Week Seven NIFL Preview

Published on April 20, 2006 under National Indoor Football League (NIFL) News Release


A rematch, a marquee match-up, and a chance for things to tighten in the Atlantic North - it's week number seven in the National Indoor Football League.

Head Coach Mark Saunders says his Greensboro Revolution (1-4) must "hang on to the football" when the team meets up with the Charleston Sandsharks on Saturday night at the North Charleston Coliseum. Greensboro had 5 turnovers in the loss last week to Fayetteville, while the 3 TD passes of Sandsharks QB Dan Boland were not enough in his team's loss to the Osceola Outlaws. Kick-Off for the Atlantic East division game is slated for 7pm.

In the newly formed NIFL Massey Ratings, the Wyoming Cavalry (3-2) is ranked 9th, while the Tri-Cities Fever (3-1) is rated 10th. The two teams meet at 7:05pm Saturday night at the Three Rivers Coliseum in Kennewick, Washington. Both teams come off victories last weekend. Wyoming QB Frank Borba threw for 6 touchdown passes in the win against Beaumont, while the Fever defense shut out the Twin City Gators in the second half in a big win at home.

It's re-match time for the Lincoln Capitols (0-4) and Billings (4-1) at 7:05pm Saturday night at the MetraPark Arena. Lincoln is looking for win number one in 2006, and came close last week in a 48-47 loss to Arkansas. Billings' linebacker Travis Salter and quarterback Chris Dixon were impressive last Friday night in the team's big win over the RiverCity Rage in St. Louis. Billings defeated Lincoln in week five by the score of 55-6.

It'll be redemption time for one team on Saturday night when the Montgomery Maulers (1-3) take on the Katy Copperheads (3-3) at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in suburban Houston. Both teams suffered lopsided defeats last weekend, with the Maulers secondary giving up 19 completions and 5 TD's in a 66-33 loss to Florida. The Copperheads fell 84-44 to Rapid City and lost starting quarterback Mark Saldana in the process. Head Coach Bryan Blake is looking for better protection from his offensive line.

In a Pacific South division game, two NIFL expansion teams will match up on Saturday night when the Arkansas Stars (1-3) travel south to tangle with the Twin City Gators (0-4) with Kick-Off scheduled for 7pm. Arkansas boasts of the number three ranked Pass Defense in the NIFL, and Gators QB Gary Cooper will go against it without his leading receiver Dennis Burke, out with a shoulder injury. Twin Cities may have the advantage playing at home at the Monroe Civic Center.

Things are heating up in the Atlantic North division of the NIFL and Saturday night the Cincinnati Marshals (2-2) have the chance to tie for the division lead when the team entertains the RiverCity Rage (3-1) in a 7:30pm contest at the U.S. Bank Arena. The Rage is looking to come back strong after a heartbreaking loss to Billings last week at Savvis Center. RiverCity won the first game between the two teams, defeating the Marshals at home by the score of 76-34. But Cincy is looking for revenge and has made some new additions to the secondary, which could hamper the Rage passing attack.

The Camp Jordan Arena in Chattanooga will be loud on Saturday night when the Tennessee Riversharks (2-2) play host to the undefeated Lakeland Thunderbolts (4-0) in a 7pm Kick-off. A bye week may not have cooled off the ‘Bolts, number four in NIFL Scoring Offense and second in Scoring Defense in 2006. The Sharks used a forth quarter shutout defense to gain a big victory on the road last week in Dayton, and look for the home fan support this weekend.

The NIFL Massey Ratings are based on Power, Strength of Schedule, Offense, Defense, and Home Advantage. The Fayetteville Guard (4-0) is rated number one, the Osceola Outlaws (3-1) are right behind at number two. Both look to be playoff bound teams and the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville will host one of the better games of the week on Saturday night at 7pm. The Guard rely on the rush (number two in NIFL) to make things happen, while The Outlaws used a balanced attack (21 rushes, 21 passes) in a 40-29 home win last weekend against Charleston.

And rounding out the action will be a game on Sunday evening featuring the Rapid City Flying Aces (5-0) and the Dayton Bulldogs (1-2) at the Nutter Center on the campus of Wright State University. The ‘Aces have the best regular season record in the NIFL, the number one Scoring Offense, the number one Scoring Defense and are coming off a 40 point win last week over the Katy Copperheads. The new look Dayton team is lead by quarterback Antonio Davis, and dropped a tough one last weekend to the Tennessee Riversharks.

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National Indoor Football League Stories from April 20, 2006


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