Post by DiamondThief on Jun 16, 2018 19:35:14 GMT -8
FINAL - Storm 69, Blizzard 61 - 3OT
Photo via YouTube
6/16/18 --
SIOUX FALLS, SD - The Indoor Football League's final game of the season became it's longest, and it was the absolute definition of a thriller.
In a dogfight, the Sioux Falls Storm outlasted the Green Bay Blizzard, 69-61, in three overtimes tonight at the Denny Sanford Premiere Center. It came down to an interception by Trey Wafford of the Storm defense to seal the win in the second series of the third overtime.
The Storm finished the regular season at 11-3, in a three-way tie with the Iowa Barnstormers and the Arizona Rattlers for the top spot in the 2018 playoffs. With the tiebreaker being strength of schedule, the Barnstormers have the edge, given that they played the Storm and Rattlers three times each, while the latter two teams faced each other twice. The Storm lost the season series to the Rattlers, 2-0, but won the season series over the Barnstormers, 2-1. The Barnstormers swept the season series over the Rattlers, 3-0.
Iowa secures home field advantage throughout the playoffs, and the Rattlers are the second seed. That leaves the Storm as the third seed, which means they will visit the Rattlers on June 23 in the opening round of the playoffs. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. pacific (8:05 p.m. central). In the other semifinal, the Nebraska Danger will visit the Barnstormers on June 22 with a 5:05 p.m. pacific (7:05 p.m. central).
With the Blizzard leading 47-44, Miles Bergner hit a 24-yard field goal as time expired in regulation to even the score and send the game into overtime.
Bryan Hicks hit Jereme Jones on a 19-yard touchdown at the beginning of the opening possession of the first overtime. Lyle McCombs' one-yard run countered and the game was sent into a second overtime.
In that second overtime, it took only one play for the Blizzard to score, as B.J. Hill exploded on a 20-yard run. The Storm responded with another one-yard run from McCombs. The score was 61-61 as the teams headed into overtime number three.
IFL rules require teams attempt two-point conversions after scoring touchdowns from the third overtime period and beyond. The Storm drove and scored on a one-yard run from Brown. Brown then found Ford in the back of the end zone for the two-point conversion. The Blizzard had the ball next. With Hicks being rushed heavily, he lofted the ball up in the middle of the field, and was intercepted by Wafford to end the game.
The Blizzard led for most of the game, until Bergner's game-tying field goal to send the game into the extra sessions. Bergner for the Storm and Cody Barber for the Blizzard each connected on their two extra point attempts during the overtime periods.
Green Bay scored first on an 11-yard pass from Hicks to Jones. Sioux Falls immediately came back, scoring on a 40-yard pass from Lorenzo Brown, Jr. to Jereme Jones. B.J. Hill rushed for six yards, then caught an eight-yard pass from Hicks. Brown hit Ford for 18 yards with 17 seconds left in the first quarter. The Blizzard led 20-14 at the end of the opening quarter.
Kezlow Smith caught the first of his three touchdowns on a 14-yard pass from Hicks early in the second quarter. McCombs' two-yard run narrowed the Storm's lead to 27-21 with 4:12 left in the second quarter. Smith's 31-yard touchdown from Hicks extended the Blizzard's lead to 13 points before Bergner hit a 33-yard field goal with 21 seconds left in the first half. Green Bay held a 34-24 lead at the intermission.
Hicks hit Smith for 32 yards and the Blizzard were up 40-24. The Storm came back on a nine-yard pass from Brown to Ford. Sioux Fall pulled to within two points on McCombs' one yard run with just over four minutes left in the third quarter.
The Storm came back in the fourth quarter when Brown plunged in from a yard out. Sioux Falls had its first lead of the game at 44-40. Serge Trezy's 13-yard run re-gained the lead for Green Bay with 7:16 left in the fourth quarter. It then came down to the final play where Bergner hit the game tying field goal at the end of regulation.
The game was only the second IFL game to go into overtime this season. The first ended in a 69-68 Barnstormers win over the Rattlers in week 13 in Phoenix.
Sioux Falls racked up 397 yards in total offense, including 290 yards passing to the Blizzard's 181. The teams were relatively even in rushing yards, 107 yards to 97 in favor of the Storm. The Blizzard were penalized 10 times for 76 yards and the Storm were flagged six times for 41 yards. There were nine turnovers in the game.
Brown completed 26 of 35 passes for 294 yards with 3 touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for 62 yards on 17 carries with a pair of touchdowns. McCombs has perhaps his best game this season. He rushed 16 times for 26 yard and 4 touchdowns, while catching 9 passes for 81 yards. Jones had 9 catches for a game-high 120 yards with 3 touchdowns. Judd Harrold added 6 receptions for 72 yards. Dezmin Reed had 6.5 total tackles and a tackle for loss. Wafford was a ball hawk with his 3 interceptions. Jabari Gorman also picked off a pass.
Hicks tossed 6 touchdown passes, but also threw 4 interceptions. He went 12 of 25 for 181 yards Hill rushed 7 times for 43 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Trezy had 43 rushing yards on 10 carries and a touchdown. Hill also caught a pair of passes for 20 yards and a touchdown. Smith caught 3 touchdowns out his 4 receptions, along with his 88 receiving yards. Jones had 4 passes for 61 yards and 2 touchdowns. Stalwart linebacker Robert Metz recorded 14.5 total tackles, along with 2 tackles for loss. Manny Asprilla added 9.5 total tackles and a fumble recovery, and Cory Grissom had a sack for the Blizzard.
The Storm will visit the Rattlers in the opening round of the playoffs. The Blizzard finish the season with an overall record of 2-12.
