Friday, May 9, 2008

Omaha Beef Head North On I-29 To Meet The Sioux City Bandits Saturday

Omaha, NE - For the 17th time in the team's history, the Omaha Beef professional indoor football team will face off with the Sioux City Bandits. The game will be Saturday evening at 7:05 p.m. at the Gateway Arena inside the Tyson Events Center.

In their last action, the BEEF won their sixth game in-a-row Saturday evening, defeating the Wichita Wild 67-16 to move to 7-2 on the season. After trading initial touchdowns, Omaha scored 41 points on the way to taking a 47-9 halftime lead. In the second half, the BEEF outscored the Wild 20-7 as the final scoreboard read 67-16. The 7-2 mark is tied for the second-best start after eight games, joining the 2003 season and is only behind the team's 9-0 start in 2001.

In the game against the Wild, James McNear led the way offensively with 85 yards of total offense (nine rushing and 76 passing) and also had a hand in five touchdowns (rushing for two and passing for three). R.J. Rollins rushed for a team-high 64 yards and two touchdowns; he also caught two passes for five yards and a touchdown. Blake Fuchtman caught four passes while Ken Horton tallied 34 receiving yards.

The defense provided an excellent effort as they tallied six interceptions and three sacks. In addition, they made nine tackles for loss, forced three fumbles (recovered two) and also broke up five passes. On special teams, Ricky Lebeda contributed 13 points and Chris Eads returned two kicks for 14 yards while Dustin Creager returned a missed field goal 30 yards. All three returns led to BEEF scoring drives, all of which climaxed with touchdowns.

Sioux City is coming off a 51-46 loss to the Sioux Falls Storm last Saturday night in Sioux Falls. The Bandits are currently 3-5 on the season and tied for second place with the RiverCity Rage in the Eastern Conference.

Offense/Special Teams Coordinator Tommie Williams said the game will be intense as the teams are very familiar with each other.

"This is a big one for us," Williams said. "The Bandits are one of our key rivals and the game will be a backyard brawl. There will be a lot of emotion involved and hopefully the game will live up to the billing."

After this game, the BEEF return home on May 17th for a date with the Billings Outlaws. The game, which is being billed as "Armed Forces Night," begins at 7 p.m. In addition to the game, the BEEF's pre-game meal will be held at Texas Roadhouse, 520 N. 155th Plaza in Omaha, beginning at 2:30 p.m. If fans are looking for something to do before the game, they are encouraged to attend the BEEF Boardwalk, which will have clowns, face painting and games out near the entrance of the Omaha Civic Auditorium.

The Omaha Beef opened their 2008 home season versus the Bloomington Extreme on March 15, 2008. All home games will be played at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. The Beef are a member of the United Indoor Football Association, the premier indoor football league in America. The Beef are committed to making a positive difference in the Omaha area through football, fun and community service. For more information about the Beef, log on to www.beeffootball.com.

  • Beef defeat Wild 67-16
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