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UIF Sioux Falls Storm

Sioux City Bandits Stand in Way of Prestigious Record; Game to be Aired on KELO-AM

May 10, 2007 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Sioux Falls Storm News Release


The Sioux Falls Storm of United Indoor Football (UIF) will look to become only the second team in professional football to win 27 consecutive games when they entertain the Sioux City Bandits (2-4) this Saturday at the Sioux Falls Arena. The last time the Storm lost was against the rival Bandits on July 15, 2005. It seems only fitting that the Storm would need to beat the Bandits to tie the prestigious record. This is the second of three games against the Sioux City Bandits this season. The two last met on April 6 in Sioux City at the Tyson Event Center where the Storm prevailed 44-29. The Storm was led by their defense as Justin Landis returned an interception for a touchdown and Nate Fluit added three sacks.

The game can be heard LIVE on 1320 KELO-AM or by logging on to www.siouxfallsstorm.com and clicking on "Listen LIVE." This is the first game of the season that will be aired on KELO-AM with the final nine games of the regular season and playoffs also on 1320 KELO-AM.

The Storm put together a dominating performance against the Colorado Ice last Saturday. At one point the Storm had scored 35 unanswered points. Running back Marques Smith played like a rock star again by gaining 67 yards and scoring four touchdowns. That was the second straight week that Smith had a four touchdown performance. Smith leads the UIF in touchdowns and scoring as he has compiled 15 touchdowns this season. Terrance Bryant put together another solid performance throwing 23 of 37 for 202 yards and two touchdowns. Bryant is doing a great job of distributing the ball to his receivers. Leon Hall leads the team in receptions with 27, Allen Burrell leads in yards with 319, and James Terry leads in touchdown receptions with 8.

The Storm defense entered last Saturday's game trailing only the Ice in points allowed per game. After their impressive performance against the Ice, the "Thunder" defense has now claimed the #1 spot in points allowed. Defensive end Leif Murphy shredded the offensive line of the Ice as he went on to record a very impressive 3.5 sacks. Murphy and Nate Fluit hold the top two spots in sacks in the UIF. Linebacker Mark Blackburn had 8.5 tackles and recorded his first sack of the season. Blackburn leads the league in tackles with 48.5.

Sioux City has won two of its last three after beginning the season with a winless 0-3 mark. In their four losses, the Bandits are giving up an average of 48.7 points. In their two wins, they are giving up only 27.5 points.

The offense is only managing 30.7 points per game, which ranks the team dead last in scoring offense. After starting 0-3, the Bandits decided to make a switch at quarterback. Craig Fobbe is 2-1 as the starter for the Bandits this year. In three games, Fobbe has tossed seven touchdown passes and has thrown for 382 yards. Fobbe already leads the team in rushing with 73 yards. John Ostermeyer is the only Bandit receiver to play in all 6 games this season. He has caught 34 balls for 384 yards and four touchdowns. Running back Zach Molacek ran for 60 yards on 11 carries against Omaha last week.

Defensively, Linebacker Spetlar Tonga leads the way with 31.5 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and one interception. The Bandits have the #1 ranked passing defense in the UIF (98.3 ypg) as they are the only team allowing less than 100 passing yards per game. Defensive back Alex Ardley leads the secondary with three interceptions. Only Colorado has given up fewer yards than Sioux City, but Sioux City is giving up a disappointing 41.7 points per game.

The Storm will entertain the Omaha Beef next week at the "Storm Shelter." The game theme will be "Ladies Night." Individual tickets can be obtained by visiting the Arena Box Office or any Ticketmaster outlet, calling Ticketmaster at 334-8181, or purchasing from ticketmaster.com. Season tickets can still be acquired by calling the Storm office at 332-4225. Join "The Biggest Show in Town" as the Storm look for three championships in a row in 2007.

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