In a dogfight, the Sioux Falls Storm outlasted the Green Bay Blizzard, 69-61, in three overtimes tonight at the Denny Sanford Premiere Center. It came down to an interception by Trey Wafford of the Storm defense to seal the win in the second series of the third overtime.
The Storm finished the regular season at 11-3, in a three-way tie with the Iowa Barnstormers and the Arizona Rattlers for the top spot in the 2018 playoffs. With the tiebreaker being strength of schedule, the Barnstormers have the edge, given that they played the Storm and Rattlers three times each, while the latter two teams faced each other twice. The Storm lost the season series to the Rattlers, 2-0, but won the season series over the Barnstormers, 2-1. The Barnstormers swept the season series over the Rattlers, 3-0.
Iowa secures home field advantage throughout the playoffs, and the Rattlers are the second seed. That leaves the Storm as the third seed, which means they will visit the Rattlers on June 23 in the opening round of the playoffs. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. pacific (8:05 p.m. central). In the other semifinal, the Nebraska Danger will visit the Barnstormers on June 22 with a 5:05 p.m. pacific (7:05 p.m. central).
With the Blizzard leading 47-44, Miles Bergner hit a 24-yard field goal as time expired in regulation to even the score and send the game into overtime.
Bryan Hicks hit Jereme Jones on a 19-yard touchdown at the beginning of the opening possession of the first overtime. Lyle McCombs' one-yard run countered and the game was sent into a second overtime.
In that second overtime, it took only one play for the Blizzard to score, as B.J. Hill exploded on a 20-yard run. The Storm responded with another one-yard run from McCombs. The score was 61-61 as the teams headed into overtime number three.
IFL rules require teams attempt two-point conversions after scoring touchdowns from the third overtime period and beyond. The Storm drove and scored on a one-yard run from Brown. Brown then found Ford in the back of the end zone for the two-point conversion. The Blizzard had the ball next. With Hicks being rushed heavily, he lofted the ball up in the middle of the field, and was intercepted by Wafford to end the game.
The Blizzard led for most of the game, until Bergner's game-tying field goal to send the game into the extra sessions. Bergner for the Storm and Cody Barber for the Blizzard each connected on their two extra point attempts during the overtime periods.
Green Bay scored first on an 11-yard pass from Hicks to Jones. Sioux Falls immediately came back, scoring on a 40-yard pass from Lorenzo Brown, Jr. to Jereme Jones. B.J. Hill rushed for six yards, then caught an eight-yard pass from Hicks. Brown hit Ford for 18 yards with 17 seconds left in the first quarter. The Blizzard led 20-14 at the end of the opening quarter.
Kezlow Smith caught the first of his three touchdowns on a 14-yard pass from Hicks early in the second quarter. McCombs' two-yard run narrowed the Storm's lead to 27-21 with 4:12 left in the second quarter. Smith's 31-yard touchdown from Hicks extended the Blizzard's lead to 13 points before Bergner hit a 33-yard field goal with 21 seconds left in the first half. Green Bay held a 34-24 lead at the intermission.
Hicks hit Smith for 32 yards and the Blizzard were up 40-24. The Storm came back on a nine-yard pass from Brown to Ford. Sioux Fall pulled to within two points on McCombs' one yard run with just over four minutes left in the third quarter.
The Storm came back in the fourth quarter when Brown plunged in from a yard out. Sioux Falls had its first lead of the game at 44-40. Serge Trezy's 13-yard run re-gained the lead for Green Bay with 7:16 left in the fourth quarter. It then came down to the final play where Bergner hit the game tying field goal at the end of regulation.
The game was only the second IFL game to go into overtime this season. The first ended in a 69-68 Barnstormers win over the Rattlers in week 13 in Phoenix.
Sioux Falls racked up 397 yards in total offense, including 290 yards passing to the Blizzard's 181. The teams were relatively even in rushing yards, 107 yards to 97 in favor of the Storm. The Blizzard were penalized 10 times for 76 yards and the Storm were flagged six times for 41 yards. There were nine turnovers in the game.
Brown completed 26 of 35 passes for 294 yards with 3 touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for 62 yards on 17 carries with a pair of touchdowns. McCombs has perhaps his best game this season. He rushed 16 times for 26 yard and 4 touchdowns, while catching 9 passes for 81 yards. Jones had 9 catches for a game-high 120 yards with 3 touchdowns. Judd Harrold added 6 receptions for 72 yards. Dezmin Reed had 6.5 total tackles and a tackle for loss. Wafford was a ball hawk with his 3 interceptions. Jabari Gorman also picked off a pass.
Hicks tossed 6 touchdown passes, but also threw 4 interceptions. He went 12 of 25 for 181 yards Hill rushed 7 times for 43 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Trezy had 43 rushing yards on 10 carries and a touchdown. Hill also caught a pair of passes for 20 yards and a touchdown. Smith caught 3 touchdowns out his 4 receptions, along with his 88 receiving yards. Jones had 4 passes for 61 yards and 2 touchdowns. Stalwart linebacker Robert Metz recorded 14.5 total tackles, along with 2 tackles for loss. Manny Asprilla added 9.5 total tackles and a fumble recovery, and Cory Grissom had a sack for the Blizzard.
The Storm will visit the Rattlers in the opening round of the playoffs. The Blizzard finish the season with an overall record of 2-12.
Both games, as well as all IFL games this season, will be streamed live on the IFL's Official YouTube Channel. SCtoC will present previews of those, and all, games this season. Those previews will be posted on the board of the home team in each game.
- ANM
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