Week Five Preview: Omaha Beef
Published on April 18, 2007 under United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Colorado Crush News Release
The Colorado Ice (2-2) will take on the Omaha Beef (3-1) Saturday night when they return home to the Budweiser Events Center. Doors open at 6 p.m. with kickoff following at 7:05 p.m.
The Ice are coming off a three-game road trip, starting with a 31-20 loss to Omaha on March 30. Colorado's offense came from the air attack with quarterback Ryan Clement completing 12 of 28 passes for 105 yards and a score. The rushing unit struggled, only putting up ten net yards. Two of Colorado's ten total interceptions were against Omaha, with Jason McCleary taking one back for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Their second half comeback at RiverCity on April 7 wasn't enough as they fell 46-39. The Ice wrapped up their road trip with a 54-30 victory over the Sioux City Bandits on April 13.
The Beef started the season 3-0 before a tough 61-17 loss to Sioux Falls on April 14. Sioux Falls leads the West with a 4-0 record with Omaha and Colorado close behind. With a win this weekend, Colorado would move into a tie for second with Omaha. Running back Eugene Reed leads the UIF with 249 rushing yards. Defensive back Travis Garcia also tops the charts, picking off three different quarterbacks so far this season.
The Ice will return home to host the Omaha Beef on April 21 at 7:05 p.m. MST for "Hometown Heroes Night." Tickets for police, fire, emergency and hospital personnel are available only through the Ice Office through email, phone or in person. Please call (970) 472-0128, email s.veltri@thecoloradoice.com or stop by headquarters at 1 Old Town Square #107 in Old Town Fort Collins. Single game and season tickets are still available, call now!
The Ice mascot, Glacier, will also be unveiled during the contest. All Ice games will be broadcast live on
Ice Down Bandits In Big Win
The Colorado Ice (2-2) held the Sioux City Bandits (0-3) to just seven points in the second half en route to a 54-30 win Friday night in Sioux City, Iowa. Colorado relied on the run game, with seven of the eight scores coming off the rush for a total of 158 rushing yards.
Colorado led the way with 23 first downs compared to Sioux City's 11. Running back Eugene Reed rushed for a two yard score to put the opening points on the board. Cody Butler kicked a field goal for the Bandits before newly acquired Tim Pope caught the Ice's only receiving touchdown of the night to put Colorado up by 10 at the end of the first quarter.
Sioux City responded in the second with three field goals and two touchdowns, but were unable to hold off the Ice offense who put up 14 to end the half up 27-23. The Bandits took their only lead of the game in the third quarter off a one yard run by Brent Rawls before the Ice answered with a 16 yard run from running back Sean Ingram.
The Ice dominated the fourth quarter, adding three rushing touchdowns to down the Bandits 54-30. Reed led the offense, rushing for 75 yards and three touchdowns. Ingram was close behind with 71 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Ryan Clement completed 10 of 17 for 100 yards and one touchdown. Pope led the receiving unit with 36 yards and one touchdown.
Defensive back Clint Brown caught two picks while Travis Garcia and Corey Johnson each added one to give the Ice a total of four interceptions for 41 yards. The defense also had three pass breakups and a team high 40 total tackles.
The match-up was the final of a three-game road stand for the Ice. They will return to host the Omaha Beef on Saturday, April 21 at 7:05 p.m. at the Budweiser Events Center for "Hometown Heroes Night."
Ice Kicker Tries Out For AFL
Colorado Ice star kicker Deric Yaussi tried out Monday with the San Jose Sabercats of the Arena Football League. His tryouts went well and he has been placed on their reserve list.
Yaussi was named as the UIF Special Teams Player of the Week for the week of March 28, 2007. He has started in all three of the Ice games so far this season, racking up 939 yards in 20 kickoffs. He also leads the League with a .53 made field goal percentage (8-15).
A University of Wyoming alum, Yaussi grew up in Fort Collins, Colo. He earned several honors as a Cowboy, including All-MWC honors, MWC Special Teams Player of the Week three times and preseason honorable mention All-American.
Ice Add Running Back to Roster
The Colorado Ice have added depth to their offense with the signing of running back Ryan Drinkwater from Valley City State University.
Drinkwater played two years for North Dakota State College of Science before transferring to Valley City. He was a two-year starter for the Vikings and earned first team All-Conference honors after ranking second in the Dakota Athletic Conference in rushing. He tallied 1143 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in his two years at Valley City. He led the DAC in scoring with 60 points his senior year and finished his career as the conference leader in total offense.
Ice Lead the League
Several Ice players top the UIF charts after the fourth week of action. Running back Eugene Reed heads up the rushing charts with 249 yards and four touchdowns on 53 carries. His next closest contender is Muhammad Abdulqaadir of RiverCity who boasts 235 yards and seven touchdowns on 69 carries. Reed's average of 4.70 yards per carry is the fifth highest. Teammate Sean Ingram leads with an average of 7.64 yards per carry.
Defensive back Travis Garcia is the only player to pick off a quarterback three different times this season, which puts him first in interceptions. His three picks total 29 yards, giving him an average of 9.67 yards on the return. Teammate Jason McCleary has racked up the most yardage on returned interceptions with 35 yards on one return.
Ice Participate In At-Risk Youth Program
Students at New Vista Academy in Fort Collins invited Colorado Ice players to be coaches and mentors for a flag football tournament they are hosting today as part of a service project. The event is part of the school's effort to promote positive after-school programs for both students and their families.
The group of students have coordinated and planned the entire event and invited both Colorado State and Colorado Ice players as well as getting dinner and dessert donations.
United Indoor Football Association Stories from April 18, 2007
- Extreme re-signs Johnson, Rudicil - Bloomington Extreme
- Week Five Preview: Omaha Beef - Colorado Crush
- Johnson, Bryant Receive UIF Honors for Week Four - Evansville BlueCats
- Bryant Named UIF Players of the Week - Sioux Falls Storm
- UIF names Players of the Week - UIF
- Burk ready to return for the Extreme - Bloomington Extreme
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