Post by Banana Cat on Jul 3, 2010 0:55:09 GMT -5
Good season for Tri-Cities, but not counting forfeits over Alaska they were actually 5-7 in the regular season and 5-8 overall. Have I mentioned how I hate forfeits and how bad it makes a league look...yes...ok, just checking. Not blaming Tri-Cities here btw, just the Alaska owner that took on more than he could handle and the league that let him in to begin with.
Tri-Cities is on the right track and by my estimation will definitely have a home playoff game next year.
www.tricitiesfever.com/news/
Tri-Cities is on the right track and by my estimation will definitely have a home playoff game next year.
www.tricitiesfever.com/news/
Fever's ending is just the beginning
1 July 2010
The Tri-Cities Fever ended its first season in the Indoor Football League on Sunday with a playoff loss to the Billings Outlaws.
But the loss was more of a beginning than an ending for the Fever.
The Fever, under the direction of coach Adam Shackleford, breathed some fresh air into an organization this season, and made the team competitive again.
Not only did the Fever make the playoffs, it gave the defending champion, the Billings Outlaws, a big scare as the Fever walked out with a 54-45 loss.
The loss still stings, but it served as one big lesson to Shackleford.
"In this league, if you want to win in the playoffs, you need to have home play off games," he said.
Which means, you need to win more regular-season games.
That right there is some incentive to get started for 2011, which Shackleford and his staff have already done. And to get ready for next season, the Fever has some success to stand on.
Tri-Cities finished the season with seven victories, the same amount the organization had the two previous seasons combined. The Fever made the playoffs for the first time since 2007, and brought back some excitement to the Toyota Center, winning five of its seven home games.
"This was definitely a good start," said Shackleford, who is expected to meet with team owners this week to discuss the possibility of a long-term contract. "We are trying to build a premier organization here. We're not there yet, but we are a lot closer than we were seven months ago."
Shackleford and his staff accomplished a lot in short time with the Fever. Shackleford started off with a bunch of talented players who have never played in the IFL before. Shackleford had never coached in the IFL before.
The inexperience showed at times early on, but as the season progressed so did the team. The Fever won six of its final eight regular season games to finish third in the Pacific North Division and earned the Intense Conference's No. 6 playoff seed.
The Fever finished the season with a 7-8 record, with four of those losses coming against Billings. But Shackleford tends to look at the record a little differently.
"We finished the season 7-7, and we had one playoff loss," he said.
Shackleford said he would like to bring back a huge chunk of this year's roster as he prepares for next season. But before we look too far ahead, let's take a look back at some of the milestones from the Fever's first season in the IFL.
Key Dates:
Saturday, April 10: The Fever picked up their first-ever IFL victory, beating the Fairbanks Grizzlies 44-39 at Toyota Center.
Saturday, May 8: The Fever scored a season-high 71 points in a home victory over Kent.
Friday, June 4: The Fever ends a road losing streak that lasted more than two years with a 57-50 victory at Kent.
Saturday, June 12: The Fever won its fourth game in a row, beating an Alaska Wild traveling team 64-26 at Toyota Center.
Sunday, June 27: The Fever made its return to the playoffs for the first time since 2007.
Individual accomplishments:
Wide receiver Thyron Lewis was named to the all-IFL second-team. During the regular season, he had 50 catches, 25 of those were touchdowns. ... Defensive end Ameer Ismail was named IFL defensive player of the week after a 57-50 road win over Kent. He had 11.5 tackles, four of those were for a loss. He added an interception, a sack and a blocked field goal. ... Defensive back Montavis Pitts earned the league's defensive player of the week after the Fever's first IFL victory on April 10. Pitts had two interceptions; one returned for a touchdown and also had 9.5 tackles.
