The fourth season of United Indoor Football came to a close this weekend when this year's UIF champion Sioux Falls Storm edged the Intense Football League champion, the Louisiana Swashbucklers 54-42 in the first-ever National Indoor Bowl Championship game.
SIOUX FALLS STORM 54, LOUISIANA SWASHBUCKLERS 42
At Sioux Falls, SD
The UIF champion Sioux Falls Storm defeated the IFL champion Louisiana Swashbucklers in the National Indoor Bowl Championship game Saturday evening at the Sioux Falls Arena.
Shortly after 7 p.m., Louisiana's Whitney Hillin kicked off and the game was underway.
Storm running back Sean Treasure capped Sioux Falls' opening drive when he rushed in from four yards out to put the Storm up 7-0. On the subsequent possession, Louisiana, led by quarterback Alvin Bartie, went on a seven-play, 30-yard drive that finished with Bartie connecting with Sammy Knight on a 14-yard touchdown pass. After a blocked extra point, Sioux Falls held a one point lead at 7-6. The Storm added to their lead on the next possession when Adam Hicks drilled a 40-yard field goal to put the team up by four at 10-6. Sioux Falls added another touchdown just before the end of the quarter when Terrance Bryant found Bryan Alberty with an 11-yard touchdown pass, putting the Storm up by 11 at 17-6.
Louisiana got the ball back with just three seconds to go in the first quarter. Bartie engineered a five-play, 30-yard drive that finished when he hit Charles McCrea on a 16-yard touchdown pass, which brought the Swashbucklers back within five at 17-12. The next possession, Sioux Falls' Bryant and Marques Smith put together a drive that finished with Hicks making a 22-yard field goal to put Sioux Falls back up eight at 20-12. Louisiana came back two plays later when Bartie threw his third touchdown pass of the night, this time a 29-yard variety to Marcus Wilridge as the scoreboard now read 20-18 in favor of Sioux Falls. Four plays later, Hicks added his third field goal to put the Storm up by five at 23-18. Louisiana took their first lead of the game at 1:05 remaining when Travis Moses intercepted a Bryant pass and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown to go up 25-23. Freddie Harrison rushed in from nine yards out to add to Louisiana's lead at 32-23. Hicks made his third field goal of the game, a 36-yarder, with no time remaining. The halftime scoreboard read Louisiana 32, Sioux Falls 26.
After an interception by Brian McIntire, Sioux Falls got the ball for their opening possession of the third quarter. Bryant and Treasure put together a 20-yard drive that finished when Bryant found Dusty Hovorka on a 10-yard touchdown pass to put the Storm back up at 33-32. Louisiana's Hillin put the Swashbucklers up by two at 35-33 with a 30-yard field goal of his own. The teams exchanged missed field goals before Sioux Falls' Leon Hall ran in from 13 yards out to put Sioux Falls up 40-35 near the end of the quarter.
Sioux Falls added to their lead when they scored on their opening possession of the fourth as Bryant connected with Treasure on a 23-yard touchdown pass and went up by 12 at 47-35. Louisiana came back three plays later when Harrison found Phillip O'Neal with a 37-yard touchdown pass to come within five at 47-42. It would be the last time the Swashbucklers would score. Sioux Falls added one last touchdown the very next possession when Bryant connected with Hovorka again, this time on an 11-yard pass, to finish the night's scoring at 54-42.
Leading the way for the Swashbucklers were Bartie, defensive back Damien Huren, Hillin and wide receiver Sammy Knight. Bartie completed nine of 12 passes for 105 yards and three touchdowns to lead the offense. Defensively, Huren made a team-high eight tackles while also tallying ½' a tackle for loss and a pass break up. On special teams, Hillin contributed six points on a field goal and three extra points and Knight returned four kicks for 89 yards.
Leading the way for the Storm were Bryant, their defense, Hicks and Alberty. Offensively, Bryant completed 19 of 29 passes for 172 yards and four touchdowns. Sioux Falls' defense tallied six tackles for loss and four sacks while also intercepting three passes, breaking up five more and even blocked a kick. On special teams, Hicks scored one-third (18) of the team's 54 points with his four field goals and six extra points while Alberty contributed 44 return yards (seven missed field goal and 37 kickoff).
The Storm finish their season with a 14-3 record while Louisiana falls to 16-1. Both teams will play next season in the nearly-created Indoor Football League, which was announced at a Friday press conference.
