Daily League News & Notes

Arena Football League

Soul Announce Bella Thorne and Friends Concert After Soul Game

The 2012 American Conference Champion, Philadelphia Soul presented by Parx Casino announce that the Bella Thorne & Friends Concert Jam Tour starring Bella Thorne, Disney Channel Star, seen on "Shake It Up" is coming to Philadelphia. The concert will begin immediately following the Philadelphia Soul home game on Saturday, June 1 as part of "Daddy-Daughter Night" with the Soul. The Concert Tour will last approximately 90 minutes and is FREE with a game ticket.

"I am excited to be part of the Philadelphia Soul Daddy-Daughter Night and can't wait to get to see all my fans in Philly!" said Bella Thorne. "I know the Soul will win, and my friends and I will put on a show that will create memories to last a lifetime"

Other stars of the Concert Tour include Disney star, Roshon Fegan seen on "Shake It Up" and the band, IM5. Fegan was also featured on the 14th season of the ABC show "Dancing with the Stars." He stayed on for 8 weeks and was placed in the top 6. MC will be Adrian R'Mante, made famous from his role playing "Esteban" from Disney Channel's, "Suite Life of Zack & Cody".

IM5 is quickly making waves as the world's next dominant boy band and was founded on a national talent search headed by American Idol creator Simon Fuller along with world famous celebrity blogger, Perez Hilton. The multi-cultured quintet comprised of band members Cole Pendery, Dalton Rapattoni, Dana Vaughns, Gabe Morales and Will Jay boast their own unique style that fuses together hook driven pop melodies, authentic vocal harmonies, and full blown dance routines.

"We are thrilled to have a star as big as Bella Thorne be part of Daddy-Daughter Night", said Soul Vice President and COO John Adams. "Teaming our family friendly product up with one of the biggest stars in the child entertainment industry will make this day a can't-miss event for dad, daughters and all family members."

Daddy-Daughter Night was created to provide an opportunity for all fathers to create an unforgettable experience with their daughters. Dads will get to experience a great day of Arena Football watching the Soul in a rematch of Arena Bowl XXV vs. the Arizona Rattlers. Daughters will have the opportunity to see an incredible concert filled with some of today's top child performers. Of course, the entire event is great for the entire family, not just daddies and daughters.

To accommodate this concert the game kickoff will be moved up to 4 pm with the concert set to start at approximately 7pm.

Predators Suffer Another Loss, Arizona Takes the Victory 42-82

The Orlando Predators (0-5) suffered another loss, (42-82) to the Arizona Rattlers (5-1) in front of 8,062 fans in Phoenix Sunday evening. The Predators fought strong to break the seasons loosing streak, but could not overcome the Rattlers strong offense. Rowley stood out offensively for the Predators completed 27 of 49 passes (55%) for 328 yards and 4 touchdowns, but also threw 3 interceptions. Deonte Bolden joined the Predators defense for the first time, making 8 tackles total for the game.

Orlando won the coin toss and started the first quarter with a kick off from Mark Lewis for 56 yards but was returned by Arizona for 12 yards by Trandon Harvey. Arizona's Nick Davila was the first to score when he completed a touchdown pass to Kerry Reed for 19 yards, and Garre Lindholm made the kick, (0-7). When Orlando gained possession, Rowley threw an interception to Marquis Floyd for a 22-yard return. The Rattlers did not slow down in the first quarter, scoring again when Davila threw another touchdown pass to Rod Windsor raising the score (0-14).

Dominic Jones began to stand out defensively at the end of the first quarter when he made a 37-yards. Orlando gained possession again halfway through the first, but Rowley threw another interception and Virgil Gray returned it for 22-yards. Arizona came back with another touchdown, when Davila made another pass completion to Jared Perry (0-21).

Orlando finally scored when Rowley completed a pass to Prechae Rodriguez for 5 yards, and Mark Lewis made the kick (7-21). Tim Cheatwood came in with a sack on Dilvila at the end of the first before Arizona scored again, (7-28).

Orlando had difficulty scoring throughout the first half as Arizona scored again (7-35) before the Predators could achieve another touchdown. Rowley was able to complete a pass to T.T. Toliver, pushing the Predators up the scoreboard (14-35). The Rattlers never sat idle, as Davila completed another pass to Odie Armstrong for 12 yards, and Armstrong rushed 1 yard for another touchdown (14-41). At the end of the first half, the score climbed (21-48) for the Rattlers.

Orlando showed strong energy at the beginning of the second half, scoring their fourth touchdown in 7 plays, (28-48). Davila came back at the Predators when he threw 2 pass completions to Harvey and Windsor, setting Armstrong up for a 1-yard rush, making another touchdown for the Rattlers (28-55). The Predators followed suit as Rowley connected with Toliver on an 8-yard pass and another one to Jason Geathers. The touchdown was finally made when Marlon Moye-Moore rushed 1-yard hiking the score up (35-55).

