Post by 50yardfan on Apr 13, 2011 16:20:18 GMT -5
La Crosse, WI: Week Eight of the IFL season saw the La Crosse Spartans drop a 54-40 contest on the road in Chicago as the team fell to 3-3 on the young season. Week Nine will definitely not be any easier as injury-riddled La Crosse heads to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to take on the 5-0 Sioux Falls Storm on Friday, April 15th, at 7:05 p.m.
Sioux Falls has run rough-shot over all five opponents they've faced this season winning by an average margin of 45 points. Their closest game was a 48-38 win over Omaha last week, a team that beat the Spartans in Week Four 40-20. The Storm is averaging 81 points a game and have two games over 90 points this season. They lead the league in total points scored and yards per game and are second in the league (behind La Crosse) in total rushing yards. Leading the attack is quarterback Chris Dixon, the 2010 IFL MVP. He has thrown for 1,011 yards, 27 touchdowns, only throwing three interceptions while rushing for an additional 209 yards and nine TD's.
La Crosse will be forced to contend with Dixon and the rest of the Storm without much of its usual roster. The injury list for the Spartans is long as the team will likely be without Michael Ebanks (DL), Jamil Abdullah (S), Buddy Rivera (QB), Tommie Williams (CB), and possibly Courtney Abbott (OL). Abbott was hurt back on April 3rd, while all others were injured in last week's game against the Slaughter. Ryan Maiuri will get the start at quarterback assuming Rivera's injury does not improve. Maiuri started the first two games of the season for the Spartans before Rivera took over and went 3-1 as the team's starter.
It's not all bleak though for La Crosse as the team is still just two games out of first in the tough Great Lakes Division and sits just one game out of a playoff spot. The Spartans have been led by rookie runningback LaRon Council who leads the league in total rushes (70), third in rushing yards (239), and eighth in rushing TD's (5). As a team, the Spartans lead the entire IFL with 641 rushing yards and have three players (Council, Rivera, and Maiuri) in the top 15 in rushing yards.
Defensively, second-year Spartan Xzavie Jackson continues to lead the IFL with six quarterback sacks and has anchored a defense that is surrendering just 206.7 yards per game (11th overall) and just 52.8 yards on the ground (9th overall.) The Spartans defense has also scored five defensive touchdowns this season after recording just one defensive touchdown in 2010. The game can be viewed online at www.americaone.com. From the America One page, follow the "Football" link to the IFL page and click on the La Crosse Spartans link. America One does charge a one-time fee of $8 to watch the broadcast. Kickoff for Saturday's game will be 7:00 p.m. central standard time.
Additionally, the game can be followed live for free without a live audio/video feed on www.goifl.com. From the home page, click on the live scoring link and select the game to follow play-by-play of the game.
Sioux Falls has run rough-shot over all five opponents they've faced this season winning by an average margin of 45 points. Their closest game was a 48-38 win over Omaha last week, a team that beat the Spartans in Week Four 40-20. The Storm is averaging 81 points a game and have two games over 90 points this season. They lead the league in total points scored and yards per game and are second in the league (behind La Crosse) in total rushing yards. Leading the attack is quarterback Chris Dixon, the 2010 IFL MVP. He has thrown for 1,011 yards, 27 touchdowns, only throwing three interceptions while rushing for an additional 209 yards and nine TD's.
La Crosse will be forced to contend with Dixon and the rest of the Storm without much of its usual roster. The injury list for the Spartans is long as the team will likely be without Michael Ebanks (DL), Jamil Abdullah (S), Buddy Rivera (QB), Tommie Williams (CB), and possibly Courtney Abbott (OL). Abbott was hurt back on April 3rd, while all others were injured in last week's game against the Slaughter. Ryan Maiuri will get the start at quarterback assuming Rivera's injury does not improve. Maiuri started the first two games of the season for the Spartans before Rivera took over and went 3-1 as the team's starter.
It's not all bleak though for La Crosse as the team is still just two games out of first in the tough Great Lakes Division and sits just one game out of a playoff spot. The Spartans have been led by rookie runningback LaRon Council who leads the league in total rushes (70), third in rushing yards (239), and eighth in rushing TD's (5). As a team, the Spartans lead the entire IFL with 641 rushing yards and have three players (Council, Rivera, and Maiuri) in the top 15 in rushing yards.
Defensively, second-year Spartan Xzavie Jackson continues to lead the IFL with six quarterback sacks and has anchored a defense that is surrendering just 206.7 yards per game (11th overall) and just 52.8 yards on the ground (9th overall.) The Spartans defense has also scored five defensive touchdowns this season after recording just one defensive touchdown in 2010. The game can be viewed online at www.americaone.com. From the America One page, follow the "Football" link to the IFL page and click on the La Crosse Spartans link. America One does charge a one-time fee of $8 to watch the broadcast. Kickoff for Saturday's game will be 7:00 p.m. central standard time.
Additionally, the game can be followed live for free without a live audio/video feed on www.goifl.com. From the home page, click on the live scoring link and select the game to follow play-by-play of the game.