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Storm, Outlaws make up most of UIF West's defense

By Joel Fellers
jfellers@pantagraph.com

It’s no surprise that United Indoor Football champions the Sioux Falls Storm are well represented on the Western Conference All-Star defense. Of the 11 defensive all-stars, four are Storm players.

Just behind Sioux Falls with three defensive all-stars is Billings, which lost to the Storm in the Western Conference championship game.

What follows are summaries of how each defender on the Western Conference all-star squad performed this year and what they have done in football outside of the UIF.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN

Nate Fluit, Sioux Falls Storm, Augustana College (Sioux Falls)

Fluit led the Storm with 16.5 sacks and 26.5 tackles for loss. He had 63 total tackles (48 solos, 30 assists), forced and recovered three fumbles, and blocked eight kicks.

Fluit was named the UIF's 2006 Defensive Player of the Year. He was a second-team North Central Conference selection in his junior and senior seasons at Augustana, a Division II school in Sioux Falls.

Leif Murphy, Sioux Falls Storm, North Dakota State

Murphy finished just behind Fluit in tackles (48 solos, 27 assists), sacks (15) and tackles for loss (20.5). He also forced three fumbles, recovering two, and blocked five kicks.

Murphy played for the Ottawa Renegades of the Canadian Football League in 2003. He was a first-team All-American in 2001 as a junior before being hurt for a large portion of his senior season.

Eugene Phillips, Billings Outlaws, Georgia Southern

Phillips led the Outlaws with 11 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. He had 61.5 total tackles (44 solos, 35 assists), forced and recovered two fumbles, and intercepted a pass.

Phillips was a second-team All-American as a member of Georgia Southern’s 1999 team that won the Division I-A national championship. He was a four-year letterman and two-year starter for the Eagles, and was selected to the All-Southern Conference first team as a senior.

Steve Frye, Colorado Ice, Northern Colorado

Frye's seven sacks and 15 tackles for loss led the Ice. He had 62 total tackles (45 solos, 34 assists), forced two fumbles and recovered one.

Frye was a three-year starter at Northern Colorado and earned honorable mention All-North Central Conference honors as a senior.

LINEBACKERS

Mark Blackburn, Sioux Falls Storm, South Dakota

Black burns 129.5 tackles (97 solos, 65 assists) easily led Sioux Falls. He made four interceptions, broke up 11 passes, recovered four fumbles and forced three.

Blackburn was a first-team All-North Central Conference selection in 2001. He played at Riverside Community College in California before transferring to South Dakota.

Spetlar Tonga, Sioux City Bandits, Morningside College

Tonga had 72.5 tackles (56 solos, 33 assists), of which 14 went for losses. He led the Bandits in both of those categories and also recorded two sacks and two interceptions.

Tonga led Morningside with 91 tackles his senior season. Ten of those tackles were for losses, including 3.5 sacks. He blocked three kicks, forced two fumbles and recovered one.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Justin Landis, Sioux Falls Storm, South Dakota State

Landis led the Storm with nine interceptions, which he returned for 217 yards. He also broke up 10 passes, forced two fumbles and recorded two safeties. He had 73 tackles (52 solos, 42 assists) on the season, six of them for losses.

Landis received honorable mention for the All-North Central Conference team twice. He had 70 tackles for the Jackrabbits in his senior season. He was a four year letterman and a team captain his final season.

Travis Garcia, Colorado Ice, Colorado State

Garcia led Colorado with six interceptions and 13 pass breakups. His 75 tackles (51 solos, 48 assists) ranked second on the team. Four of those tackles were for losses, including one sack. He also forced three fumbles.

Garcia made the Colorado State team as a walk-on at running back before being moved to defensive back in his third year with the Rams. By his senior season, he was the starting strong safety and finished second on the team with 88 tackles. Five of those tackles went for losses, and he also intercepted three passes.

Jacquwan Brackenridge, Billings Outlaws, Chaffey College

Brackenridge was the Outlaws' No. 2 tackler with 67.5 (52 solos, 31 assists), including 2.5 for losses. He intercepted three passes, broke up six others and forced a fumble.

The Outlaws and Chaffey College Web sites have no further information on Brackenridge that I could locate.

Brent Hafford, Omaha Beef, Stephen F. Austin

Hafford was the Beef's leading tackler with 76.5 (50 solos, 53 assists) and also led the way with 10 pass break ups. He intercepted three passes, had 7.5 tackles for loss, and forced and recovered two fumbles.

Hafford signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in April 2004. He was later release but re-signed with the team in January 2005. The Saints assigned him to the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe in February 2005, but he was release again that September. After making 1002 tackles and forcing five fumbles for Stephen F. Austin In 2003, Hafford was named the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year and made the American Football Coaches Association Division I-AA Coaches' All-America Team. He led the team with 113 tackles as a junior and made the All-SC first team.

Ernie James, Billings Outlaws, Idaho State University

James intercepted four passes and had 51.5 tackles (37 solos, 29 assists). He also broke up five passes and recovered a fumble.

James made 40 tackles as a senior at Idaho State. He broke up 11 passes and intercepted two. As a junior, he had a 100-yard interception return. He also returned a blocked punt 77 yards in college.

Get area high school sports scores and statistics at Varsity Sports.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

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