Entering the fourth quarter, the Predators faced difficulty trying to catch up on the scoreboard. Arizona made 3 touchdowns for 20 points in the final quarter, and Orlando was only able to accomplish one touchdown over 4 plays when Rowley made a pass to Geathers for 7 yards half way through the fourth.

Marlon Moye-Moore rushed 2 yards for a total of 2 touchdowns, TT Toliver made 1 touchdown for 139 receiving yards and Prechae Rodriguez was another stand out with 123 receiving yards for 2 touchdowns. Defensively Dominic Jones made 5 tackles, and Travis Coleman made 3.

Next week, the Predators head to Pittsburgh (1-3) to face the Power. The Predators hope to turn things around next Saturday and break their on going loosing streak. After facing the Power, the Predators will head to Spokane (5-1) to take on the Shock.

Talons Shut off the Power 42-37

The San Antonio Talons (2-3) defeated the Pittsburgh Power (1-4) Sunday afternoon at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh in front of a crowd of 6,688 by a score of 42-37.

Burl Toler led San Antonio receivers with 8 receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Toler was Hill's go-to-guy on third downs, and it worked out well for the Talons offense. Dwayne Eley Jr. also had a great game with 4 catches for 61 yards and two touchdowns. Talons quarterback, Nick Hill connected on 17 of 29 passes for 180 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Power's Jefferson completed 20 of 36 attempts for 209 yards and three touchdowns before coming out of the game in the fourth quarter. Jefferson favorited Wide Receiver Mike Washington who had 13 receptions for 133 yards and four touchdowns. The Talons struggled to stop Washington in Sunday's matchup.

The Talons defense made a big statement by attacking quarterback Jordan Jefferson quickly in the first quarter when Turner sacked Jefferson for a loss of 10 yards. Despite the aggressive defensive effort, the Power put three points on the board first with a 36-yard field goal by Czajkowski. San Antonio answered back quickly when Hill found Eley with a 23 yard Touchdown pass with 3:50 left in the first quarter. Demos' successful extra point put the Talons on top 7-3.

After a fairly uneventful first quarter, the Talons showed up strong in the second quarter looking to make a statement. Just 6 seconds in, Hill hit Wide Receiver Jomo Wilson with a 9 yard touchdown pass. Demos' kick attempt was good to up the Talons lead to 14-3 over the Power.

Jefferson responded by completing a 10 yard pass to Washington for a touchdown cutting the Talons lead to 14-10. Pittsburgh began to give San Antonio lots of yardage in the second quarter. Hill completed a five yard touchdown pass to Wilson with less than five minutes left in the half. Demos remained perfect for the game hitting another extra point expanding San Antonio's lead to 21-10.

With 1:20 left in the second quarter, Jefferson hit Washington with a 15 yard touchdown pass going into halftime; the Power trailed the Talons by just 4 points at 21-17. The Talons capitalized on turnovers and penalties in the first half. The competition was fairly even with both teams having 1 turnover and 6 first downs. San Antonio led in the rushing category with 14 yards over Powers 4.

Power's opening drive of the third quarter resulted in a 32 yard touchdown pass to Washington once again; Czajkowski's kick was good, putting the Power on top of the Talons for the first time since their first drive of the game with a score of 21-24.

With just under three minutes left in the third quarter, Nick Hill found Dwayne Eley Jr. in the end zone for a 20 yard touchdown pass and with Demos' kick the Talons reclaimed their lead 28-24 over the Power. Pittsburgh attempted to neutralize the Talons' pass rush with quick passes to put more pressure on the defensive backs, but they were ultimately unsuccessful

The Power, trailing by four points going into the fourth quarter struggled to put anything together. Talons defensive lineman Joe Sykes took down Jefferson for a loss of 6 yards at the start of the fourth. Nick Hill continued to find Toler, allowing him to showcase his speed where he ran it in for a 21 yard touchdown with 13:14 left to play. Demos' extra point increased the Talons lead 35-24. Chad Tank Cook after several rush attempts, found the end zone for a 1 yard Touchdown bringing the Talons lead to 42-24. Attempting to shake things up, Shane Austin came in the quarterback spot for Pittsburgh. Austin quickly ran in a 17 yard touchdown cutting the Talons lead 42-31. Austin added one last heroic attempt to chase the Talons lead with a Touchdown pass to Washington, but fell short with a final score of 42-37.

The Talons now boast a (2-3) record on the season, causing the Power to fall to (1-4) after a heartbreaking loss on their home turf. The Talons return to action this Friday May 3 against the Iowa Barnstormers at the Alamodome for Los Talons night. Kickoff is at 7:30 PM CST and a post-game concert by Stefani Montiel will take place in the Coors Light lounge immediately following the game.

