Blizzard can't keep pace with Storm

ASHWAUBENON — The Green Bay Blizzard couldn't hold serve against the Sioux Falls Storm on Saturday night.

The Blizzard fell behind early against the defending Indoor Football League champions and never could make up the deficit in a 66-39 loss to the undefeated Storm in front of 3,886 at the Resch Center.

"It's a disappointing loss to not play as well as we would have hoped, but with the type of team that we have, we will bounce back," Blizzard coach Robert Fuller said. "We'll fight hard to get another shot at them."

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Blizzard relishes shot at Storm

ASHWAUBENON — Imagine if the New England Patriots and New York Giants combined to form one team after meeting in the Super Bowl.

Envision that happening on the Indoor Football League's level and you can get an idea of what the Green Bay Blizzard (8-2) is up against when it hosts the undefeated Sioux Falls Storm (9-0) at the Resch Center on Saturday.

"Sioux Falls is loaded at every position and they don't really have a weakness on that football team at all," Blizzard coach Robert Fuller said.

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Blizzard wins, looks to clean up play for Sioux Falls

ASHWAUBENON — The Green Bay Blizzard posted its highest point total of the season and picked up its 12th straight home victory on Friday night.

But shortly after upending the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks 76-61 in front of 3,037 at the Resch Center, Blizzard coach Robert Fuller couldn't help but think about who it will have to beat for that streak to continue — the undefeated Sioux Falls Storm.

The defending Indoor Football League champions handed Green Bay a season-opening loss, and Fuller knows his squad is going to need an even better offensive performance next Saturday to keep pace.

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Lardinois shines in Blizzard system

Jordan Lardinois saw an opportunity.

After being inactive in four of the first five games, Lardinois knew the rash of injuries the Green Bay Blizzard experienced on its defensive line was his chance to get in the rotation.

"I just went out there and took advantage of it," he said.

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Listen to the latest edition of FrostBite

Mitch and Andrew discuss the victory at Bloomington and look forward to Friday's game against Lehigh Valley at the Resch Center. Blizzard coach Robert Fuller also stops by to talk about where the team is at entering the stretch run of the season.

Polar opposite game, same result

After Green Bay and Bloomington combined to score touchdowns on 10 straight possessions and a total of 125 points the week before at the Resch Center, it looked like two different teams playing when the Blizzard downed the Edge 34-21 on Saturday night.

Green Bay tallied six interceptions against Dusty Burk, including five picks in the second half of what was a Happy Cinco de Mayo for the Blizzard, who in collecting its first win at Bloomington in the all-time series also nailed down the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Edge this season.

Green Bay (7-2) currently is slated in the No. 2 spot in the IFL’s United Conference, leapfrogging Bloomington (7-3).

Pick 6

The first of the six interceptions, which matched Burk’s season total coming into the game, was made and returned for a TD by P.J. South in the second quarter. It was the Blizzard's first points of the game and tied the score at 7.

B.J. Hill and James Romain each had two INTs in the second half, and Aaron Moore had one.

La’Ron runs to another record

After breaking the single-game rushing record twice in three weeks, running back La’Ron Council broke the Blizzard’s single-season rushing mark of 597 yards that was set by Randy Bell in 2010.

Council gained 79 yards on 22 carries, giving him a league-leading 620 yards on the season.

Andrew Verboncouer also pitched in 20 yards on seven carries from the two series where he played the single-back role in the second quarter. As a team, Green Bay rushed for 95 yards on 36 carries.

Trying the bag of tricks

Playing the same team two weeks in a row, Blizzard coach Robert Fuller decided to pull out a trick play late in the first half that saw receiver Desmond Tardy –a former high school quarterback – attempt a pass as part of a double-pass play. It didn’t go quite the way it was drawn up, but it was something different for the same opponent.

Almost another happy return

B.J. Hill’s kickoff return for a score to start the second half was brought back due to a block in the back.

Line change

LeRoy Auguste got the start at left tackle for Seth Smalls. The two have rotated at the position, but Smalls has primarily been the one activated for games there in recent weeks.

Welcome to the team

With Rodney Cox and Zach Gallow being placed on season-ending injured reserve last week, the Blizzard signed defensive back Curtis Thomas to bolster its depth in the secondary.

But besides making two tackles on defense in his debut, Thomas also made an impact on the offensive side of the ball, catching two passes for 31 yards.

Thomas’ ability to play receiver was huge, considering John Halman was inactive, leaving Bryan Pray and Tardy as the only true WRs who dressed.

At 5-foot-11 and 208 pounds, Thomas was listed as a safety coming out of Texas Southern for his NFL draft year in 2011, according to NFLdraftscout.com

Missed opportunities

This is by no means directed at kicker Adrian Trevino, who was 2-for-5 on field goals, including a couple of near misses on 45- and 51-yard attempts.

The missed opportunities refer to not being able to convert turnovers into touchdowns. Of the Blizzard’s six interceptions on the night, only one resulted in a TD, which came on the above-mentioned South return for a score.

Green Bay’s five picks in the second half resulted in a grand total of three points, which came after Aaron Moore recorded the fourth with about 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The first three interceptions of the half not only resulted in zero points, but the ensuing offensive drives almost resulted in the momentum switching to Bloomington's favor.

Following Hill’s first interception, the Blizzard had moved into Edge territory with a 24-14 lead when on the seventh play of the drive offensive lineman Nick Thornton-Jack went down with a leg injury.

With defensive lineman James McClinton substituting in for Thornton-Jack at right tackle, Bloomington’s Antonio Ficklin moved from nose tackle to defensive end and forced and nearly recovered a fumble by quarterback Donovan Porterie on third down, resulting in a 15-yard loss. Trevino then had to come in for the long, 45-yard attempt that missed just left.

Romain then came up with an interception on the ensuing Bloomington drive, but his return for a TD on the first play of the fourth quarter that would have made it 30-14 was called back due to an illegal block in the back.

Still, the Blizzard offense took over with the ball placed at midfield. However, a pair of holding penalties stalled the drive and moved Green Bay back to its own 8-yard line and eventually led to a 51-yard attempt that was just wide to the right by Trevino.

Still down only 24-14, the Edge had the momentum again, but two plays later Hill came up with his second interception. However, on fourth-and-one from its own 13, the Blizzard offense stalled again when Porterie was tackled for a loss on a naked bootleg.

Bloomington scored a touchdown three plays later to cut the deficit to 24-21 midway through the fourth quarter.

The Blizzard offense would respond on the ensuing drive when Porterie found Tardy for their second TD throw and catch of the game.

The fifth interception of the half that Romain corralled with about 2 minutes left resulted in a kneel down by Porterie to run out the clock.

Forward motion

The Blizzard hosts Lehigh Valley at the Resch Center 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The Steelhawks (4-5), who are coming off a loss to Reading, are currently slated in the fourth and final spot for the playoffs in the United Conference with Chicago a half game back (4-6).