|
|
Post by Nevadanut on Feb 27, 2016 22:35:26 GMT -8
Wow!
|
|
|
|
Post by Nevadanut on Feb 27, 2016 22:39:04 GMT -8
Whatever the outcome, this game has been entertaining.
|
|
|
|
Post by DiamondThief on Feb 27, 2016 22:39:36 GMT -8
Offsetting penalties. Re-kick.
|
|
|
|
Post by DiamondThief on Feb 27, 2016 22:40:46 GMT -8
Kick failed.
|
|
|
|
Post by DiamondThief on Feb 27, 2016 22:41:36 GMT -8
Final
WF - 65
Spo - 66
Wichita Falls
Charles McCullum - 33/43, 292, 5 TD, int; rush TD; rush TD
Jordan Jolly - 14 rec, 117 yds, 3 TD
Ja'Mes Logan - 9 rec, 103 yds, TD
Edward Wesley - rush TD, rec TD
Danny Jackson - fbl recovery for TD
Josh Francis - 1.5 sck
Davon Keys - int
Spokane
Charles Dowdell - 11/24, 192 yds, 5 TD, int; rush TD
Trevor Kennedy - 13 rush, 50 rush yds, 3 TD
JJ Hayes - 8 rec, 140 yds, 2 TD; pass TD
Justin Helwege - 2 rec, 28 yds, 2 TD
Nick Haag - 10 tkl, sck
Pasquale Vachio - 9 tkl
Robert Brown - int
Byron Bennett - 2 sck
Spokane Empire Game Ball
Trevor Kennedy
|
|
|
|
Post by Yeseeka on Feb 27, 2016 22:42:12 GMT -8
Amazing!
David saw an incredible game!
|
|
|
|
Post by DiamondThief on Feb 27, 2016 22:43:20 GMT -8
The IFL's game stat page has been frozen since the beginning of the second quarter. I will update the final report after getting the stats from the postgame show.
|
|
|
|
Post by Nevadanut on Feb 27, 2016 22:43:38 GMT -8
Congratulations to the Empire. 2-0 looks good!
|
|
|
|
Post by David on Feb 27, 2016 23:01:01 GMT -8
|
|
|
|
Post by Nevadanut on Feb 27, 2016 23:25:14 GMT -8
One heck of an ending! Refs were a big problem with the game that made difficult to watch. More on that later. Meanwhile, here's the game pics I promised. That finish was nuts! The radio announcers were saying that the calls were good calls. Just that there were a lot of them. |
|
|
|
Post by Nevadanut on Feb 27, 2016 23:43:37 GMT -8
Thanking Larry Weir for a great game call!
|
|
|
|
Post by DiamondThief on Feb 28, 2016 0:16:10 GMT -8
Thanking Larry Weir for a great game call! Awesome! They were very entertaining! |
|
|
|
Post by David on Feb 28, 2016 1:37:20 GMT -8
I like what they did with the game program. The quality of it was much nicer and not made out of cheap newspaper as they had been in years past. Also, bonus points for the name of the program being called "The Station." Goes well with the train theme of the team.  |
|
|
|
Post by David on Feb 28, 2016 2:40:53 GMT -8
Some other things they did during the game which I thoroughly enjoyed:
-The music played during the player introductions was Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train."
- When the Empire scored a touchdown, they would play a train whistle. Unfortunately, it's the horn sound associated with a diesel engine, not so much a steam locomotive. I think with the Empire's logo being a steam engine, a steam whistle should be used instead.
- When the Empire defense came on the field, or faced a 3rd Down, the arena would play the "Imperial March" theme from Star Wars. It figures that they would play the Galactic Empire's theme song when the Empire defense is on the field.
- The VIP Home Solutions "Get Loud" graphic. For the volume meter, they utilize the rail spike from the Empire's "S" logo, filling in to indicate higher volume.
Miscellaneous things that I also noticed:
- The field turf itself is the same as what the Shock used. The only difference now is the AFL logo is covered up by the Empire "S" logo with the railroad spike. The endzones have been painted over black and are currently blank. Whether they paint the "EMPIRE" name in the endzone for the future is yet to be seen. Also, the endzones are now rounded as opposed to the square end zones they have used the past 10 years. I tweeted the Empire weeks ago about the rounded endzones, and if it was a rule by the IFL. It turns out the endzones can be whatever fits the arena, but for the sake of saving money, they decided to just round the endzones rather than keep it square.