Indoor Football League

Slaughter Outlast the Storm

The Sioux Falls Storm (5-3) were defeated by the Chicago Slaughter (6-3) on Saturday night with a final score of 61-55. Sioux Falls came into this game riding the wave of a three game win streak. Their last loss was on March 24 in Colorado against the Ice.

Chicago scored the first points of the game on a 6-yard touchdown run by quarterback Cody Kirby giving the Slaughter a 7-0 start.

On the Storms first offensive possession, quarterback Terrance Bryant threw an interception to Slaughter defensive back Chris Johnson. It was returned for a touchdown giving Chicago a 14-0 lead over Sioux Falls.

The Storm got on the board with their next offensive possession when wideout James Terry ran in a 4-yard touchdown to make it a 14-7 Slaughter lead at the end of the first quarter.

Chicago answered right back when Kirby connected with wideout John Cooper for a 3-yard touchdown pass. The extra point attempt was no good making the score 20-7 Slaughter lead.

Sioux Falls found consistency on offense when Bryant connected with running back Tory Harrison for a 4-yard touchdown pass to make it a 20-14 ball game with the Slaughter still holding onto the lead.

The Slaughter was successful on their next offensive drive when Kirby connected with wideout Shatone Powers for a 5-yard touchdown pass. The special teams for Chicago continued its struggles when kicker Chris Nendick missed his second extra making it a 26-14 lead for Chicago.

The Storm reduced their deficit to only four points when Bryant threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Terry and then were successful on a 2-point conversion.

With 3:34 left in the second quarter, Juice Williams of the Slaughter ran in a 2-yard touchdown making it a 33-22 game.

Sioux Falls answered right back on a successful drive capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by James Dunlap. The Slaughter blocked the Storms extra point and returned it to the end zone for two extra points.

The first half came to an end with the Chicago Slaughter leading the Storm 35-28.

Sioux Falls tied Chicago at 35 to start third quarter when Bryant connected with Blake Wilson for a 15-yard touchdown pass.

Chicago answered right back to regain the lead when Kirby took in a one-yard quarterback keeper to make it 41-35.

Bryant connected with Terry for the second time in the game to give the Storm it's first lead of the game, 42-41 at the end of the third quarter.

The Storm continued it's offensive spree in the forth quarter when Bryant connected with wideout Mike Tatum on a 7-yard touchdown pass to make it a 49-41 Storm lead.

Kirby answered right back for the Slaughter when he connected on a 9-yard touchdown pass to Williams. The Storm still led 49-47 due to Chicago's 2-point conversion attempt being no good.

With 59 seconds to play Chicago took the lead to make it 55-49 when Daniel Dufrene ran it in from 3-yards out.

Sioux Falls answered right back with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Bryant to Wilson with 24 seconds remaining. Storm kicker Parker Douglass made the extra point to give Sioux Falls a 56-55 lead.

Chicago retook the lead with 13 seconds remaining in the ball game when Kirby connected with Dufrene for a 25-yard touchdown making it 61-56.

The Storm attempted a few plays to the end zone on their next drive but time ran out giving Chicago the 61-56 point victory.

Terrance Bryant led the way for the Storm as he threw for 253 yards with a completion percentage of 87%. He also threw for six touchdowns but of his four non-completions, three were intercepted.

Slaughter quarterback Kirby ended the game throwing for 257 yards and four touchdowns with a completion percentage of 80%.

The Sioux Falls Storm returns home on May 4 at 7:05 when they host the Nebraska Danger.

Green Bay Blizzard Quash Revolution 74-25

The Green Bay Blizzard (3-5) achieved their first winning streak of the season as they routed the Texas Revolution 74-25, Saturday night at the Resch Center in front of 3,607 fans.

Blizzard WR B.J. Hill started off the first ever meeting between the Green Bay Blizzard and Texas Revolution with a bang. He returned the opening kickoff 54 yards for a touchdown and put himself alone atop the Indoor Football League for most career kickoff return touchdowns with 12.

He also found himself on the receiving end of two first-half touchdown passes from Quarterback Spencer Ohm, the IFL's reigning co-offensive player of the week.

Ohm would throw four touchdowns in the first half against the Revolution, bringing his total to 11 in his first six quarters as the starting quarterback for Green Bay.

Hill was not the only player however, with a major impact on special teams.

Kicker Jered Fohrman, who was recently added back to the team roster after a brief appearance earlier in the season, was a perfect 5/5 on extra points and 2/2 on field goal attempts in the first half including a 43-yard make in the first quarter.

He also proved kicking was not the only weapon in his arsenal as he recorded three solo tackles in the first half, including a touchdown saving tackle near the sideline early in the game.

The second half started off similar to the first with the Revolution's first drive resulting in a three and out and the Blizzard quickly finding the end zone.

