UIF Sioux Falls Storm

Storm Hit the Road for the Final Time this Season

Published on June 22, 2007 under United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Sioux Falls Storm News Release


The Sioux Falls Storm of United Indoor Football (UIF) will travel to Lexington, KY to do battle with the Lexington Horsemen (7-5). Lexington is currently tied for second in the Eastern Conference and is fighting for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The Rock River Raptors currently hold the top spot in the conference with a record of 8-4. With the Storm's 56-20 win over the Ohio Valley Greyhounds, the Storm officially wrapped up the Western Conference. The Storm will now set their sights on spending the entire 2007 postseason at the Sioux Falls Arena. With a victory over Lexington this Saturday, the Storm will put themselves in position to host United Bowl III. The game is scheduled for a 6:30pm central kickoff. The game can be heard LIVE on 1320 KELO AM or by logging on to www.siouxfallsstorm.com and clicking on "Listen LIVE."

The two last met in United Bowl II on July 29, 2006 in what was a battle between the top 2 top scoring offenses in the UIF. Neither offense disappointed with 136 points being put on the scoreboard that night. The Storm was victorious 72-64 earning their 2nd straight UIF championship and becoming the first UIF team to finish a season with a perfect record. The Storm is 1-1 all-time vs Lexington in the regular season and 2-1 all-time vs. Lexington in the postseason.

Storm quarterback Terrance Bryant earned Week 13 Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance against the Ohio Valley Greyhounds. Bryant was 17 of 24 passing for 166 yards and 6 touchdown passes. Bryant has a 109.9 quarterback rating and has thrown for 1,902 yards and 39 touchdown passes this season. Rookie running back Sean Treasure led the team in rushing last Saturday vs. the Greyhounds with 27 yards rushing. Treasure has been in action twice this year at running back. Running back Marques Smith had a quiet night by his standards, but became the Storm's single season record holder for points scored in a season. The record was previously held by current Storm kicker Adam Hicks. Hicks put up 157 points in his 2004 campaign. The Storm has scored 547 points this season and Smith has accounted for 162 of them. Wide receivers Allen Burrell, Leon Hall Jr., and James Terry have all had stellar seasons thus far. Allen Burrell leads the team in receiving yards with 586, Leon Hall Jr. leads the team in receptions with 49, and James Terry leads the team in touchdown receptions with 15. Terry only needs 5 more touchdown receptions in four games to tie the Storm's receiving touchdowns single season record of 20, which was set in 2004 by current Storm receiver Casey Veenhof.

For the first time in seven games, the Storm's "Thunder Defense" failed to hold the opponent to three points or less in the third quarter. The defense has only given up an average of 10.6 points in the second half this year. Linebacker Mark Blackburn is the heart of the defense and continues to lead the league in tackles per game with 7.4. Defensive end Leif Murphy missed last Saturday's game, but will be back in action in Lexington. Murphy will look to continue where he left off two weeks ago when he was named UIF Defensive Player of the Week. Murphy and defensive end Nate Fluit are the top two sackers in the UIF. Murphy and Fluit have combined for 22 sacks this season. Defensive back Shannon Poppinga leads the ball-hawking secondary. The secondary ranks third in the UIF in passing yards allowed with 138 yards given up per game. The storm has accumulated 16 interceptions this season, which trails only Evansville (17) and Rock River (17). Of those 16 interceptions, Poppinga has brought down six. His six interceptions leads the UIF.

The Lexington Horsemen are coming off a 42-41 thriller win against Evansville. Lexington's offense is averaging 43.3 points per game. The offense is the best in the league at converting on third down, 46.4 percent. Quarterback Kewan Dewberry threw for 157 yards and 3 touchdowns in last week's victory. Dewberry has earned UIF Offensive Player of the Week honors twice this season, week 2 and 12. Dewberry has thrown for 1,871 yards and 38 touchdowns this season. He has also put together an incredible quarterback rating of 115.2. Running back Ray Askew has rushed for 556 yards this season. His 556 rushing yards is the third most in the UIF. Askew has also rushed for 22 touchdowns this season, which only trails Marques Smith's 26 rushing touchdowns. The #1 receiver for the Horsemen is Harry Lewis. Lewis trails only Rock River's Lawrence Bady in receptions and receiving yards in the UIF. Lewis has caught 58 balls for 700 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Lexington Horsemen defense has given up 213.2 yards per game this season. Linebacker Eric Norris has compiled 58.5 tackles this season. Norris also has one sack and three interceptions. Defensive back William Mulder sealed the win last week when he intercepted the ball with 18 seconds left in the game. A field goal would have won the game for Evansville. Mulder has 36 tackles and 3 interceptions on the season. The Horsemen defense has gotten to the quarterback 14 times this season. Defensive lineman Jamal Naji is the team's sack leader with 5.5.

The Storm will clash with the Colorado Ice on June 30th at the "Storm Shelter". The game theme will be "Kid's/Faith & Family Fun Night" and is presented by Orthopedic Institute. 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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