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PIFL Lehigh Valley Steelhawks

Steelhawks Fall Late in Final Round of Keystone Classic

June 22, 2014 - Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL)
Lehigh Valley Steelhawks News Release


Bethlehem, PA: The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (5-6) faced the Harrisburg Stampede (4-7) for the third and final round of the Keystone Classic Saturday night in Hershey, PA. In a close game, it was the Stampede that came out on top.

The Steelhawks began the game on offense. QB Shane McSweeny (passing: 20-30, 167 yds, 3 tds, 2 ints, rushing: 54 yds, 3 tds) took advantage of it, finding the endzone on a quarterback keeper from five yards out as Lehigh Valley struck first. The extra point attempt would be wide but K Michael Barnard would hit the uno. Harrisburg's EJ Nemeth (passing: 19-31, 267 yds, 5 tds, rushing: 48 yds, 3 tds) would finish the Stampede's opening drive with his legs, getting into the endzone for six. The Steelhawks started their next drive with a 35 yard return by DB/KR Dwayne Hollis (124 yds). McSweeny would complete the drive with a touchdown pass to WR Richie Martin (9 catches for 72 yds, 1 td); putting the Steelhawks back on top, 14-6. The Stampede would quickly tie things up however. FB/OL Victor Sesay would cover the entire field himself to get the touchdown (39 yd catch, 1 yd run), and K Cap Poklemba would tack on the uno. The quarter would end with things all tied up.

Harrisburg began the scoring midway through the quarter when Nemeth hit WR Jerell Jones (2 catches for 51 yards, 1 td) who did all the work on the play running it in for the touchdown after the catch. Lehigh Valley would have an extended next possession after they recovered a fumble on their field goal attempt giving them a first down. McSweeny would run it in from 10 yards out to tie things back up at 21. But Harrisburg would score 14 more points before the Steelhawks would answer. After a Harrisburg kickoff went out of bounds, giving the Steelhawks the ball on the Herd's 20 yard line, McSweeny would find WR Brandon Renford (4 catches for 64 yds, 2 tds) for a 19 yard completion and then finish the drive with his third rushing touchdown of the game with 10 seconds remaining in the half. Lehigh Valley's defense would make a big play and force intentional grounding for the safety to cut the lead to six just before the whistle sounded to end the half.

The Stampede led 35-29 to start the third quarter and they would never relinquish the lead. Nemeth would add another rushing touchdown of his own. The McSweeny-Renford combo would strike again 20 seconds later when Renford caught the long pass for a touchdown. Neither offense could get much going for the rest of the quarter.

The fourth quarter was more action packed. After another Harrisburg touchdown, both teams would trade turnovers - Harrisburg would get an interception but the Steelhawks would take it right back when Hollis (4 tackes, 1 fr) recovered a fumble. With good field possession to start the drive, McSweeny would again hit Renford in the back of the endzone. An uno would cut the Stampede's lead to 3, but that would be as close as the Steelhawks got. The teams would again trade turnovers. Harrisburg would make the margin 10 after a 30 yard touchdown completion. The lead would be back to three almost immediately however as Hollis made a tremendous effort to return the kickoff 58 yards for the touchdown. With one minute left on the clock however, the Stampede only needed one first down to close out the game and they got it. The game would end with a score of Harrisburg: 55, Lehigh Valley 52.

Other National Conference team action saw the Richmond Raiders taking on the Nashville Venom. The Raiders dropped the game, 28-63, keeping them at 5-6, the same as the Steelhawks. Trenton also dropped a game to the Georgia Fire, 49-52.

For the second time this season, the Steelhawks completed the Domino's 50 Point Challenge; Steelhawks fans can get 50% off regularly priced pizzas at participating Lehigh Valley Domino locations; use the code SH50 when ordering.

Next week will see the Steelhawks facing off with rival Richmond Raiders in their 2014 PIFL regular season finale. It's a do or die game for both teams as the winner will claim 2nd place and the final playoff spot in the National Conference. It will also be Fan Appreciation Night, 1,000 team photos will be given out to fans. Kickoff will be at 7pm on June 28th inside Stabler Arena.

Keep checking for the latest news and events from the Steelhawks! For further information please call Lehigh Valley Steelhawks Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Clark at (610) 282-3100, or visit our website at www.LVSteelhawks.com for the latest Steelhawks news! Tickets for the last regular season home game are available! Reserve your seat now by calling the Steelhawks office at 610-282-3100.

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Professional Indoor Football League Stories from June 22, 2014


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