It’s tough to keep serve with the Sioux Falls Storm.
The Green Bay Blizzard found that out in a 73-43 road loss to the defending Indoor Football League champions on Sunday at Sioux Falls Arena.
Not including its possessions at the end of each half, the Storm scored touchdowns on nine of its 10 offensive series.
Sioux Falls quarterback and three-time IFL MVP Chris Dixon was flawless, completing 19 of 20 passes for 268 yards and five touchdowns to go along with 50 rushing yards and two more scores.
Defensive back Donta Moore provided the decisive blow for the Storm early in the fourth quarter when he stepped in front of a Donovan Porterie pass and returned the game’s only turnover 45 yards to extend the lead to 59-30 with 12 minutes, 17 seconds remaining.
Sioux Falls, who out-gained Green Bay 349-160 in yards, was scoring at such an alarming rate that it faced just two third-down attempts (0-for-2) in the game.
Meanwhile, the Blizzard was 3-for-11 on third-down conversions and averaged 1.9 yards on 19 rushing attempts.
Green Bay scored TDs on six of 12 possessions, converted one of three field goals and got stopped on downs twice.
In his Blizzard debut, Porterie was 13 of 23 for 144 yards and three TDs with the one
interception. He also added a pair of short rushing scores.
After deferring to start the game, Green Bay matched score for score with Sioux Falls, who won both meetings last season, including the United Conference championship.
But the Blizzard’s pace began to slow in the second quarter when back-to-back false start penalties turned a third-and-6 from the Storm 12 into a third-and-16 from the 22. The drive ended two plays later with a missed field goal by Adrian Trevino.
Sioux Falls then went 45 yards in under 2 minutes and took a 24-10 lead with the first of James Jones’ two TD runs on the day.
Trailing 31-10, Green Bay appeared to get its first break of the game in the second quarter when a Porterie interception was overturned due to a roughing the passer penalty by former Blizzard defensive end Jeremiah Price, making it first-and-goal from the Storm 8.
However, Scott Burnoski dropped a TD in the back of the end zone on second down and a halfback-pass attempt by LaRon Council on third down never got off like it was supposed to.
Then on fourth down, miscommunication led to Trevor Glomski snapping to Burnoski, the holder, when he was looking at Trevino, who ended up taking the bad snap and getting tackled for a loss instead of adding a 21-yard field goal in the final minute of the first half.
Down 38-16 at halftime, the Blizzard went 27 yards in nine plays and took 6 minutes, 39 seconds off the clock to score on a 1-yard scamper by Porterie on the opening possession of the second half.
The Storm, though, quickly responded again four players later with Jones’ second TD run, and maintained its three-score advantage after the teams exchanged TD again in the third quarter before Moore’s interception.
BY THE NUMBERS
3-Sacks given up by the Blizzard
4-6-Blizzard’s all-time record in season-openers
10:58-Advantage in time of possession for Green Bay, who also ran 10 more plays
19.5-B.J. Hill’s average on four kick returns
182-93-Combined scores of the Blizzard’s three losses to Sioux Falls
DID YOU NOTICE?
Without a true center on the roster, LeRoy Auguste moved inside to play the position after sitting out most of the past two seasons. Auguste played tight end for the Blizzard in 2009 and briefly was with the team at the start of the 2010 season. The University of Buffalo alum did a solid job lined up against Corey Johnsen, knocking off the rust that comes with not playing for about two years.
Donovan Porterie did a great job of carrying out play fakes. A big part of coach Robert Fuller’s offense is using play-action, particularly on rollout passes, and you could see Porterie is adept at it after doing so in Fairbanks last season. Play-action passes are a tricky proposition in the indoor game when you consider the reduced space and angle a defensive end has on the play. But Porterie did a solid job, even though Sioux Falls’ line was able to recover and contain him on many occasions. Expect big plays down the field to come against teams not as talented as the Storm.
The three-point stance from running back LaRon Council. You almost had to scratch your eyes for a while when Council lined up that way directly behind Porterie in what looked like the formation used in arena rules, where the fullback rides the back hip of the quarterback in the ‘offensive box’. Most times in the indoor game, a single halfback simply lines up with their hands on their knees, but Council lined up directly behind Porterie on several occasions. It changed the depth from which he took handoffs and allowed him to dart up the middle of the line on pass routes. Trevor Glomski also lined up in a three-point stance behind Porterie, but he did so as a fullback and lead blocker for Council in I-formation.
X’s and O’s
Out of the 25 players on the roster, 21 are allowed to dress, which always makes it interesting to see who a coach uses for his reserves. When you consider there are 16 starters (8 offense, 8 defense) and a kicker, that leaves just four reserves. When you look at your game-day roster, you have to consider all the possibilities if injuries were to occur.
In his first game as Blizzard coach, Robert Fuller decided not to dress backup quarterback Reid Herchenbach and opted to rely on wide receiver Scott Burnoski as an emergency quarterback to maximize those spots.
As a former offensive lineman himself, Fuller dressed four of them as well. It’s a good move when you consider the proposition of having one of your three starters going down and having to rely on a defensive lineman to protect your quarterback. Frank Toarmina only played on special teams, providing solid protection on field-goal attempts, but the insurance he provides is invaluable.
There was a nice rotation in the defensive backfield between Kenny Viser, Aaron Moore and Mike Turner, while B.J. Hill and James Romain manned the corner positions. Trevor Glomski stepped in for one of the safeties in goal-line situations.
Linebacker Greg Jackson and the defensive line of P.J. South, Tyron Hurst and Junior Aumavae played the entire game, which was different from the past two years under Rik Richards, who liked to rotate four players on the defensive line to keep them fresh.
Burnoski, Bryan Pray, Desmond Tardy and Marquel Willis dressed as receivers, which is a position Hill can play in addition to running back, where LaRon Council dressed and Andrew Verbencouer was inactive.
Obviously, each game is different when it comes to personnel. But it’s always interesting to see how a coach utilizes those 21 spots for games.
GREEN BAY STARTERS
Offense
15 QB Donovan Porterie
6 RB LaRon Council
2 WR Scott Burnoski
9 WR Bryan Pray
7 WR Desmond Tardy
50 LT Seth Smalls
69 C LeRoy Auguste
77 RT Nick Thornton-Jack
Defense
56 DE P.J. South
98 DT Tyron Hurst
99 DE Junior Aumavae
11 LB Greg Jackson
3 CB B.J. Hill
5 CB James Romain
17 Rov Aaron Moore
21 S Kenny Viser
Reserves
19 K Adrian Trevino
1 DB Mike Turner
44 LB/FB Trevor Glomski
18 WR Marquel Willis
66 OL Frank Toarmina
Inactives
16 QB Reid Herchenbach
55 DL Jordan Lardinois
34 RB Andrew Verbencouer
PLAY OF THE GAME
Donta Moore’s interception at the start of the fourth quarter ended any hopes of a comeback for the Blizzard. Even being down 52-30 before it happened, there was a sense that if Green Bay’s offense could keep matching TDs to keep it a two-score game, the defense or special teams would eventually land a turnover of some sort because Sioux Falls had been playing mistake-free football up to that point. The Storm just never made that mistake.
NEXT UP
A road game against the Reading Express, who lost, 54-40, at Bloomington on Sunday. Green Bay won all three games versus the Express last season, including a 68-51 victory in the playoffs. This will be the Blizzard’s first trip to Reading, who coach Robert Fuller defeated on the road last season with Fairbanks.