Lucian Walker took the handoff and ran in from six yards out for his second score of the game giving Green Bay a commanding 55-17 lead with only two minutes taken off the clock in the third quarter.

Revolution quarterback Marcus Jackson came into the game leading the league in interceptions with 10 and added two more to his total after a rough night on Saturday.

Green Bay's defense held him to just 13 completions on 36 attempts and under 100 yards passing. Defensive back Elijah Fields intercepted the Texas quarterback twice for his third and fourth takeaways of the season. Fields also led the team in tackles with 13,tying a franchise high.

The defensive unit played its best game collectively of the season holding Texas to only 76 total yards; including -8 on the ground.

Defensive lineman James McClinton came into the game with 19.5 career sacks with the Blizzard, needing just one to take sole possession of the all-time lead in franchise history. He did just that when he took down Jackson behind the line of scrimmage in the fourth quarter.

Ohm finished the night completing 18 of 25 passing attempts for 201 yards and six touchdowns while fellow Blizzard teammate B.J. Hill racked up an impressive 190 all-purpose yards. WR Jon Meadows led all Blizzard receivers with five catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns.

Green Bay has now piled up 140 points in its first two games under the direction of head coach Chad Baldwin and offensive coordinator John Pate and has arguably been the league's hottest offense since the new coaching change.

Unfortunately, the Blizzard will have a bye next week but will look to continue its first winning streak of the season on Friday May 10. Green Bay will face a big test in their next game as the team faces Intense Conference leader Nebraska Danger (6-2) at the Resch Center at 7:30 P.M. The first 1,500 youth 17 and under will receive a free youth cap sponsored by Fox 11 and Martin Security Systems.

Lone Star Football League

Stars Defense Shuts Down Bandits

The New Mexico Stars came away with a 57-28 victory behind a brilliant defensive effort on Saturday night at the Santa Ana Star Center. In a game where the Stars never trailed, the defense came up with 6 turnovers (4 fumbles and 2 interceptions), didn't allow a 3rd down conversion (0-7), and allowed just one 4th down conversion (1-4).

Stars DB Darius Pettigrew was all over the field and finished the game with 11 tackles, 2 deflections, and 2 recovered fumble in which he ran one back 40 yards for a touchdown. Speaking after the game, Pettigrew said "I was in the right place at the right time all night long. All week long the coaches have stressed getting to the ball and that is all I could think about after the snap... getting to the ball carrier."

The few times the offense got to touch the ball, they made the most of it by scoring quickly with surgical precision. New Stars QB Kasey Peters threw for an impressive 5 TDs on his way to 157 yards in the air, and had nothing but praise for his new team after the game. "It was a lot of fun coming out and getting a win at home" Peters said. "Our defense played great and got so many turnovers, that is really helped me relax. The Offensive Line put up a wall of protection around me, and the Wide Receivers ran perfect routes. Everyone did their job like a professional."

Peter's go-to man all night long was Superman himself, Mr. Joshua Floyd. Of the 8 completions that Peters threw, Floyd was on the receiving end of 7 of them. He finished with 149 receiving yards and a whopping 4 TDs.

The Stars have another bye this coming week, then take on the 3-2 Abilene Bombers at home on May 11th. The Stars currently hold the best rushing offense in the LSFL with 63.4 YPG on the ground, are tied for 1st in the league with 19 passing TDs, and the Stars are 1st in the league with 1,128 yards of total offense. Individually, RB Seth Smith leads the league with 193 rushing yards, and Chaz Thompson and DeMarcus James are #1 and #2 in the league for INTs (4 and 3 respectively).

Professional Indoor Football League

Hammers Stumble at Home

Seemingly in control for much of the Professional Indoor Football League contest, the Nighthawks rallied late and took a 53-51 lead on Ryan Porter's long touchdown pass to Deandre Brown with less than half minute to play and that total included an extra point and aone-point uno from kicker Armando Cuko on the ensuing kickoff.

The Hammers responded with a short drive, but Brain Jackson's 37-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left as time expired at the Von Braun Center's Propst Arena.

Final score: Knoxville 53, Hammers 51.

It was Alabama's first home loss of the season and dropped the PIFL-leading squad to 5-2. Knoxville improved to 2-5.

Hammers quarterback Russell Hill completed 15 of 30 passes for 317 yards and six touchdowns with two interceptions. C.J. Johnson had six receptions and four touchdowns and Mico McSwain six and two scores for the Hammers. Fullback Dan Ross also had a rushing touchdown for Alabama.

Porter completed 27 of 41 passes for 287 yards with four touchdowns and two picks for Knoxville.

The Hammers led it 51-34 with three minutes left in the third quarter after Hill's 7-yard pass to McSwain.

That was the end of the offensive night for Alabama, which gave up 19 unanswered points to the Nighthawks in the fourth quarter on the way to the loss.

The Hammers have a pair of bye weeks before heading to Columbus on May 18.