Post by Banana Cat on Jun 22, 2011 12:09:47 GMT -5
www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/06/21/1538156/fever-rallies-to-beat-west-texas.html
Fever rallies to beat West Texas in first-round playoff game
Jun. 21, 2011
By Jeff Morrow, Herald staff writer
West Texas coach Chris Williams was worried about his team getting into an offensive shootout with the high-scoring Tri-Cities Fever.
Seems he was justified in those worries, as the Fever defeated the Roughnecks 61-49 on Monday night in an Indoor Football League first-round playoff game in front of 2,537 at the Toyota Center.
The Fever, which exploded for 34 fourth-quarter points, now travels to Colorado next Monday to face the Ice in the Intense Conference semifinals.
"Road trip!" Fever quarterback Houston Lillard exclaimed afterward.
Lillard tossed seven touchdown passes in a contest in which the lead changed 11 times.
"I think our offense is one of the top offenses in the league," Lillard said. "For us to win one-on-one matchups is not a problem. For me, I just needed to calm down a lot. I started pressing a bit."
Especially when the Fever got down two scores in the third quarter -- a quarter when the Roughnecks shut Tri-Cities down.
"They had some big boys on that team," Fever coach Adam Shackleford said of the Roughnecks. "They have athletes from top to bottom. And they kept coming and coming.
"But our guys got down two possessions and they showed some resolve. We could have folded up shop."
West Texas quarterback Arkelon Hall was having a heck of a game himself, throwing for 314 yards and seven TD passes.
His fourth TD pass to Wilson Kimble early in the fourth quarter gave West Texas a 43-34 lead.
But Tri-Cities bounced back as backup quarterback James Thomas scored from the 1 to cut the lead to 43-41.
Shackleford said earlier in the week that while West Texas had the top-ranked defense in the IFL, and the Fever had the No. 2 offense, the game's outcome likely would be decided by the Roughnecks' offense or the Fever defense.
With star linebacker Jason Beauchamp not suited up because of an injured knee, that Fever defensive prediction looked like a long shot.
But Shackleford was right. In the fourth quarter, the Fever front line started to get pressure on Hall, forcing out of the pocket.
Hall, who attended Washington State University for two years before transferring to Memphis, tossed two fourth-quarter interceptions -- one to Lionell Singleton and the other to Dustin Bell.
Singleton's pick allowed the Fever to retake the lead, as Lillard hit Tre Young for a 5-yard TD strike and a 47-43 lead with 6:14 to play.
The teams would trade the lead again, and when Lillard hit Steven Whitehead with an 18-yard strike with 1:23 to play, the Fever had the lead for good at 54-49.
Bell's interception came with 1:15 to play.
"When (Hall) turned his shoulders, I undercut to the flat as fast as I could," Bell said. "It was getting frustrating in the firsl half. Your receiver was running six routes out there and Hall was zipping the ball. He threw everything on the line."
Hall accepted the loss with grace.
"It was just one of those games," Hall said. "We felt our game plan was to make them get out of their man-to-man coverage. It came down to a couple of plays at the end."
Lillard hit Jackie Chambers on a 5-yard TD pass with 54.9 seconds remaining to clinch the game.
"Hey, they've got a good team," Williams said of the Fever. "We gave it everything we had. I was a little bit worried about getting into a back-and-forth type of game. We made too many mistakes. We had a couple of turnovers at the end."
Jun. 21, 2011
By Jeff Morrow, Herald staff writer
West Texas coach Chris Williams was worried about his team getting into an offensive shootout with the high-scoring Tri-Cities Fever.
Seems he was justified in those worries, as the Fever defeated the Roughnecks 61-49 on Monday night in an Indoor Football League first-round playoff game in front of 2,537 at the Toyota Center.
The Fever, which exploded for 34 fourth-quarter points, now travels to Colorado next Monday to face the Ice in the Intense Conference semifinals.
"Road trip!" Fever quarterback Houston Lillard exclaimed afterward.
Lillard tossed seven touchdown passes in a contest in which the lead changed 11 times.
"I think our offense is one of the top offenses in the league," Lillard said. "For us to win one-on-one matchups is not a problem. For me, I just needed to calm down a lot. I started pressing a bit."
Especially when the Fever got down two scores in the third quarter -- a quarter when the Roughnecks shut Tri-Cities down.
"They had some big boys on that team," Fever coach Adam Shackleford said of the Roughnecks. "They have athletes from top to bottom. And they kept coming and coming.
"But our guys got down two possessions and they showed some resolve. We could have folded up shop."
West Texas quarterback Arkelon Hall was having a heck of a game himself, throwing for 314 yards and seven TD passes.
His fourth TD pass to Wilson Kimble early in the fourth quarter gave West Texas a 43-34 lead.
But Tri-Cities bounced back as backup quarterback James Thomas scored from the 1 to cut the lead to 43-41.
Shackleford said earlier in the week that while West Texas had the top-ranked defense in the IFL, and the Fever had the No. 2 offense, the game's outcome likely would be decided by the Roughnecks' offense or the Fever defense.
With star linebacker Jason Beauchamp not suited up because of an injured knee, that Fever defensive prediction looked like a long shot.
But Shackleford was right. In the fourth quarter, the Fever front line started to get pressure on Hall, forcing out of the pocket.
Hall, who attended Washington State University for two years before transferring to Memphis, tossed two fourth-quarter interceptions -- one to Lionell Singleton and the other to Dustin Bell.
Singleton's pick allowed the Fever to retake the lead, as Lillard hit Tre Young for a 5-yard TD strike and a 47-43 lead with 6:14 to play.
The teams would trade the lead again, and when Lillard hit Steven Whitehead with an 18-yard strike with 1:23 to play, the Fever had the lead for good at 54-49.
Bell's interception came with 1:15 to play.
"When (Hall) turned his shoulders, I undercut to the flat as fast as I could," Bell said. "It was getting frustrating in the firsl half. Your receiver was running six routes out there and Hall was zipping the ball. He threw everything on the line."
Hall accepted the loss with grace.
"It was just one of those games," Hall said. "We felt our game plan was to make them get out of their man-to-man coverage. It came down to a couple of plays at the end."
Lillard hit Jackie Chambers on a 5-yard TD pass with 54.9 seconds remaining to clinch the game.
"Hey, they've got a good team," Williams said of the Fever. "We gave it everything we had. I was a little bit worried about getting into a back-and-forth type of game. We made too many mistakes. We had a couple of turnovers at the end."