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AIF Lehigh Valley Steelhawks

Steelhawks Hit the Road for First Round of Playoffs

June 2, 2016 - American Indoor Football (AIF)
Lehigh Valley Steelhawks News Release


Allentown, PA: The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (6-2) are on the road this weekend, heading to St. Charles, Missouri to take on the River City Raiders (7-1) in their first round playoff matchup. Game time is scheduled for 8:00pm EST/7:00pm CST. Fans will be able to listen to the game via radio broadcast and follow updates on Facebook and Twitter.

River City has been unbeaten at home (5-0) this season with their lone loss coming against division foe West Michigan Ironmen.

In their last game, back on May 14th, the Raiders edged out the Chicago Blitz on the road, 37-31. QB Tarean Austin threw for 147 yards on 39% completion rate, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Austin's go-to receiver to move the ball was DeAndre Jackson who caught five passes for 70 yards. Jackson also had 75 yards on five kickoff returns. River City scored three of their touchdowns on runs - Austin (10 yds), RBs Tyler Batts (10 yds) and Lennies McFerren (1 yd) all recorded a rushing touchdown.

Defensively, DL Gary Henderson is a danger off the end, tallying two sacks and another tackle for a loss in addition to four tackles. DB Bryan Lowery also had four tackles and added an interception to his stat sheet as well as four pass break ups.

The Steelhawks defense has led the way to success this year. The ball-Hawking defensive backs have tallied a total of 18 interceptions and 21 pass break ups - Ken Walton leads the group with seven interceptions, John Williams III has nine pass break ups. The front five have contributed six more interceptions and 17.5 sacks.

The offense has been captained by QB Jake Jablonski (1,503-33tds-6 ints, 64% completion). His regular season stats place him in the franchise single season and all-time franchise record books - most passing touchdowns in a single season, second all-time (33), second most passing yards in a single season and all-time (1,503). Lehigh Valley's receiving corp is made up of the 'Hawks all-time leading receiver, Brandon Renford (40 catches for 407 yds, 12 tds) and break out rookie receiver Darius Prince (56 catches for 644 yds, 13 tds), who leads the team this season.

Even with an unfamiliar opponent, it is clear that the Steelhawks will need to improve on their last game's performance. Last game, Lehigh Valley struggled in the redzone (3-7) and had 64 yards of penalties assessed against them. Playoffs are win or go home and the team will need to play smart and put points on the board whenever possible to assure a victory.

The AIF playoffs feature four teams in each division. The North Division has #1 Western Michigan hosting #4 Myrtle Beach and #2 River City hosting #3Lehigh Valley. The South Division has overall #1 seed Columbus Lions hosting #4 New Mexico, and #2 Florida hosting #3 Savannah. The winners will face off in the divisional championship round the weekend of June 11th, hosted by the highest winning seeds. The AIF Championship will go through the city of the highest seeded competing team and will be played the weekend of June 18th.

2017 season tickets will be announced in the months following the conclusion of this season. The Steelhawks play all their home games inside the PPL Center on Embassy Bank Field. 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. Reserve your seat now by calling the Steelhawks office at 610-282-3100. The Steelhawks play all of their home games on Embassy Bank Field inside the PPL Center.

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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.

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