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).
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