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Final
Louisiana Swashbucklers 6 26 3 7 42
Sioux Falls Storm 17 9 14 14 54
Most Valuable Player: Rachman Crable, defense lineman, Sioux Falls Storm
Four tackles, three tackles for loss, three sacks, blocked kick
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.
AIFA Expands to Richmond, Virginia for 2010 Season
American Indoor Football Association
The American Indoor Football Association has awarded an expans ion franchise to Richmond, Virginia. The team will play at the Richmond Coliseum, beginning in 2010.
The Coliseum will be one of the AIFA's larger venues, with a capacity of approximately 11,000 for indoor football. Built in 1971, the facility has hosted the NCAA Basketball Tournament, the Sun Belt and Colonial Athletic Association conference tournaments and the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association. The six-level building is managed by SMG.
"We are extremely excited about this," said AIFA co-founder John Morris on This Week in the AIFA. "I think what they saw in us was our stability and our footprint. We have five or six teams with great travel to that arena, and it sets up the opportunity for great rival games.
"In Richmond, we're slated to play there in 2010. This gives us a year-and-a-half to fully work that mark et, grow with the grass roots and do what we've been able to do in some of our other markets. It's a great situation for us."
Several American Indoor Football Association owners spoke clearly last night regarding rumors that they intend to consider a proposal from a rival league to leave the AIFA. All of them said "no."
Interviewed for This Week in the AIFA, three of the league's prominent owners made it clear that they are pleased with the AIFA and intend to remain in it. They spoke on the record, following reports in an Alaska newspaper that their franchises are being courted by another league.
"We are very happy with the AIFA, what it's done and where it's going," said Reading Express owner Ted Lavender. "We're a big part of it (the AIFA) and we plan to be a part of it for as long as I own the team, which at least will be another five years."
"We're in the AIFA, and we're going to continue, said Columbus Lions owner John Hargrove. "I think the AIFA finished a pretty doggone good year, and that's where we plan to be. We have not been contacted by any representative of the two leagues that are merging. We had a good year in the AIFA and have started our season ticket sales and sponsorships for next year. Hopefully, we can go at least one step further in the playoffs next year."
"There is no truth (to the rumor)," said Wyoming Cavalry owner Argeri Layton. "I haven't spoken with Chad Dittman (former President of the Intense Football league and a prominent franchise owner in the new Indoor Football League) since we were both in the NIFL. I do not have any idea why he would make a statement in a Fairbanks newspaper that they are going to acquire the Wyoming Cavalry."
The AIFA is completing preparations for its upcoming league meetings, which will be held in Baltimore late in August. High on the agenda will be franchise and league planning for the 2009 season.
"In a way, it is flattering that a competing league holds our franchises in such high regard," said AIFA co-founder John Morris. "It speaks very clearly to the quality of the teams that make up our league.
"But we can't be spending our time engaging in rumor and innuendo. We have a league to run, a very successful league. Our ownership expects us to operate the AIFA at the highest professional standard, and that's a full-time job."
Additional coverage of this story will be available through the league's weekly Internet radio program, This Week in the AIFA. Coverage will include an in-depth conference interview with AIFA co-founders, John Morris and Michael Mink. Also featured on the program will be new Baltimore Mariners owner Alan Taylor.
This Week in the AIFA will be available for download through either the AIFA web site (www.aifaprofootball.com) or the OurSports Central site (www.oursportscentral.com). The program will be posted on Wednesday night, August 6th.
The American Indoor Football Association has released the 30th edition of its Internet radio program, This Week In The AIFA.
This special edition of the program focuses on AIFA franchise rumors. Interview guests include AIFA co-founders John Morris and Michael Mink, who will comment on the rumors as well as the awarding of an expansion franchise to Richmond, Virginia, the sale of the Baltimore Mariners and the AIFA post-season awards. A third guest on the program will be new Mariners' owner Alan Taylor. An additional voice heard on the program will be Mariners' coach Chris Simpson.
This Week In The AIFA is a downloadable Internet radio program, sometimes referred to as a "Podcast." The program is produced by Bill Hazen Productions, in conjunction with the AIFA and OurSports Central Radio. It is available for download directly through both the AIFA's web site (www.aifaprofootball.com) and OurSports Central's web site (www.oursportscentral.com).
This Week In The AIFA is written, produced and hosted by veteran play-by-play broadcaster and AIFA Media/Public Relations Director, Bill Hazen. The program utilizes the latest in digital audio technology to increase the audio quality of interview segments from throughout the league.
