ruff Riders in Week Ten. The Ice will continue search for their first victory of the season when they travel to play the Sioux Falls Storm.

In the final game on the Week Nine schedule, the San Angelo Stampede Express (5-2) made easy work of the West Texas Roughnecks (2-5) with a 60-27 win. The Stampede Express got back to basics as they used their powerful running game led by RB Derrick Ross to control the pace of the game by wearing out the Roughneck defenders. Ross carried the ball 12 times for 84 yards and added 3 TD's. DL Jon Williams contributed on the other side of the ball as he added a sack which puts him in a tie for the league lead in the category with 7 in 2010. The Roughnecks have not found a rhythm this year and will look to rebound against the Arkansas Diamonds. The Stampede Express will look to continue to build momentum for a playoff push when the travel to play the Austin Turfcats.

Week Nine Vidswap.com IFL Players of the Week will be announced on Wednesday. The IFL season will continue with Week Ten on Friday April 30th when the Billings Outlaws travel to face the Kent Predators and the La Crosse Spartans host the Chicago Slaughter.

Indoor Football League Stories from April 26, 2010

• Second Half of Season Starts with a Bang - IFL
• Chicago Slaughter Hold Mid-Week Open House Practice - Chicago Slaughter

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.