- No Instant Replay. This is a bit of a downgrade, because in the game there were calls that could have been challenged, but they weren't. This is one big thing I'll miss about the AFL. However, this means the IFL refs are now going to be under more scrutiny if they blow the call.
- Timing Rules. For the most part, they are the same as AFL. The only thing I did notice that was different was that the clock stopped after a touchdown. In the AFL, the clock only stops after a score upon completion of the extra point attempt. This made the game a bit longer. However, the number of penalties in this game made the game drag out much longer than the Tri-Cities/Spokane game last week.
- Promotional giveaway: The team gave out wooden train whistles with the Empire wordmark on it.
- Team Store: They were full of stock with mini-black helmets, logo gloves, and plenty of t-shirts, zip up jacket, footballs, and an awesome hoodie. They did not, however, have jerseys in stock, which was disappointing.
Overall? IFL football is a good product. Don't buy into what the AFL purists think. The IFL's talent level is just on par as the AFL currently is. However, if you ask me, I like seeing more defense and I enjoy the mixing in of running the football in the IFL. It's strange to see tiny goal posts compared to the giant ones with rebound nets in the AFL, and it is strange to see squib kicks on kickoffs, but for the most part, this game was highly enjoyable. Despite the confined space, it resembled more of outdoor football.
|
|
|
|
Post by David on Feb 28, 2016 11:36:36 GMT -8
Couple of numbers revealed by the Spokesman-Review
36 - The number of penalties between Wichita Falls and Spokane
328 - The total amount of penalty yardage between Wichita Falls and Spokane
6,425 - Reported attendance of the game. It's the lowest in Spokane football history (previous record was 6,916 in the 2013 playoffs against Chicago). With the attendance that has been reported, it's 200 less than what was reported in Des Moines (Barnstormers) and about 2,200 lower than Sioux Falls. The only other attendance stats I could find were from Tri-Cities and Cedar Rapids, which were about 3,500 fans.
It's not an outstanding attendance, but with the IFL scale, this is a healthy attendance. Hopefully it keeps up throughout the season for the Empire.
|
|
|
|
Post by Kasey on Feb 28, 2016 12:45:00 GMT -8
all in all, it seems like a pretty successful outing for the Empire. i wonder how the way the game went will attract new fans. i have been reading through the thread and it got pretty tight at the end. i'm sorry i missed it.
the attendance is kind of low but like you said, healthy. it wouldn't surprise me to see higher numbers when the Empire host Tri-Cities or Billings. hopefully i'll be able to be here for the next game.
|
|
|
|
Post by "TIJ" Michael Davis on Feb 28, 2016 15:05:51 GMT -8
I hate to change the subject, but just wanted to know what other sports/teams you follow? Again, this was really impressive, and I've never even watched Indoor Football! (I have watched Arena Football League however and I LOVE it) NFL - Seahawks (since '98) MLB - AL - Mariners, NL - Rockies NBA - Sonics (RIP) NHL - No favorites, but I'll watch most games if the teams interests me. Western Hockey League - Spokane Chiefs AFL/IFL - Spokane Northewst League Short "A" Baseball - Spokane Indians WNBA - Seattle Storm I'm not really religious when it comes to Soccer, but I'm interested in attending a Sounders or Timbers game at some point in my life. Sorry for late reply, went to see my uncle last night and couldn't be on, and I'll spare you the details... But are the Spokane Indians the Texas Rangers?? |
|
|
|
Post by David on Feb 28, 2016 15:29:09 GMT -8
You are correct. The Spokane Indians are the Single A Short Season affiliate of the Rangers. |
|
|
|
Post by "TIJ" Michael Davis on Feb 28, 2016 16:07:16 GMT -8
You are correct. The Spokane Indians are the Single A Short Season affiliate of the Rangers. That's actually so cool, because I live near the Low A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, the Hickory Crawdads, so you send your guys over here... That's so cool! I go to the games all the time!!  |
|
Graphic courtesy of David.