The fourth season of United Indoor Football came to a close this weekend when this year's UIF champion Sioux Falls Storm edged the Intense Football League champion, the Louisiana Swashbucklers 54-42 in the first-ever National Indoor Bowl Championship game.
SIOUX FALLS STORM 54, LOUISIANA SWASHBUCKLERS 42
At Sioux Falls, SD
The UIF champion Sioux Falls Storm defeated the IFL champion Louisiana Swashbucklers in the National Indoor Bowl Championship game Saturday evening at the Sioux Falls Arena.
Shortly after 7 p.m., Louisiana's Whitney Hillin kicked off and the game was underway.
Storm running back Sean Treasure capped Sioux Falls' opening drive when he rushed in from four yards out to put the Storm up 7-0. On the subsequent possession, Louisiana, led by quarterback Alvin Bartie, went on a seven-play, 30-yard drive that finished with Bartie connecting with Sammy Knight on a 14-yard touchdown pass. After a blocked extra point, Sioux Falls held a one point lead at 7-6. The Storm added to their lead on the next possession when Adam Hicks drilled a 40-yard field goal to put the team up by four at 10-6. Sioux Falls added another touchdown just before the end of the quarter when Terrance Bryant found Bryan Alberty with an 11-yard touchdown pass, putting the Storm up by 11 at 17-6.
Louisiana got the ball back with just three seconds to go in the first quarter. Bartie engineered a five-play, 30-yard drive that finished when he hit Charles McCrea on a 16-yard touchdown pass, which brought the Swashbucklers back within five at 17-12. The next possession, Sioux Falls' Bryant and Marques Smith put together a drive that finished with Hicks making a 22-yard field goal to put Sioux Falls back up eight at 20-12. Louisiana came back two plays later when Bartie threw his third touchdown pass of the night, this time a 29-yard variety to Marcus Wilridge as the scoreboard now read 20-18 in favor of Sioux Falls. Four plays later, Hicks added his third field goal to put the Storm up by five at 23-18. Louisiana took their first lead of the game at 1:05 remaining when Travis Moses intercepted a Bryant pass and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown to go up 25-23. Freddie Harrison rushed in from nine yards out to add to Louisiana's lead at 32-23. Hicks made his third field goal of the game, a 36-yarder, with no time remaining. The halftime scoreboard read Louisiana 32, Sioux Falls 26.
After an interception by Brian McIntire, Sioux Falls got the ball for their opening possession of the third quarter. Bryant and Treasure put together a 20-yard drive that finished when Bryant found Dusty Hovorka on a 10-yard touchdown pass to put the Storm back up at 33-32. Louisiana's Hillin put the Swashbucklers up by two at 35-33 with a 30-yard field goal of his own. The teams exchanged missed field goals before Sioux Falls' Leon Hall ran in from 13 yards out to put Sioux Falls up 40-35 near the end of the quarter.
Sioux Falls added to their lead when they scored on their opening possession of the fourth as Bryant connected with Treasure on a 23-yard touchdown pass and went up by 12 at 47-35. Louisiana came back three plays later when Harrison found Phillip O'Neal with a 37-yard touchdown pass to come within five at 47-42. It would be the last time the Swashbucklers would score. Sioux Falls added one last touchdown the very next possession when Bryant connected with Hovorka again, this time on an 11-yard pass, to finish the night's scoring at 54-42.
Leading the way for the Swashbucklers were Bartie, defensive back Damien Huren, Hillin and wide receiver Sammy Knight. Bartie completed nine of 12 passes for 105 yards and three touchdowns to lead the offense. Defensively, Huren made a team-high eight tackles while also tallying ½' a tackle for loss and a pass break up. On special teams, Hillin contributed six points on a field goal and three extra points and Knight returned four kicks for 89 yards.
Leading the way for the Storm were Bryant, their defense, Hicks and Alberty. Offensively, Bryant completed 19 of 29 passes for 172 yards and four touchdowns. Sioux Falls' defense tallied six tackles for loss and four sacks while also intercepting three passes, breaking up five more and even blocked a kick. On special teams, Hicks scored one-third (18) of the team's 54 points with his four field goals and six extra points while Alberty contributed 44 return yards (seven missed field goal and 37 kickoff).
Bossier-Shreveport wide receiver/kick returner CHAVIS MCCOLLISTER, Amarillo quarterback JULIAN REESE and Green Bay defensive lineman JOE SYKES have been named the JLS Ironman, Schutt Offensive Player and ADT Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, for the First Round of the 2008 af2 Playoffs. In addition to these three awards, the Cutters Catch of the Week Award for the First Round goes to Spokane wide receiver RAUL VIJIL.
