Below are things that didn’t make the printers from Saturday night’s victory
Quick hits
-69
points scored was a season-high total and the most allowed by the Bloomington
defense this season.
-Green
Bay took a 3-2 lead in the all-time series, where the home team has won each
time so far.
-La’Ron
Council has two 100-yard rushing games this season, while there has yet to be a
Blizzard receiver to reach the 100-yard plateau.
-One
would have thought Bloomington learned its lesson last season when B.J. Hill
had four TD returns, but the Edge gave up a 55-yard score on a kickoff to Hill
in the fourth quarter.
-Scary
moment in the third quarter when newly-signed defensive back Zach Gallow
collided with the wall and was slow to get up following a 25-yard touchdown catch
by David Brown in the third quarter.
-Defensive
back Kenny Viser made five tackles and showed his versatility when he
caught a 15-yard pass on the first play
of the fourth quarter, setting up Donovan Porterie’s 1-yard keeper.
-Each
squad dropped interceptions. B.J. Hill and Greg Jackson each had picks in their
sights near the goal line for the Blizzard, as did Edge linebacker Ameer
Ismail.
The Hammer returns
After
trying out for CFL teams and getting signed by the Calgary Stampeders,
linebacker Greg Jackson returned to the team on Saturday and made a team-high
eight tackles.
It was
Jackson’s first game since the home-opener against Cedar Rapids on March 9. The
University of Memphis alum was taken off the IFL other league transfer list on
April 26, but his CFL rights remain with Calgary.
Stacking the D
While
the Packers were busy loading up on defensive players in the draft across the
street, the Blizzard also loaded up on defense on Saturday night.
Coach
Robert Fuller opted to have 11 defensive players in his lineup and nine on the
offensive side in addition to kicker Adrian Trevino. Green Bay dressed four
defensive linemen (P.J. South, Jordan Lardinois, James McClinton, Junior
Aumavae), two linebackers (Trevor Glomski and Greg Jackson) and five defensive
backs (Aaron Moore, B.J. Hill, James Romain, Zach Gallow, Kenny Viser) to help
offset the high-octane offense of Bloomington.
Meanwhile,
the only offensive backup that dressed was quarterback A.J. Toscano, who held
for Trevino on field goals and extra points.
It was
an interesting move considering an injury to one of the three receivers or
running back La’Ron Council would have pushed either Viser or Hill to offense
in an emergency role. It could have also forced Glomski into the backfield on
more downs than just short-yardage and goal line situations as a blocking
fullback.
The
benefits, though, were visible in the second quarter when a fresh defensive
front got after quarterback Dusty Burk, recording all three of its sacks for
the game. One had to wonder what would have happened if the half didn’t come up
because the defense had the Edge on the ropes in the final 2 minutes of the
second quarter.
Dusting off Burk
Coach Fuller said coming into the game that Dusty
Burk was playing as well as he has ever seen him play and was concerned about
the savvy veteran.
After
being the team’s offensive coordinator the past two seasons, the 32-year-old
quarterback was sharp again on Saturday night, completing 24 of 39 passes for
232 yards and seven TDs with no interceptions.
Burk
was Bloomington’s quarterback for the better part of its existence, leading the
franchise to a championship in 2008.
Familiar faces
Former
Blizzard players Tim Mueller and Antonio Ficklin were suited up for the Edge.
Mueller,
a St. Norbert alum who played the past two seasons with the Blizzard, was
playing left tackle on the Bloomington offensive line. Ficklin, who last played
with Green Bay in 2007, was uncharacteristically quiet, recording two tackles
on the defensive line.
Playoff positioning
Based
on its mantra of going 1-0 each week, the Blizzard coaches and players shouldn’t
pay attention to the following.
With
the victory, Green Bay (6-2) is now a half game behind Bloomington (7-2) for
the No. 2 seed in the United Conference. Four teams make the playoffs in each
conference this year in the 16-team IFL with the top two in each receiving home
games. The Blizzard can virtually take a two-game lead over Bloomington with a
win this Saturday because it would gain the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Meanwhile,
the No. 4 seed still remains with Lehigh Valley, but things have gotten much
tighter after the Steelhawks lost to Chicago on Saturday night.
United
Conference standings
Sioux
Falls 8-0
Bloomington
7-2
Green
Bay 6-2
Lehigh
Valley 4-4
Omaha
3-5
Chicago
3-6
Cedar
Rapids 2-6
Reading
1-7
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