Closing numbers:
The Fever defense led the IFL in touchdowns scored with 10. ... The Fever offense was ranked third in the league in points per game at 51.3. ... Thyron Lewis ranked fourth in the league in TD catches with 25. ... Despite playing just seven games, Tyson Thompson led the team in all-purpose yards with 849. He also led the team in rushing with 189 yards and seven touchdowns. ... Brandon Copeland led the team in receptions with 60 and receiving yards with 689. ... Jo Artis Ratti led the team in tackles with 78. ... Montavis Pitts led the team with four interceptions.
1 July 2010
The Tri-Cities Fever ended its first season in the Indoor Football League on Sunday with a playoff loss to the Billings Outlaws.
But the loss was more of a beginning than an ending for the Fever.
The Fever, under the direction of coach Adam Shackleford, breathed some fresh air into an organization this season, and made the team competitive again.
Not only did the Fever make the playoffs, it gave the defending champion, the Billings Outlaws, a big scare as the Fever walked out with a 54-45 loss.
The loss still stings, but it served as one big lesson to Shackleford.
"In this league, if you want to win in the playoffs, you need to have home play off games," he said.
Which means, you need to win more regular-season games.
That right there is some incentive to get started for 2011, which Shackleford and his staff have already done. And to get ready for next season, the Fever has some success to stand on.
Tri-Cities finished the season with seven victories, the same amount the organization had the two previous seasons combined. The Fever made the playoffs for the first time since 2007, and brought back some excitement to the Toyota Center, winning five of its seven home games.
"This was definitely a good start," said Shackleford, who is expected to meet with team owners this week to discuss the possibility of a long-term contract. "We are trying to build a premier organization here. We're not there yet, but we are a lot closer than we were seven months ago."
Shackleford and his staff accomplished a lot in short time with the Fever. Shackleford started off with a bunch of talented players who have never played in the IFL before. Shackleford had never coached in the IFL before.
The inexperience showed at times early on, but as the season progressed so did the team. The Fever won six of its final eight regular season games to finish third in the Pacific North Division and earned the Intense Conference's No. 6 playoff seed.
The Fever finished the season with a 7-8 record, with four of those losses coming against Billings. But Shackleford tends to look at the record a little differently.
"We finished the season 7-7, and we had one playoff loss," he said.
Shackleford said he would like to bring back a huge chunk of this year's roster as he prepares for next season. But before we look too far ahead, let's take a look back at some of the milestones from the Fever's first season in the IFL.
Key Dates:
Saturday, April 10: The Fever picked up their first-ever IFL victory, beating the Fairbanks Grizzlies 44-39 at Toyota Center.
Saturday, May 8: The Fever scored a season-high 71 points in a home victory over Kent.
Friday, June 4: The Fever ends a road losing streak that lasted more than two years with a 57-50 victory at Kent.
Saturday, June 12: The Fever won its fourth game in a row, beating an Alaska Wild traveling team 64-26 at Toyota Center.
Sunday, June 27: The Fever made its return to the playoffs for the first time since 2007.
Individual accomplishments:
Wide receiver Thyron Lewis was named to the all-IFL second-team. During the regular season, he had 50 catches, 25 of those were touchdowns. ... Defensive end Ameer Ismail was named IFL defensive player of the week after a 57-50 road win over Kent. He had 11.5 tackles, four of those were for a loss. He added an interception, a sack and a blocked field goal. ... Defensive back Montavis Pitts earned the league's defensive player of the week after the Fever's first IFL victory on April 10. Pitts had two interceptions; one returned for a touchdown and also had 9.5 tackles.
Closing numbers:
The Fever defense led the IFL in touchdowns scored with 10. ... The Fever offense was ranked third in the league in points per game at 51.3. ... Thyron Lewis ranked fourth in the league in TD catches with 25. ... Despite playing just seven games, Tyson Thompson led the team in all-purpose yards with 849. He also led the team in rushing with 189 yards and seven touchdowns. ... Brandon Copeland led the team in receptions with 60 and receiving yards with 689. ... Jo Artis Ratti led the team in tackles with 78. ... Montavis Pitts led the team with four interceptions.