Sports stats



Sudden Death Looms With Four Potential Qualifiers For Championship Game In Action

November 9, 2010 - United Football League (UFL 1) News Release


JACKSONVILLE, FL - Tuesday, November 9, 2010 - Week 9 of the United Football League season is approaching, and for the Hartford Colonials and the Sacramento Mountain Lions, sudden death is staring them right between the eyes.

The Colonials (2-4) travel to the Florida Citrus Bowl to take on the resurgent Florida Tuskers (3-3) Thursday at 7pm Eastern. Quite simply, Hartford needs to beat Florida in order to stay in the hunt for a UFL Championship Game berth on November 27 at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. But... the Colonials also need the Sacramento Mountain Lions (3-4) to defeat the Omaha Nighthawks (3-3) at home Saturday at 8pm Pacific (11 p.m. Eastern) otherwise they lose out in the head-to-head tiebreaker to Omaha.

"This game is for all the marbles," said Colonials head coach CHRIS PALMER. "If we don't win, we're done. We need to win and they need to win. It will be an exciting game and probably come down to the last play."

Inspired by the presence of new Owner / President Joe Theismann, the Tuskers put together their best game of the 2010 season in Week 8 in a 31-14 home destruction of the Nighthawks and takes momentum into the clash against a Hartford team coming off a Week 8 bye.

"Our regular season finale with Omaha is the last thing on my mind right now," said Tusker head coach JAY GRUDEN. "We are playing a Hartford team that is well-coached and has lost three games in final seconds. They have maybe the league's top running back in Lorenzo Booker, they have a solid defense and Coach Palmer does a great job getting them ready to play. Trust me when I say Hartford will have our full attention this week."

HDNet will have the live broadcast of the game, with Kenny Rice (play-by-play), Paul Maguire (analyst), Ron Kruck and Paul Crane (sideline) bringing all the decisive action to a national audience beginning with the pre-game show at 6.30pm Eastern.

On Saturday night, the lure of a potential home berth in the UFL Championship Game sees the Nighthawks desperate to turn around their fortunes to end a two-game losing streak. Omaha, like Florida, has its destiny in its own hands - two wins and the Nighthawks will play in the last ever event at historic Rosenblatt Stadium against the already qualified Las Vegas Locos.

"There's no doubt this is now playoff football. We have a two-game playoff now. I want our fans to know we'll get things corrected," said Nighthawks head coach JEFF JAGODZINSKI. "We've still got two games left and one of the best things about Omaha is the great fans at Rosenblatt Stadium and I expect a good turn out and believe they can help us get into the Championship Game."

The Mountain Lions can only stay in the hunt to be the second team in The Championship with a victory - but a loss will knock them out and end their season since Sacramento has the league's Week 10 bye.

"Our hopes are still alive and our focus now shifts to what is really a playoff game with Omaha and we hope other results go for us," said Mountain Lions head coach DENNIS GREEN. "Hopefully we will get another 20,000 fans into Hornet Stadium and we can play good football and win for them next Saturday."

Join Craig Minervini (play-by-play), Doug Flutie (analyst), Ryan Nece and Damon Hack (sideline) for the live broadcast of Saturday's key contest on Versus (8pm PDT / 11pm EDT).

The championship game-bound Las Vegas Locomotives (5-2) have the league's Week 9 bye.

*************************************************

LIVE STREAMING

Can't get away from work to catch kickoff or get home to switch on the TV to watch the UFL in Week 9? Then take advantage of the live streaming options offered by the official UFL-Football.com website, Versus.com, Fanhouse.com and Boxee.TV to enjoy live online viewing. There are no excuses for missing all the UFL has to offer, even if it means sneaking on a pair of headphones while sitting at your workstation. You can even watch the postgame press conference streamed live online - uncut, unedited, uncensored.

*************************************************

IT'S ABOUT THE PLAYOFF ATMOSPHERE

There are four games left in the 2010 UFL regular season, and all four of them very well could have ramifications as to who joins Las Vegas in the Championship Game:

November 11, Hartford at Florida - Now that the Tuskers have won a home game in 2010, they will go for two in a row against the Colonials, who won their first-ever road game in Week 7. Florida has won the first three meetings between the franchises. Expect a close game because the last three games involving Hartford have been decided by 5, 4 and 1 points.

