Wichita Wild vs. Tri-Cities Fever Intense Conference Championship Game Preview
Published on June 27, 2012 under Indoor Football League (IFL)
Wichita Wild News Release
Kennewick, WA - The Wichita Wild of the Indoor Football League (IFL) will travel to Washington to face the Tri-Cities Fever in the 2012 IFL Intense Conference Championship matchup. The game will take place on Friday, June 29th at the Toyota Center; kickoff scheduled at 9:05pm (CST).
Friday night's Conference Championship game will be the first meeting between the Wichita Wild and the Tri-Cities Fever this season. Tri-Cities beat the Colorado Ice on Friday, June 22nd in the Intense Conference Semi-Finals to move onto the Conference Championship game for the second time in two years. In that game Tri-Cities Quarterback Houston Lillard threw for 19 of 30, completing 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, good for a Fever win; final score 52-42. The Wichita Wild enters Friday night's game off of a win over the Allen Wrangler on Monday, June 25th, giving the Wild the go-ahead into the Conference Championship game. The Wild's win over the Wranglers came down to the last minute of play, where James Chandler kicked a 54 yard field goal for the win.
The Tri-Cities Fever finished their 2012 regular season campaign with the second best record in the IFL, at12-2, dropping their only two games of the season to the Sioux Fall Storm. Tri-Cities record was good enough to seed the Fever into the #1 slot in the Intense Conference. Tri-Cities held the fourth highest scoring Offense in the league, as well as the leading special teams in the league throughout the regular season.
The Wichita Wild concluded there 2012 regular season campaign with a record of 8-6, seeding them into the #3 slot in the Intense Conference. The Wild dropped their first four games of the regular season, but turned into the hottest team in the IFL over the second half of the year, winning 8 of their last 10 games and going on a mid-season 6 game win streak.
Friday night's game between the Tri-Cities Fever and the Wichita Wild will determine who advances on to the IFL Championship, playing whichever team wins the United Conference Championship matchup between the Sioux Falls Storm and the Green Bay Blizzard. That game will be played on Saturday, June 30th Key Regular Season Statistics:
Tri-Cities Wichita Points per Game 53.6 47 .0 Yards per Game 259.4 227.9 Points Against per Game 33.2 48.6 Yards Allowed per Game 235.1 246.6
Player to Watch For: Kendrick Harper
Wild Defensive Back Kendrick Harper made the game-saving interception on Monday night, giving the Wild a win over the Wranglers. Harper will no doubly have his hands full again on Friday night when he faces off with Tri-Cities' Steven Whitehead, who lead the league in total receptions over the regular season with 84, good for 791 yards and 20 touchdowns. Harpers, along with the rest of the Wild secondary will need to play well if Wichita wishes to debut in their first IFL Championship game; to be played on July 14th.
Indoor Football League Stories from June 27, 2012
- :Colorado Ice Thanks Fans and Partners - Colorado Crush
- Storm to Host Third-Consecutive Conference Championship - Sioux Falls Storm
- Wichita Wild vs. Tri-Cities Fever Intense Conference Championship Game Preview - Wichita Wild
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