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Week Sixteen Preview

July 6, 2007 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF) News Release


Omaha, NE - Welcome to Week 16. This weekend's slate of games will bring two first-time inter-conference match-ups; two re-matches of week one contests and a third encounter between two Western Conference teams.

OMAHA (6-8) vs. OHIO VALLEY (2-11)

At Wheeling, WV

7 p.m. Eastern

For the first time since the two teams joined United Indoor Football, the Omaha Beef and the Ohio Valley Greyhounds will meet. Saturday's game will be held at WesBanco Arena. In their last action, Ohio Valley fell 44-20 to the Evansville BlueCats last Saturday at home. Leading the way for the Greyhounds were DL Jeffrey Candler and WR Darrell Dowery. Candler led the defense with 4.5 tackles (.5 TFL), ½ a sack and a quarterback hurry. Dowery caught a team-high nine passes for 125 yards, 29 of which came on a touchdown pass from Neal Sharma. Omaha defeated Bloomington 33-22 last Saturday at Omaha Civic Auditorium to finish the season 4-3 at home. Leading the way for the Beef were DB Reicko Jones and QB James McNear. Jones made 2.5 tackles, intercepted Dusty Burk twice and also broke up a pass. McNear completed 20 of 27 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns; he also rushed for 62 yards and two more scores to give him four touchdowns for the game.

EVANSVILLE (5-8) vs. RIVERCITY (7-6)

At St. Charles, MO

7 p.m. Central

In a re-match of a game that went down to the final buzzer in week 1, the RiverCity Rage will welcome the Evansville BlueCats to The Family Arena Saturday. The Rage fell to the Billings Outlaws 46-44 last Saturday at home. RiverCity was led by RB Muhammad Abdulqaadir and LB Joe Bevis. Abdulqaadir had 112 rushing yards and three touchdowns and a 10-yard touchdown reception from Anthony Fisher; for his efforts, he was rewarded with Offensive Player of the Week honors. Bevis made a team-high 10.5 tackles and had a quarterback hurry; he also rushed once for five yards. The BlueCats defeated the Ohio Valley Greyhounds 44-20 last Saturday at WesBanco Arena. Evansville was led by RB Odest Shannon and LB John Winchester. Shannon caught two passes for 38 yards and a touchdown; he also returned three kicks for 82 yards with a long of 41. Winchester made seven total tackles (two TFL) and a sack, broke up a pass, had a quarterback hurry and fell on a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. As a result, he garnered Defensive Player of the Week honors.

ROCK RIVER (10-4) vs. SIOUX FALLS (13-0)

At Sioux Falls, SD

7:05 p.m. Central

These two teams also met in week 1 with the Sioux Falls Storm defeating the Rock River Raptors 44-34 on March 24th. This time, the battle switches to the Sioux Falls Arena, where Saturday's game will take place. The Storm defeated the Colorado Ice 48-3 last Saturday at home. Leading the way for Sioux Falls were RB Marques Smith and their defense. Smith rushed for 66 yards and three touchdowns; he also caught two passes for 10 yards. The defense tallied three sacks (two by Nate Fluit), intercepted three passes (two by Justin Landis, one of which he returned 50 yards to pay dirt), recovered a fumble and ran it in for a touchdown (by Leif Murphy) and blocked two kicks (both by Murphy). The Raptors defeated the Lexington Horsemen 70-47 last Saturday at MetroCentre to clinch the Eastern Conference's number one seed and home-field advantage in the playoffs. Leading the way for Rock River were RB Randy Bell and their defense. Bell had 141 all-purpose yards (67 rush, two receiving and 72 kickoff returns) and four total touchdowns (three rushing and one kickoff return). The defense tallied five sacks, forced three fumbles (recovering two, including one that Ricky Miller returned nine yards for a touchdown), intercepted a pass (by Anthony Harris who returned it 10 yards for a touchdown), broke up 10 more passes and also blocked a field goal (by Maurice Simpkins).

BILLINGS (8-4) vs. BLOOMINGTON (6-7)

At Bloomington, IL

8:05 p.m. Central

These two teams also will be meeting for the first time as the Bloomington Extreme host the Billings Outlaws Saturday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. The Extreme return home after falling to the Omaha Beef 33-22 last Saturday at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. Leading the way for Bloomington were WR Shatone Powers and DB James Temple. Powers returned six kicks for 149 yards, 54 of which came on a touchdown in the third quarter; he also caught a pass for three yards. Temple made a team-high 10 tackles (one TFL). Billings defeated the RiverCity Rage 46-44 last Saturday at The Family Arena. Leading the way for the Outlaws were QB Chris Dixon and DB Jerry Jones. Dixon had 215 yards of total offense (58 rushing and 147 passing) and four passing touchdowns. Jones made 6.5 tackles, intercepted a pass and also broke up a pass.

SIOUX CITY (3-10) vs. COLORADO (5-8)

At Loveland, CO

7:05 p.m. Mountain

The Colorado Ice and the Sioux City Bandits will meet for the third time this season Saturday and the second time at the Budweiser Events Center. The Ice fell to the Sioux Falls Storm 48-3 last Saturday at the Sioux Falls Arena. Leading the way for Colorado were RB Sean Ingram and DL Jeff Spetzler. Ingram had 64 all-purpose yards (36 rush, 22 receiving and six on kickoff returns). Spetzler made 4.5 tackles (two TFL) and a sack; he also broke up a pass. Sioux City is coming off a bye week. In their last action, the Bandits fell to the Evansville BlueCats 40-30 at the Tyson Events Center on June 23. Leading the way for Sioux City were QB Marlin McKinney and DB Chris Reid. Dewberry tallied 142 yards of total offense (45 rush, 97 passing) and three passing touchdowns. Reid made eight solo tackles and assisted on nine more for a total of 12.5 in the game.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

Eastern Conference Western Conference

y-Rock River 10-4 y-Sioux Falls 13-0 x-clinched a playoff spot

RiverCity 7-6 x-Billings 8-4 y-clinched conference and

Lexington 7-7 x- Omaha 6-7 home-field advantage

Bloomington 6-7 x- Colorado 5-8 z-eliminated from playoff

Evansville 5-8 z-Sioux City 3-10 contention

z-Ohio Valley 2-11

United Indoor Football is the premier indoor football league of North America and is committed to serving its teams and fans. Please contact the UIF league office with any comments, concerns or suggestions.

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United Indoor Football Association Stories from July 6, 2007


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