November 13, Omaha at Sacramento - The Mountain Lions need to win or be eliminated - period. The Nighthawks, like the Tuskers, need to win out to get in without the benefit of tiebreakers. The game is a rematch of the Week 3 game in Rosenblatt Stadium when Omaha quarterback Jeff Garcia led a thrilling drive and threw an eventual game-winning touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of the Rumble at Rosenblatt.

November 19, Florida at Omaha - Depending on what happens in Week 9, this game could very well be for all the marbles. Not only could the Nighthawks be playing for a chance to play in "The Championship" in front of their own fans, but they will look for payback for the 31-14 Week 8 loss at the Florida Citrus Bowl.

November 20, Las Vegas at Hartford - The Locos will look to regain their form after a Week 8 home loss and a Week 9 bye. Hartford, meanwhile, could still be playing for the postseason if Week 9 results fall its way. The Colonials will have motivation regardless - Las Vegas beat Hartford 24-21 in the UFL's longest-ever game in Week 6.

*************************************************

2010 UFL STANDINGS THROUGH WEEK 8

TEAM W L PCT. PF PA HOME ROAD

Las Vegas Locomotives 5 2 .714 160 115 2-2 3-0

Florida Tuskers 3 3 .500 145 119 1-2 2-1

Omaha Nighthawks 3 3 .500 100 134 2-1 1-2

Sacramento Mountain Lions 3 4 .429 128 161 1-2 2-2

Hartford Colonials 2 4 .333 135 139 1-2 1-2

UFL WEEK 9 SCHEDULE (All times local)

Thursday, Nov. 11 Saturday, Nov. 13

Hartford at Florida, 7 p.m. ET (HDNet)

Omaha at Sacramento, 8 p.m. PT (Versus)

Pregame show airs at 6:30 p.m. ET

Bye Week

Las Vegas

UFL WEEK 9 PREVIEWS

Hartford Colonials (2-4) at Florida Tuskers (3-3) - Thursday, November 11, 7 p.m. Eastern

ALL-TIME SERIES: Florida 3, Hartford 0.

LAST MEETING: Florida 33, Hartford 20 (October 9, 2010).

BROADCAST: HDNet - Kenny Rice (play-by-play), Paul Maguire (analyst), Ron Kruck and Paul Crane (sideline).

NOTES: Hartford running back LORENZO BOOKER set a new UFL single-game rushing record with 147 yards in Week 7... Colonials cornerback RYAN PALMER had an interception and four total tackles two weeks ago... Hartford cornerback GERARD LAWSON returned six kickoffs for 148 yards in Week 7... In two wins, the Colonials have just one turnover; in four losses, Hartford has 13 turnovers... Florida quarterback CHRIS GREISEN threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns in his first UFL start in Week 8... Tuskers defensive end PATRICK CHUKWURAH had two sacks last week, giving him a league-high 5 1/2 in 2010... Florida kicker NICK NOVAK had four extra points and a field goal in Week 8... The Tuskers saw 11 different receivers catch passes last week.

Omaha Nighthawks (3-3) at Sacramento Mountain Lions (3-4) Saturday, November 13, 8pm PT

ALL-TIME SERIES: Omaha 1, Sacramento 0.

LAST MEETING: Omaha 20, Sacramento 17 (October 2, 2010).

BROADCAST: Versus - Craig Minervini (play-by-play), Doug Flutie (analyst), Ryan Nece and Damon Hack (sideline).

NOTES: Omaha running back MAURICE CLARETT caught a team-high five passes and ran once for 12 yards in Week 8... Nighthawks safety AARON ROUSE made five total tackles and a half-tackle for loss last week... Omaha cornerback RICARDO COLCLOUGH returned five kickoffs for 113 yards... The Nighthawks have turned the ball over seven times in their last two games, both losses... Sacramento running back CORY ROSS caught 10 passes in a game for the third time in 2010 in Week 8... Mountain Lions safety DENNIS KEYES had 11 total tackles and a fumble recovery last week... Sacramento kicker FABRIZIO SCACCIA had two field goals and three extra points in Week 8... The Mountain Lions became the first team in UFL history to recover four opponents' fumbles in one game last week.

• Discuss this story on the United Football League message board...

United Football League Stories from November 9, 2010


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.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central