JLS IRONMAN OF THE WEEK
McCollister (5-9, 210, Tarleton State) had a record-setting showing for Bossier-Shreveport in the team's 77-61 First Round home victory against Lubbock on Saturday. The fourth-year player from Tarleton State made an impact on offense and was special on special teams to help the BattleWings advance to the National Conference Semifinals. McCollister had two touchdowns on offense, one rushing and one receiving, and set a new af2 postseason record with three kickoff return touchdowns (51, 50, 56). McCollister's return efforts were so impressive that it earned him national TV exposure as the No. 3 play on ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10 Plays of the Weekend. His 264 total kickoff return yards and five total touchdowns also ranked as the second-highest single game totals in playoff history. McCollister recorded one tackle in the contest as well. This is the second time in his career that he's received the Ironman of the Week Award and the fourth time overall that he's received an af2 weekly honor (two-time Offensive Player of the Week Award winner). McCollister finished the regular season ranked second in the league in scoring (264 points) and total touchdowns (44) and led the BattleWings in receiving with 123 catches for 1,466 yards and 33 touchdowns.
SCHUTT OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Reese (6-2, 215, Indiana St.) had a stellar individual effort for Amarillo in the team's 65-62 upset victory on the road Saturday against the defending ArenaCup Champion Tulsa Talons. The af2 veteran signal caller from Indiana State, in his fourth season, nearly single-handidly carried the Dusters past the Talons. Reese completed 20-of-30 passes (66.7 percent) for 275 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception. He also came up with two key plays late in the fourth quarter that helped propel Amarillo past Tulsa. Facing a 4th down-and-14 situation with just over a minute to play and clinging to a three-point lead (58-55), Reese kept the Dusters' crucial drive alive with a 15-yard scramble for a first down. Two plays later he saw an opening up the middle and took off for a 13-yard touchdown run with 40 seconds left that increased the Dusters lead to 10, 65-55. This is the fourth Offensive Player of the Week Award of Reese's career. He led Amarillo to its second playoff appearance in 2008 after leading the team in passing (2,712 yards, 55 TDs, 4 INTs) and rushing (233 yards).
ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sykes (6-4, 275, Southern) was a difference maker on defense to help Green Bay dominate Lexington, 65-37, for a first round home playoff win Friday night. The rookie defensive lineman from Southern University had a record-setting performance for the Blizzard to help the squad advance to the American Conference Semifinals. Sykes recorded 5.5 total tackles (5 solo, 1 asst) and an af2 postseason-record five sacks. His sack total shattered the old mark of 3.5 set by former Bossier-Shreveport lineman Elex Reed in 2007. As a team, Green Bay set a new playoff record with 10 sacks against the Horsemen, doubling the old mark of five set in 2001 by the Carolina Rhinos. Sykes, who also forced two fumbles in the victory, led the af2 in tackles for loss (22) and sacks (19.5) during the regular season.
The Midwest Division Champion Green Bay Blizzard landed a league-best eight players on the All-af2 First and Second Teams, the league office announced today. The Blizzard also led the league in most First Team members with six. Overall, players from 25 of the league's 29 teams were selected to either the American or National Conference All-af2 First and Second Teams as voted on by af2 head coaches and media.
C RAYMOND MCNEIL, OL STEPHENOL SANTOS, OL AQUA ETEFIA, DL JOE SYKES, MLB GUS TYSON and K BOB FORSTROM earned First Team accolades while DB DONNIE AMADI and DB NATE GREEN earned Second Team recognition. Green Bay, which finished 11-5 in the regular season, has carried over its success into the postseason as well. The No. 3 seed Blizzard host No. 7 Manchester this Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET in an American Conference Semifinal affair at the Resch Center. Green Bay looked impressive in a 65-37 home win last Friday night in the First Round of the 2008 af2 playoffs.
The Bossier-Shreveport BattleWings and Spokane Shock had the second most All-af2 selections with six apiece. Bossier-Shreveport had five First Team members while the Shock had four First Team selections.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton QB RYAN VENA earned his second straight All-af2 First Team honor and third First Team nod overall (2003). Vena leads a cast of nine athletes who earned back-to-back All-af2 First Team accolades in 2007 and 2008. The list includes FB TIM MURPHY, FB JASON SCHULE, WR CHAVIS MCCOLLISTER, MLB KAMAU JACKSON, DL BEN MCCOMBS, DL ESTUS HOOD, K NICK GATTO and ST IVORY MCCANN.
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